Learn

  • What is Meth?
    • An addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system. The main form of meth is a white crystal-like powder that is odorless and bitter-tasting. Meth easily dissolves in liquid.
    • Street / Informational names:
      • Glass
      • (Crystal) Meth
      • Shards
      • Ice
    • Common ways meth is taken:
      • Smoking
      • Injecting
      • Snorting
      • Ingestion
    • Why do people use meth? 
      • People like the feeling that comes from the high
      • They are addicted
      • They have a legal prescription

What are the side effects of meth?

 

Short-term Effects

• Increased blood pressure and body temperature
• Faster breathing
• Rapid or irregular heartbeat
• Loss of appetite, disturbed sleep patterns, or nausea
• Bizarre, erratic, aggressive, irritable, or violent behavior

Long-term Effects

• Meth make you get old fast – premature aging.
• Permanent damage to the heart and brain
• High blood pressure leading to heart attacks, strokes, and death
• Liver, kidney, and lung damage
• Anxiety, confusion, or insomnia
• Paranoia, hallucinations, mood disturbances, delusions, or violent behavior (psychotic symptoms can sometimes last for months or years after quitting meth)
• Intense itching, causing skin sores from scratching
• Severe dental problems (“meth mouth”)

Why end meth?

  • Meth is devastating. Meth has frightening impacts on people and society. It destroys physical and mental health, threatens public safety, deepens disparities, and undermines our communities.
  • Meth is difficult. Meth is a particularly challenging problem because it is cheap and highly addictive. There are no easy solutions when it comes to treatment or prevention.
  • Meth is getting worse. Despite many efforts over the past three decades, meth use in Hawaii and related harms continue to be a growing problem.
  • We have an opportunity. We have a chance to leverage resources and lessons learned in the national fight against opioids and combine it with our collective expertise and leadership to address the meth problem in Hawaii.