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Methamphetamine Abuse: It's No Myth
By Linda Loddbergh, Ph.D
Myths about flying have always intrigued people, and many of us know the story of Icarus, who died because he flew too high, and the Phoenix, who arose from its own ashes to fly away, reborn. Myths are more than beautiful stories—they are models for our lives and we can learn from their characters' stories.
Like Icarus, methamphetamine users fly high and fast. To come down from the space that they alone inhabit, they must choose between the doomed Icarus and the Phoenix, symbol of hope and renewal. The opportunity exists to rise from the ashes of the destruction that this dangerous drug causes. But the fight plan to Recovery is not always clear.
In Greek mythology, Icarus's father, Daedelus, made wings of feathers and wax so that he and his young son could fly away from the prison where they were unjustly held. Daedelus warned Icarus that he must fly neither too high, where the sun could melt the wax, nor too low, where the wings could become too heavy and drag him into the sea. But, overwhelmed by the joy of flying, Icarus flew too high. The sun melted his wings and he plummeted into the sea as his father watched in horror. Now all that remains of Icarus is a small rock in the Aegean Sea near Greece.
The phoenix is a bird described in legends of Greece, Egypt, and Arabia. Phoenixes live for 500 years but only one can live at a time. When its time has come, this lonely bird builds a funeral pyre and burns itself to ashes. But from the ashes arises a new phoenix—the symbol of hope and restoration.
Why is methamphetamine abuse the serious and rapidly growing problem that it is? How does this stimulant drug affect the body? And why is it hard for users to choose the Phoenix rather than Icarus?
What's So Special About Methamphetamine?
Let's examine methamphetamine a little more closely. There are several features of this drug that make it a "special" drug of abuse.
It's versatile. Bearing many names-- "speed","meth", or "chalk" and, in crystal form, "ice," "crystal," "glass," "crank", or "tina"--methamphetamine is used in many forms. It can be snorted, taken orally, injected, or smoked. The high from snorting or injecting methamphetamine is almost instantaneous and very intense. This sensation is more intense than the euphoria, or good feelings, that result from oral ingestion or smoking.
Not from Mother Nature. Unlike many other drugs of abuse such as cocaine, methamphetamine is not a natural substance. Rather, it is manufactured from cheap, readily available ingredients in clandestine laboratories. Methamphetamine has no useful or helpful use—it is, short and simple, a drug of abuse.
Even though it's made at home, it wrecks the family. The portable home labs use common ingredients, including certain over-the-counter medications. More than 12,000 of these labs were seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2001. [whitehousedrugpolicy] Meth labs are particularly common in rural areas, where the drug makes orphans of children whose parents do not eat, sleep, or care for their families because of their relentless addiction. Child welfare workers are overwhelmed by the problem of finding foster parents for these children, who have severe behavioral disorders after living in chaos, sleeping on the floor and going without food and love. As one worker said in a recent newspaper article, "This goes above and beyond anything we've seen." [NYT July 11, 2005]
Abusers fly very high, very fast. Methamphetamine users experience an intense rush or "flash" when they smoke or inject the drug. As with many drugs, the euphoric feelings disappear quickly and tolerance develops. The user tries to recreate the high by "tweaking", consuming more and more methamphetamine in an effort to fly higher and higher. The overstimulated brain revs up, churning out and using up the chemicals that control mood, movement, and rational thought. Finally, the user "crashes" into a deep sleep that lasts for many hours.
Methamphetamine sticks around. Methamphetamine stays in the body for a long time; in some cases, as long as 12-14 hours. As more and more is consumed, the physiologic effects of methamphetamine become more pronounced, and the user is in great physical danger. The physiological effects of methamphetamine are most pronounced at this time.
Meth addiction kills nerve cells. With long-term use, addiction develops. Methamphetamine is toxic (poisonous) to the very brain cells—called neurons—that it stimulates. These dangerous effects make long-term users confused, anxious, and unable to sleep. They become angry and often violent. Over time, as more and more neurons are lost, people become psychotic, imagining that others are trying to kill them (paranoia), hallucinating sights and sounds that aren't present, and imagining insects crawling on their skin.
There is no easy treatment. No drug treatments exist that directly treat methamphetamine addiction, but drugs can help with some of the symptoms such as depression and anxiety. Seizures, too, can sometimes be controlled with anticonvulsant medication. [NIDA website] At present, the most effective treatments seem to be cognitive-behavioral approaches. These methods teach different ways of thinking and acting, and help methamphetamine addicts learn better coping skills. Recovery support groups also help.
Meth Marches Through the Brain Like Sherman Through Georgia
The brain is like the world as seen from outer space: on the surface, everything is the same color and nothing stands out. But, as you move closer and closer in, mountains and lakes, deserts and people, ants and even grains of sand come into view. Similarly, when you view the brain with a microscope, you see the different types of brain cells, or neurons, that make us who we are—long, skinny neurons, small ones that look like stars, still others that resemble big onions. There are more than 100 billion neurons in the healthy adult brain! And each of these perfect factories of thought and movement can be shut down by methamphetamine.
How does this happen? Neurons contain chemicals called neurotransmitter substances that let them to "talk" to each other in their special electrical language. These substances are released by a neuron into the space called a synapse that lies between it and the next neuron in the circuit. When the neurotransmitter crosses the synapse, an electrical signal is generated. After this occurs, the neurotransmitter is taken back up into the cell from which it came in a process called "reuptake." This cycle of release and reuptake is necessary for normal brain function.
Methamphetamine interferes with this cycle and changes the amount of neurotransmitter substance in the brain. Dopamine [Figure 1] is an important neurotransmitter that helps control many functions including movement, thought, pleasure and intense emotionality. Methamphetamine floods the brain with dopamine, both because it stimulates dopamine's release into synapses and because it blocks reuptake.
The flood of dopamine brings intense, but brief, pleasure—the high—but when dopamine levels are exhausted, then comes the crash. The brain can't make enough new dopamine to keep up with the amounts that leave the neurons; it's like trying to pump water into a lake when the levee is broken. With chronic use, dopamine neurons are damaged and killed by methamphetamine.
Remember, methamphetamine is versatile. It also affects two other brain neurotransmitters, norepinephrine and serotonin. Norepinephrine helps keep us alert and attentive, and also helps our memories. As with dopamine, its levels are increased by methamphetamine; however, this type of neuron is not damaged by the drug. Serotonin levels, on the other hand, are decreased by methamphetamine, causing users to become violent, depressed, and anxious.
In other words, the stimulant effects of methamphetamine make users feel that they are flying high and have limitless energy, but the drug is really bringing them down. And the fall to Earth can be devastating.
As If the Brain Weren't Enough...
Methamphetamine wears out more than just the brain (as if that weren't enough). Over time, the lining of users' hearts becomes inflamed, with damage to blood vessels and skin abscesses (painful lumps). A rapid and/or irregular heart rate, increased blood pressure, and stroke (rupture of blood vessels in the brain) can occur. The body temperature rises to dangerous levels and the person may have seizures. Cerebral edema (brain swelling), nausea, and diarrhea can occur. Methamphetamine users also develop open sores on their bodies when they scratch their skin, which becomes itchy due to the drug's toxicity. [http://www.nida.nih.gov/ResearchReports/Methamph/Methamph.html; http://www.nida.nih.gov/MOM/TG/momtg-methamphetamine.html]
Other hazardous effects result from the way methamphetamine is manufactured. One common ingredient in processing, lead acetate, can contaminate the final product with lead and cause acute lead poisoning in users. [http://www.nida.nih.gov/ResearchReports/Methamph/Methamph.html]
The sites where methamphetamine is made are highly contaminated: it has been estimated that producing one pound of methamphetamine releases 5-7 pounds of toxic waste. Much of this is dumped down household drains or in fields, where it can cause injury. When meth labs are raided, personnel often incur injury from the toxic chemicals. [http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/methamph/]
Babies of methamphetamine users suffer, too. Fetal exposure to the drug is a significant problem in the United States, causing prenatal complications, abnormal behaviors in newborns, and birth defects. [http://www.nida.nih.gov/ResearchReports/Methamph/Methamph.html]
Leave More than a Rock as Your Legacy
What remains of Icarus now is a rock in the Aegean Sea, all that's left of a lovely young boy who flew too high and forgot common sense. Icarus did not have to fly so high. But he became distracted and lost perspective on his true goal—escaping from unjust imprisonment and regaining a normal life with his father.
The phoenix rises from the ashes of the past. Methamphetamine use lays waste to life, love, and family, but there is hope of rebirth through treatment. Methamphetamine users face a challenge in breaking their addiction. Yet the image of a new life arising from the devastation of the old one can serve as a powerful motivator in breaking the crash-and-burn cycle of using this dangerous drug.
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