( Drug abuse is increasing at an alarming...)Alarming Rise of Methamphetamine Use Among Australian Youth,Health

Drug abuse is increasing at an alarming rate in Australia, among the youth// especially.

Teens as young as 14 are turning to drugs and at least one in ten in that tender age group has tried them, according to Statistics on Drug Use in Australia 2006, released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

According to the report, an estimated 100,000 Australian's have tried methamphetamines in the past week. A massive 500,000 people have used the drugs, which include speed, ice or crystal meth, in the past twelve months.

Methamphetamine is a very addictive stimulant drug that activates certain systems in the brain. It is chemically related to amphetamine but, at comparable doses, the effects of methamphetamine are much more potent, longer lasting, and more harmful to the central nervous system (CNS).

Street methamphetamine is referred to by many names, such as “speed,” “meth,” and “chalk.” Methamphetamine hydrochloride, clear chunky crystals resembling ice, which can be inhaled by smoking, is referred to as “ice,” “crystal,” “glass,” and “tina.”

Methamphetamine is taken orally, intranasally (snorting the powder), by needle injection, or by smoking. Abusers may become addicted quickly, needing higher doses and more often.

Chronic methamphetamine abuse significantly changes how the brain functions, leading to reduced motor speed and impaired verbal learning.

Taking even small amounts of methamphetamine can result in increased wakefulness, increased physical activity, decreased appetite, increased respiration, rapid heart rate, irregular heartbeat, increased blood pressure, and hyperthermia. Other effects of methamphetamine abuse may include irritability, anxiety, insomnia, confusion, tremors, convulsions, and cardiovascular collapse and death.

Long-term effects may include paranoia, aggressiveness, extreme anorexia, memory loss, visual and auditory hallucinations, delusions, a
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