Methamphetamines; Make, Use, From & Look:

The chemical n-methyl-1-phenyl-propan-2-amine is called methamphetamine, methyl-amphetamine, or desoxyephedrine. The shortened name is simply 'meth'. When it is in its crystalline form, the drug is called crystal meth, ice, Tina, or glass. See the table below for other street names of the drug. Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant.  

Use and Effects of Crystal Meth

Crystal meth is snorted, injected, or smoked in a pipe. It is taken to produce feelings of euphoria or a“ high” that can last between two and 16 hours. People abuse crystal meth, which is a central nervous system stimulant, to stay awake for long periods or make them feel confident, energized, euphoric and disinhibited.

 

Crystal meth use has many adverse effects on the mind and body. Most common are:

• insomnia
• agitation
• irritability
• dry mouth
• sweating
• palpitations

On crystal meth, the body temperature increases, as does breathing and heart rate. Blood pressure rises too. People with cardiac and blood pressure problems who use crystal meth can cause further damage to their cardiovascular systems.

Crystal meth can cause behavioral problems, paranoia and psychosis, especially when used frequently and in individuals with a predisposition to mental illness.

 

 What Does Crystal METH Look like?

 

Crystal meth usually comes in the form of a crystalline clear or white powder that is odorless, bitter-tasting and dissolves easily in water or alcohol. The clear crystals may appear with some other shades of colour such as yellow / champagne colour or dark yellow.



Drug Strength:

Users of crystal meth can only guess at its strength, so the risk of overdosing, even with seemingly small quantities, is always an issue. Overdosing can lead to convulsions, respiratory and circulatory collapse, coma and death.

 

Where Does Crystal Meth Come From?

Methamphetamine is available with a prescription for obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and narcolepsy, but crystal meth is a street drug, made in illegal labs by chemically altering over-the-counter drugs. Making crystal meth usually involves reducing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, found in cold and allergy medicine. In the US, a typical meth lab employs something called the 'Red, White, and Blue Process', which entails hydrogenation of the hydroxyl group on the ephedrine or pseudoephedrine molecule. The red is red phosphorus, white is the ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, and blue is iodine, used to make hydroiodic acid. Making crystal meth is dangerous to the people making it and dangerous to the neighborhood where it's being made. White phosphorus with sodium hydroxide can produce poisonous phosphine gas, usually as a result of overheating red phosphorus, plus white phosphorus can autoignite and blow up the meth lab. In addition to phosphine and phosphorus, various hazardous vapors may be associated with a meth lab, such as chloroform, ether, acetone, ammonia, hydrochloric acid, methylamine, iodine, hydroiodic acid, lithium or sodium, mercury & hydrogen gas.