Methamphetamine Addiction
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The number of persons who used methamphetamine for the first time in the prior 12 months did not differ significantly between 2002 (299,000 persons) and 2004 (318,000 persons) but did decrease significantly between 2004 and 2005. In 2004, an estimated 318,000 persons aged 12 or older first tried methamphetamine in the year prior to the survey compared with 192,000 persons in 2005.

Combined data from the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2002 to 2005 were used to examine demographic differences in methamphetamine use. Persons in large metropolitan areas (0.5%) were less likely to have used methamphetamine in the past year than those in small metropolitan areas (0.7%) and in non-metropolitan areas (0.8%).

Higher rates of past year methamphetamine use were found in the West (1.2%) than in the Midwest (0.5%), South (0.5%) and Northeast (0.1%) for the total population aged 12 or older.

With more states passing laws restricting the sale of over-the-counter drugs containing pseudophedrine and other ephedrine-based products (used to make methamphetamine), there has been an increase in the availability of crystal meth, also known as "ice."

 

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What is Amphetamine Addiction?

Viewed in some circles as the less-threatening "little brother" of the dangerous and highly addictive crystal meth, amphetamine remains a significant threat to the adolescents and adults who use the drug in misguided attempts to fight off fatigue, enhance concentration, or gain a competitive edge in an athletic event.

Viewed in some circles as the less-threatening "little brother" of the dangerous and highly addictive crystal meth, amphetamine remains a significant threat to the adolescents and adults who use the drug in misguided attempts to fight off fatigue, enhance concentration, or gain a competitive edge in an athletic event.

ABOUT AMPHETAMINE
Commonly referred to as "speed," amphetamine is the primary active ingredient in medications designed to deal with a wide range of conditions, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, narcolepsy, traumatic brain injury, and overweight.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, amphetamine intoxication can lead to increased heart rate, blood pressure, and metabolism; feelings of exhilaration and energy; heightened alertness; and reduced appetite. Health consequences of amphetamine abuse and withdrawal, NIDA reports, can include irritability, anxiety, and restlessness; delirium and psychosis; the loss of coordination; panic and paranoia; and heart failure.

On June 23, 2008, the Reuters news service reported that a three-year review of more than three million hospitalized adults in Texas discovered that amphetamine abusers ages 18 to 44 were 61 percent more likely to be treated for a heart attack than were non-users in the same age group.

In the United States, amphetamine is classified as a Schedule II stimulant, meaning that the U.S. government has determined that although the drug has legitimate medical uses, its high potential for abuse - and the likelihood that its use may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence - demands that its possession and distribution be subject to federal regulation.

A HISTORY OF USE & ABUSE
The history of amphetamine abuse involves a cast of characters that would make any film noir scriptwriter proud. Nazi soldiers ingested mass quantities of the drug during the dark days of World War II; Jack Kerouac is alleged to have written his classic novel On The Road while high on amphetamine-rich Benzedrine; Malcolm X recalled his use of the drug in his autobiography; and even the great fictional spy James Bond took it on at least two occasions, in the novels Moonraker and Live and Let Die.

First synthesized by German chemists in the late 1880s, amphetamine remained relatively ignored for more than 40 years, until the company Smith, Kline, and French began marketing Benzedrine as a decongestant in the early 1930s.

During World War II, both Axis and Allied troops used Benzedrine to ward off fatigue and keep themselves alert. In "Hitler's Drugged Soldiers," an article that appeared in the May 6, 2005 edition of the German magazine Der Spiegel, writer Andreas Ulrich reported German soldiers' widespread use of Pervitin, an amphetamine-based drug.

"The Nazis preached abstinence in the name of promoting national health," Ulrich wrote. "But when it came to fighting their Blitzkrieg, they had no qualms about pumping their soldiers full of drugs and alcohol. Speed was the drug of choice ..."

