National Institute on Drug Abuse · National Institutes of Health

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The Brain's Response to
Methamphetamine

Hi, my name's Sara Bellum. Welcome to my magazine series exploring the brain's response to drugs. In this issue, we'll investigate many fascinating facts about the stimulant drug methamphetamine. Some of this information was only recently discovered by leading scientists.

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 that I explore in my magazine on stimulants. Methamphetamine can cause lots of harmful things, including inability to sleep, paranoia, aggressiveness, and hallucinations. I'll tell you more about these later.

Methamphetamine Mind Over Matter

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