The 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse reports that 9.4 million people have tried it at least once nearly triple the figure in 1994. For both types of methamphetamine users, the outcome is bleak. Researchers have reported that as much as 50 percent of the dopamine-producing cells in the brain can be damaged after exposure to even low levels of methamphetamine. This brain damage is like that caused by strokes or Alzheimer s disease. Meth also can cause a variety of cardiovascular problems, hyper-thermia, and convulsions, all of which, if not treated immediately, can result in death.
Some students use meth to enhance alertness.
The drug appeals to youth who want to study all night or get a short, intense rush. Teenage girls take methampheta-mine to lose weight, as the drug suppresses appetite. The Truth About Methamphetamine has been created. The Rural Unemployed Easy but dangerous to make, meth is manufactured in everything from home labs to barns. The typical Midwestern meth cooker is a white male between 15 and 30 years old, with little education and living in poverty, often unemployed.