Long before the United States entered the war, German leaders were issuing massive quantities of the drug in the name of alertness and morale, Ulrich reported:

During the short period between April and July of 1940, more than 35 million tablets of Pervitin and Isophan (a slightly modified version produced by the Knoll pharmaceutical company) were shipped to the German army and air force.

Some of the tablets, each containing three milligrams of active substance, were sent to the Wehrmacht's medical divisions under the code name OBM, and then distributed directly to the troops. A rush order could even be placed by telephone if a shipment was urgently needed.

Reporting on a recent resurgence of Pervitin abuse in the Czech Republic, Prague Post staff writer Markéta Hulpachová noted that the drug can have devastating effects. In the Nov. 28, 2007 edition of the paper, Hulpachová reported that Pervitin use "can cause long-term psychological damage, leading to certain types of psychosis."

After the war, amphetamine became one of the drugs of choice of many of the writers and poets who comprised the Beat Generation. As the online reference site Wikipedia reports, "Benzedrine at that time was available in the form of plastic inhalers, containing a piece of folded paper soaked in the drug. They would typically crack open the inhalers and drop the paper in coffee, or just wad it up and swallow it whole."

A CONTINUING THREAT
Benzedrine was available over the counter until 1959, when concerns over its abuse prompted the FDA to reclassify it as a prescription-only medication. Long after the removal of Benzedrine from drug store shelves, though, amphetamine continued to be used recreationally. It also served as an appetite suppressant, as well as an "upper" to help truck drivers on long hauls and college students cramming for exams. Restrictive laws implemented in the 1970s made the drug harder to acquire, and the spotlight shifted onto substances such as cocaine, Ecstasy, and crystal meth.

A high-profile reminder of the dangers of amphetamine abuse occurred in 2002, when media reports of a "friendly fire" incident in which American planes mistakenly bombed Canadian forces in Afghanistan noted that U.S. Air Force pilots routinely took dextroamphetamine-laced "go pills" before heading out on long missions.

In an Aug. 1, 2002 article, Toronto Star reporter William Walker wrote that Air Force pilots "are allowed to 'self-regulate' the amounts of Dexedrine they take. They carry the pills in the single-person cockpit of their F-16s and take them as they wish." Walker also reported that pilots who can't sleep after missions are often given Ambien or Restoril.

Among those who took issue with this practice was Dr. Joyce A. Walsleben, director of the Sleep Disorder Centre at the New York University School of Medicine, who warned against giving wartime pilots a drug that can cause hallucinations and delusions.

"Dexedrine also leads a person to build a tolerance level for the drug and ... addictive tendencies among those who continue to use it regularly," Walsleben told Walker. "The threat of abuse and addiction is definitely higher with Dexedrine."

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Methamphetamine abuse, long reported as the dominant drug problem in the San Diego, CA area, has become a substantial drug problem in other sections of the West and Southwest, as well. There are indications that it is spreading to other areas of the country, including both rural and urban sections of the South and Midwest. Methamphetamine, traditionally associated with white, male, blue-collar workers, is being used by more diverse population groups that change over time and differ by geographic area.

According to the 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, an estimated 4.9 million people (2.3 percent of the population) have tried methamphetamine at some time in their lives. In 1994, the estimate was 3.8 million (1.8 percent), and in 1995 it was 4.7 million (2.2 percent).

Data from the 1996 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), which collects information on drug-related episodes from hospital emergency departments in 21 metropolitan areas, reported that methamphetamine-related episodes decreased by 39 percent between 1994 and 1996, after a 237 percent increase between 1990 and 1994. There was a statistically significant decrease in methamphetamine-related episodes between 1995 (16,200) and 1996 (10,800). However, there was a significant increase of 71 percent between the first half of 1996 and the second half of 1996 (from 4,000 to 6,800).

