Description
My drug of choice is Methamphetamine.
This paper will be on a drug with the potential for abuse or misuse that has been submitted to, and approved by, the instructor.
The paper must include the following:
1. History and epidemiology of the drug
2. The pharmacology, how does it work in the system
3. How is it grown, manufactured, transported and marketed
4. The dosage, expected effects, side effects and potential for overdose
5. The specific treatments that might be used in rehabilitation
Explanation & Answer
View attached explanation and answer. Let me know if you have any questions.
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Methamphetamine
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Methamphetamine
History and Epidemiology of the Drug
Methamphetamine is an illicit drug whose abuse is extensive in the United States and the
entire world. Methamphetamine shares a similar chemical structure as Amphetamine, whose use
in the USA dates back to World War 11. The soldiers in the war used Amphetamine to manage
stress, relieve fatigue, suppress appetite and inhibit sleep (Courtney & Ray, 2014). Between 1950
and 1960, Amphetamine was used to medically treat depression and obesity (David et al., 2019).
However, its abuse intensified as the drug became easily accessible to students, athletes and truck
drivers who misused it as a stimulant. In 1970, the usage of meth drastically reduced following the
reclassification of its schedule to a more restrictive one by the US government. Thus, it became
scarce, unavailable and medically restricted (Courtney & Ray, 2014). Later in the same year, the
United States government classified the drug as illicit and illegalized its non-medicinal use.
The intensified measures against Amphetamine prompted illicit manufacturers to begin
producing Methamphetamine using Methylamine and Phenyl-2-Propanone. Mass production of
the drug resulted in its uncontrolled supply and extreme abuse in the United States. The popularity
and drastic increase in the abuse of Methamphetamine was experienced in the 1990s (Courtney &
Ray, 2014). A 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) report indicate that most
people aged 12 and above first used Methamphetamine between 1991 and 1998 (Courtney & Ray,
2014). In 2005, the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act (CMEA) put in measures to combat
the availability and abuse of meth. Pharmacies and other medicine retail stalls were required to
keep logs of drug purchases and limit the amount an individual would purchase in a day. However,
this noble course did not last as long as anticipated since the illicit manufacturers devised other
means of producing and distributing it through the elaborate backstreet channels and diverse drug
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networks they had earlier established (Courtney & Ray, 2014). To date, Meth abuse is still
extensive in the United States.
The Pharmacology of Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine, commonly known as meth, is a highly addictive drug that stimulates
the nervous system by increasing the levels of dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin (David et
al., 2019). The drastic increase in dopamine, up to 2600% (Jones et al., 2022), then stimulates the
brain stem, which is responsible for vigilance, heart action, heart rate, body temperature, appetite,
attention and blood pressure. As the dopamine levels increases, a meth abuser experiences
increased heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure (David et al., 2019). Prolonged exposure
of the brain cells to even small portions of meth damages the dopamine cells, affecting memory
retention and attention, and could also r...
