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- Drug-drug cocrystals that include two different API molecules in the same crystal lattice with functional groups compatible with forming a cocrystal have not only been shown to enhance the desired physicochemical properties of one or both the cocrystals but also produce synergistic effects along with reduction of the expense required for formulation and marketing of two individual drug products.
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Dec 15, 2023 · Crystal meth is a highly addictive & dangerous drug with devastating effects on your health & well-being. Learn about it's dangers & how to protect yourself.
- Overview
- Recreational use
- How crystal meth affects the brain
- How crystal meth affects the body
- Substance use disorder and withdrawal
- Treatment and rehabilitation
- Summary
Crystal meth, or methamphetamine, is a stimulant drug that carries a high risk for physical dependence. In the United States, a different formulation of methamphetamine called Desoxyn is available by prescription to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Crystal meth has a number of street names, including ice and glass. It resembles shiny “rocks” or fragments of glass of varying sizes. It is the most potent form of meth.
The drug is odorless and colorless. As a stimulant, it speeds up activity in the central nervous system, which can cause a person to feel euphoric, powerful, and alert.
Illegal labs make the drug by combining ingredients derived from over-the-counter drugs, especially cough and cold medications, with toxic substances.
Crystal meth is a powerful stimulant drug that can cause feelings of euphoria and high energy. People may choose meth because of these euphoric effects.
Meth can also cause rapid weight loss, a higher libido, and intense feelings of alertness and concentration.
Some people self-medicate for these effects, hoping to lose weight, improve their sexual performance, reduce depression, or concentrate more at work or school.
For most people, the effects of crystal meth last for 6–12 hours, making the “high” much longer than that of other stimulants, such as cocaine. Some people choose meth because of its longer lasting effects.
However, as with most addictive substances, the body begins to tolerate meth with prolonged use. This reduces the intensity of the high a person gets. It also reduces other desired effects of the drug, including improvements in libido and concentration. This tolerance may cause a person to use more crystal meth to get the same high they once got with a lower dose.
Over time, this can lead to addiction. People with a substance use disorder may use these types of drugs, and others, to feel normal. If they stop using them, they may experience painful withdrawal effects.
Crystal meth boosts the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine and stops its reuptake. As a result, it increases the levels of dopamine in the body.
Dopamine plays an important role in motor function, motivation, reward, and how the brain experiences and interprets pleasure.
The dopamine rush in the reward centers of the brain gives a person a sense of euphoria soon after taking the drug.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), brain imaging studies on people who have inappropriately used methamphetamine for a long time suggest that dopamine system activity changes in such a way that it can seriously compromise a person’s verbal learning and motor skills.
Crystal meth can also severely affect the brain’s structure and function. It affects areas of the brain linked to emotion and memory, as well as structures associated with judgment. Due to this, it may radically change behaviors and emotions.
This may explain why people who chronically use crystal meth often develop emotional and cognitive difficulties.
The drug can also lead to some physical effects.
These include:
•anorexia, meaning a loss of appetite
•blurred vision
•face sores
•gum disease and cracked teeth
Crystal meth produces feelings of euphoria for up to 12 hours, and people crave its powerful effects again and again.
However, after several uses, the same dose no longer has the same effect. A person develops drug tolerance and needs more of the drug to achieve the same effect.
A person can develop a substance use disorder after using meth only a few times.
In time, the need for the high becomes more important than other factors in the person’s life, while the use of the drug increasingly achieves only a break from withdrawal symptoms. If a person tries to break the cycle, they will experience withdrawal symptoms.
Although the person’s blood will be free of the drug after 1–3 days without using it, the psychological symptoms may continue for a while.
This is because crystal meth, like some other drugs, changes the person’s brain chemistry. Moreover, a person may use meth to cope with other problems, such as depression, boredom, or sexual dysfunction.
Substance use disorder is a medical diagnosis that warrants medical treatment. It is not a moral failing, and people cannot think or will their way out of it.
Instead, treatment focuses on:
•managing physical withdrawal symptoms
•supporting a person to manage the underlying issues that led to the harmful use of crystal meth
•cultivating healthier coping skills
Drug rehabilitation programs can help people through the withdrawal process, allowing them to achieve their goals related to crystal meth use.
Crystal meth has no medical use, and it carries a high risk for physical and psychological dependence. Prolonged use can cause serious health issues, including gum disease and tooth loss. It may also affect a person’s relationships, finances, and future.
Regardless of a person’s reason for using crystal meth or the length of time they have been using it, treatment is possible. People should contact a doctor or specialist who deals with substance use disorders for support.
Feb 17, 2021 · This virtual issue contains 20 papers that highlight advances in the area of pharmaceutical solid-state chemistry, encompassing studies of cocrystals, solid form complexities, new approaches to crystal detection, crystallization from amorphous solids, and the prediction and properties of organic solids.
- Lynne S. Taylor, Doris E. Braun, Jonathan W. Steed
- 2021
Home. Addiction 101. Drug Use. What is crystal meth and meth? Methamphetamines or meth come in three main forms; crystal meth, base, and speed. All forms of this synthetic central nervous system stimulant are highly dangerous. The legal, prescription form of the drugs, are stimulant drugs that are used to treat ADHD.
Jun 17, 2008 · Crystal meth is a form of the stimulant drug methamphetamine that, when smoked, can rapidly achieve high concentrations in the brain. Methamphetamine causes the release of the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin and activates the cardiovascular and central nervous systems.
- Stephen J. Kish
- 2008
Feb 4, 2021 · Co-crystallization enhances physicochemical properties through the formation of intermolecular interactions between a drug and a co-former. A co-crystal is a single crystalline material consisting of at least two molecular components solid at room temperature and present in a definite stoichiometric ratio.
May 1, 2021 · Drug-drug cocrystal (DDC) is one of the most suitable methods. According to the FDA, co-crystals are defined as ‘dissociable multicomponent solid crystalline supramolecular complexes composed of two or more components within the same crystal lattice where in the components are in neutral state and interact via nonionic interactions.’.
