Speed is a stimulant also known as amphetamine; ice; crystal, crystal meth; bennies and uppers. It is chemically known as Methamphetamine and is sold as crystals, chunks, tablets, capsules, or powder, white to off-white or yellow in colour.
It can be snorted, smoked, injected, or taken orally in tablet or capsule form, or by mixing it in liquid and drinking. Generally it is only about 5% - 10% pure by the time you buy it, so the safest way to take it is to dissolve it in a hot drink. Speed often contains substances that don't easily dissolve in water, like chalk or flour. When injecting this drug, these particles can block blood vessels, resulting in kidney damage, lung problems or even strokes.
Speed affects the central nervous system, and can be considered a psycho-active drug. It floods the body with adrenaline, which is the same hormone that prepares it for emergencies. Adrenaline gives a super-charge of strength and endurance so the body can deal with danger and injury. Like cocaine, it is a "psychostimulant" that increases the amount of at least three important brain chemicals called neurotransmitters: norepinephrine, dopamine, and seratonin.
Speed wakes you up fast and keeps you going. With speed, many people feel very confident and alert, and feel that they can dance on and on without resting.
As a result, it can can elevate your mood, induce euphoria, increase alertness, reduce fatigue, increase energy, decrease appetite, increase movement and speech, and provide a sense of increased personal power and prowess. This is the high - you feel the "life of the party". And, unlike a cocaine high which is brief, the effect of meth lasts for six to eight hours or more depending how much you do.
There's also a down side. The same process also can produce increased blood pressure and heart rate, sweating, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, paranoia, and sometimes even psychosis. And what goes up must come down. "Crashing", or coming down off of speed, usually involves total physical and mental exhaustion, including deep mental depression.
At low doses, physical effects are rapid breathing, increased heart rate, dilated pupils, high blood pressure, increased body temperature and loss of appetite. Higher doses of speed may cause irritability, sweating, headaches, chest pains, shortness of breath, confusion, anxiety and jaw tension.
Very high doses result in blurred vision; dizziness; upset stomach; hyperthermia; paranoia; aggression; an irregular heartbeat; tremors and convulsions. Hyperthermia and convulsions can result in death.
The come down may include chills, nervous twitching, sweats and fatigue, and depression. Bouts of insomnia can follow as well.
Regular use of speed results in tolerance, which means that you'll need to take more to get the same effects. It becomes very tempting to use more speed, but using speed frequently means you run a number of health risks. Speed has other physical effects like feeling weak and unwell, like getting lots of colds and flu.
Psychological addiction to the feeling of well-being and confidence is possible. Heavy use of speed can cause amphetamine psychosis, which results in symptoms of paranoia, anxiety and distortions of perception, fear of harassment, and hearing voices. These generally wear off in time after stopping use.
When used in combination with Ecstasy, Speed can cause body temperature to soar, causing overheating, putting strain on the heart especially. Therefore it is generally not a good idea to mix the two.
There is also another type of amphetamine: Methylamphetamine. This is similar to crystal meth in chemical structure, but is not as popular. In the USA, this is known as Crystal Meth. A lot of people find the high and the crash from methylamphetamine to be too harsh.
Acknowledgements & further resources:
http://www.crystalneon.org
http://www.tweaker.org/qa.html
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