Series: Meth: Shattering Lives In Northern Nevada

A three-month Reno Gazette-Journal investigation found that
methamphetamine's grip on the Truckee Meadows has become a stranglehold.

BRAIN FUNCTIONS TAKE HUGE HIT FROM METH USE

The euphoric high a methamphetamine user feels is about 12 times as
intense as having sex.

Meth triggers a spike in dopamine -- a brain chemical that allows
humans to feel pleasure -- that is four times greater than cocaine.
That effect makes methamphetamine highly addictive and can
permanently alter brain chemistry.

"This drug makes the brain change in ways that are hard to undo,"
said Dr. Melissa Piasecki, an addiction specialist at the University
of Nevada, Reno.

Dr. Carol Chervenak, medical director of the Linn County Child Victim
Assessment Center in Albany Ore., who recently lectured in Reno, said
dopamine is released from one nerve and absorbed by another.
Methamphetamine forces the release of a huge amount of dopamine,
causing nerve receptors to shut down. This prompts users to increase
the use of meth.

Meth in low doses can result in confidence and euphoria, she said.

"Say you are a teen girl and are shy and perhaps have been abused ...
and you use something that makes you talkative and smart and
confident and you lose your appetite and now you have new friends,"
Chervenak said. "It's extremely appealing."

All drugs of abuse target dopamine in the same way, Chervenak said,
and produce more of the neurotransmitter than natural dopamine
reinforcers, such as eating and sex.

"With drugs of abuse, natural reinforcers don't work anymore because
the only thing that will work to make the person feel even barely
normal is the drug of abuse," she said.

Chervenak said that an experiment with rats determined that a rat's
dopamine level was 150 after it ate, 200 after it had sex, 200 after
it had some morphine, 225 when exposed to tobacco, 340 when exposed
to cocaine and 1,050 when exposed to meth.

Chervenak said a 2006 study showed meth users had dramatically
decreased levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates
mood. As the serotonin dropped, the former users' aggression increased.

"This tells you the changes in the brain are a persistent symptom of
meth use," she said.

High levels of meth causes brain damage that leads to psychosis,
similar to symptoms of bipolar disease and schizophrenia, Chervenak said.

Four stages of recovery

Tom Freese, a researcher at UCLA's Integrated Substance Abuse
Program, told a group of Reno counselors recently that
methamphetamine addicts' brains need more than a year to recover from
the drug. He said an addict goes through four stages during recovery:

During the withdrawal stage, patients tend to sleep and experience
severe cravings, depression and difficulty concentrating. The
honeymoon brings confidence and hope, but a relapse could be caused
by a secondary drug or alcohol use. Addicts can be cheerful and feel
like they've beaten their addiction.

The wall is the most difficult because recovering addicts feel
hopeless, depressed, irritable, tired, isolated and are battling
cravings. Ninety-day programs typically release patients during this
period, which leaves them ripe for relapse.

During the adjustment phase, addicts learn to build a balanced life
between work, leisure, relationships, sleep and recovery activities,
but are still at risk for relapse.

Some tests in San Francisco rewarded users with money or vouchers for
stores when they passed a weekly drug test. Freese said some programs
use calendars where patients can check off the days they remain clean.

Meth patients are also more difficult than other addicts because they
sometimes lose their home, job, vehicle and family and friends in a
matter of months.

At Bristlecone Family Resources in Reno, counselor Nadine Viser, a
former crack cocaine addict, says the Washoe County drug court helps
her meth patients succeed by forcing them to see a judge and undergo
random drug tests. After a year, recovering addicts go through an
after-care program in which they check in less frequently "" and
sometimes relapse.

"Anytime they're in a structured environment, they can usually
succeed," she said.

Long-term damage

Many people in treatment programs find ways to kick their drug habit
through counseling and other techniques, such as drug court or
meetings at Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous or Crystal Meth
Anonymous.

But research shows that meth users' brains will be forever changed.
Piasecki said their memory and problem-solving skills deteriorate.
Some have trouble controlling their emotions.

Meth users lose nearly 25 percent of their dopamine transporters in
the part of their brain that controls movement, attention, motivation
and reward, according to a study conducted at the Brookhaven National
Laboratory in Upton, N.Y. and at UCLA.

Researchers said the loss was equivalent to about 40 years of aging.

The study determined that users never regained fine and gross motor
control and memory, and users may be at increased risk for
neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease.