What is meth?
Methamphetamine is a powerful, highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system. Crystal methamphetamine is a form of the drug that looks like glass fragments or shiny, bluish-white rocks. It is chemically similar to amphetamine, a drug used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy, a sleep disorder.
Other common names for methamphetamine include blue, crystal, ice, meth, and speed.
Why is it so addictive?
Brain scientists now know why just one use of crystal meth (methamphetamine) can make a person feel hooked. Part of the reason meth is so addictive is it increases the amount of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine occurs naturally in our brains. It affects our body’s reward centers as well as our movement, motivation, and reinforcement. It’s the impact on this area of the brain that makes methamphetamine so addictive.
Over time, methamphetamine will change the way your brain works. If you stop using methamphetamine, you can start to feel really sick.
Anyone can become addicted to methamphetamine. There is no way to predict who is likely to become addicted. The right treatment can help someone who is addicted feel better and stop using methamphetamine, but treatment is hard work and it can take many years to recover from addiction. The best approach is to never start using the drug in the first place.
Did you know?
More than 99% of 8th graders in the U.S. have never used methamphetamine.*
99.04% of Sublette County students state that they have never used meth.**
Drugs were involved in 25% Sublette County arrests in 2018**
Of the 31 felony offenses in Sublette County in 2018, 48.39% involved drugs**
8.87% of arrests in Sublette County in 2018 were meth related**
Meth was involved in 4 DUI arrests (out of 80 DUIs) in 2018**
* Drug data and information taken from NIDA
** Alcohol and Crime in Wyoming - 2018 report from the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police