CRYSTAL METH CRAZE COMES TO BRITAIN VIA HOLLYWOOD

It's one of the most addictive and destructive drugs on the American
black market, and now it's arrived in Britain. Crystal meth, the new
Hollywood glamour drug, has begun surfacing in nightclubs and bars in
London and Manchester.

The trend is already causing serious concern among police, health
experts and charity workers. Crystal meth, or crystalline
methylamphetamine hydrochloride, is manufactured from a cocktail of
cheap chemicals - often including fertilisers - and has a number of
particularly nasty side-effects. According to US researchers, these
can range from the sudden loss of teeth to a rapid descent into severe
psychotic disorder.

Users claim that the drug - many times more potent than ecstasy or
cocaine - can give an artificial high for as long as 10 hours, as well
as causing dramatic weight loss. The severe come-down, however, make
ithighly addictive as users seek another hit.

Dr John Marsden, senior lecturer in Addictive Behaviour at London's
Institute of Psychiatry, said the emergence of the drug was "a real
worry", and added: "We've seen early warning signs of this as a
potentially destructive trend.

"It's an ugly little character with a severe dependence liability. As
a neurotoxic, it literally destroys the dopamine neurons in the brain
- - the chemicals that control movement and pleasure."

Over the past year, crystal meth has become the must-have drug within
Hollywood's entertainment industry, to the extent that Los Angeles
police talk of an epidemic. Usually sold as a brittle crystalline
powder, but also produced in pill form, crystal meth can be smoked,
swallowed or injected. Its street value in Britain is around ?40 per
quarter-gram, making it a premium narcotic.

"It gives you a huge burst of energy, but it destroys your body and
mind. It can do horrific damage, burning the body from within," said
Tom Riley, of the US Office of National Drug Control Policy. "We've
seen 22-year-old users all shrivelled up and looking like they're 50."

The drug, also referred to as "ice", "crank" and "yabba", was first
used in Thailand, Japan and Mexico. It is now feared it is being
produced in Holland and Belgium.

According to some observers, the drug has become popular with certain
elements of the gay community, raising fears of an increase in
unprotected sex. Matthew Hodson of the gay men's health charity GMFA,
said: "Friends of mine say they have taken it or been offered it. It
is a huge problem in New York."