Marylou Ambrose - Investigate Methamphetamine

Speed... meth... crank... ice. No matter what you call it, methamphetamine is an extremely addictive drug. What are the physical and mental effects of these drugs? How do you resist peer pressure and help friends stay drug free? Real-life case histories bring this book to life.

It was the feel good drug that helped millions. It treated everyone from overweight women to hyperactive kids to people with depression or breathing problems. It was the choice of artists, writers, soldiers, athletes, and an American president.

Its a form of amphetamine. It gives people energy and makes them feel confident. But the good feelings dont last long. The drugs dark side makes people aggressive and hostile, it causes them to lie and steal, and it damages their bodies and brains. Its also highly addictive, destroys families, and costs society billions of dollars. It was even used by a crazed German leader who wanted to conquer the world. To some, its the worlds most dangerous drugmethamphetamine.

Drugs that speed people up are the most commonly abused drugs worldwide. Theyre also the most addictive. Meth is the strongest in this group, which means it can be the most harmful. There are 26 million meth addicts around the world today. Over a million of them live in the United States. They dont just use meth. They abuse it.

This book will give you the facts about meth. It describes what meth looks like, how it works in your body and brain, and how it can change you physically and mentally. It covers the risk factors, prevention, and treatment of meth abuse, too. Youll also read stories of people whove lived with addiction and had to overcome it.

Nic Sheff had everything going for him. He was smart, funny, got good grades in school, and had lots of friends. He loved movies, reading, writing, drawing, and surfing. Growing up in California with a writer for a dad, he met lots of interesting, even famous, people. His father, David, eventually wrote a bestselling book about Nic called Beautiful Boy.

The book was about Nics addiction to marijuana and then methamphetamine. Nics drug abuse started early. He got drunk for the first time at age eleven, during a family ski trip. His parents believed him when he said he threw up from food poisoning. A year later, David found marijuana in Nics backpack. Nic promised never to try pot again, and his father believed himagain. Or maybe he just wanted to.

In ninth grade, Nic was suspended from school for buying pot outside the cafeteria. Finally, his parents admitted that Nic had a drug problem, but they still made excuses. After all, lots of kids try pot, right? Nic was going to a school counselor, was on the swim team, and was getting good grades. So his parents told themselves that his experiment with pot was over.

It wasnt. Nic later admitted, When I was sixteen, I started smoking pot every day.

Nics drug use escalated after he graduated from high school. That summer, he disappeared for several days. But first, he stole money and wine from his parents. Frantic with worry, they called his friends, the police, and hospital emergency rooms. When Nic finally returned home, he was angry and hostile. Two weeks later, the police came to the house and led Nic away in handcuffs. He was supposed to have appeared in court for marijuana possession but hadnt shown up. He never told his parents about the charges. They bailed him out of jail and were sure the arrest had taught him a lesson.

No way. Nic went to college that fall and lasted only one semester. He came home more strung out than ever. He disappeared again for several days, and then called home begging for help. David found Nic behind trash cans in an alley. He was filthy, skinny, and his eyes looked black and empty. Nic collapsed into his fathers arms, admitting, I learned how dangerous meth is. Im not stupid. Ill never mess with it again.

David was stunned and horrified. Nic was doing meth? He begged his son to go into a drug treatment program, and Nic finally agreed. The staff at the treatment center said that Nic was taking so many different drugs he could easily have died.

During treatment, Nic confessed that after high school, I took whatever I could findecstasy, LSD, mushrooms, and then... then crystal. When I tried it, I felt better than ever before in my life.

It would be great if Nics story of addiction ended here. If he had recovered, returned to college, and then lived a normal life. But that didnt happen. Nic went back to using meth and other drugs again and again. By the time he was twenty-five, hed gone to five different treatment centers. Sometimes, he stayed off drugs for over a year. During sober times, he exercised, worked at various jobs, and started writing a book about his experiences. But then hed run into an old friend who was using drugs or hed break up with his girlfriend. Something stressful would happen in Nics life to make him turn to drugs again.

Nic ended up homeless, sleeping in city parks or his car, begging for money, and eating from garbage cans. He stole money from his parents and his eight-year-old brother and forged checks. He stole needles and pain medicine from a friends mother who had cancer. His arm became so infected from injecting drugs he almost had it amputated. He overdosed, was hooked up to life support, and nearly died.

Nics parents lived in a state of constant fear. They were afraid to hear the phone ring, thinking it was bad news about Nic. They refused to give him money, but said they would pay for his treatment. His mom and dad had expected Nic to go to college, get married, have children, and have a good job and a good life. In the end, they were just grateful he was still alive.

Nic eventually stayed drug-free long enough to finish his book, Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines. It was published in 2008, the same time as Davids book. Together, father and son made public appearances to talk about their books and how drug addiction had affected their lives.

Nic went back to drugs at least two more times after his book was published. But he quickly checked himself into treatment centers. Today, he is married, has written another book, and has been drug-free for several years. But he knows better than to get too confident. He learned the hard way that using drugs is a dangerous gamble, and that meth is one of the most addictive drugs. Heres what he said about his addiction:

Its just this compulsion that I cant break. In that sense, Ill always be a drug addict. But I think I can be someone who no longer uses drugs.

Methamphetamine (meth) is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting powder. It is also available in rock or crystal form, called crystal meth. The powder can be swallowed, inhaled through the nose (snorted), or mixed with water and injected through a needle. The crystal form is heated and smoked.

Some nicknames or street names for methamphetamine are crystal, Christina, Tina, ice, glass, crank, chalk, fire, go fast, geep, poor mans coke, and truck drivers. Someone who is addicted to meth is called a speed freak, tweaker, or meth head.