Every day children are using drugs to escape the worries
and stress in their lives. A parent can do all the right things
and still their child can be using drugs. There are no
guarantees in raising children. However, if parents do not
play an active role in a kids life the odds are that child
will be using drugs.
There is a saying, "it is better to make a choice and be wrong
than to do nothing at all". If you are wrong in your parenting
decisions, those things may be corrected. Doing nothing may
kill your child.
The Meth Epidemic
What is meth?
Methamphetamine -- its slang terms include 'crystal,' 'crank,' 'glass,' 'ice,' 'speed' and 'Tina'
-- is a powerful, addictive synthetic stimulant that causes
the brain to release a surge of dopamine, creating a high that
lasts from six to 24 hours.
Like cocaine, meth comes in two forms: powder or rock. The
powder form is usually white, odorless and bitter-tasting and
can be snorted, smoked, eaten, dissolved in a drink and
ingested, or heated and injected. The purer form of the drug, called "crystal," "glass" and "ice," appears as clear, chunky
crystals that are usually smoked or injected. Meth can also
come in small, colored tablets, but they are less common.
How is meth made?
Making methamphetamine is a multi-step cook process. The key
ingredient is ephedrine or its cousin, pseudoephedrine. Both
are chemicals found in over-the-counter cold, cough and
allergy medicines. Additional chemicals are used to isolate
the ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, cook it into meth, and process
it into a form for consumption. These chemicals can be cheap,
everyday household items like ammonia, lye, and red phosphorus
scraped from matchbook covers. Start to finish, the cook process
takes about 48 hours and can be hazardous because at one or
more stages, the solution needs to be heated, producing toxic
fumes and the chance of explosion.
How Meth Destroys the Body
What makes methamphetamine such an attractive high? Meth users
report that after taking the drug they experience a sudden
"rush" of pleasure or a prolonged sense of euphoria, as well as
increased energy, focus, confidence, sexual prowess and
feelings of desirability. However, after that first try, users
require more and more of the drug to get that feeling again,
and maintain it. With repeated use, methamphetamine exacts a
toll on the mind and body, robbing users of their physical
health and cognitive abilities, their libido and good looks,
and their ability to experience pleasure. Here's how the body
reacts to meth and the consequences of long-term abuse.
Meth and the Brain
* Meth releases a surge of dopamine, causing an intense rush
of pleasure or prolonged sense of euphoria.
* Over time, meth destroys dopamine receptors, making it
impossible to feel pleasure.
* Although these pleasure centers can heal over time, research
suggests that damage to users' cognitive abilities may be
permanent.
* Chronic abuse can lead to psychotic behavior, including
paranoia, insomnia, anxiety, extreme aggression, delusions and
hallucinations, and even death.
There [are] a whole variety of reasons to try methamphetamine,
" explains Dr. Richard Rawson, associate director of UCLA's
Integrated Substance Abuse Programs. "[H]owever, once they take
the drug … their reasons are pretty much the same: They like
how it affects their brain[s]." Meth users have described this
feeling as a sudden rush of pleasure lasting for several minutes,
followed by a euphoric high that lasts between six and 12 hours,
and it is the result of drug causing the brain to release
excessive amounts of the chemical dopamine, a neurotransmitter
that controls pleasure. All drugs of abuse cause the release of
dopamine, even alcohol and nicotine, explains Rawson, "[But]
methamphetamine produces the mother of all dopamine releases."
For example, in lab experiments done on animals, sex causes
dopamine levels to jump from 100 to 200 units, and cocaine causes
them to spike to 350 units. "[With] methamphetamine you get a
release from the base level to about 1,250 units, something that's
about 12 times as much of a release of dopamine as you get from
food and sex and other pleasurable activities," Rawson says. "This
really doesn't occur from any normally rewarding activity. That's
one of the reasons why people, when they take methamphetamine,
report having this euphoric [feeling] that's unlike anything
they've ever experienced." Then, when the drug wears off, users
experience profound depression and feel the need to keep taking
the drug to avoid the crash.
When addicts use meth over and over again, the drug actually
changes their brain chemistry, destroying the wiring in the
brain's pleasure centers and making it increasingly impossible
to experience any pleasure at all. Although studies have shown
that these tissues can regrow over time, the process can take
years, and the repair may never be complete. A paper published
by Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug
Abuse, examines brain scans of several meth abusers who, after
14 months of abstinence from the drug, have regrown most of
their damaged dopamine receptors; however, they showed no
improvement in the cognitive abilities damaged by the drug. After
more than a year's sobriety, these former meth users still showed
severe impairment in memory, judgment and motor coordination,
similar to symptoms seen in individuals suffering from Parkinson's
Disease.
In addition to affecting cognitive abilities, these changes in
brain chemistry can lead to disturbing, even violent behavior.
Meth, like all stimulants, causes the brain to release high
doses of adrenaline, the body's "fight or flight" mechanism,
inducing anxiety, wakefulness and intensely focused attention,
called "tweaking." When users are tweaking, they exhibit
hyperactive and obsessive behavior, as journalist Thea Singer's
sister Candy did on her meth binges. "When she was high, which
was almost always, she had to be on the computer -- diddling
with programs to make them run faster, ordering freebies on the
Internet," writes Singer. "Then computers faded, and she was
obsessed with diving into dumpsters -- rescuing audio equipment
from behind Radio Shack, pens from behind Office Depot." Heavy,
chronic usage can also prompt psychotic behavior, such as
paranoia, aggression, hallucinations and delusions. Some users
have been known to feel insects crawling beneath their skin.
"He picks and picks and picks at himself, like there are bugs
inside his face," the mother of one meth addict told Newsweek.
"He tears his clothes off and ties them around his head."
The same article told the story of another former addict, who,
even after five years of sobriety, can't go to the bathroom
without propping a space heater against the door, in case someone
is after him.
Visible Signs
* Meth abuse causes the destruction of tissues and blood
vessels, inhibiting the body's ability to repair itself.
* Acne appears, sores take longer to heal, and the skin loses
its luster and elasticity, making the user appear years, even
decades older.
* Poor diet, tooth grinding and oral hygiene results in tooth
decay and loss.
One of the most striking effects of meth is the change in the
physical appearance of meth users. Because meth causes the blood
vessels to constrict, it cuts off the steady flow of blood to
all parts of the body. Heavy usage can weaken and destroy these
vessels, causing tissues to become prone to damage and inhibiting
the body's ability to repair itself. Acne appears, sores take
longer to heal, and the skin loses its luster and elasticity. Some
users are covered in small sores, the result of obsessive
skin-picking brought on by the hallucination of having bugs
crawling beneath the skin, a disorder known as formication.
In addition, stimulants such as meth cause tremendous bursts
of physical activity while suppressing the appetite, an
attractive combination for many people who began using meth
to lose weight. But while contemporary culture may idealize
slim figures, heavy meth users often become gaunt and frail.
Their day- or week-long meth "runs" are usually accompanied
by tooth-grinding, poor diet, and bad hygiene, which lead to
mouths full of broken, stained and rotting teeth.
While a meth high makes users feel more confident, attractive
, and desirable, the drug is actually working to make them
unattractive. "Some people I have in here over a hundred times,
and I can look over a 10, 15, 20-year period and see how
they've deteriorated, how they've changed." says Deputy Brett
King, from Oregon's Multnomah County Sheriff's Department.
"Some were quite attractive when they began to come to jail:
young people who were full of the health and had everything
going for them … and now they're a shell of what they once
were." Curious about this particular effect of the drug, King
began collecting mug shots of individuals who had been booked
repeatedly with meth in their blood. One of the faces that made
a particular impression on him was that of Theresa Baxter:
"She came in, and she was quite visibly intoxicated by
methamphetamine. She looked horrible. She looked at least 20
years older than she was. Her teeth were missing, and I
looked back in her history, and at one time she was a fairly
attractive young woman."
Meth Mouth
* "Meth mouth" is characterized by broken, discolored and
rotting teeth.
* The drug causes the salivary glands to dry out, which
allows the mouth's acids to eat away at the tooth enamel,
causing cavities.
* Teeth are further damaged when users obsessively grind
their teeth, binge on sugary food and drinks, and neglect
to brush or floss for long periods of time.
A common sign of meth abuse is extreme tooth decay, a condition
that has become known in the media as "meth mouth." Users with
"meth mouth" have blackened, stained, or rotting teeth, which
often can't be saved, even among young or short-term users. The
exact causes of "meth mouth" are not fully understood. Various
reports have attributed the decay to the corrosive effects of
the chemicals found in the drug, such as anhydrous ammonia
(found in fertilizers), red phosphorus (found on matchboxes)
and lithium (found in batteries), which when smoked or snorted
might erode the tooth's protective enamel coating; however,
it's more likely that this degree of tooth decay is brought on
by a combination of side effects from a meth high.
When meth is ingested, it causes the user's blood vessels to
shrink, limiting the steady blood supply that the mouth needs
in order to stay healthy. With repeated shrinking, these vessels
die and the oral tissues decay. Similarly, meth use leads to
"dry mouth" (xerostomia), and without enough saliva to neutralize
the mouth's harsh acids, those acids eat away at the tooth and
gums, causing weak spots that are susceptible to cavities. The
cavities are then exacerbated by behavior common in users on a meth
high: a strong desire for sugary foods and drinks, compulsive tooth
grinding, and the general neglect of regular brushing and flossing.
The extent of a tooth decay varies widely among meth users. A 2000
report in the Journal of Periodontology found that users who
snorted the drug had significantly worse tooth decay than users
who smoked or injected it, although all types of users suffered
from dental problems. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that the
degree of tooth decay is not necessarily dependent on the length
of drug use. "[O]ne gentleman I saw said he used it for four
months and there was nothing except for root tips left in his
mouth," said Dr. Athena Bettger, a dentist who practices two
days a week at the Multnomah County Jail in Portland, Ore.
"Whereas another gentleman I saw said he was using it for four
years, and … I think three teeth needed to come out and he
needed a couple of fillings because of the cavities."
Dentists like Dr. Bettger, who practice in America's prisons
and jails, have seen some of the worst cases of "meth mouth,
"and state correctional facilities are feeling the impact on
their budgets. In August 2005, National Public Radio reported
that dental costs in the Minnesota Department of Corrections
had doubled in the past five years, mostly due to the extensive
dental work performed on former meth addicts. Although there
are no quantitative studies to document this phenomenon,
anecdotal evidence supports this trend. Dr. Chris Heringlake,
a dentist in at St. Cloud Correctional Facility in Minnesota,
told NPR that he first saw "meth mouth" eight years ago, and
now he sees it every day. Dr. Bettger has also noticed this
trend in Oregon: "The general trend that I am seeing is that
there is a definite increase. … There are more and more teeth
that need assistance and there are more and more [inmates] needing assistance."
Meth's Other Effects on the Body
* Increased heart rate
* Disorganized lifestyle
* Lowered resistance to illness
* Liver damage
* Convulsions
* Extreme rise in body temperature, which can cause brain damage
* Stroke
* Death
The information above on meth was borrowed from:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/
faqs/
ROBO TRIPPING
A new danger has hit our children. It is called "ROBO TRIPPING".
It is derived from the cough syrup named "Robitussin" also
called "Tussin". Kids will drink an entire bottle or even more
to get a high.
Robitussin contains Dextromethorphan, also known as DXM is a
semisynthetic narcotic, which is legally available in the United
States and most countries. It is mostly found in cough
suppressants especially those with "DM" or "Tuss" in their
names, such as Robitussin, which is a combination of guaifenesin,
pseudoephedrine and dextromethrophan (DXM). It is the DXM that
is sought in robo-tripping. DXM is a distant relative of
morphine. It impairs physical coordination, creates a feeling
of euphoria, dizziness and causes hallucinations. Robitussin is
not the only cough syrup with this ingredient. So parents you
need to find out what medicines your children are taking.
The Effects Of Dextromethorphan
* Dextromethorphan's Emotional effects:
Mood lifts, euphoria, giggling and laughing, dissociation of
mind from body, creative dreamlike experiences and some users
report empathic feelings, forgiveness, and warm feelings toward
others.
* Physical effects:
Pupil dilation, visual and aural hallucinations, decreased
sexual functioning, confusion and disorientation, skin
sensitivity, alters tactile (touch) and zombie-like walk
"robo-walking" and discoordination.
* Negative Physical effects:
Upset stomach, vomiting, dizziness, body itching, rash, red
blotchy skin, diarrhea, fever, tachycardia (pounding heart)
and some users report feeling disconnected, isolated from
others. A decreased ability to regulate body temperature, which
when taken in a dance-club setting can lead to heat stroke.
There is a series of plateaus which parents can look for to
see if your child is "ROBO TRIPPING".
Dextromethorphan's Plateaus
DXM's exhibits "plateaus". In a given plateau, higher doses
change the overall effect of the drug. Higher
doses means stronger effects, and other effects tend to
dominate. There are four plateaus.
The FIRST PLATEAU:
Feeling a little drunk and a little stoned at the same time,
colors seem "different", such as deeper or richer.
The SECOND PLATEAU:
Visual hallucinations begin to occur. Hallucinations consist
of sheets, swirls and blobs of color that move about. Feelings
of a "body high". Negative physical effects, like nausea, often
tend to overwhelm the pleasant body buzz. Physical coordination
is impaired; double vision is the hallmark of the DXM at second
plateau.
The THIRD PLATEAU:
This is where the psychotomimetic (psychosis like) effects of
DXM take over. There is an altered state of consciousness that
will be the dominating factor of the experience. Sensory is
seriously impaired, especially vision.
The FOURTH PLATEAU:
Total mind/body dissociation occurs. Loss of some or all contact
with external senses, inability to move or respond to stimuli.
Hallucinated contacts with gods, aliens, along with completely
irrational thinking. The greatest risk at this level is brain
damage.
Th truth is many kids have died from an overdose of a cough
syrup. They are even taking cold medications to find a high.
Parents and kids need to look through the information in the
websites listed below.