Stimulant Drugs Health Article

Abuse of illegal stimulants

The primary illegal stimulants used for recreational purposes are amphetamines and cocaine. Street names for various types of amphetamines include speed, uppers, dexies, bennies, ice, L.A. ice, Ecstasy, and crank. Amphetamines produce an effect similar to that of the hormone adrenaline, making its users feel awake, alert, and energetic. Drugs of this type were abused by young people as early as the 1930s, when it was popular to tear the medicated strip out of Benzedrine nasal inhalers and ingest them directly or in coffee. By the 1950s and 1960s amphetamines were widely used by people who needed to keep themselves awake through the night, such as truck drivers and jazz musicians, or by athletes for extra energy. Many young people used them to stay awake when they needed to cram for tests or complete school assignments. It is estimated that up to half the amphetamines sold by drug companies in the 1960s were sold illegally. After the government imposed controls on the manufacture of these drugs, they began to be produced illegally in home laboratories. Not only are these preparations vulnerable to contamination, they are often diluted by manufacturers and dealers. Many supposed amphetamines sold on the street contain mostly caffeine and other drugs, with a very small percentage of amphetamine or even none at all.

The use of amphetamines declined in the 1980s as cocaine became the drug of choice. However, in the 1990s methamphetamine (traditionally known as speed) has become newly popular, especially among middle-class suburban teenagers, in a crystalline form—known as ice, L.A. ice, or crank—that can either be smoked or snorted like cocaine. Smoking methamphetamine first became fashionable in Hawaii. Use of the drug then became widespread in California, and now it is increasing in other parts of the country. A 1994 survey conducted at the University of Michigan found that more high school seniors had used methamphetamine than cocaine. In 1993 alone, the number of emergency room admissions related to the use of this drug increased by 61%. Crank is much cheaper to produce than cocaine, so its manufacturers realize a larger profit (a pound can be produced for $700 and sold for as much as $225,000). Users like it because it reaches the brain almost immediately, and its effects last longer than those of cocaine. It produces feelings of alertness, euphoria, and increased energy. Like other amphetamines, crank also decreases appetite and promotes weight loss, making it attractive to young women, who represent 50% of the teenage market for the drug.

People taking methamphetamine, which remains in the body for as long as four days, quickly establish a tolerance for the drug and require ever greater amounts to experience the same effect. Users can become addicted within four to six months. Side effects of the drug include a dry mouth, sweating, diarrhea, insomnia, anxiety, and blurred vision. Severe reactions can include hallucinations (called "tweaking"), paranoia, and speech disorders, all of which may persist for up to two days after use of the drug. In addition to physical addiction, amphetamines produce a psychological dependency on the euphoric effects produced by these drugs, especially since when they wear off they are followed by a "crash" that produces a depression so severe it can lead to suicide.

A related stimulant, which is derived from methamphetamine, is MDMA, also known as Ecstasy. MDMA combines the characteristics of a stimulant and a psychedelic drug, producing hallucinations and enhanced feelings of sociability and closeness to others. It is less addictive than amphetamines but more dangerous. Persons have died from taking this drug; some had preexisting heart conditions, but others had no known medical problems. MDMA causes brain damage, and its use can lead to the development of panic disorder.

Cocaine is a stimulant made from the leaves of the coca plant. Its street names include coke, snow, toot, blow, Stardust, nose candy, and flake. When the pure drug was first extracted from the leaves in the 19th century, its harmful effects—including addiction—weren't known, and early in the 20th century it was legally sold in medicines and soft drinks, including Coca-Cola, which originally contained small amounts of the substance (from which its name is derived). Cocaine use has been illegal since 1914. Until the 1970s it was not widely used, except among some members of the arts community. At first cocaine was largely used in a diluted powder form that was inhaled. Eventually, more potent smokable forms were developed, first "freebase" then "crack," which has been widely used since the 1980s. In 1988 the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse reported that 1 in 10 Americans had used cocaine. Of young adults between the ages of 18 and 25, one in four reported having used cocaine at some point. Cocaine also became visible as a substance abused by celebrities, including actor John Belushi (who died of a cocaine-heroin overdose), comedian Richard Pryor (who was badly burned freebasing cocaine), and Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry, who was forced to resign from office but later reelected. In 1991 a government study found that 15% of high school seniors and 21% of college students had tried cocaine, and cocaine use by teenagers has continued to increase significantly through the 1990s.

Cocaine produces a physical addiction by affecting the brain's chemistry and a psychological addiction because users become dependent on the confident, euphoric feeling it creates to help them cope with the stresses of daily life. Possible negative reactions to large doses of cocaine use include hallucinations, paranoia, aggressive behavior, and even psychotic "breaks" with reality. Cocaine can cause heart problems, seizures, strokes, and comas. Reactions to withdrawal from the drug are so severe that most users are unable to quit without professional help. Withdrawal symptoms, which may last for weeks, include muscle pains and spasms, shaking, fatigue, and reduced mental function. Both inpatient and outpatient programs are available to treat persons for cocaine addiction. Although such programs are costly, treatment expenses for teenagers are often covered by their parents' health insurance plans or HMOs. Some treatment facilities also have provisions to waive fees for a certain number of low-income patients.