![]() ![]() Increased sexual activity related to methamphetamine use may increase the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted infections. Potential complications of methamphetamine use include arrhythmias, hypertension, seizures, and hyperthermia. Besides the euphoria, the short-term effects of methamphetamine use include increased wakefulness and energy and decreased appetite. ![]() The half-life of methamphetamine is approximately 12 hours compared with approximately 1 hour for cocaine 7. Both cocaine and methamphetamine block re-uptake of dopamine at nerve endings, but methamphetamine also increases the release of dopamine, leading to higher concentrations of dopamine in the synapse, which may be toxic to nerve terminals. ![]() Methamphetamine has a longer half-life than cocaine and has additional mechanisms of action in the central nervous system. The effects of snorting are felt within 3–5 minutes and within 15–20 minutes when ingested orally. Snorting or oral use of the drug produces euphoria but not the intense high that is experienced if it is smoked or injected. When methamphetamine is smoked or injected, the user experiences an intense rush that lasts only a few minutes. Methamphetamine can be smoked, snorted, injected, or ingested orally or anally 7, 9. Street names for methamphetamine include meth, speed, ice, crystal, chalk, crank, glass, black beauties, and bikers’ coffee. Medical indications for methamphetamine are narcolepsy and attention deficit disorder, but it should only be used when these disorders are unresponsive to other treatments and at much lower doses than those typical for recreational use 7. Amphetamines were widely prescribed in the 1950s and 1960s for depression and obesity, but were changed to Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act in 1971 after the potential for abuse and addiction was recognized 1. Methamphetamine is a more potent stimulant drug than its parent compound, amphetamine. Obstetrician–gynecologists need to be aware of the prevalence of methamphetamine use to improve identification of women who are using methamphetamine and to provide adequate care and referral for treatment. Among pregnant women, admissions for the treatment of methamphetamine abuse increased from 8% of federally funded treatment admissions in 1994 to 24% by 2006, with 73% of these admissions occurring in the western states 6. The treatment admissions for methamphetamine abuse have increased from approximately 1% in 1992 to more than 9% of admissions in 2006 5. The Drug Abuse Warning Network reported a 126% increase in the number of emergency department visits related to methamphetamine abuse from 1995 to 2002 4. population older than 12 years have tried methamphetamine at some time in their lives, with 0.3% (850,000) reporting use in the past year, and 0.2% (314,000) reporting use in the past month 3. According to the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 5% of the U.S. The availability is fueled by the low cost of methamphetamine compared with other illicit drugs of abuse, its production in large and small clandestine laboratories in the United States, and its importation from Mexico. Methamphetamine is the only illegal drug that can be easily made from legally obtained ingredients 2. After alcohol and marijuana, methamphetamine is the drug most frequently abused in many western and midwestern states 1. The abuse of methamphetamine has been increasing in the United States since the late 1980s. ![]()
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