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Meth Information
methamphetamine
addiction
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Abuse
patterns
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Methamphetamine abuse has three patterns: low intensity, binge, and high
intensity.
Low-intensity abuse describes a user who is not psychologically
addicted to the drug but uses methamphetamine on a casual basis by swallowing
or snorting it. Binge and high-intensity abusers are psychologically addicted
and prefer to smoke or inject methamphetamine to achieve a faster and stronger
high. Binge abusers use methamphetamine more than low-intensity abusers but
less than high-intensity abusers. |
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Low-Intensity
methamphetamine abuse
Low-intensity abusers swallow or snort methamphetamine, using it the
same way many people use caffeine or nicotine. Low-intensity abusers want the
extra stimulation the methamphetamine provides so that they can stay awake long
enough to finish a task or a job, or they want the appetite suppressant effect
to lose weight. These people frequently hold jobs, raise families, and
otherwise function normally. They may include people such as truck drivers
trying to reach their destination, workers trying to stay awake until the end
of their normal shift or an overtime shift, and housewives trying to keep a
clean house as well as be a perfect mother and wife.
Even
though a law enforcement officer is not likely to encounter low-intensity
abusers, these individuals are one step away from becoming binge abusers. They
already know the stimulating effect that methamphetamine provides them by
swallowing or snorting the drug, but they have not experienced the euphoric
rush associated with smoking or injecting it and have not encountered clearly
defined stages of abuse. However, simple switching to smoking or injecting
methamphetamine offers the abusers a quick transition to a binge pattern of
abuse.
Binge
methamphetamine abuse
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Binge
abusers smoke or inject methamphetamine and experience euphoric rushes that are
psychologically addictive.
Rush
- The rush is the initial response the abuser feels when smoking or
injecting methamphetamine and is the aspect of the drug that low-intensity
abusers do not experience when snorting or swallowing the drug. During the
rush, the abuser's heartbeat races and metabolism, blood pressure, and pulse
soar. Meanwhile, the abuser can experience feelings equivalent to ten orgasms.
Unlike the rush associated with crack cocaine, which lasts for approximately 2
- 5 minutes, the methamphetamine rush can continue for 5-30
minutes.
The
reason for the methamphetamine rush is that the drug, when smoked or injected,
triggers the adrenal gland to release a hormone called epinephrine
(adrenaline), which puts the body in a battle mode, fight or flight. In
addition, the physical sensation that the rush gives the abuser most likely
results from the explosive release of dopamine in the pleasure center of the
brain.
High - The rush is followed by the high,
sometimes called the shoulder. During the high, the abuser often feels
aggressively smarter and becomes argumentative, often interrupting other people
and finishing their sentences. The high can last 4-16
hours.
Binge - The binge is the continuation of the
high. The abuser maintains the high by smoking or injecting more
methamphetamine. Each time the abuser smokes or injects more of the drug, a
smaller euphoric rush than the initial rush is experienced until, finally,
there is no rush and no high. During the binge, the abuser becomes hyperactive
both mentally and physically. The binge can last 3-15 days.
Tweaking - Tweaking occurs at the end of the binge when
nothing the abuser does will take away the feeling of emptiness and dysphoria,
including taking more methamphetamine. Tweaking is very uncomfortable, and the
abuser often takes a depressant to ease the bad feelings. The most popular
depressant is alcohol, with heroin a close second.
Tweaking
is the most dangerous stage of the methamphetamine abuse cycle to law
enforcement officers and other individuals near the abuser. If the abuser is
using alcohol to ease the discomfort, the threat to law enforcement officers
intensifies. During this stage, law enforcement officers must clearly identify
the underlying dangers of the situation and avoid the assumption that the
tweaker is just a cocky drunk.
Crash
- To a binge abuser, the crash means an incredible amount of sleep. The
body's epinephrine has been depleted, and the body uses the crash to replenish
its supply. Even the meanest, most violent abuser becomes almost lifeless
during the crash and poses a threat to no one. The crash can last 1-3
days.
Normal - After the crash, the abuser returns
to normal -- a state that is slightly deteriorated from the normal state before
he used methamphetamine. This stage ordinarily lasts between 2 and 14 days.
However, as the frequency of binging increases, the duration of the normal
stage decreases.
Withdrawal - No acute, immediate symptoms of physical distress
are evident with methamphetamine withdrawal, a stage that the abuser may slowly
enter. Often 30-90 days must pass after the last drug use before the abuser
realizes that he is in withdrawal. First, without really noticing, the
individual becomes depressed and loses the ability to experience pleasure. The
individual becomes lethargic; he has no energy. Then the craving for more
methamphetamine hits, and the abuser often becomes suicidal. If the abuser,
however, takes more methamphetamine at any point during the withdrawal, the
unpleasant feelings will end. Consequently, the success rate for traditional
methamphetamine rehabilitation is very low. Ninety-three percent of those in
traditional treatment return to abuse methamphetamine. |
High-Intensity
methamphetamine abuse
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The
high-intensity abusers are the addicts, often called speed freaks. Their whole
existence focuses on preventing the crash, and they seek that elusive, perfect
rush--the rush they had when they first started smoking or injecting
methamphetamine.
