Health Topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Health Topic - Essay Example and consequences of drug abuse in relation to consumption of Methamphetamine, analyze its significance, discuss the cultural similarities and differences, provide statistics and locate the various local and national agencies offering assistance to people under the influence of such harmful drugs. The use and popularity of Methamphetamine increased immediately post the Second World War which was used to as a tool to demote / drive down exhaustion and restrain appetite. The harmful effects and addictive quality of the drug led to it being recognized as a substantial health risk in the 1960s prompting the health agencies to initiate corrective measures and policies to restrict its medicinal usage. During the 1980s the problem of Methamphetamine abuse began to be recognized as a severe health hazard in the United States where the drug was popularized by California based motorcycle gangs named Hells Angels. It was used in a smokable form and was largely imported from the Phillipines (methamphetamine.org, 2008). Methamphetamine is a powerful and highly addictive stimulant that drastically upsets several areas of the central nervous system of a human body. Popularly known as Speed, Meth, chalk, crystal, grass, crank, and ice the drug can be consumed in various forms – smoked, snorted, or orally injected into the body. It resembles a white, odorless and bitter tasting powder which could be dissolved in water or alcohol for consumption. It is easy to make and can be made in surreptitious laboratories from easily available and relatively inexpensive ingredients and sold / purchased at a low cost. These factors are largely responsible for its widespread abuse (NIDA, 2008). The key findings from report on primary methamphetamine admissions to substance abuse treatment, as presented by the Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DAIS Report, 2008) is mentioned below: In the year 2005 there were over 1.8 million admissions recorded for substance abuse of which