NIDA's Community Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG), an early warning network of researchers that provides information about the nature and patterns of drug use in major cities, reported in its June 1997 publication that methamphetamine continues to be a problem in Hawaii and in major Western cities, such as San Francisco, Denver, and Los Angeles. Increased methamphetamine availability and production are being reported in diverse areas of the country, particularly rural areas, prompting concern about more widespread use.

Methamphetamine and amphetamine use is on the rise

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Drug Addiction - The Hard Truths
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Those who struggle with drug addiction don't set out to destroy themselves and everyone and everything in their path--rather, these disastrous consequences are the effect of the vicious cycle of addiction. For many, drugs seem to be a means of averting emotional and/or physical pain by providing the user with a temporary and illusionary escape from or way to cope with life's realities. In fact, more problems--often life-shattering ones--are created by using drugs.

 

Addiction is more than an uncontrollable desire for substances; it is an underlying behavior pattern with deeply emotional roots. Successful treatment requires digging down and revealing the long-ingrained pattern at the root level. What's often revealed is behavior born of anger, helplessness, and shame, compounded by intense desires for immediate escape from these unsettling feelings.

Have you begun to worry about how much you-or someone close to you-is drinking or drugging? Excessive drinking or drugging can harm your health and your well being. But how much drinking or drugging is too much? And how can you tell when it's become a problem that needs to be addressed?

"Raves" or all-night dance parties continue to attract teens and young adults who may think Ecstasy, GHB, Rohypnol, and other club drugs are harmless. While researchers continue to study club drugs with a sense of urgency, treatment and prevention strategies are being developed. The bottom line is simple: even experimenting with club drugs is an unpredictable and dangerous thing to do.

The developmental stages of drug involvement and addiction are not necessarily identical for men and women. The path to drug abuse can be more rapid and complex for women and typically includes a pattern of breakdowns in individual, familial, and environmental protective factors and an increase in childhood fears, anxieties, phobias, and failed relationships.

Results of a recent nationwide survey reveal that, while millions of Americans habitually smoke pot, drink alcohol, use cocaine and swallow prescription drugs, too many who meet the criteria for needing treatment do not recognize that they have a problem. The figure of those "in denial" is estimated at more than 4.6 million--a significantly higher number of individuals who could benefit from professional help than had previously been thought.

Methamphetamine--known by such slang names as speed, meth, chalk, ice, crystal, crank, glass, and uppers--is a highly addictive and ultimately dangerous stimulant. Whatever the excuse to use meth, or whatever the perceived short-term attraction to the drug may be, meth use is predictably physically, emotionally and mentally destructive.

A Cognitive-Behavioral approach to treating cocaine addiction attempts to help patients recognize, avoid, and cope. That is, to recognize the situations in which they are most likely to use cocaine, to avoid those situations when appropriate, and to cope more effectively with a range of problems and problematic behaviors associated with substance abuse.

Marijuana has adverse effects on the brain, heart, and lungs--and mounting evidence also suggests a correlation between marijuana use and depression. The question experts on all sides want answered is, which came first? Marijuana use or depression? Do depressed teens smoke pot to relieve their symptoms, or does smoking pot actually cause depression?

Selecting a drug rehab for yourself or someone you care about may be one of the most important decisions you will make in your lifetime. Most of us don't know what to look for in a quality program. Not all drug rehab centers are the same--they differ greatly in program options, staff qualifications, credentials, cost, and effectiveness.

Diversion and abuse of the prescription pain reliever OxyContin has become a major problem. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports that, in the United States, oxycodone products, including OxyContin, are frequently abused pharmaceuticals.

A recent survey of teens conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found that one in four questioned said they had a friend or class mate whom they knew had used Ecstasy, and 17% said they knew more than one user. Often referred to as this decade's version of LSD, Ecstasy is, according to some of its users "the hottest drug going now." It's also one of the deadliest.

A new survey estimates that as many as three-fourths of American adults think they know enough about how drinking affects their blood alcohol levels, while in fact, most don't even know the legal limits in their own state. The Century Council, a group backed by major distillers, is campaigning to better educate the public about those limits and how much you have to drink to exceed them.

