It is sometimes issued to Air Force pilots for long missions (the "Go pill").Ģ) Street meth is made with non-pharmaceutical grade reagents and solvents (usually by non-chemists), and the well-over 100 recipes in use differ regionally, as do symptoms of street meth abuse (i.e. More paranoid psychosis in the midwest where it's often made with anhydrous ammonia, which is a fertilizer ingredient stolen from rail cars).ģ) Users also almost always induce de facto overdoses. A euphoric rush or maintaining intense focus for days on end are initial symptoms of overdosing, similar to the spectrum of buzzed to jittery to full-blown psychosis also seen with increasing doses of caffeine. Appetite is also greatly suppressed by high doses. When combined, these factors account for all the "faces of meth" reality behind the propaganda. We end up with a situation where people are consuming an impure product contaminated with heavy metals and unreacted toxic reagents due to unskilled and inaccurate synthesis, they are chronically overdosing on this contaminated substance, and they are not getting adequate nutrition or sleep on top of everything else. Oh, and it's been circulating in the US since the early 1950's, was first used by the German Army in WWII as a food substitute on the front lines (easily transported, non-perishable, keeps the troops awake for days on end- making them paranoid and aggressive to boot- it's perfect!), and since amphetamines in general are still increasing in popularity they (and meth) are here to stay, though most prefer their amphetamines in mixed-salt, low dose pharmaceutical form, such as Adderall. "Meth" is just one kind of amphetamine, currently prescribed under the brand-name Desoxyn. It's prescribed when other amphetamines cause too many side effects, which is interesting, though it induces more euphoria than other amphetamine salts and so has a higher abuse potential.
This all points to the possibility that the prohibition of methamphetamine causes more side effects than the molecule itself, since if available in pure form over-the-counter at least there would not be heavy metal and toxic solvent poisonings along with the likely-inevitable overdoses. Then again, overdoses would also probably decrease as knowledge and accurate information became available instead of fear-mongering propaganda. I don't anticipate significant changes to this problem in the foreseeable future there are too many vested interests profiting greatly from the status-quo. It's too bad, a lot of people are suffering needlessly. Thank you, Anonymous, for your informative, non-hysterical approach. I think the current fear-based approach to most drugs (especially meth) has become an intrinsic feature of our society. In the '70's, when I was a full-time University student as well as a full-time cook, I used amphetamines (white crosses, we called them) which could be fairly easily purchased for about 25 cents apiece.
Truck drivers and students were generally acknowledged to be occasional users. They were pharmaceutical grade, and I definitely noticed they were more effective and less "toxic" to my body than coffee was. When I was no longer a student, I became an ex-user. I have since used methamphetamine, and enjoyed its effect, to some extent-longer acting, more euphoric than amphetamines. However, I never had very much difficulty in quitting. I have been mystified by the current "information" regarding meth and amphetamines, and "Anonymous" has done much to dispel some of my mystification regarding this subject.