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Stimulants
Methylamphetamine / methylamfetamine
Drug group - Stimulants
Street names
Meth, ice, crystal, crystal meth, ice cream, glass, tik
Drug effects
Very strong and long-lived stimulant effect, lasting 3-4 hours.
Description
White/yellow/pink crystalline powder, clear liquid
Ampoules, (meth)
Small whitish chips, (ice).
Street use
Swallowed, smoked and injected
Dependency
Yes - physical and psychological
Therapeutic use
Methylamphetamine is not used outside hospitals, and is not available on prescription in the UK.
Withdrawal
Tolerance to methylamphetamine develops quickly. As with amphetamine sulphate, withdrawal is in 2 phases, firstly the "crash" or "come down" which produces tiredness and a depressive state. In the second phase, users can become irritable and severely depressed. This will last for 3-4 weeks and, on some occasions, for months.
Long term use
Prolonged use can lead to severe weight loss, insomnia, exhaustion, severe depression and paranoid psychosis (generally drug-induced and will be resolved within a few weeks after drug taking has stopped). Smoking ice over long periods causes severe psychotic episodes, with both visual and auditory hallucinations, presenting not unlike schizophrenia.
Overdose risk
Overdose is not common with methylamphetamine, but when it does occur it can result in heart and/or respiratory failure. Users who exhibit a predisposition for a heart condition are at risk due to excess stress placed on the cardio-vascular system.
Legal status
Became a Class A drug on 18 January 2007.
Maximum penalty
Class A: Possession - 7 years, Supplying - Life
SPECIAL NOTE
Most amphetamine-based drugs are manufactured illicitly and are of questionable purity. In most cases it is these impurities that cause damage to amphetamine users.