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27 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
Both drugs are stimulants of the central nervous system. However, amphetamine is chemically phenylethylamine, while methamphetamine is referred to as N-methylamphetamine.
The effects of meth are much stronger and the onset is much quicker. Experts also believe that a person becomes addicted to meth faster than becoming addicted to amphetamine. However, its absolutely true that both of them are addictive.
Not trying to be nit-picky. Unfortunately, because of a personal family history with addiction, I've learned more than I ever wanted about the different drugs out there.
I had the cleanest apartment in western Washington...
Kerouac wrote it while tweaking...
Kerouac took so much amphetamine when he first discovered the inhaler high that he lost most of his hair and his legs swelled up with thrombophlebitis. As he wrote to Ginsberg in November of 1945, “Benny [Benzedrine] has made me see a lot. The process of intensifying awareness naturally leads to an overflow of old notions, and voila, new material wells up like water forming its proper level, and makes itself evident at the brim of consciousness. Brand new water! The art of my past is all farce, or at least mostly.” Not just any drug would do. It was the particular quality of amphetamine, the acceleration of thought and feeling, that helped him plumb his unconscious and live “in the Now.”
http://www.thefix.com/content/beat-poets-speed5123
Taking meth makes the user more alert. The heart races, breathing quickens and sweat glands kick into overdrive. Users may become extremely talkative or withdraw into a private sphere of self-interest. They often feel superhuman, empowered, more intelligent and more perceptive.
Users can also maintain their interest in mundane activities for great lengths of time. As a result, performance of repetitive tasks continues at a high level for hours and hours, when normally it might wane due to boredom. Assembly-line workers and others who perform the same physical motion over and over suddenly find their work to be invigorating and even fascinating when on crystal meth. Where life once seemed dreary and methodical, meth users may find that the drug keeps them "tuned in" to their work, speeding up their thoughts as well as their perception of the passing of time.
Appetite is nearly nonexistent for someone on meth. This may make the drug seem tempting to a person trying to lose weight, but weight won't be the only thing that person loses. Over time, teeth decay, crack and fall out of the skull, a condition known as "meth mouth." Lesions can form on the skin from excessive scratching.
Users can also maintain their interest in mundane activities for great lengths of time. As a result, performance of repetitive tasks continues at a high level for hours and hours, when normally it might wane due to boredom. Assembly-line workers and others who perform the same physical motion over and over suddenly find their work to be invigorating and even fascinating when on crystal meth. Where life once seemed dreary and methodical, meth users may find that the drug keeps them "tuned in" to their work, speeding up their thoughts as well as their perception of the passing of time.
Appetite is nearly nonexistent for someone on meth. This may make the drug seem tempting to a person trying to lose weight, but weight won't be the only thing that person loses. Over time, teeth decay, crack and fall out of the skull, a condition known as "meth mouth." Lesions can form on the skin from excessive scratching.
Good for armies
Nazi leaders distributed millions of doses of methamphetamine in tablets called Pervitin to their infantry, sailors and airmen in World War II. It wasn't just the military that was amping up on the stuff -- Pervitin was sold to the German public beginning in 1938, and over-the-counter meth became quite popular. When supplies ran low on the war front, soldiers would write to their families requesting shipments of speed. In one four-month period in 1940, the German military was fed more than 35 million speed tablets. Though the pills were known to cause adverse health effects in some soldiers, it was also immediately realized that stimulants went a long way toward the Nazi dream of creating supersoldiers. As the war neared its conclusion, a request was sent from high command for a drug that would boost morale and fighting ability, and Germany's scientists responded with a pill called D-IX that contained equal parts cocaine and painkiller (5 mg of each), as well as Pervitin (3 mg). The pill was put into a testing stage, but the war ended before it reached the general military population.
The Nazis weren't the only ones jacking up their soldiers on pharmaceutical speed -- the Americans and the British were also consuming large amounts of amphetamines, namely Dexedrine. The Japanese had developed its own military-grade amphetamine, and when the war ended a large stockpile of the drug flooded the streets of Japan.
After World War II, amphetamine was manufactured, sold and prescribed in the United States and much of the world. By the late 1950s and early '60s, it was becoming harder for the medical community to ignore the growing number of professionals-turned-speed-freaks who had become hopelessly hooked on Benzedrine and Dexedrine. Also, it had been discovered that Benzedrine inhalers (intended for use as bronchial dilators) could be cracked open, exposing a piece of paper soaked in Benzedrine that could then be swallowed for a powerful high. This led to increased American government control over amphetamines -- and therefore to Americans making their own amphetamines.
The Nazis weren't the only ones jacking up their soldiers on pharmaceutical speed -- the Americans and the British were also consuming large amounts of amphetamines, namely Dexedrine. The Japanese had developed its own military-grade amphetamine, and when the war ended a large stockpile of the drug flooded the streets of Japan.
After World War II, amphetamine was manufactured, sold and prescribed in the United States and much of the world. By the late 1950s and early '60s, it was becoming harder for the medical community to ignore the growing number of professionals-turned-speed-freaks who had become hopelessly hooked on Benzedrine and Dexedrine. Also, it had been discovered that Benzedrine inhalers (intended for use as bronchial dilators) could be cracked open, exposing a piece of paper soaked in Benzedrine that could then be swallowed for a powerful high. This led to increased American government control over amphetamines -- and therefore to Americans making their own amphetamines.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/meth.htm
Not even once...And you got no proof we were cooking meth, so stop saying that!
