So much meth available on our streets these days

To The Daily Sun,

Methamphetamine use has been on the increase. Since doctors and medical facilities have cut way back on prescribing high potency, addictive pain medicines that usually come in pill form, the void has been filled with heroin and fentanyl smuggled or mailed in mostly from China. The medical profession as well as law enforcement have been striving to deal with fallout from this transition, which has resulted in high numbers of fatal overdoses and an increase in drug related crime. A less anticipated development has been an increase in the availability and demand for methamphetamine.

‘Meth’ is a street version of a powerful stimulant discovered in the late 19th century (also known as benzedrine) but has been available on the street since at least as far back as the 60s. Never before, however, has it been as plentiful and cheap as it is these days. Some people who use it say that it helps them to feel energetic and able to focus better but it is similar to opioids in that many meth users can not stop using it as long as it is available.

Methamphetamine is a neurotoxic and causes brain damage, particularly to neurons which has a negative effect on how serotonin is regulated. Long-term meth use or multiple days of non-stop use (meth run) can cause violent, psychotic and even homicidal behavior. Sometimes the psychosis recurs later without even using the drug again and the symptoms according to "Medical News Today" can last for months or even years after an addict has stopped using the drug

Meth can cause heart attacks, seizures, severe weight loss and of course similar to opioids, when actively addicted to meth it can break up families, remove jobs, money, homes, drivers licenses, change a clean record to a criminal record and more. Treatment options are available but there is so much meth available on the street these days that it makes staying clean difficult. Many recovering opioid addicts have chosen medication assisted therapy with an opioid blocker that prevents them from using most opioid/morphine based drugs, but it does not block methamphetamine’s euphoric effects.

Michael Tensel

A&D Recovery Counseling

Laconia