There are many myths and/or justification for taking all mind-altering substances and the use of methamphetamine, (meth, crank, crystal, speed, etc.) certainly has its share.

Probably the most detrimental myth about his drug is the idea that it is not addictive. Users of this drug will equate it to a potent caffeine-type substance, and in some ways they are correct. Methamphetamine and caffeine are both stimulants, but that is were the similarities end. A drug can be addictive at the psychological or physical level or both. However, all psychologically addictive drugs have a physical addictive component as well. The level of addiction is directly related to the amount of discomfort one experiences during abstinence from the drug. Everyone is familiar with the headaches that one can get when they have been drinking coffee on a regular/daily basis and then they abruptly stop.

The body gets accustomed to having coffee as an external stimulus and when that is removed, there is an adjustment that happens physiologically that causes stress. However, when a person uses methamphetamine on a regular/daily basis and stops, you find dramatic effects on the body. It isn't uncommon for a person to sleep for over 48 hours after being on a "meth" run. The over-stimulated glands, especially the adrenals, will under-produce until they can re-establish normal activity again, and in the absence of these hormones, a person is barely able to keep bodily functions alive, so it becomes necessary for a person to sleep for long periods of time while normal equilibrium is being renewed.

Whenever the body is under extreme stress, the person's emotions become unstable. In the case of the cessation of methamphetamine, one experience mild to severe depression, leading to suicidal thoughts. Knowing that one can stop these uncomfortable feelings by the use of more "speed" is the simplicity of this psychological addiction and the reason that most people will need professional care to progress without problems through this recovery.

Kent McGregor,
ACSW, LADC

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