Methamphetamine, or meth, is a synthetic chemical that acts as a stimulant. It is snorted, injected, smoked or swallowed. Users experience an initial rush that lasts only a few minutes. Oral or intranasal use produces euphoria-a high, but not a rush.51
Creating a sense of energy, meth can push the body faster and further than it’s meant to go. It increases the heart rate, blood pressure, and the risk of stroke.52
In the short term, meth causes mind and mood changes, often making the user feel very anxious. Long-term effects can include chronic fatigue, paranoid or delusional thinking, hallucinations and mood disorders.53
Meth is very powerful and highly addictive. Users can become tolerant to its effects, and need to increase the amount they take to feel the same way they did the first time they took it.
Meth increases heart rate, blood pressure, and the risk of stroke. It can kill you the first time you take it. An overdose of meth can result in heart failure. Long-term physical effects such as liver, kidney, and lung damage may also kill you.54