The Drug

What it does

Production, Ingredients, Signs of a “Cookout”

The History

The Drug:

These aren’t scare tactics... THEY’RE THE FACTS! The human body’s response to meth varies from person to person... You might experience: irritability, nervousness, sleeplessness, nausea, hot flashes, dryness of the mouth, sweating, and high blood pressure. Extended use can produce mental confusion, severe anxiety, paranoia, physical dependence and even death.

Methamphetamine (meth) is also known as “speed” or “crystal” when it is swallowed or snorted; as “crank” when it is slammed (injected); and as “ice” or “glass” when it is smoked. Ice or Glass are clear chunky crystals that look like small chunks of ice or pieces of broken glass. All meth is extremely dangerous. it acts very fast on your brain, is super addictive, and can really mess up your brain.

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What it Does:

Methamphetamine is described by the National Institute on Drug Abuse as a drug similar in shape, size, and chemical structure to dopamine, the "pleasure neurotransmitter" in the human brain that is responsible for the good feelings you get from eating chocolate cake, riding a roller coaster, or sex. When ingested, whether orally, by injection, or by inhalation, methamphetamine ends up in the bloodstream and is circulated throughout the brain. There it fools neurons into taking it up just as they would dopamine. Once inside a neuron, methamphetamine induces the neuron to release lots of dopamine, causing the user to experience intense feelings of pleasure that can last as much as a day and can keep the user awake for days and even weeks at a time. The drug, known on the street as "crank," "ice," "speed," and "zip," is highly addictive and has been found to cause more brain damage than heroin or alcohol.

Methamphetamine is a drug that strongly activates certain systems in the brain. It is closely related chemically to amphetamine, but the central nervous system effects of methamphetamine are greater. Both drugs have some medical uses, primarily in the treatment of obesity, but their therapeutic use is limited.

The central nervous system (CNS) actions that result from taking even small amounts of methamphetamine include increased wakefulness, increased physical activity, decreased appetite, increased respiration, hypothermia, and euphoria. Other CNS effects include irritability, insomnia, confusion, tremors, anxiety, paranoia, aggressiveness, and convulsions that can result in death.

Meth is made of toxic chemicals, so extended use of meth results in sores that form on the skin and teeth that decay and fall out, a condition commonly reffered to as meth mouth.

Long term use of crystal meth has devastating effects on the users life, the brains chemistry changes so that the only time a meth user feels good is when they are using meth, paranoia develops as well as auditory hallucinations. The meth users body ages at a rapid rate and cheeks and eyes sink into the head. Meth is highly addictive so it is not safe to try even once.

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Production, Ingredients, Signs of a “Cookout”:

Methamphetamine is a powerful stimulant. The street version of the drug is most often manufactured illegally in underground labs.One of the most common manufacturing procedures is called the "cold method"The chemicals used to make meth are toxic, and the lab operators routinely dump waste into streams, rivers, fields, and sewage systems.

The chemical vapors produced during cooking permeate the walls and carpets of houses and buildings, making them uninhabitable. Cleaning up these sites requires specialized training and costs an average of $20,000-$30,000 per site in funds that come out of the already-strained budgets of state and local police.

Household products contain most of the necessary chemicals to complete the manufacturing process. Certain brands of drain cleaner, for instance, have a high concentration of sulfuric acid. When mixed with table or rock salt, hydrogen chloride gas is produced for use in the final stage of methamphetamine production.

The hydrogen chloride gas procedure as well as other procedures are extremely dangerous and can cause death or serious injury not only to the individuals making the methamphetamine, but to others who may be living in an adjoining house or apartment.

Chemicals:

(Source)Ephedrine (Cold & Allergy Medicine)
Pseudoephedrine (Cold & Allergy Medicine)
Alcohol (Rubbing/Gasoline Additive)
Toluene (Brake Cleaner)
Ether (Engine Starter)
Sulfuric Acid (Drain Cleaner)
Methanol (Gasoline Additive)
Lithium (Camera Batteries)
Trichloroethane (Gun Scrubber)
Anhydrous Ammonia (Farm Fertilizer)
Sodium Hydroxide (Lye)
Red Phosphorus (Matches)
Iodine (Veterinarian Products)
Sodium Metal (Can be made from Lye)
MSM (Animal Product)
Table Salt/Rock Salt,
Kerosene
,Gasoline
,Muriatic Acid,
Campfire Fuel,
Paint Thinner,
Acetone.

Signs of a Meth "Cook-Out":

• Altered or bluish-green fittings on dumped propane tanks.
• A large amount of cold-tablet containers or blister packs.
• Coffee filters containing a white substance.
• Bottles or jars with plastic tubing.
• Strong odor of ammonia, solvent or other chemicals.
• Smells of burning plastic or chemicals.
• Unusual traffic patterns to a residence--visits may be short. 

Hundreds of children are neglected every year after living with parents who are meth “cooks.” More than 20% of the meth labs seized last year had children present.

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Methamphetamine in history:

Methamphetamine was synthesized in Japan, and was used to help kamikaze pilots complete there mission. Then during World War II the German military administered the drug to there air pilots and tank crews in the form of laced chocolates, Fliegerschokolade "flyer's chocolate", and Panzerschokolade "Tanker's Chocolate. From 1942 until his death in 1945, Adolf Hitler was given daily intravenous injections of methamphetamine, for treatment of depression and fatigue.

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