Amphetamines (or ‘Speed’ as it’s called on the streets) mirror the structure of two of our body’s naturally occurring Neuro-transmitters: Nor epinephrine and Dopamine, enhancing their activity and slowing down their re-absorption by nerve endings.

The effects of Speed are felt in many areas of the brain – especially the Limbic System, which governs much of our emotional responses.

The immediate effects of speed are:

• Increased talkativeness

• Increased aggressiveness

• Increased breathing & heart rate

• Increased blood pressure

• Reduced appetite

• Dilated pupils

• Visual hallucinations

• Auditory hallucinations     

With continued use of speed a persons actions become:

• Compulsive, repetitive and obsessive in nature

• Less organised and more irrational

• Self-conscious, nervous and often introverted, irritable, anxious and restless

Larger or repetitive doses of speed can cause:

• Headaches

• Dry mouth & persistent thirst

• Fever and sweating

• Pale appearance

• Blurred vision

• Irregular heart rate

• Tremors

• Loss of co-ordination

• Collapse

Long term speed use can cause:

• Mental illness (similar to Paranoid Schizophrenia)

• Malnutrition & Anorexia (due to suppression of appetite)

• Violent, aggressive & irrational behavior

• Delirium, panic & hallucinations

• Paranoia leading to Paranoid Psychosis

• Drug dependence (addiction) and high tolerance

• Increased susceptibility to illness due to:

• Lack of sleep

• Poor diet

• Over exertion

• Dehydration

• Damage to blood vessels including blockage and weakening of vessel walls

Trying to stop using speed can cause the following withdrawal symptoms:

• Severe exhaustion

• Deep and often disturbed sleep lasting as long as 24 - 48 hours

• Deep / severe depression

• Psychotic reactions and behavior (bizarre and repetitive in nature)

• Extreme hunger   

• Anxiety reactions and behaviour

• Speed & Pregnancy

• If you use speed whilst you are pregnant, the drug will be carried directly from your blood stream into your baby’s blood stream!

• This puts your health as well as your baby’s health at risk of termination of the pregnancy by miscarriage of the foetus.

• Or your baby could be born with:

• Cardiac defects such as a “hole in the heart”

• Birth defects such as cleft palate

• An addiction to Speed

• This means that once your baby is born he/she will suffer the symptoms of Speed withdrawals as listed.