Speed | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Speed is the popular name for methamphetamine (also called methedrine), a drug that has strong stimulant effects on the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). Speed is similar to amphetamine,but it has greater effects on the central nervous system and lesser effects on the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems. In other words, like amphetamine, speed causes increased activity, increased talkativeness, more energy and less fatigue, decreased food intake, and a general sense of well-being. Because speed dissolves more easily in water than amphetamine, drug abusers generally choose to inject speed. Injecting the drug into the veins results in the production of a rush. Some users describe the rush as the most desirable effect of the drug.

Japan was the first nation to experience a major epidemic of methamphetamine use. During World War II, the militaries of both Japan and the United States produced large quantities of methamphetamines to keep combat troops alert. In Japan immediately after the war, the drugs were released for sale to the Japanese public. Within a short time there was widespread use and abuse of the drug, much of it by injection. At the peak of the epidemic, more than a million Japanese were using methamphetamines.

Despite the experience of the Japanese, many in the United States continued to believe that amphetamines did not lead to abuse. At the time, these drugs were not subject to any special controls or regulations by the state or federal government. In contrast, government laws control the availability of other drugs, such as codeine, so that these substances are available only with the prescription of a physician and in strictly limited quantities. The first speed epidemic in the United States began in the 1960s in the San Francisco, California area. Anumber of doctors there were prescribing the drug to people addicted to heroin. These drug abusers self-injected speed as a substitute for heroin. The drug became widely popular, and increasing numbers of people claimed to be heroin abusers just so that they could obtain prescriptions for speed. In the mid-1960s the government began to limit the sale of intravenous speed to pharmacies. As a result, speed that was produced illegally began to appear on the street. By the late 1960s a large number of users throughout the United States were injecting high doses of this illegal speed on a regular basis. Many experienced the drug's toxic (poisonous) effects, including paranoid psychosis (amphetamine psychosis).

Speed never completely disappeared from street use, but by the 1970s its availability greatly decreased. This trend began to reverse during the 1980s, with pockets of speed abuse occurring in the United States. One outbreak of speed use occurred in Hawaii, where users were taking the drug in a smokable form. This form of speed is called "ice" or "crystal."

Ice is a large, usually clear crystal of high purity (greater than 90 percent). Users smoke it using a glass pipe with two openings, much like a crack-cocaine pipe. Because it is a large crystal, it is difficult to mix the drug with additives. This purity makes the drug extremely desirable to buyers of illegal drugs. The smoke is odorless and, un- like crack, the residue of the drug stays in the pipe and can be smoked again. Users report that the effects last for as long as twelve hours,although it is likely that this prolonged effect is due to the use of several doses.

Speed users, like cocaine users, often take the drug in binges that last from several hours to several days. During this time the user takes repeated doses of the drug and does not eat or sleep. Ending a speed binge results in a crash, in which the user becomes tired and depressed. The most severe toxic effect of repeated speed use is paranoid psychosis, which may last for several months. After a period in which the user remains drug-free, this psychosis generally resolves. However, it can reappear if the user returns to speed abuse.

There are no medications to help speed users break their habit. Addicted users may need supportive treatment to help them get through the period of time during which they are stopping drug use. Antiseizure medications may be given to help the user avoid convulsions. Antidepressants may help improve symptoms of depression that occur after stopping speed use.

Treatment of speed abuse usually involves cognitive behavioral psychotherapy. This is a form of talk therapy that helps the user learn new patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving, to help the user avoid returning to drug use. Information on finding treatment programs in local communities can be found at http://www.jointogether.org/sa/ help/treatment/.

Amphetamine; Designer Drugs.

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