With
high-intensity abuser, each successive rush becomes less euphoric, and it takes
more methamphetamine to achieve it. Each high is not quite as high as the one
before. During each subsequent binge, the abuser needs more methamphetamine,
more often, to get a high that is not as good as the high he wants or
remembers.
Tweaking for the high-intensity abuser is still the
most dangerous time to confront him because tweakers are extremely
unpredictable and short-tempered. The crash is often spoken of in terms of "I
never sleep," or "I sleep with one eye open." In an attempt to appear normal,
perhaps because of an appointment with a doctor, lawyer, or court official,
high-intensity abusers will make themselves take short naps; otherwise, they
see no need to come down from the high. |
Dangerous
tweakers
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A
methamphetamine abuser is most dangerous when tweaking. The fact that a law
enforcement officer is confronting the tweaker makes him more dangerous, not
just to the officer on the scene but also to anyone nearby. When tweaking, the
abuser has probably not slept in 3-15 days and consequently will be extremely
irritable. The tweaker craves more methamphetamine, but no dosage will help
re-create the euphoric high. The result is a strong feeling of uncontrollable
frustration that makes the tweaker unpredictable and
dangerous.
If the law enforcement officer on the scene is
unfamiliar with the physical signs of a tweaker, the abuser can appear normal.
In fact, unlike a person intoxicated on alcohol with glassy eyes, slurred
speech, and difficulty even standing up, a tweaker appears super-exaggerated
normal. The tweaker's eyes are clear, his speech concise, and his movements
brisk. With a closer look at the tweaker, law enforcement officers will notice
that his eyes are moving about ten times faster than normal and may roll. He is
talking in a quick, often steady voice with a slight quiver to it, and his
movements are quick and jerky. The individual's movements are often exaggerated
because he is overstimulated, and his thinking is scattered and subject to
paranoid delusions.
The
tweaker does not need provocation to react violently; however, confrontation
increases the chance for a violent reaction. Law enforcement officers should
consider the potential for violence when determining that a suspect is
tweaking. For example, case histories indicate that tweakers react negatively
to the sight of a police uniform. Confrontation between the tweaker and law
enforcement often results in a verbal or physical assault on the
officer.
Besides
confrontation, nobody knows for certain what will trigger a tweaker to be
irrational and violent. A tweaker exists in his own world, seeing and hearing
things that no one else can perceive. His hallucinations are so vivid that they
seem real. What law enforcement officers say and do enter into the abuser's
altered reality, and if his paranoia is triggered, law enforcement appears to
be a threat to the tweaker's life.
It is
during tweaking that hostage situations can easily occur. If the abuser feels
cornered, with no means of escape, the tweaker is likely to take a hostage,
often an associate, a relative, or a police officer. In extreme cases, the
tweaker may physically assault the hostage.
If the
tweaker has chosen to ease his discomfort with alcohol, he becomes a
disinhibited tweaker, making reasoning with him or even identifying him as a
tweaker more difficult. Physical signs of a tweaker become blurred to an
observer when the tweaker is using alcohol. Motor and speech functions, for
example, become impaired, but not to the degree of a person using only alcohol.
The rapid eye movement and the quick speech of a tweaker might actually slow to
an apparently normal speed. However, a tweaker using alcohol can be identified
in two ways:
1. First, individuals who can get close enough to see
the tweaker's eyes should look for a horizontal-gaze nistagmus. This phenomenon
occurs when the methamphetamine abuser, who is also using alcohol, looks out of
the corner of his eyes, and the eyes jerk back and forth.
2.
Second, if communication lines are open with the tweaker, ask the tweaker if he
is using methamphetamine and then inquire if he is also drinking
alcohol.
If a
strong smell of alcohol is present, but no signs of drunkenness exist, one
should err on the side of caution and approach the person as a tweaker using
alcohol rather than assume the person is harmless. Because tweakers using
alcohol are ordinarily not concerned with the consequences of their actions, a
situation can quickly lead to violence. |
Are there any
other problems that can occur from methamphetamine
addiction?
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Regarding domestic disputes, cities across the United States report
increased percentages of domestic violence incidents associated with
methamphetamine use. Domestic disputes, ordinarily regarded as dangerous
situations for law enforcement, become intensified when a tweaker is involved
because of that individual's unpredictability.
Many
motor vehicle violations and accidents may also involve tweakers. Paranoid and
hallucinating, tweakers may decide to travel in their automobiles. Their
delusional state makes moving shapes and shadows appear threatening, and they
are very likely to increase their speed and exhibit erratic driving patterns as
they attempt to evade the images. An additional threat to society and
themselves may stem from tweakers tendency to arm themselves for their
personal safety. Interviews with methamphetamine abusers have confirmed that
these individuals often maintain weapons in their automobiles, as well as in
their residences.
Tweakers
may also be present at raves or parties. In addition, to support their habit,
tweakers often participate in spur-of-the-moment crimes, such as purse
snatching, strong-arm robberies, assaults with a weapon, burglaries, and thefts
of motor vehicles.
Methamphetamine is readily available and is spreading rapidly across
the United States. Unlike the abusers in the 1960s and 1970s, today's
methamphetamine abusers cross ethnic and gender boundaries. Methamphetamine is
psychologically addictive during the binge and high-intensity patterns of
abuse, with users becoming paranoid and unpredictable. |
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