Researchers say that drugs may create "extreme" memories by overstimulating the brain's dopamine system. When drugs cause an overabundance of dopamine it may cause the brain to "overlearn," creating a memory of drugs as "good."

The word "cocaine" refers to the drug in both a powder (cocaine) and crystal (crack) form. It is made from the coca plant and causes a short-lived high that is immediately followed by opposite, intense feelings of depression, edginess, and a craving for more of the drug. Using cocaine has dangerous emotional and physical effects that can prove to destructive to all aspects of a person's life--and can even be fatal

According to a new survey released July 18, 2006 by the National Association of Counties (NACo), county law enforcement officials across 44 states reported that methamphetamine remains the number one drug problem in their county.

Call 1-877-212-2070 today to speak with a Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor.

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 Let me tell you a little about what is going on with the addict and why these other programs don't work and what the solution is: in all of our brains there is something called neurotransmitters and what they are is like little roads that goes back and forth.  This is where our dopamine, seratonin and endorphins are produced; it's kind of God's natural reward system. 

When we are eating good; sleeping good; exercising, having sex, anything that we do naturally and normally we feel better, live longer and we're happier.    When a person drinks or does drugs we block off those roads in our brain.  It takes them about 25-35 days to start producing at a normal level again.  This is about the time that a person comes out of a traditional or twelve-step treatment program.   And if this was the only thing going on in our body we could go to treatment anywhere; come out go to meetings, counseling, church, after-care, half-way house whatever and stay clean.  But there is something else going on in your body and it is called Metabolization; what that means is that the drugs and alcohol are termed lypo-philic or fat-bonding so traces of the drugs and alcohol are stored in your body, so lets say that a person honestly tries not to use. 

Sometimes a person can go a few days; sometimes a few weeks; sometimes a few months, but not usually, all it takes is getting stressed out; having an argument with someone, not eating properly, running into a drug buddy at the store, getting a pocket full of money; anything that speeds up the metabolizism and the heart rate and the metabolites get released out into the system and go straight up to the brain and set off a drug or alcohol craving.   

It takes our body 3-5 years to clean up all these metabolites if we could stay totally clean off everything.  And in that period of time a person will have 100's and usually 1000's of cravings.  What we do here at Narconon is address the Biophysical part of the addiction and the mental and emotional issues.  We have a 76% Success Rate; most treatment programs have a 3-7% Success Rate.  The reason ours is so high is because we address the Biophysical 1^st and then the Mental and Emotional 2^nd. What we would do is bring a person in and put them on a strict regimen of vitamins, minerals and amino acids and then they would weigh in and do you vitals, then you will go in and out of a dry heat sauna just like at the health spa, as they go in and out of the sauna a person will drink approx. 2 gallons of water, well 2 gallons of water weighs 16 lbs, at the end of the day they will weigh out and do your vitals again and you will weigh out within a pound of what you weighed in that morning. 

This is how in a 30-45 sometimes 60 day period we will you accomplish what takes 3-5 years and that is to clean up the physical craving for the drugs and alcohol.  But this is only the 1^st part of the treatment then we will address the Mental and Emotional Issues through a set of classes or courses that are called Life-skill Therapy which means that we will teach you how to Control, Confront and Communicate with yourself, your environment and your surroundings.  So once your not physically craving the drugs and alcohol and you have handled the mental and emotional issues then you will be able to control your choices, confront life and communicate, set goals and accomplish them and remain alcohol & drug free.

