Amphetamines Essay, Research Paper

Amphetamines are a desirable type of drug. They increase mentaland physical activity and give an easy high. The type of high thatamphetamines give are type 2, which means that it doesn t impairmotor skills, but does affect judgment and memory.Amphetamines are also easily obtained, because they can be madein backyard labs with legally bought chemicals, and can beprescribed by doctors for hyperkinesis or narcolepsy. Amphetamines come in many different forms. The mostpopular are Benzedrine and Methanphetamine. The nick-names forthese are Bennies, Ice, Uppers, Pep pills, Meth, Ecstasy, Wake-Ups,Ups, dexies, black beauties, jollies and Speed. You can buyamphetamines in many forms as well. They come in pills, powderand liquid. They can be snorted, ingested or injected. Mostpeople choose to inject the drug, generally injectingMethanphetamine; a reddish brown liquid, that can also come incapsules. After taking the drug, the user becomes more alert andtheir reflexes quicken. Their heart races and they feel a state ofeuphoria, becoming more and more relaxed. They experiencevisual as well as auditory hallucinations, and become moretalkative. Their actions are compulsive, repetitive, and lessorganized. However as time goes on and the high wears down, theuser becomes dizzy, irritable, nervous and shaky until theyfinally fall asleep. After a long period of sleep, the user wakesup and feels severely depressed. Sometimes the user is sodepressed that they commit suicide. If a person takes a large dose of an amphetamine, they get a

fever and begin sweating. They also get tremors, a headache,dizziness and an irregular heartbeat. The long term affects ofusage are: Becoming overly alert, tense and suspicious, mental illness,schizophrenia, malnutrition, violence, tendency towardaddiction of other drugs, blockage of blood vessels, paranoia,hallucinations, brain damage, physical collapse and death. One of the good things about amphetamines is thataddiction is possible to break. But, the withdrawal symptoms aresevere. While going through withdrawal a user may suffersevere exhaustion, go into a deep sleep for 24-48 hours, have apsychotic reaction, go into a deep depression, have anxiety orhave a long but disturbed sleep with nightmares of monsters. The history of amphetamines begins in China where the mahuang plant was used to treat asthma. The ma huang plantcontained amphetamine substances. In 1932, a synthetic form ofthe ma huang plant, made out of ephedrine was soldover-the-counter until 1954 when amphetamines were outlawed.During World War Two, amphetamines were given to soldiers andpilots to keep them awake, alert, and to fight off fatigue. Now,amphetamines are only available through prescription and insmall doses or from the black market. The amphetamines sold onthe black market are made in labs, which can be set up in aperson s home. Missouri is one of the main makers ofamphetamines, which can be attributed somewhat to the ruralareas and availability of chemicals due to farming. The affects of amphetamines are far more severe then thehigh you get. Not to mention the jail time and socialunacceptability you will face if caught.