The majority of methamphetamines are made from corrosive chemicals and either smuggled into the country or made in homemade labs. The drug causes dramatic physical damage in those who become addicted including severe weight loss, tooth decay, and skin abrasions. Individuals who abuse meth will often stay up for days at a time and will begin to suffer from sleep deprivation. This, mixed with the drug’s usual effects can make the individual a danger to themselves and others.

“According to the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 1.2 million people reported using methamphetamine in the past year.”

Long term or heavy use of the drug has been known to cause psychosis. When a person is experiencing methamphetamine psychosis, they will suffer from paranoia, hallucinations and confusion. This can make the individual dangerous as they will see and hear things that are very real to them and will react violently to what they consider to be a real threat.

While abstinence from the drug has shown to relieve some of the damage over a prolonged period of time, some damage has been known to persist well after a year of abstaining from the drug.

Societal Impact

Methamphetamines have a strong impact on society with a great many violent and gang-related crimes attributable to the substance. In addition, the production of Meth in homemade labs cause both property damage and injuries, due to the volatile nature of the chemicals being combined and homemade apparatuses used to make the drug. Areas near meth labs are often polluted with toxic wastes from the drug and the chemicals used in its creation.

Refurbishing a building that was used as a meth lab can cost extremely expensive. The property needs to be scanned for left-over chemicals that can cause adverse health problems to those who go on to live in a house that was used as a meth lab. The list of what needs to be done to a home that was a former meth lab is quite extensive to ensure its future safety.

History

Amphetamines were first synthesized in 1887 in Germany though after this, the drug was mostly unused until the 1920’s. By 1930, it was marketed as Benzedrine used for head colds, asthma and hay fever. Methamphetamines were not developed until 1919 in Japan. Amphetamine use was widespread by both Allied and Axis forces during WW-II, with the drug being approved and dispensed by the respective military organizations. By the 1950’s amphetamines had become widely used by truck drivers students and people in the service industry. With this began an upswing in the abuse of the drug. It wasn’t until 1970 when methamphetamines became illegal under the controlled substance act. Today methamphetamines are illegally manufactured and distributed in the US.

Unknown to most, the drug is actually a prescription drug today known as Desoxyn.

“Treats attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and helps with weight loss in obese patients.”