Drug group:
Stimulant

Street names:
Tik, Tjoef, Lollie, Meth, Ice, Crystal,

Background:
Methamphetamine is commonly known as "Tik". It is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol. The drug was developed early last century from its parent drug, amphetamine, and was used originally in nasal decongestants and bronchial inhalers. Like amphetamine, methamphetamine causes increased activity and talkativeness, decreased appetite, and a general sense of well-being. However, methamphetamine differs from amphetamine in that at comparable doses, much higher levels of methamphetamine get into the brain, making it a more potent stimulant drug. It also has longer lasting and more harmful effects on the central nervous system.

Form:
Methamphetamine comes in many forms and can be smoked, snorted, injected, or orally ingested. The preferred method of Methamphetamine abuse varies by geographical region and has changed over time. In South Africa, Methamphetamine is generally smoked. Smoking methamphetamine, which leads to very fast uptake of the drug in the brain, has become more common in recent years, amplifying Methamphetamine's addiction potential and adverse health consequences. The drug also alters mood in different ways, depending on how it is taken.

Duration:
Immediately after smoking the drug or injecting it intravenously, the user experiences an intense rush that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Snorting or oral ingestion produces euphoria - a high but not an intense rush. Snorting produces effects within 3 to 5 minutes, and oral ingestion produces effects within 15 to 20 minutes. As with similar stimulants, Methamphetamine most often is used in a "binge and crash" pattern, because the pleasurable effects of methamphetamine disappear even before the drug concentration in the blood falls significantly-users try to maintain the high by taking more of the drug. In some cases, abusers indulge in binging foregoing food and sleep while continuing abuse sometimes for days without end.

Effects:
Short term:
Increased attention and decreased fatigue
Increased activity and wakefulness
Decreased appetite
Euphoria and rush
Increased respiration
Rapid/irregular heartbeat
Hyperthermia

Long term:
Addiction
Psychosis, including:
• paranoia
• hallucinations
• repetitive motor activity
Changes in brain structure and function
Memory loss
Aggressive or violent behavior
Mood disturbances
Severe dental problems
Weight loss

Methamphetamine (Tik) in South Africa

On the Cape Flats it is responsible for the fastest addiction rates ever seen in the those communities associated with gangsterism, notably Mitchells Plain, Manenberg, Elsies River, Hanover Park and Retreat, surpassing mandrax as the drug of choice and presenting short- and long-term health and social hazards.

"Nowhere else in the world has tik taken off in the way we are finding in these specific communities," said Andreas Plüddemann, senior scientist at the Medical Research Council's (MRC) Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Group and a PhD student in UCT's Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry.

Findings from 28 Sacendu-linked drug treatment programmes in the city show that of the 2 308 patients treated for substance abuse in the second half of 2004, 27% were under the age of 20.

"This is a massive increase from the second half of 1996, where 6% were under 20," Plüddemann notes.

But even more sobering is that of all the patients treated in the second half of 2004 who had tik as their primary substance of abuse, 60% were under 20. Another massive shift is that 59% of addicts under 20 have tik as a primary or secondary drug of choice, that is one in six out of every ten patients.

The bulk of teenage users are male and coloured (91%), with the average age of teenage users pegged at 16.6 years old.

"Since 2004 there has been a sharp surge of people coming forward for help, such is the rapid addiction rate," says Plüddemann. "This is extremely striking in terms of drug trends. Nothing else has taken that kind of sharp upward surge."

SELF ASSESSMENT
Indicators you may have a problem with Meth / Tik:

• Using more Meth than intended.
• Needing more Meth to feel high.
• Spending more money on Meth than on bills.
• Planning activities around Meth and ignoring responsibilities.
• Constantly thinking about when you will next get high.
• Letting go of daily routines such as eating, sleeping, bathing, shopping, cleaning, and/or caring for family members.
• Losing interest in activities and friends who are not associated with Meth use.
• Friends and/or family members expressing concern to you about your life and/or drug use.

• Unusual, strong odors (like ether, ammonia, acetone or other chemicals)
• Houses or buildings with windows blackened or curtains always drawn
• Frequent visitors to a home, building, or area at all times of the day and night
• Occupants of a home appear unemployed yet have money or pay bills with cash
• Garbage contains numerous bottles, containers, stained bed sheets or coffee filters
• Open windows vented with fans, even during the winter
• Extensive security measures or efforts to ensure privacy
• Lantern fuel cans, stained coffee filters, glassware with rubber tubing attached, drain cleaner and duct tape
• Unusual numbers of clear glass containers in the trash