Crystal Meth on KQCD-TV North Dakota's NBC News Leader

Crystal Meth |

Video

Juli McDonald

2/25/2010

Drug addicts are always looking for cheaper and easier ways to get high and not get caught...and one way has caught the attention of the state board of pharmacy...which is meeting tonight to try to quickly get it off of store shelves.

Crystal meth can be smoked, snorted or injected. meth gives addicts a feeling of euphoria, and can result in severe brain damage.

"When they biopsy the brain, it will actually show microvessels in the brain are actually shattered like little mini strokes," said Kurt Snyder, Director of Heartview Foundation.

In order to avoid being arrested, addicts are coming up with creative ways to get high.

Earlier this week, two people ended up in the hospital after using bath salts in place of crystal meth.

While the substitution is new and exciting for addicts, it leaves doctors wondering what damage it could do to the body

"Physicians are going to go what did you use? what is the active ingredient? they`re not going to know how to treat that person and they may be in extreme peril," said Snyder.

Substance abuse counselors and police are especially concerned what these new trends could mean for teens. Young people who have limited money and access might find the substitutes appealing.

"There`s always an element of substance user population that is this high that`s cheap and free, you can`t get in trouble for it. there`s never a cheap and free high. There`s always a price to pay whether it`s legal or family relationships or your health. There`s always a price to pay with drug use," Snyder said.

In a 2009 survey by the Division of Public Instruction, 3.4% of North Dakota high school students admitted to using methamphetamine once or more in their life.

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