Brain Chemistry

Dr. James A. Peck, a clinical psychologist who specializes in addiction, offers the following lesson in brain chemistry: “Crystal meth forces dopamine and norepinephrine to be blasted through the brain, so when you stop using meth, there’s a definite effect on your brain, which creates the anhedonia. The jury is still out as to whether it is permanent. We do have P.E.T. scan studies showing that for some users, it takes up to two years for the brain function to return to where it was prior to the meth use.” But Peck has seen cases where the damage has been permanent. “Part of this has to do with what these drugs are composed of,” he says. “Meth is cooked up from a bunch of toxic chemicals.”
Most methamphetamine is largely composed of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, both of which can be found in over-the-counter decongestants such as Sudafed and Contac, although access to these drugs is now restricted in many states. The drug …show more content…
Crystal meth makes a person feel fantastic, abnormally happy, and full of energy. The effects come on quickly and can last for many hours. People suffering from depression no matter what their age is just want to feel better and happy. They want the emptiness inside to go away if even for a little while. This is the reason some turn to crystal meth in the first place, not realizing down the road crystal meth abuse causes severe depression. If a person no matter what the age is suffering from depression and uses methamphetamines like crystal meth to feel better, they could very easily become dependent on the stimulant drug in a short period of time. This is worry-some as far as young people are concerned, most young people don't realize how addictive crystal meth is or the dangers involved. Young people also tend to listen to their friends before they would listen to an adult, if their friends say meth is okay, they believe