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Drug Rehab in Houston

Cocaine, particularly crack, represents the principal drug threat to America. Powder cocaine is often abused in Houston raves, nightclubs, and bars. Some area crack users dissolve the drug and then inject it. These users are typically either current or former heroin abusers. Wholesale crack distributors sometimes sell "cookies," crack formed into patties that measure approximately 3" in diameter. Marijuana is the most widely available illicit drug in America. Most of the marijuana found in the city is produced in Mexico, although marijuana produced in Colombia, Jamaica, within the city, and from surrounding states is also available. Methamphetamine poses an increasing threat to Houston, especially in the northern and central areas. It has emerged as the primary drug threat in parts of northern Houston. Club Drugs - MDMA, LSD, ketamine, and GHB pose an increasing threat to Houston. Middle class suburban teenagers and young adults typically abuse club drugs. Diverted Pharmaceuticals - During 2002, OxyContin was the most frequently abused diverted pharmaceutical in Houston. Hydrocodone, hydromorphone, and benzodiazepines are also diverted in Houston, but to a lesser extent. The Solution Drug rehab that addresses the individual through a biophysical approach is the most successful method. Our philosophy is to refer you to the best possible drug rehab center that will terminatively handle the problem. We will refer you to drug rehab centers that don't use drugs in any way.

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I have changed my life    

Marty J. On Sunday September 23 2007, after being up for 48 hours, parting on Methamphetamine, pain pills, and a lot of alcohol, I went into a bar in my home town that I hadn't been in, in 25 years. After sitting down at the bar I realized that the same people were sitting there that were sitting there 25 years ago when I originally walked in. It hit me that I really needed to do something with my life.

 

My parents had tried to get me to go to rehab for the past 15 years. I went home that Sunday night, called my parents and said, "I need to get help I want to go to rehab." Monday I went to lunch with my 4 sisters and my mother and the next thing I knew I was on the phone with Dena Boman at Treatment Solutions. I arrived at treatment on September 27th 2007.

I have always had a dream of becoming a sober person. Thanks to the answers that I found at the rehab she suggested have changerd my life and I have been given the ability to be that person. 

Vicky and a friend of ours had heard how well I was doing on my program from my mother back home in Indiana and she contacted me. I talked to her about the program and about how much I liked it here. She decided to come to address her addiction issues with pain medications. Soon after Vicky arrived, our friend Danny called. He too was battling addiction and wished that he could get help too, he literally felt that he was dying. I was addicted to alcohol and cocaine.

I told three friends about the answers I had found, they are all getting help now too.  WOW...   We are living proof that no matter what your addiction whether it is Methamphetamine, pain killers, or alcohol, this program can help. 

It feels good to know that I have changed my life and that this change has affected two other lives forever. Now I know that I can return home and my two friends will be there with me, alive and sober. The beautiful thing is that we all learned the same techniques so we will be able to help each other in our day to day lives to apply this new found data. 

We are sober and we are together, now THAT is a success!

 

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Meth Addiction

Methamphetimine Addiction has become one of the worst Addictions across America today, it is commonly known as meth, crank, glass, ice..... 

Meth addiction is a problem that has spread to all areas of the United States. During 1999 4.3% (9.4 million people) of the U.S. population reported trying meth at least once in their lifetime. The highest rate of meth use was among adults ages 18-25. Although meth use is an epidemic across the United States, nowhere is it a bigger problem that in the Midwest. Meth accounts for nearly 90% of all drug cases in the Midwest, and is most prevalent in Oklahoma. Meth is surpassing cocaine as the drug of choice in Oklahoma. The state medical examiner's office reports the number of death cases testing positive for meth have been higher than cocaine for the past three years. The office also reports meth is found in more and more cases of homicides, and motor vehicle accidents.

Meth is a stimulant that imitates the way the chemicals in the brain manufacture and transmit messages of gratification to the brain's pleasure center. An individual can become dependent on meth almost immediately after their first time using the drug. Researchers believe that this is because meth is able to produce a manufactured sense of pleasure due to the way it interacts with the user's brain. Similar to the body's natural hormone adrenaline, meth raises heart rates, blood pressures, and breathing rates. Due to the body's physical as well as physiological reactions to meth the brain begins to expect the immediate gratification that it has become accustomed to. Because the use of meth produces this sense of instant gratification it becomes harder for life's normal rewards to create the same sense of pleasure.

