Crystal Meth
Also Known As: shard, chalk, crank, crypto, croak, tweek, glass, meth, white cross.
What You Should Know
Crystal meth usually comes in slightly transparent crystals, beige, white, or pink powder, or brownish granules. It's sold in paper flaps, plastic baggies, tablets or capsules. Users start getting high usually within 3-5 seconds of smoking crystal meth. The first high may last 8-16 hours.
At first you feel like your life is improving. You feel happy and full of energy and confidence. That's the first lie. Once you buy into that, it's downhill from here because soon you'll need more and more meth to feel anywhere near normal. Of course, you'll be far from normal.
As someone once said, "When you use crystal meth, say goodbye to life as you know it. Crystal meth doesn't just eat away your body, it takes everything you were, are and could be — and it trashes it. Whether you smoke it, snort it, inject it, or eat it, the effect is the same."
What's the Problem?
- Using crystal meth just once is all it takes to get addicted. No one is immune.
- According to the TV show The Fifth Estate, Canada's crystal meth problem is worst in BC. Deaths here related to methamphetamine have risen from 3 in 2000 to 33 in 2004. Most of those deaths have been drug overdoses or car accidents in which the driver was high on meth.
- Keep using and you'll soon lose interest in normal activities like eating, drinking, sex, and sleeping. Most users eventually become severely depressed and unable to experience normal feelings of happiness and contentment, even long after they stop using.
- Suicidal behaviour is common.
- Plan on getting skin rashes and bloody scabs and sores from scratching and itching, often because of hallucinations of bugs on the skin. You'll probably experience nosebleeds, bloody scabs and sores, rapid weight loss, slurred speech, rotten teeth and acne.
- Users on binges may stay awake for up to 2 weeks at a time, with a heavy toll on the body.
- The more you use, the more you can expect to experience jitteriness, shakiness, blurred vision, sweating, twitching (especially in the face, jaw, and neck areas), dizziness, hyper-alertness, confusion, rapid speech and even convulsions.
- Crystal meth users display compulsive, paranoia, repetitive behaviour (like overzealous cleaning or self-grooming, tooth grinding).
- Meth use can actually cause structural changes in your brain. You may hear imaginary voices telling you to hurt others, or fly into out-of-control rages.
- You'll dramatically increase your risk of HIV infection through unsafe sex and needle sharing.
- Delusions, hallucinations, seizures, stroke, brain toxicity, kidney, liver, lung and heart failure, coma and death are very likely outcomes.
