Methamphetamine has been around for a while. It’s an extremely addictive drug known as speed, crank, glass, ice, or crystal, despite the fact that it never physically looks like the latter three terms. In fact, you never really know what can be in meth — there is the pseudoephedrine that is always present but it can contain random household chemicals (i.e. drain cleaner, battery acid, lye, lantern fuel, and antifreeze), dirt, and even animal feces.
The Mental & Physical Effects
Meth can be smoked, snorted, injected, and taken as a pill. Teens tend to gravitate towards meth because it can provide what they believe to be are benefits such as feelings of control or relief, higher energy levels and performance (at first), and a weight loss aid.
The serious health concerns are heart problems, brain damage, vital liver, kidney, and other organ damage. Damage to the teeth and gums, called “meth mouth,” users lose their teeth, suffer from oral disease, and decay. The reason people take it for weight loss is because amphetamines curb appetite, meth users are typically very thin, malnourished, and have nasty skin lesions on their face and arms.
Midwest Tops Meth Stats
It’s a highly prevalent drug in the Midwest area because there are so many rural areas right by cities providing the privacy for manufacturing it yourself, all you need is one of the thousands of online recipes and some Sudafed. in 2013, Missouri topped the charts for meth lab-related incidents every year at 1,825. Missouri was is only the third top now, but it is still a booming problem, especially in the Ozarks.
Montana Meth Project has some very graphic but accurate ads portraying the effects of meth addiction. If you are a parent or teacher who is worried, these ads might be a great resource to help your teens.
IF YOU SUSPECT YOUR TEEN OF EXPERIMENTING WITH DRUGS OR ALCOHOL, WE PROVIDE ACCURATE AND CONFIDENTIAL DRUG TESTING. CALL (816) 800-9699 OR CONTACT TEST SMARTLY LABS TODAY. YOU CAN MAKE AN APPOINTMENT AT ANY OF OUR 4 KANSAS CITY AREA LOCATIONS.
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