Methamphetamine Abuses Widespread

Though I am not a drug expert or a scientist I suspect there are at least two errors of fact in this report. Granted methamphetamine use is dangerous. But the details do not make sense.

[From article]
"Once people who are on meth become psychotic, they are very dangerous," said Dr. Alex Stalcup, who treated Haight Ashbury heroin users in the 1960s, but now researches meth and works with addicts in the San Francisco Bay Area suburbs. "They're completely bonkers; they're nuts. We're talking about very extreme alterations of normal brain function. Once someone becomes triggered to violence, there aren't any limits or boundaries."

If the focus is on brain function, going without sleep for a long period of time creates irrational thoughts in humans. Drugs are not the primary cause of non logical thinking. Here's an example of a doctor who treats drug addicted humans who misleads journalists, who in turn mislead the public.

[From article]
"Chronic use of the harsh chemical compound known as speed or crank can lead to psychosis, which includes hearing voices and experiencing hallucinations. The stimulant effect of meth is up to 50 times longer than cocaine, experts say, so users stay awake for days on end, impairing cognitive function and contributing to extreme paranoia."

Here again the blame is put on the drugs as a cause of mental illness when it is lack of sleep. The same misguided experts say that mental illness causes homelessness, when it is the exact opposite.

[From article]
"Its [methamphetamine] use initially creates feelings of euphoria and invincibility, but experts say repeated abuse can alter brain chemistry and sometimes cause schizophrenia-like behavior."

Here is the same lame argument made by the psychiatric industry that mental illness is a chemical imbalance in the brain. Methamphetamine use makes people stay awake for many hours sometimes days. No sleep deteriorates brain function worse than drug use.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20120121/D9SDFH2O1.html

Horrific murder no surprise in meth capital of US
Jan 21, 12:40 PM (ET)
AP
By TRACIE CONE and GOSIA WOZNIACKA