What is it about methamphetamine that makes it so addictive?
Researchers who study this have shown me pictures of what happens inside the nervous system. The methamphetamine molecules hook onto the receptors in the brain differently than any other drug. If somebody does cocaine, the body can break it down and diminish the impact over the course of about 45 minutes or an hour. Methamphetamine blocks the system that normally would do that. Methamphetamine stays active until the drug itself breaks down, about 12 or 14 hours. The physical impact is dramatic. There is also an equally destructive emotional factor that kicks in because the drug causes this outrageous pouring out of dopamine and other neurotransmitters — all drugs do that, but the volume is just greater with meth — and depletes the body’s ability to regenerate them. The methamphetamine high is the greatest thing in the world because you’re using up all of those chemicals that make us able to feel good, feel happy, feel all of the positive emotions that we know. But then it’s gone. Whe
