Learning About Methamphetamine

This week I got to study the critical issue of addiction.  Addiction and drug use are severe matters and growing problems we are facing in society today.  Specifically, I learned the response of the body to Methamphetamine.  Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug.  It is addictive because it produces more dopamine in the brain.  This can alter brain chemistry and the way in which the brain functions and processes information.  Many people try Meth and they experience short-term highs, so they continue to use it.  The effects can be represented in the image above.  These highs can include a boost in energy.  However, long-term it is causing rotting teeth, severe anxiety and depression, and extreme weight loss.  

This week I viewed the video “Vaping in Schools: ‘Juuling’ is Popular Among Teens Despite Health Risks”  and although it was related to vaping, the principles described can be applied to Methamphetamine usage.  The principal stated “There is absolutely no stereotype in terms of the spectrum of who would be doing this (Vaping in Schools, 2018)” and I related that to Meth because there are so many ways Meth can be consumed that it is appealing to use it amongst people of different ages.  Methamphetamine can be crushed into a powder and snorted, it can be smoked, injected through a needle, and crystallized to smoke in a pipe.  With so many ways to participate in this drug, it makes it a new experience every time a new way of taking the drug is tried.  

This week, I got to view my first real lesson plan on the National Institute on Drug Abuse website.  It was called “Mind Matters: The Body’s Response to Methamphetamine.”  This specific lesson was designed for grades 5-9.  It is working with a variety of age groups as well as stages of education, as it is geared towards students in the intermediate through high school levels.  I found the specific lesson plan to be extremely engaging.  The student booklet was colorful and had great cartoons that were labeled to display the effects the drug has on their body.  If I were to make one critique it would be that there was no section for ways to get help or treatment options.  I think that would have been an interesting column to add as some students participating in this lesson may be using this drug.  Once they hear about the negative consequences this has on their body, they may want to seek help, but this did not provide them with any adequate information or resources to seek any help.  If I were to teach this specific lesson, I would do my own research to try and add that information, so my students would be presented with the most information possible on the topic.  Even if Methamphetamine is not the active drug they use, hearing about resources and treatments is beneficial regardless of the drug.  

In the article for the week, I learned that there is a hotline available for people who are struggling with drugs and addiction.  This hotline is beneficial because it is a “confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders” (SAMHSA, 2022).  This hotline helps people get the help they need for their addiction in a completely anonymous way with no judgment.  Many times victims of substance abuse are embarrassed about what society will think of them, so they do not seek help.    

As a student, I have seen drug use in the school system.  I have no personal encounters with anyone I know using Methamphetamine, but I do have a lot of people I know that use vapes.  I know one of my classmates is discussing vaping this week, but this is also a crucial issue, as it seems to be one of the most popular and fast-rising drugs as it contains nicotine.  I have witnessed people vaping in classrooms, in the gym, in bathrooms, and at lunch.  Social media is a huge issue as people record themselves vaping and performing tricks with the smoke to make them appear cool and then the video circulates.  As a future educator, this topic is hard to approach because we can not physically pat down a child to see if they have drugs on them physically.  We can do locker sweeps and bag searches, but most kids are smart enough to not keep their drugs or drug devices in an area that can get confiscated.  We can do our best to include drug lesson plans and student activities into the curriculum to try and educate and provide them with the health risks that these drugs and the false advertising are causing.  

For anyone interested in viewing the lesson plan or incorporating it into their future classroom the link is below as well as the link to the student booklet:

Methamphetamine: LESSON PLAN

Methamphetamine Lesson Plan: STUDENT BOOKLET

References: 

Vaping in Schools: 'Juuling' is Popular Among Teens Despite Health Risks. (2018). PBS News Hour. Retrieved on October 29, 2020

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2022, June 13). Mind matters: The body's response to methamphetamine. National Institutes of Health. https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/parents-educators/lesson-plans/mind-matters/methamphetamine

Samhsa's national helpline: Samhsa - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. SAMHSA. (2022, August 30). https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline