Amphetamines and drug abuse
Amphetamines are a class of powerful stimulant drugs that are known for their potential for abuse and addiction. Classified as Schedule II substances under the Controlled Substances Act in the United States, they have accepted medical uses but carry a high risk of psychological and physical dependence. While legitimate medical formulations exist, the illicit forms, particularly methamphetamine, are prevalent on the streets. These drugs can be manufactured in clandestine labs and vary in purity and appearance, with street names like "meth," "ice," and "speed" commonly associated with them.
The effects of amphetamines include increased energy, reduced fatigue, heightened confidence, and a sense of euphoria, lasting several hours. However, they can also lead to negative consequences such as anxiety, hallucinations, and severe mental health issues with prolonged use. The methods of use—smoking, snorting, injecting, or swallowing—affect the onset and intensity of their effects, sometimes leading users to require increasingly larger doses due to rapid tolerance development. Understanding the complexities and risks associated with amphetamines is crucial for addressing the challenges of drug abuse and dependency in society.
Subject Terms
Amphetamines and drug abuse
Definition: Members of a class of drugs that contain an amphetamine base. These drugs are classified as stimulants, meaning they increase energy levels, reduce fatigue, and cause psychological exhilaration.
Significance: Despite intense effort on the part of both legislative and law-enforcement personnel, the number of users of amphetamines continues to rise. The popularity of these drugs is an ongoing concern because chronic use of amphetamines can produce severe mental and physical problems. These drugs are of particular interest to law enforcement because clandestine methamphetamine laboratories pose a threat to neighborhoods, the environment, and investigating officials.
In the United States, the use of controlled substances is governed at the federal level by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The most strongly controlled substances are listed in Schedule I of the act, and those under the least control are listed in Schedule V. Amphetamines, along with cocaine, morphine, and phencyclidine (PCP), are listed in Schedule II. Drugs in this class have a high potential for abuse and also have accepted medical uses within the United States (with severe restrictions). Abuse of Schedule II drugs may lead to severe psychological dependence, physical dependence, or both.
Amphetamines are easy to produce, are cheap to buy, and cause effects in the body similar to those of cocaine. Most illicit, or “street,” amphetamines are actually methamphetamine, which is particularly potent and has long-lasting effects. Street names for amphetamines and methamphetamine include meth, crank, krank, crystal, glass, ice, pep pills, speed, uppers, peanut brittle, and tweak. These names often reflect particular ways the drugs appear; for example, ice is a very pure form, whereas peanut brittle is less so. The street price for one gram of methamphetamine ranges from twenty to three hundred dollars.
Manufacture
The high demand for methamphetamine, along with significant profit potential, has resulted in the production of the drug in thousands of clandestine laboratories, or “clan labs.” “Super labs” are clan labs that are capable of producing seventy-five to one hundred pounds of methamphetamine in each production cycle. In comparison, “stove-top labs” typically produce only one to four ounces per batch. Production of one pound of the drug can result in from five to seven pounds of hazardous waste. Most of this waste ends up dumped on the ground or flushed into streams or sewage systems.
The synthetic route by which methamphetamine is prepared is widely known, and the required chemicals are readily available. The three most common production routes are the P2P (phenyl-2-propanone) amalgam method, the hydroiodic acid and red phosphorus reduction method, and the Birch reduction method. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, which can be found in many over-the-counter cold remedies, are key starting materials in the production of methamphetamine. Depending on the synthetic pathway, other important materials include iodine, red phosphorus, hydrogen chloride gas, and anhydrous ammonia. The U.S. government has regulated the sale and use of some of these chemicals in an effort to curb production of methamphetamine.
Routes of Ingestion
Amphetamines may be smoked, snorted, injected, or taken orally in pill form. Methamphetamine is often smoked; the drug is placed in a glass pipe, heat is applied to the bowl, and the vapors are inhaled through the stem. Snorting the drug tends to cause irritation to the nasal lining. Heavy, long-term users generally prefer to inject the drug. Like cocaine, amphetamine can be dissolved in water and cooked to prepare it for injection.
The route of ingestion determines the onset of the drug’s effects. Effects from oral ingestion are felt within thirty to sixty minutes. When snorted, the drug produces effects within five to twenty minutes. Injecting and smoking the drug both result in an intense “rush” within seconds of ingestion. The intensity of the effects, which can last from six to twelve hours, is related to both the dose of the drug and its purity. Regardless of the route of ingestion, tolerance to the drug may develop quickly, so that the user requires larger and larger doses of amphetamines to produce the desired effect. Whereas medical doses of amphetamines rarely exceed 100 milligrams per day, a super user on a binge may ingest more than 15,000 milligrams every twenty-four hours.
Forms
The appearance of amphetamine and methamphetamine depends on the synthetic process and quality control used in their production. High-quality street meth is generally a white crystalline powder. The color of lower-quality meth may range from dark yellow to brown. The drug may be crystalline, granular, or solid block, and it may have a sticky consistency. It may be packaged in plastic bags, paper bindles, or glass vials.
Ice is a very pure form of methamphetamine with an appearance similar to that of broken glass. It is usually ingested by smoking, and the effects can last up to fourteen hours. The price of one gram of ice ranges from two hundred to four hundred dollars.
Effects
As stimulants that act on the central nervous system, amphetamines reduce fatigue and the need to sleep, increase confidence and energy levels, and in general cause psychological and physical exhilaration. These effects are identical to those of cocaine, but the effects of cocaine last from twenty to eighty minutes, whereas those of amphetamines last for four to twelve hours. New users can rapidly develop psychological dependence on amphetamines.
Common effects displayed by people under the influence of amphetamines include alertness, anxiety, euphoria, reduced appetite, talkativeness, and teeth grinding. Chronic abuse of the drug can produce severe mental and physical problems, including delusions, visual and auditory hallucinations, and violent behavior. Long-term high-dose users of amphetamines may experience formication, which is the feeling that bugs are crawling under the skin. People in this state can severely injure themselves while trying to dig or cut the imagined bugs from their skin.
Bibliography
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