Meth's Path Of Destruction, Part 3 of 7

METH'S ADDICTION COMES FROM PLEASURE BRAIN CELLS

"Crank," "speed," "crystal," "zip," "ice," "the poor man's cocaine."

Methamphetamine goes by many names. Whatever it's called, the drug can be
intensely addictive.

"Some people are incredibly sensitive and are likely to become addicted
after just a few uses," said Alan Leshner, director of the National
Institute on Drug Abuse. "Other people appear able to use for quite a while
before they're addicted. It's very individual."

Sold in pill, powder or chunk form, meth can be swallowed, sniffed, smoked
or injected. "Either through the lungs or injected seems to be the fastest
way it gets to your brain," Leshner said.

Injected or smoked, meth races to the central nervous system in a matter of
seconds, triggering what's commonly called "a fight or flight reaction."
Adrenaline floods into the bloodstream. The heart beats faster. Dopamine, a
brain chemical that regulates pleasure, attention and motivation, kicks
into high gear, triggering a rush of euphoria.

Explosions of dopamine can make people feel smarter, stronger, happier.
"Invincible," said Hoyt Orr. "You feel like you could take on the world.
You're on cloud nine."

Meth users can quickly get hooked on the spike in dopamine. Orr put it this
way: "You come down and want to catch that rush again. I literally had to
live off the stuff."

Prolonged meth use can destroy dopamine cells and cause brain damage. A
recent study that looked inside addicts' brains found some resembled those
of people with early Parkinson's disease, a severe movement disorder.

Using brain imaging techniques, researchers found dopamine levels 24
percent lower in addicts than in normal volunteers. This decrease was
linked to sluggish motor skills and poorer performance on verbal and memory
tasks.

Heavy users risk other complications, ranging from severe depression to the
distorted thoughts of schizophrenia.

"People who have used a lot of methamphetamine develop psychosis-like
behavior," Leshner said. "They become paranoid. They have memory deficits.
They have mood problems and depression. There's a wide array of behavioral
consequences, and they last long after you stop using the drug."

Sitting on the porch of his parents' house in Lyons, Orr said he got
treatment because he didn't want his young daughter to grow up with a
tweaked dad.

"You're always jittery, always wanting to do something, very nervous," Orr
said, rattling off a few of the telltale characteristics.

Hardcore tweakers slowly waste away because they can go for days without
eating or sleeping. With empty eyes and gaunt physiques, some look like
concentration camp survivors.

"That's why they call it 'sucked up,'" Orr said.

Rebounding from his 10-year addiction, Orr now has a pot belly. "I eat like
a horse."

On this sunny afternoon, the ex-tweaker counted his blessings. "When you're
tweaking, the sunlight hurts your eyes real bad. You're always squinting or
wearing sunglasses. I even see better now."

Next: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1878/a06.html