Top 5 Meth Myths: Seeing Beyond the Stigma and the Truth About Methamphetamine Addiction

Historically, methamphetamine was supplied by bike gangs and groups of independent traffickers back in the 1970s and 1980s, contributing to the stereotype of the rugged, blue-collar meth-head. However, in recent years their control over the market has decreased, making way for smugglers from Mexico that have their hand in the distribution of other illicit drugs such as marijuana, heroin, and cocaine.

Methamphetamine is no longer simply a staple of the biker community—it has become a widespread problem for all kinds of people, a fact reflected in data revealing that in more than half of the 50 states, methamphetamine is the reason for inmates in federal prisons serving time for drug offences, with states ranging from Montana to Hawaii.

As former methamphetamine addict Christine Suhan explains, the drug can take control of anyone.

I didn’t plan for this to be my life. But the disease of addiction does not discriminate. Addiction didn’t care that I was smart or that I came from a loving family. Addiction didn’t care what kind of life I had planned.

Understanding that your methamphetamine problem is one that can affect anyone, not just a select population of individuals, is the first step toward taking the necessary steps to recovery.

Along with the stereotype of the blue-collar methamphetamine user is “meth mouth,” which refers to the rotting teeth so often seen in users of the drug. Media portrayals of this phenomenon often link the decay and loss of teeth to methamphetamine, yet other amphetamine-based drugs such as Adderall do not produce the same effects. The most likely explanation for this is that most of the rotting teeth that are so often portrayed in typical meth addicts are due to poor dental hygiene and lifestyle choices, as well as the tooth grinding habit that many pick up.

Although studies have suggested that the hyposalivation caused by methamphetamine use does contribute to tooth decay, it’s not the sole cause of meth mouth, which is the result of a combination of various lifestyle factors. For regular methamphetamine users that don’t have dental hygiene problems, this stereotype promotes a false sense of security and can lead them to believe that because they don’t have meth mouth, they must not have a drug problem.

Numerous websites on methamphetamine use claim that methamphetamine causes “holes” in the brain, implying permanent damage to the integrity of the brain’s structure that can never be recovered. However, current imaging studies show no evidence of methamphetamine causing any such phenomena in the brain, instead revealing abnormalities in various regions commonly affected by numerous kinds of drug abuse. Some of these regions include the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in higher-level reasoning, and the basal ganglia, which is linked to numerous functions including behavior, emotion, and cognition.

There is no doubt that methamphetamine causes changes in the way that the brain communicates, and over time this can lead to deficits in its various functions that might never fully recover, but it does not produce physical holes in the brain. Treatment is always available, and it is possible to restore your brain’s balance to a level that is close to what it was before you began using the drug.

Although methamphetamine can stimulate psychotic symptoms in individuals that are suffering from schizophrenia and even cause psychotic symptoms in individuals without any sort of psychotic disorder, no research has suggested it as a cause of schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a complex mental illness that is believed to stem from the presence of numerous genetic patterns, although the specificity of these patterns is still not known. Individuals with schizophrenia are believed to have increased levels of dopamine and its receptors, and since methamphetamine acts by increasing dopamine levels in the brain, it makes sense that it can bring out psychotic symptoms. However, the belief that it can act as the sole cause of a mental illness that we are still working to understand undermines the severity of the illness and also presents the possibility of making psychotic symptoms in methamphetamine users even worse by having them operate under the false belief that they could have given themselves schizophrenia.

Psychosis is marked by a loss of connection with reality and is a terrifying and confusing experience. Hallucinations and delusions can make untruthful beliefs seem completely real and turn unreality into reality. When a methamphetamine user is experiencing a psychotic episode, especially for the first time, believing that they have an illness such as schizophrenia will only add to the fear and delusion that they are experiencing. Even worse, they will likely hold tightly to the belief, even if told that they are wrong. Promoting awareness and understanding about the temporary psychosis that methamphetamine can cause is the best way to help users better understand what is happening during these experiences and how to deal with them.

Research shows that although violent crime is observed among methamphetamine users, these crime rates are comparable to those seen in groups that use other illicit drugs. The perception of the psychotic, violent methamphetamine user is blown out of proportion—there have been just as many violent cocaine addicts and alcoholics known to exist at some point. Generalizing an entire population of drug users as violent only increases the stigma against the drug and makes it less likely for those that don’t fit the stereotype to seek the help that they need.