Kids & Teens
Speed, meth, chalk, crystal, ice, glass. These are all names for the drug methamphetamine. Methamphetamine comes in many different forms and is snorted, swallowed, injected, or smoked. The smokable form is known as "ice" or "crystal," due to its appearance.
Methamphetamine is a powerful drug. It acts by changing how the brain works. It also speeds up many functions in the body. Methamphetamine has a chemical structure that is similar to another drug called amphetamine. Methamphetamine can cause lots of harmful things including:
No matter how methamphetamine is used, it eventually ends up in the bloodstream where it is circulated throughout the brain. Methamphetamine can affect lots of brain structures.
Methamphetamine can change how lots of things in the brain and the body work. Even small amounts of methamphetamine can cause a person to be more awake and active, lose their appetite, and become irritable and aggressive. Methamphetamine also causes a person's blood pressure to increase and their heart to beat faster.
If a person uses methamphetamine for a long time, they may become paranoid. They may also hear and see things that aren't there. These are called hallucinations. Because methamphetamine causes big increases in blood pressure, someone using it for a long time may also have permanent damage to blood vessels in the brain. This can lead to strokes caused by bleeding in the brain.