Effects of Ice Abuse

Ice is one of the most destructive drugs on the illicit market, in its physical effects, mental effects and behavioral effects. If someone you care about is abusing it, it is critically important to help them find effective help as soon as possible.

Ice is a strong stimulant, a highly purified form of methamphetamine that can be and usually is smoked. It causes a person to be energetic, artificially confident and euphoric. The ice user will normally stay up for days if the supply of ice holds out, eating little or no food. The high from ice can last a short time like a half an hour or as long as a full day. In most cases, the high from ice methamphetamine lasts much longer than the high from cocaine.

When the ice wears off, the person is likely to be exhausted, anxious and depressed. The cravings for more ice will be intense and will lead the person to do whatever it takes to get more ice and use it again.

An ice user can become violent and experience severe mood swings. If the person needs to commit crimes to get more drugs, he or she is likely to consider this more important than any other consideration. If the person is high while planning the crime, they are likely to approach it with great confidence and aggressiveness.

Physical Harm from Ice

A report on ice users in Australia noted that almost half the ice users who were studied had physical problems including weight loss and heart palpitations. Staph infections resulting in sores on the body are possible and can easily be spread among meth users as they compulsively pick at and scratch their bodies due to hallucinations of bugs crawling under the skin.

Ice smokers may have severe dental problems that ultimately require extraction of all the teeth. A combination of factors such as the harsh chemicals in the drug, poor diet, exhaustion and lack of saliva flow contribute to this problem.

There is a long list of specific harm that frequently results from ice abuse, including:

Kidney and lung disorders that can be fatal

Brain damage

Disorganized, chaotic, damaging lifestyle

Permanent psychological problems

Excessive weight loss

Diminished social ability

Lowered resistance to illness

Liver disease

Stroke

Mental Harm

Paranoia is very common among ice userswhich makes it dangerous to be in the household, especially for children. A heavy ice user can attack a child, baby or loved one because he or she is under the delusion that they are the devil or an henemy. Severe mood swings can simulate psychosis. The person who has not exhibited a history of mental illness prior to ice use may now show psychotic, delusional, suicidal, homicidal or hallucinatory behavior.

The needs of children or other loved ones are very likely to be ignored. Children may go unfed, undiapered and worse. Children may be abused or even killed if they attract the attention of the ice user. Sexual stimulation of the ice user may result in small children being sexually abused. Horrific injuries on young children have occurred while the parent or caregiver was high on ice.