What is methamphetamine?
Methamphetamine is similar to amphetamine. It is a commonly used illegal drug.
Methamphetamine is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol.
Amphetamine is
prescribed to treat some medical conditions, including:
Methamphetamine, a drug with a similar substance, is used illegally for its pleasurable effects. Misuse can be hazardous and even deadly.
Use and effects
Illegal forms of the drug
can be smoked, snorted, injected, or ingested orally.
Smoking or injecting methamphetamine causes an immediate, intense "rush" or bliss that lasts for a few minutes.
Snorting does not produce the intense rush, but a euphoric high within 3 to 5 minutes of ingestion. The oral effects can be felt within 20 minutes.
Depending on how the drug is ingested, the effects can last for 6 to 24 hours.
Effects
People take methamphetamine
for its pleasurable effects.
Using methamphetamine can produce feelings of euphoria, but there are also dangerous side effects.
These include:
- increased attention
- higher levels of activity and talkativeness
- decreased appetite
- reduced fatigue
- a feeling of power and self-control
- a pleasurable sense of well-being or euphoria
There may also be:
- faster breathing
- a fast or irregular heartbeat
- higher blood pressure
- raised body temperature