Drug addiction How dangerous is Crystal Meth in reality?

A new drug scandal shakes Berlin's political scene. As various media report, the Green Bundestag MP Volker Beck was apparently caught in a police check in Berlin with hard drugs. It should be about Crystal Meth, one of the most dangerous drugs on the market. Nevertheless, the consumption of the substance does not seem to be an isolated case. Instead, the poison is spreading rapidly and is being taken across the company by more and more people. Just two years ago, Bundestag member Michael Hartmann (SPD) admitted that he had bought and consumed crystal meth.
Drug quickly leads to psychological dependence
The Green Bundestag MP Volker Beck was caught in a police check in Berlin with drugs. According to unconfirmed reports, this is supposed to be Crystal Meth - a drug that seems to be gaining in importance. The synthetically produced substance belongs to the substance class of amphetamines, which belongs to Speed. But in comparison to this, Crystal is much stronger and longer and leads very quickly to a serious mental dependency. The drug can be smoked in its crystalline form ("ice"), but in most cases it is snorted as a powder or swallowed as a tablet. In these cases, the intoxication is less intense, but lasts longer. Another possibility is the spraying of the dissolved substance, which increases the addictiveness in comparison to the other variants extremely.

The drug is one of the worst in the illegal drug scene. Image: Monkey Business - fotolia

The methamphetamine is obtained by the chemical reduction of ephedrine which is e.g. contained in cough syrups and cold remedies. Since the "ingredients" are freely available and therefore accessible to everyone, the production is comparatively cheap. In order to produce crystal meth, the ephedrine is often reduced with hydrogen iodide or with iodine and phosphorus, whereby the effect can be changed by different mixing ratios of the substances. The drug also known in the scene as "Yaba", "Piko" or "Hard Pep" usually has a very high degree of purity, but there are also various extender substances such as e.g. Caffeine or lactose.

Greater dopamine release in the brain than other substances
Although crystal meth is considered by many experts to be the most dangerous drug in the world, it seems to become more popular among consumers. The reason is obvious, because it seems extremely stimulating and performance-enhancing. "Methamphetamine leads to a strong release of dopamine in the brain, which hardly reaches any other drug," said Rafael Riera, chief physician of the district hospital Hochstadt, in a conversation with "Time Online". Dopamine is an important messenger substance of the nervous system, which, as a so-called "neurotransmitter", transmits signals between neurons and thus ensures the control of physical and mental activities. Crystal addicts would experience the intoxication as a "lucky whirlwind", sometimes not sleeping for days and no longer having an appetite, according to the expert. The substance triggers a strong euphoria and leads among other things to an exaggerated self-confidence, desire increase, increased willingness to contact and omnipresent feelings.

If the intoxication is over, however, listlessness, insomnia, anxiety and lethargy will follow. And that's not all, because the price for the short soaring is high and the consequences of permanent consumption can be serious. Cardiac tears, sweats, muscle spasms, dizziness, and itching of the skin may be among the possible side effects. Brain damage, circulatory disorders, tooth loss, chronic dermatitis ("Crystal Acne") or kidney and liver damage come. In addition, psychological dependence is particularly dangerous, which can lead to anxiety and panic attacks, hallucinations, eating disorders and increased risk of suicide. The physical deterioration can be e.g. understand the frightening images of Crystal consumers from the "Faces of Meth" campaign, with which the US government wants to draw attention to the danger of the drug.

Increasing performance and having fun are the central motives
Contrary to popular belief, Crystal is not a "lower layer drug" but is consumed in all milieus today. Whether students, craftsmen, top managers or - as in the current case - politicians: The drug is present everywhere and according to a study of the Center for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research (ZIS) in Hamburg, especially for increasing the performance and have fun. The substance itself is not new, but was first produced in 1893 by the Japanese chemist Nagayoshi Nagai. At the end of the 1930s, methamphetamine was finally marketed under the brand name "Pervitin" and was increasingly used during the blitzkriegs against Poland and France (1939/40) to suppress the soldiers' anxiety and make them more ruthless and capable do. The finished medicinal product pervitin even remained on the market until 1988. Today, however, methamphetamine is subject to the Narcotics Act (BtMG, Annex III); accordingly, the manufacture, trade, acquisition, possession and lending of Crystal are criminal offenses. (No)