What Is Methamphetamine Addiction?
A member of the Amphetamine family of drugs, meth, or methamphetamine, is a highly addictive central nervous system stimulant. Under the influence of meth, users experience a rush of dopamine produced by the drug. Dopamine is the chemical in the brain that is responsible for feelings of pleasure, as well as motivation, memory retention, learning, and reward processing. The rush of dopamine produced by meth is much higher than the natural amount of dopamine that is produced in the brain, which causes people to continue using the drug in order to keep those heightened pleasurable feelings.
Many individuals who use meth take it over a period of many days and nights, staying perpetually high, which typically leads to a tolerance of the drug. Having taken it for a prolonged period of time, the user requires higher and higher doses to feel the same effects and the cycle of addiction begins.