The majority of methamphetamine users are white men ages 18 to 25. Summary VPN_Key · EpidemiologyVPN_Key · Clinical EffectsVPN_Key. Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that can cause addiction in just one use. This is mainly due to the surge of dopamine produced by the drug. Dopamine is a chemical substance that is not only responsible for inducing feelings of pleasure, but also for motivation, memory retention, learning, and reward processing.
The surge of dopamine produced by methamphetamine is much greater than the natural amount of dopamine produced in the brain, causing people to continue using the drug to maintain those intense and pleasurable feelings. A modified CAGE questionnaire or similar instrument can be used for background screening, although the effectiveness of these tools in detecting methamphetamine abuse is unknown. Currently, most of these communities have limited government structures to combat widespread methamphetamine abuse. Methamphetamine users who inject the drug are exposed to additional risks, such as contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and C, and other blood-borne viruses.
The synthetic stimulant methamphetamine (more commonly known as “methamphetamine” or “crystalline methamphetamine”) is a drug that is frequently abused in the United States. Patients who abuse methamphetamine may also benefit from support groups or 12-step drug treatment programs. Methamphetamine use is associated with child sexual abuse and HIV-related sexual risk behaviors among customers of establishments that serve alcoholic beverages in Cape Town. In this study, these behaviors could have prevented mothers whose children abuse methamphetamine from seeking help and support from the wider social network, such as family and friends, often leaving them defenseless and isolated.
People who abuse methamphetamine may also have episodes of violent behavior, paranoia, anxiety, confusion, and insomnia. Treatment for methamphetamine abuse is behavioral; cognitive behavioral therapy, contingency management, and the matrix model can be effective. Ambulatory behavioral therapies are the standard treatment for methamphetamine abuse and dependence, although inpatient treatment is sometimes used. The Drug Abuse Warning Network report found that more than 60 percent of methamphetamine-related emergency department visits in 2002 also involved other drugs.
