By Bill Grubb
News Editor

ROGERSVILLE - Methamphetamine comes in many forms and can be smoked, snorted, injected or orally ingested, but experts agree no matter what form the drug takes it is a potential killer.
    "The people who are addicted to this drug are killing themselves but they reach the point where they really just don't care.  What they care about is meth and they will do just about anything to get it," said Tommy Farmer, director of Tennessee's Methamphetamine Task Force.    
    The preferred method of methamphetamine abuse varies by geographical region and has changed over time. Smoking methamphetamine, which leads to very fast uptake of the drug in the brain, has become more common in recent years, amplifying methamphetamine's addiction potential and adverse health consequences.
    According to health experts, the drug also alters mood in different ways, depending on how it is taken. Immediately after smoking the drug or injecting it intravenously, the user experiences an intense rush or "flash' that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Snorting or oral ingestion produces euphoria - a high but not an intense rush. Snorting produces effects within three to five minutes, and oral ingestion produces effects within 15 to 20 minutes.
    As with similar stimulants, methamphetamine most often is used in a "binge and crash" pattern. Because the pleasurable effects of methamphetamine disappear even before the drug concentration in the blood falls significantly - users try to maintain the high by taking more of the drug. In some cases, abusers indulge in a form of binging known as a "run," foregoing food and sleep while continuing abuse for up to several days.

Signs & Symptoms
There are certain signs associated with meth use that can be noticeable from the first time someone tries the drug. Not every user will display every one of these symptoms; other illicit drugs may also cause similar signs.
    Signs of early meth use include:
    •    Euphoric "high" state (excessively happy)
    •    Decreased appetite
    •    Increased physical activity
    •    Anxiety, shaking hands, nervousness
    •    Incessant talking
    •    Rapid eye movement
    •    Increased body temperature (can rise as high as 108 degrees and cause death)
    •    Dilated pupils
    •    Sweating not related to physical activity
If you suspect someone might be using meth, symptoms can include:
    •    Paranoia
    •    Sleeplessness and severe depression
    •    Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
    •    Extreme irritability and anxiety
    •    Seizures
    •    Teeth grinding, bad teeth, and body odor
    •    Skin ulceration and infections, the result of picking at the skin or imaginary bugs
    •    Auditory and visual hallucinations
    •    Violent and erratic behavior
    •    Nervousness
    •    Anhedonia - loss of pleasure
    •    Dryness of mucous membranes
    •    Burnt or blistered lips and/or fingertips from holding hot "Ice Pipes"

    With sustained use, a meth user can develop a tolerance to it.  The user may take increasingly higher doses of meth trying to catch that high they first experienced.  A user may take it more frequently or may go on binges or change the way she takes meth.  For example a user may have started by taking a pill, but as she develops a tolerance she may begin injecting it.  Addiction is likely.
    In the long term, a person using meth may experience irritability, fatigue, headaches, anxiety, sleeplessness, confusion, aggressive feelings, violent rages, cravings for more meth, and depression.  They may become psychotic and experience paranoia, auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances, and delusions.  The paranoia may lead to homicidal or suicidal thoughts.
    A fairly common hallucination experienced by meth users is the so-called "crank bug."  The user gets the sensation that there are insects creeping on top of, or underneath, her skin.  The user will pick at or scratch her skin trying to get rid of the imaginary bugs.  This scratching can create open sores that may become infected.Recognizing early signs and symptoms of meth use is a first step in early intervention.  
    "Part of the problem we have at the state level is we lock people up but now we don't have the resources or programs to help them with the addiction.  When they get out they may be right back where they were.  The addiction is that strong,"  Farmer explained.

For additional information see:

www.methresources.gov

www.methfreetn.org