Methamphetamine or Meth can have some seriously devastating effects on the mind and body of anyone who uses it. From mental disorders, birth defects, dental/oral health damage, to the spread of HIV and cardiovascular damage and eventually to death, the use of meth is highly addictive and deadly. The following article discusses the facts and recent developments in the fight against methamphetamine use, abuse and addiction.

Methamphetamines and Fruit Flies?

A recent study involving fruit flies, yes fruit flies, has shed new light on just how dangerous methamphetamine use can be to your body. The study looked at the “molecular changes throughout the body.” Professor Barry Pittendrigh of the University of Illinois who led the research said, “Methamphetamine influences cellular processes associated with aging.” He went on to say that methamphetamines “affects spermatogenesis, and it impacts the heart. One could almost call meth a perfect storm toxin because it does so much damage to so many different tissues in the body.” Furthermore the study revealed that long term methamphetamine use can have a negative influence on “the molecular pathways associated with energy generation, sugar metabolism, sperm cell formation, cell structure, hormones, skeletal muscle and cardiac muscles.” In other words, methamphetamine users are seriously damaging their mental and physical growth and development with every hit.

Meth and the Unborn:

According to the American Pregnancy Association, Methamphetamine increases the heart rate of both the mother and the unborn child. The APA further states that women who are pregnant while using methamphetamine exhibit the same symptoms as those who abuse cocaine while pregnant. The APA warns that any use of speed “can cause the baby to get less oxygen.” The limited amount of oxygen taken in by an unborn child can lead to a baby born at a low birth weight. The American Pregnancy Association also warns that methamphetamine users have an increased likelihood of going into labor prematurely. They are more likely to have a miscarriage and “placental abruption.” It has also been found that children of methamphetamine users have been born addicted to the drug and suffer the same withdrawal symptoms as an active meth addict. These symptoms include, feeding difficulties, muscle spasms, tremors and sleeplessness. According to Science Daily, recent studies suggest that children “exposed to methamphetamines while in the womb can suffer irreversible brain damage.”

Meth Mouth:

Methamphetamine will wreck your smile. According to the American Dental Association (ADA), continued methamphetamine use will result in “serious damage to your oral health.” Not only will it completely destroy your pearly whites (your teeth), you will have a painful problem with your natural ability to chew your food. In about a year, warns the ADA, the majority methamphetamine users will go from having healthy teeth to having extremely sensitive teeth and eventually they will lose their teeth all together. ”Meth Mouth” is the popular term for this condition. It starts first with the users suffering from “dry mouth” and cravings for sodas. Then they will clench and grind their teeth until they begin to decay. Ultimately the user has extensive oral damage from use of the drug and the lack of proper oral hygiene. At very young ages teens and young adults addicted to meth are literally forced to have “full-mouth extractions” due to the damage done to them by the use of methamphetamines. Eventually they will be destined to a lifetime of wearing dentures. Meth mouth is no joke and young people are the ones suffering the most the lost of their smile. The ADA reports that over 12-million Americans have tried methamphetamine. Most of those people who use the drug are young people between 18 and 34 years of age according to a 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Meth and HIV:

But the bad news about this dangerous drug does not stop there. By now we should all be aware of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV the disease that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). It is a disease for which there is currently no cure. It has been approximately 30 years since the very first reported case of HIV was discovered and since then HIV has grown to become a worldwide pandemic. Today, over 33 million people around the world live with HIV. According to www.AIDS.Gov; annually more than two million deaths have been attributed to AIDS and currently there are more than 50,000 people infected with HIV in the United States. Why am I telling you about HIV and AIDS in an article about Methamphetamines? Well it just so happens that studies have linked methamphetamine use with the spread of HIV. Research at the University of Buffalo suggests that methamphetamines “increase production of a docking protein that promotes the spread of the HIV-1 virus in infected users.” Yes, it’s true. They have found that methamphetamines somehow ‘increase expression of a receptor called DC-SIGN which is a virus-attachment factor. This activity allows more of the virus to invade the immune system according to researchers. If you’re using you’re not thinking and the euphoric feeling you get from Meth makes the user lose their inhibitions and make them more likely to try more risky sexual behavior. This “risky behaviovor”, as we already know, is one of the main causes for the spread of HIV. The evidence against the use of Meth is stacking up. Are you convinced yet?

No Cure:

Recently some scientists reported developing three formulations of drugs that could potentially be used in developing a vaccine to treat methamphetamine addiction. This report was recently published in the (Journal of the American Chemical Society.) But there is no cure yet.

It is believed that methamphetamine use and addiction cost the U.S. over “$23 billion annually.” The medical cost, the cost of law enforcement and other factors are taking its toll on the American tax payers. It is time you got involved. You can read this article and get informed and simple have some good information to converse with your friends at the next dinner party or function you attend or you can make a commitment to become a part of the solution. Call Narconon of Georgia and get the facts.