Dangerous to Make and Even More Dangerous to Take

Meth (methamphetamine) is an illegal drug manufactured from the same toxic chemicals found in battery acid, drain cleaner, paint thinner, and sulfuric acid.^{1, 2} The result is an incredibly addictive stimulant, or upper, that makes you feel an intense high followed by the lowest of the lows. It doesn’t matter if you smoke, snort, inject, or take it in pill form. Each hit does immediate damage that can rob you of happiness and control long-term. ^{3, 4} Stay in control of your happiness by living meth-free.

Even the First Time Causes Instant Damage

Trying meth once or twice might seem harmless from the outside. Friends, family, or people using around you on nights out, at parties, or hooking up, might look totally normal. In reality, life experiences fade to blue when you use meth. The emotional and physical effects it has on your brain and body start long before you can see it on someone’s face. Damage starts on the very first hit and happens with every hit afterwards. Hold on to who you are by staying away from meth.

Life Experiences fade to blue when you use meth

Dig Deeper to See How Meth Personally Affects You

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Permanent Brain Damage

Extreme Emotional Lows

Loss of Motor Function and Control

Addiction and Overdose

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Our Mission

Unmasking Meth is dedicated to separating the half-truths and misconceptions from the facts so Georgians understand what every hit can do to their life. This education-based public health campaign is funded by Georgia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) to provide the real information and resources needed to educate and support those at risk.

Sources

National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2019, October). How is methamphetamine manufactured? National Institutes of Health. https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/methamphetamine/how-methamphetamine-manufactured
National Library of Medicine. (2021, July 3). Methamphetamine: Compound summary. National Institutes of Health, National Center for Biotechnology Information. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Methamphetamine
Gold, M. S., Kobeissy, F. H., Wang, K. K., Merlo, L. J., Bruijnzeel, A. W., Krasnova, I. N., & Cadet, J. L. (2009). Methamphetamine- and trauma-induced brain injuries: Comparative cellular and molecular neurobiological substrates. Biological Psychiatry, 66(2), 118–127.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2021, April 13). What are the long-term effects of methamphetamine misuse? National Institutes of Health. https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/methamphetamine/what-are-long-term-effects-methamphetamine-misuse
Looby A, Earleywine M. (2007) The impact of methamphetamine use on subjective well-being in an Internet survey: preliminary findings. Hum Psychopharmacol. (3):167-72. doi: 10.1002/hup.831. PMID: 17310500.
Sebastian Moeller, Hagen B. Huttner, Tobias Struffert, Helge H. Müller, Irreversible brain damage caused by methamphetamine: Persisting structural brain lesions, Alcoholism and Drug Addiction, Volume 29, Issue 1, 2016, Pages 39-41, ISSN 0867-4361, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alkona.2016.02.001.
Richards, J. R., & Laurin, E. G. (2020). Methamphetamine toxicity. StatPearls (). Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430895/
American Addiction Centers. (2021, July 7). Meth withdrawal: Signs, symptoms, and treatment. https://americanaddictioncenters.org/meth-treatment/withdrawal
Groman, S.M.; Morales A.M.; Lee, B.; London, E.D.; Jentsch, J.D. Methamphetamine-induced increases in putamen gray matter associate with inhibitory control. Psychopharmacology 229(3):527-538, 2013.
Panenka, W. J., Procyshyn, R. M., Lecomte, T., MacEwan, G. W., Flynn, S. W., Honer, W. G., & Barr, A. M. (2013). Methamphetamine use: A comprehensive review of molecular, preclinical and clinical findings. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 129(3), 167-179. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.11.016
County of Los Angeles Public Health. (n.d.). What is Methamphetamine? Retrieved from http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/sapc/public/meth/?lang=en#what-is-meth
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2020). Know the risks of meth. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/meth
O'Donnell.2017. Deaths Involving Fentanyl, Fentanyl Analogs, and U-47700 — 10 States, July–December 2016 Synthetic Opioid Overdose Data | Drug Overdose | CDC Injury Center. (2021, June 23). www.cdc.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/deaths/synthetic/index.html
Synthetic Opioid Overdose Data | Drug Overdose | CDC Injury Center. (2021, June 23). www.cdc.gov.https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/deaths/synthetic/index.html

Unmasking Meth is funded by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities’ Office of Behavioral Health Prevention & Federal Grants (DBHDD/OBHPFG). DBHDD/OBHPFG was awarded the State Opioid Response (SOR) grant from October 2020 to September 2022, by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

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Get the Real Story and Facts on Meth

Dangerous to Make and Even More Dangerous to Take

Even the First Time Causes Instant Damage

Dig Deeper to See How Meth Personally Affects You

Our Mission

Sources