Methamphetamine (METH) abuse has become a major public health problem world-wide, as demonstrated by increases in the number of emergency room visits, substance abuse treatment episodes, and arrests attributable to METH manufacture and abuse. However, there are currently no pharmacological treatments for the wide range of symptoms associated with METH abuse. One of the reasons for this problem is that our knowledge of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the development of METH-induced psychosis and dependence is limited. This book presents a review of the recent findings on METH abuse in humans. First by describing the background and physiological effects of METH in humans. Next, by discussing the clinical findings on METH abusers derived using brain imaging techniques (single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)). Finally, by reviewing the potential therapeutic approaches for the treatment of METH abusers.

How Methamphetamine Abuse Affects Spousal Relationships relay a great deal of extremely relevant information about Methamphetamines and the destruction is causes on families. Much of the information also focuses on the pattern of behaviors that brings destructive traits to a spousal relationship and how substance abuse plays a role in those relationships. The information shared here is vital for victims of the people who use drugs. This research project is considered to be some of the most important pieces of literature about drug abuse today.

Updated and expanded to reflect changes in recent years, this second edition covers virtually every aspect of this dangerous drug, including history, pharmacology, pathology, physiology, treatment, clinical and forensic psychology, and legal aspects. This edition features new chapters on criminal- and civil-forensic applications including an in-depth discussion of recent laws. Pointing out important cases, articles, and statistics, the text also presents chapters on neuropsychological testing; normative data on risk analysis and violence prediction; the physiology of tweaking, the most dangerous stage of the meth cycle; and the efficacy of treatment programs including examples from newly established drug courts.

This book provides a broad reference covering important drugs of abuse including amphetamines, opiates, and steroids. It also covers psychoactive plants such as caffeine, peyote, and psilocybin. It provides chemical structures, analytical methods, clinical features, and treatments of these drugs of abuse, serving as a highly useful, in-depth supplement to a general medical toxicology book. The style allows for the easy application of the contents to searchable databases and other electronic products, making this an essential resource for practitioners in medical toxicology, industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, pharmaceuticals, environmental organizations, pathology, and related fields.

Methamphetamine, made easily in clandestine labs from over-the-counter ingredients, can cause depression, rapid tooth decay, psychosis, sensations of flesh crawling with bugs, paranoia, skin lesions, and kidney damage. Still, use has spread nationwide. In this work, two experts on methamphetamine addiction and recovery explain why this drug has such a physical, psychological, and social draw for addicts, despite all the damage it causes. Vignettes from addicts take us inside the subculture of meth users. Authors Taylor and Covey explain why this drug and its addiction is different from other illicit drugs and why, therefore, the treatment needs to be specifically tailored in order to be effective. Stephan Jenkins, singer for the band Third Eye Blind, says methamphetamine makes you feel bright and shiny, but it also makes you pathetically and relentlessly self-destructive, so much so that you will do unconscionable things to feel bright and shiny again. This drug, made easily in clandestine labs from over-the-counter ingredients, can also cause depression, rapid tooth decay, psychosis, sensations of flesh crawling with bugs, paranoia, skin lesions, and kidney damage. Still, use has spread nationwide from California to Maine, with known addictions now highest in the West, Midwest, and South. Treatment admissions for methamphetamine addictions have increased more than fivefold in the last decade, with a federal report in 2006 showing 136,000 known cases. Meth is particularly addictive to women because it causes rapid weight loss. The results, as shown in recent cover stories in Newsweek, National Geographic, and USA Today, are pain for far more than the abuser. Meth addiction also ravages life for spouses, children, and other family members, as well as communities. In this work, two experts on methamphetamine addiction and recovery explain why this drug has such a physical, psychological, and social draw for addicts despite all the damage it causes. Vignettes from addicts let us see inside the subculture of meth users. Authors Taylor and Covey explain why this drug and its addiction is different from other illicit drugs, and therefore why the treatment needs to be specifically tailored in order to be effective. This book, focused only on the addiction avenues and paths to recovery, is a perfect companion to Covey's earlier book, The Metehamphetamine Crisis (Praeger, 2006), which details the emergence and history of this drug use in the United States, as well as the social and community effects, and criminal justice approaches, successes, and failures to date. This book at hand will appeal to meth abusers, their families, and professionals trying to aid recovery from this new scourge, including substance abuse treatment providers, health professionals, psychologists, school personnel, and criminal justice staff.