Crystal the most dangerous drug on the market

Synthetic drug Crystal is also increasingly prevalent in Germany

15/08/2012

According to the Federal Drug and Addiction Report 2012, the use of the drug Crystal has increased significantly throughout Germany. According to the chairman of the Professional Association of German Psychiatrists (BVDP), a worrying development is that Crystal is extremely dangerous and can make even very small amounts addictive.

According to the expert, Crystal is the most dangerous drug currently available on the market. „Crystal is stimulating, often triggering a feeling of euphoria“ and „increases, for example, the movement and speech“, so the explanation in the drug report to the effect of the drug. Also, the sleep and wakefulness patterns are significantly disturbed. However, this is only the immediate effect. In addition, mental dependence, personality changes, psychosis, anxiety disorders, skin redness, palpitations and hair loss and loss of teeth threaten.

Depending on the first consumption
According to the chairman of the Professional Association of German Psychiatrists, Christa Roth-Sackenheim, Crystal „actually the most dangerous drug on the market right now.“ Already one-off consumption can addictive, with smallest amounts of one-tenth of a gram sufficient, explained the expert. In persons who have already lived through a drug career (so-called „heavy user“) the dependency probably only arises at somewhat larger amounts, but the risk remains the same. As the BVDP chairman reports, is „Crystal apparently able to intervene very quickly in brain chemistry“ and so initiate a dependency.

Crystal effect lasts up to twelve hours
The synthetic drug is usually snorted by consumers, sometimes smoked or dissolved in water. According to the drug and addiction report 2012, however, Crystal is „increasingly also used intravenously.“ The effect sets in quickly and can last for twelve hours. „You feel very well, have no pain, feel loved, are euphoric“, Christa Roth-Sackenheim describes the effect of consumption. Those affected are not hungry, show no fatigue, are full of self-confidence and lose their basic human fears, explained the expert. This happens „also people who are otherwise very different in their personality, "continued the BVDP chairman.

Personality disintegration by the synthetic drug
The feeling of the Crystal consumers, however, has little in common with their actual condition. Not infrequently, in the case of an innate tendency, for example, delusions develop as a result of the use of crystal, explained Roth-Sackenheim. The same applies to cannabis, which, if properly predisposed, also threatens mental illnesses such as psychosis or phobias. From Crystal, however, the consumers are extremely easily dependent and even without special hereditary preload, most sufferers tend to a dramatic personality disintegration. By comparison, the personality remains relatively well preserved in other hard drugs such as cocaine or heroin, as addicts, for example, can continue to do their job, explained the BVDP chairman.

Crystal addicts are difficult to treat
As a result of their drug use, Crystal addicts also experience a typical physical disintegration associated with, for example, significant weight loss or increased susceptibility to infection. The skin also suffers from consumption, itchy rash is the result. Furthermore, the heart is affected, which threatens a heart attack in the worst case. Overall, the cheap to produce synthetic drug is classified by the experts as potentially life threatening and should by no means be underestimated. Especially since the therapy, according to Christa Roth-Sackenheim usually made extremely difficult. „If we are lucky and the people are at the beginning of their addiction career, they can be treated on an outpatient basis in individual cases“, explained the BVDP Chair, adding that in most cases intensive treatment in a clinic is required. Again, however, the therapists often do not know how to proceed best, since the effect of the substance on the brain Crystal often remains unclear, said the expert. According to Christa Roth-Sackenheim is „It's a medical challenge to get people away from it.“ Prior to consumption is urgent to warn. (Fp)

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Image: Lucie Gerhardt