Methamphetamine: A Growing Epidemic

Methamphetamine, a thrill drug, known at the best addiction treatment center in Islamabad on the street as "speed," "meth," "chalk" or, in crystal form, "ice," "glass," and "tina," has become the low-cost drug of choice in many communities, supplanting even crack cocaine and heroin for cheap thrills. It breaks down the Definition of Alcoholism; it is easy to make, broiled in saucepots and cookers, from readily available items. All one needs is the reckless will to do it, and presto. Why would a person take the risk? According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the user "experiences an intense sensation, called a 'rush' or 'flash,' that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable." The downsides to this sharp spike in mood are long bouts of wakefulness, frantic behaviour, restlessness, decreased appetite, hypothermia, and insomnia. There are other effects: users may experience confusion, anxiety, paranoia, tremors, and even seizures. Methamphetamine also increases heart rate and can cause high blood pressure. Use of the drug can also damage brain cells, potentially causing strokes. Often damage to the brain is not immediately detectable, only manifesting months later.

Meth causes damage to the brain similar to that caused by Alzheimer's or epilepsy. The long and the short of it is – one way or another, Meth hastens death. With such information, one would imagine people staying away from the drug in droves. Still, recent studies showed upwards of 6 percent of all high school seniors had tried Meth at least once, with upwards of 5 percent of juniors attempting the drug. The drug seems to be particularly popular in the American Southwest. In Phonenix, over 40 percent of arrestees tested positive for Meth. In Los Angeles, over 28 percent tested positive. It has also caught on in the urban gay scene, doing the work that used to be done by amyl nitrate "poppers,"; except people are doing it in injectable form, putting themselves at increased risk for HIV and a host of other blood-borne pathogens.

The production of Meth is itself a dangerous habit. People are often burned, even blinded, when the household materials they use to cook Meth, such as ammonium chloride, explode. Because it is cheap and made with available household items, users desperate for the drug will often try to concoct it themselves. This is only one of many tertiary horrors associated with the drug.

Once, outlaw motorcycle gangs controlled the production and trafficking of methamphetamine in America. Nowadays, Mexico-based operators dominate the current market. They are aided by the accessibility of the chemicals needed to cook Meth and their access to elaborate smuggling routes and clandestine border town drug rings. They also run several "super labs," which can produce Meth in enormous quantities over a short period. Keeping up with the rapid production of Meth by these groups south of the border has become virtually impossible. However, DEA agents are getting more vigilant, and initiatives are now in place to stop the smuggling rings, which had gone unrecognized for years as more attention was directed to traditional drug sources, such as biker gangs.

Authorities have woken up in recent years to the steep climb in Meth production and use. The institution of Meth as a "party drug" is particularly alarming to drug enforcement agents across the county. First-time users have no real idea how the drug will affect them, making the casual use and ease of availability even more frightening.

In ten years, from 1994 to 2004, the number of people admitting themselves to treatment programs for methamphetamine addiction increased from 33,443 in 1994 to the astronomical figure of 129,079 in 2004. This is both alarming and encouraging, for people – including the users themselves –are waking up to the need for treatment.

September 2006 was National Recovery Month. Although that attention is welcome, Sunset Malibu would like every month to be National Recovery Month. We encourage individuals experiencing the torment of Methamphetamine addiction to seek treatment in our luxurious and beautiful facility overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Contrary to popular opinion, there are long-term effects to the short term use of any drug. Meth is particularly potent, even more so in liquid form, and it is now more important than ever to address your drug use. We are a private facility; you need not be ashamed to walk through our doors. We respect confidentiality. Meth use, as crack did in the '80s, has a particular stigma nowadays, and we fully understand the embarrassment people often feel at the thought of their addiction to the drug. At Sunset Malibu, we know Meth use cuts across all race and class lines. We encourage you to enter our facility and make a positive change in your life.