Liquid methamphetamine is a form of crystal meth that is easy to create from the powder or pill form of the drug. However, once in liquid form it is dangerous both to ingest and to convert back into a solid form.
Methamphetamine is an illicit drug that has a similar chemical structure to amphetamine, which is used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Meth creates a high by elevating dopamine to unnatural levels.
In its first state as a stimulant drug, methamphetamine is a powder that can be snorted, but meth can be changed into different forms including:
- pills
- rocks often called crystal meth (that can be smoked)
- liquid meth
The liquid state is easy to achieve because meth dissolves quickly in water. You can drink liquid meth, but that is not the most common reason for turning it into a liquid form.
Why Drug Traffickers Produce Liquid Meth
Liquid meth is useful to Mexican drug traffickers because the drug is easier to smuggle across the border of Mexico into Texas or California in liquid form.
According to the Los Angeles Times in 2021, an individual was stopped from bringing 120 pounds of liquid meth across the border by a drug-sniffing dog.
The individual had hidden it in about three-dozen water bottles.
Ease Of Transport From Mexico
In order to get it past drug-sniffing dogs, drug traffickers will often dissolve meth in gasoline and store it in gas tanks or in large barrels.
In Pharr, Texas, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized 700 gallons of liquid meth when a local police officer saw men pouring it out of barrels into five-gallon buckets, for example.
Converting Gallons Of Liquid Meth To Other Forms Of Meth
While it is easy to make liquid meth, it can be difficult to get it back into a solid.
In the case of the gas tank, crystal methamphetamine can be scraped off the interior of the tank once the gas has been used.
But that can be time-consuming. Another way to convert liquid meth back into its solid form is to boil it. The liquid evaporates and solid meth crystals remain.
How People Use Liquid Meth
However, not all liquid meth is used to transport meth. Sometimes people with methamphetamine drug addiction will use the drug in its liquid form.
Injection
One of the ways to use liquid meth is to inject it.
Injecting meth is a form of substance use that creates a faster high because you are putting the drug straight into your bloodstream.
Oral Ingestion
You can also drink liquid meth. If people have been injecting drugs for a long time, they can have damaged and collapsed veins, so drinking meth becomes an alternative form of drug use.
Risks Of Liquid Meth Use
Using liquid meth is not without risks. Meth is volatile and toxic.
From its manufacture to its ingestion, it has great potential to cause a lot of harm, including brain damage to your central nervous system.
Meth side effects can also cause you to have a high:
- heart rate
- body temperature
- blood pressure
Additionally, meth drug use can cause:
- weight loss
- dry mouth
- dental problems (commonly called meth mouth)
- psychosis
Burns
Boiling down liquid meth is not as easy as it sounds.
The drug has a number of toxic and combustible substances all its own, so even if you boil down meth dissolved in water, it can cause chemical burns if not handled with extreme caution.
Explosions
If meth has been dissolved in gasoline to cover up the smell of the drug, boiling it down becomes even more dangerous.
Gasoline, like meth, is highly combustible. Meth dissolved within it has ended in explosions and death.
Meth Overdose
If you drink meth that has been dissolved in water, you may put yourself at a higher risk of meth overdose than with other forms of meth use.
Unless you were the one who dissolved the drug, it is difficult to know how much meth is in your drink. As a result, it can be difficult to know how much meth you’re taking in any one dose of liquid meth.
Treatment Programs For Methamphetamine Abuse
Methamphetamine use is a dangerous and destructive drug addiction that can cause debilitating damage to your body and your mind.
While there are no medication-assisted treatments (MATs) for meth addiction and cravings, you can still achieve sobriety through targeted meth addiction treatment plans.
A professional treatment center focuses on treating meth abuse through evidence-based therapy and treatments, such as inpatient rehab, outpatient services, detox, counseling, and others.
Find Meth Abuse Treatment At Bedrock Recovery Center
At Bedrock Recovery Center, we believe that freedom from meth addiction is achievable.
Located in Canton, Massachusetts, we provide different behavioral health treatment options which we use to address your specific needs.
Call our helpline today to get the help that you or your loved one need.
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