How does it look?
Methamphetamine (Tik) can come in several different forms – including tablets, powder, or crystals. The tablets are sometimes referred to as yaba, and the smokeable crystals are often called crystal meth or ice.
How do people take it?
Depending on its form, methamphetamine can be swallowed, snorted, or injected. But the most common way for it to be taken is by smoking it. Smoking the purer, crystalline form of methamphetamine, known as crystal meth, produces a very intense high similar to that produced by crack cocaine but much longer lasting.
How does it make you feel?
Methamphetamine can reduce your appetite and make you feel:
- exhilarated
- alert
- awake
- agitated
- paranoid
- confused
- aggressive
- aroused
Physical risks:
Meth can wreak havoc on every aspect of a person’s life and health. It can cause significant damage to organs and the brain. Many of the effects, particularly chronic use, may not be reversible. It also changes the mental well-being of the user and their physical appearance, and it destroys families, relationships, and careers.
Unfortunately, what meth does to your body isn’t only creating a high. The following are just a few of the things meth does to your body.
It places stress on the heart:
Since meth is a stimulant, it can have a profound effect on the cardiovascular system. It stresses your heart with elevated blood pressure and a disruption of regular rhythms. Not only does meth damage your heart and cardiovascular system, but it can also contribute to heart attacks. Users are also at an increased risk of strokes.
It can lead to blood clots:
Meth constricts the user’s blood vessels and veins, which can cause blood clots to form. It’s toxic to your blood vessels, which can cause rupturing that can bleed into the heart.
It damages the liver:
Using meth can damage the liver and increase your risk of developing hepatitis or acute liver failure. This is because of the many toxins that can be contained in meth, including drain cleaner, battery acid, paint thinner, lithium and Freon.
It causes the kidneys to shut down:
Meth can cause the kidneys to shut down because of elevated body temperature. It can also break down muscle tissues that become toxins dangerous to the kidneys.
It damages the lungs:
When you smoke meth, the toxins in the drug go directly to the lungs, damaging them. When your blood vessels are constricted from meth, it can also reduce blood flow to your lungs and lead to the accumulation of fluid.
Addiction:
It is a potent and highly addictive drug that acts on the central nervous system, where it causes the release of dopamine, a substance which acts as a stimulant and euphoric drug. Pharmaceutical methamphetamine is still available legally, but it is only rarely prescribed to treat narcolepsy, attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and severe obesity. Meth is readily available, and its use has spread rapidly across South Africa, especially in the Western Cape, where it is made in illicit laboratories using inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients. Recent research reported that 42% of drug users within the Western Cape used crystal meth as their primary or preferred drug, with a high prevalence of use amongst adolescents.