The Meth is evil column
Crystal Meth, Methamphetamine, Ice, Shabu, Base, call it what you will the fact of the matter is this scourge of the streets is destroying lives at an alarming rate.
Working in the drug rehabilitation field as I do I see a continued and alarming rise of people seeking to get off this drug. The picture is not pretty.
Whilst the physical effects of the drug are clear (see the before and after pic above)and heavy users easy to spot in the crowd it’s the psychological effects that are of graver concern to the addiction professionals.
Recently the Australian media has run assorted programs on the dangers of Ice but the horse has already bolted. Tighter controls on Ephedrine (the key ingredient) have done nothing to slow the spread of the plague and I continue to see its devastating effects on people on a daily basis.
People just don’t understand what this stuff does to your brain. At least ninety percent of Ice addicts I encounter have some sort of psych problems associated with their use of the drug and its not just Psychosis which happens when you are on the drug. Delusions, schizophrenia, paranoia are the most visible and hence the most talked about in the media but there is a greater problem. This problem helps explain why the drug is so highly addictive as well.
The drug causes the dopamine receptors in the brain to down regulate or stop producing dopamine all together to compensate for the over production caused by the drug. This in effect makes it impossible for a person to feel happy without using the drug. This effect can happen after just days of using. The longer you use the worse it becomes. Many recovering addicts of the drug will need to take medication to regulate their dopamine levels for the rest of their lives. Many will inexplicably (to onlookers) simply kill themselves due to their inability to cope with feeling chronically down and lethargic.
I do not use preach anti drug view points in public view but the reality is that this drug is stupendously evil and has no place in society. I beg of you to never try this drug. Smoke a cone or snort a line of coke if you must experiment but avoid Ice at all costs because it really has no positive outcomes possible.
Working in the drug rehabilitation field as I do I see a continued and alarming rise of people seeking to get off this drug. The picture is not pretty.
Whilst the physical effects of the drug are clear (see the before and after pic above)and heavy users easy to spot in the crowd it’s the psychological effects that are of graver concern to the addiction professionals.
Recently the Australian media has run assorted programs on the dangers of Ice but the horse has already bolted. Tighter controls on Ephedrine (the key ingredient) have done nothing to slow the spread of the plague and I continue to see its devastating effects on people on a daily basis.
People just don’t understand what this stuff does to your brain. At least ninety percent of Ice addicts I encounter have some sort of psych problems associated with their use of the drug and its not just Psychosis which happens when you are on the drug. Delusions, schizophrenia, paranoia are the most visible and hence the most talked about in the media but there is a greater problem. This problem helps explain why the drug is so highly addictive as well.
The drug causes the dopamine receptors in the brain to down regulate or stop producing dopamine all together to compensate for the over production caused by the drug. This in effect makes it impossible for a person to feel happy without using the drug. This effect can happen after just days of using. The longer you use the worse it becomes. Many recovering addicts of the drug will need to take medication to regulate their dopamine levels for the rest of their lives. Many will inexplicably (to onlookers) simply kill themselves due to their inability to cope with feeling chronically down and lethargic.
I do not use preach anti drug view points in public view but the reality is that this drug is stupendously evil and has no place in society. I beg of you to never try this drug. Smoke a cone or snort a line of coke if you must experiment but avoid Ice at all costs because it really has no positive outcomes possible.
posted by Darren at 2:51 AM
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