Over time, the individual places more trust in meth's effects while other areas of daily life seem diminished and unimportant. Initially this takes place on a physical level then on a psychological level. One the physical level of dependence the individual continually strives to achieve the initial "rush" they felt the first time they used meth. This is not possible though; due to meth's ability to suppress and deplete the brain's production of normal chemical messages that create pleasurable feelings. Continual meth use changes the brain. It is forced to adapt to the presence of meth and lowers the production of other normal chemical messengers.
Psychological meth addiction is due to its tight hold on the individual's pleasure center. Meth begins to rule over the individual's life, demanding attention at all times. This in turn leads them to resent circumstances when they are unable to use meth, such as with non-using friends, work, school, and family. As this resentment builds the individual will push others away who no longer "fit" into their desired lifestyle.

No one wants to be a meth addict, but this doesn't stop people from getting addicted. The most commonly asked question is simply - how? How could my son, daughter, father, sister, or brother become a liar, a thief, someone who cannot be trusted? How could this happen? And why won't they stop? To understand an individual's fixation on meth you first must understand why a person uses. Most people use meth to change how they feel because they want to feel better or different. They use meth for the perceived benefits, or the benefits experienced, not for the potential harm. People use meth to have fun, to be part of a group, out of curiosity, and to escape from physical and/or psychological pain.

There are numerous reasons why an individual would begin using meth. One common thread throughout all the reasons is that using meth produces pleasurable effects which the individual likes. The individual knows that each time they use they will feel good ("high"), so they seek out this feeling. At first, using meth is about the pleasure obtained through taking it. As time goes on though, the individual begins to feel they need to take meth to feel normal. The individuals fall into meth addiction is unintentional and usually unforeseen by them.

Individuals who struggle with a tendency to use meth do not set out to destroy themselves, everyone and everything in their path. These disastrous consequences are the effect of the vicious cycle of a meth habit. For many, meth use seems to be a means of averting emotional and/or physical pain by providing the user with a temporary escape from life's sometimes uncomfortable realities. Example, a person tries meth. The drug APPEARS to solve their problems. They feel better. Because they now SEEM better able to deal with life, meth becomes valuable to them. The person looks at meth as a cure for unwanted feelings. The painkilling effects of meth become a solution to their discomfort. This release is the main reason a person uses meth a second or third time. It is just a matter of time before they becomes fully addicted and loses the ability to control their meth use. Meth addiction, then, results from excessive or continued use of the drug in an attempt to resolve the underlying symptoms of discomfort or unhappiness.

Over time, a person's ability to choose not to take meth can become compromised--soon enough the person rationalizes the need to use consistently and will do anything to get high. They are now caught in the vicious cycle of using to alleviate pain and creating more pain by using. They now display the physiological symptoms of a fixation with meth. They become difficult to communicate with, are withdrawn, and begin to exhibit other strange behaviors associated with a meth habit.

In addition to the mental stress created by their unethical behavior, the addict's body has also adapted to the presence of the drug. They will experience an overwhelming obsession with getting and using meth. This is when the newly-created addict begins to experience meth cravings. Ironically, the addict's ability to get "high" from meth gradually decreases as his body adapts to the presence of foreign chemicals. They must take more and more meth, not just to get an effect but often just to function at all.
At this point, the addict is stuck in the vicious dwindling spiral of meth addiction. Meth use has changed them both physically and mentally. They have crossed an invisible and intangible line.

The compulsion to use meth can take over the individual's life. An individual's gravitation to meth often involves not only compulsive drug taking but also a wide range of dysfunctional behaviors that can interfere with normal functioning in the family, the workplace, and the broader community. Meth addiction can place users at an increased risk for a wide variety of other illnesses. These illnesses can be brought on by behaviors, such as poor living and health habits, that often accompany life as a meth addict, or because of toxic effects of the drug.

 

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