LICR Blog

Addiction Drug Overview: Risk Of Meth Addiction

March 24, 2025  |  Category: Addiction Treatment

Methamphetamine or ‘meth’ addiction is one of the most dangerous, debilitating and riskiest substances to use and/or abuse in the world today. In this article will explore the specific risks of meth; the risk of addiction, relatable risk to your mental health, physical health, emotional health, and financial health, but to rightly encompass the risk of meth addiction, research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that methamphetamine is the second most commonly found drug in people who fatally overdosed, second only to opioids. The risk of meth addiction is life and death, and while the goal is to help all those afflicted with an addiction to methamphetamines, they are fight an uphill battle when it comes to the addictiveness of this particular substance.

Why Does Meth Have A High Risk Of Addiction?

To understand why meth has such a high risk of addiction we must first understand the effects meth has an individual. At a base level, meth targets the brains dopamine levels, flooding these neurotransmitters and disruption normal brain function. Individuals reach a literal high of pleasure, contentment, while inhibiting functions like movement, memory, motivation, learning, and reward. A ‘high’ of pleasure can sound somewhat gratifying but the trap of meth addiction is that the euphoria does not last forever, and can leave life feeling dull, empty, and bring individuals with a meth addiction feeling an extreme low when they aren’t using. Thus, creating the need for repeated and elevated use of meth, especially as individuals build up a tolerance.

Non-Physical Risks Associated With Meth

• Mental Health: The impacts to an individual’s mental health due to the brain function is a common occurrence. In published articles from the American Journal on Addictions 40% of people seeking treatment for methamphetamine use also reported to be struggling with anxiety. While the studies focused on anxiety, the mental health associations don’t stop there, with many meth users also reporting depression and other mental health disorders.
• Behavioral: With individuals who use meth on a visceral high and impaired scope of their current environment, individuals can find themselves behaving out of character, commonly in risky and violent ways due to their clouded impairment from meth use. One startingly representation of this, a meth user is 9x more likely to commit homicide than another drug user, so while you may think you would never commit such an act, there is that potential, especially while under the influence of meth which has several connections to violent behaviors.
• Financial: We mentioned that in a state of heightened dopamine levels, individuals can find themselves often in the mindset of lacking motivation. This has led to financial strains, drop in performance at work, and potentially leading to increased levels of unemployment and homelessness for meth users.

 

Physical Risks Associated With Meth

• Potential for overdose
• Seizures
• Heart Attack
• Stroke
• Fever
• Irregular Heart Rate
• Difficulty Breathing
• Kidney Failure
• Coma
• Sleep Disturbances
• Hallucinations
• Delusions
• Skin sores
• Tooth Decay also known as “meth mouth”
• Unhealthy Rapid Weight
• Heightened Risks for Movement Disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease

 

Some Lasting Facts On Meth Addiction

The following statistics were based on a National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2019

• 7% of Americans recorded using meth in the past year with 184,000 using meth for the very first time
• Restrictions made on over-the-counter drugs used to make meth has likely helped to massively reduce the number of meth labs in the United States. In 2017, there 80% fewer meth lab incidents than there were in 2010 (from 15,000 down to 3,000)
• A separate study from 2009 showed that the odds of committing a homicide increased by 9x for meth users
• Despite there being less meth lab incidents, in 2017, overdose deaths involving meth increased over 7x since 2007
• Methamphetamine use disorder without injection has increased 4x in individuals in the ages of 18-23

 We hope you now have a better understanding the risk- associated with meth addiction. It is a very dangerous, life-threatening and highly addictive drug that should be treated immediately for individuals who use. If you or a loved one needs any additional assistance with addiction treatment services, please reach out to Long Island Center for Recovery at 631-728-3100, and we’d be happy to assist you or your loved ones in any way possible.

References:
Meth Addiction Statistics
https://www.addictionhelp.com/meth/statistics/

 Meth Addiction: Facts, Statistics & How Meth Changes You
https://americanaddictioncenters.org/blog/meth-statistics

 National Institute on Drug Abuse: Methamphetamine
https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/methamphetamine

Posted in:   Addiction TreatmentDrug DetoxDrug RehabInpatient RehabMeth Rehab