You have probably heard of this drug before or have seen it on certain television shows. For me, I’ve mostly learned about meth through watching the show Breaking Bad, which takes you inside the meth industry as well as how it is made. While I’m sure not everything on this show was realistic, I just find it interesting how the media portrays meth and how much of a problem it is within our society. However, in order to really understand what meth is we need to find out how it’s created.

In high school, I remember going through health class learning about how meth was created. This really taught me the process of creating meth and how harmful it was to the human body. Therefore, the content of this essay will look at the chemical makeup of meth as well as how it’s created. Finally, it will look into the effects of meth on the human body, or side effects, and try to identify some solutions as to how to treat meth addiction and the overall problem of the meth industry in the United States.

Unlike Marijuana, meth is a man-made substance, which means it doesn’t come from a plant and is made in a laboratory. Up above, I referenced the show Breaking Bad; in it, the meth the main character “cooks up” – a term used by people in the industry – is in the lab using complex measuring techniques and ingredients. These laboratories are often under the radar and illegal; dealers try their best to cook up meth in secluded areas or hidden places such as basements as not to bring up any suspicion (“What is Meth” 2). The fact of the matter is that many of the ingredients within meth vary thanks to the manmade aspect of the drug. One dealer may put in different ingredients and substances, and another dealer may put in a different type of measurement of one ingredient than the other. Because of this, the meth industry has really diversified and there is such thing as “quality” meth and just regular street meth. However, experts have made a list of most used ingredients to make meth, and some of them are quite shocking. For instance, some of these ingredients include amphetamines (stimulants), cold and flu pills, battery acid, drain cleaner, antifreeze, and bleach (“What is Meth” 3). These are extremely dangerous and hazardous chemicals. In fact, they are so hazardous that man drug dealers who cook this stuff up end up killing themselves due to the explosivity of these chemicals. Unfortunately, these laboratories aren’t very environmental friendly either, and they contribute a lot to harming the environment.

Getting into more of the chemistry aspect of meth, one of the main ingredients in meth is sodium hydroxide, or lye. This is one of the main ingredients in soap, and it is often found in drain cleaner or pipe cleaner. When farmers bury their dead animals, they usually use this drug in order to make sure disease doesn’t spread (“What harmful” 1). Additionally, this is one of the favored substances that serial killers use to dispose of dead bodies, as it can basically melt a person and leave them in a puddle of discharge. This is probably the primary ingredient in crystal meth, and very dangerous type of meth that has many negative health effects. Another chemical substance that is popular in crystal meth is anhydrous ammonia, which is basically a corrosive acid that can cause a burning sensation in the eyes. If someone is overexposed to this substance, they will end up dead because their throat pipe will close and they will choke to death. Other substances that are found in crystal meth are lighter fluid, ether, and lithium, and “cook,” as they are called, often produce their meth in ovens. You have to understand that these people aren’t very organized and they have no incentive to be. Their primary objective is to make money off of their meth production.

Now, the primary consequence of using meth is simply addiction. With every drug, you can get addicted, and this includes caffeine and other harmless types of drugs. However, the fact that meth is so dangerous and used with all those harmful, poisonous substances is a reason to believe that addiction is the worst side effect of meth. If you Google pictures of people who have taken meth, the before and after pictures will shock you. And addiction causes users to take more and more doses of it more frequently to experience the same highs. Apart from physical appearance, meth can also cause psychotic meltdowns, insomnia, mood disturbances, and paranoia. Once someone is hooked on meth, the road to rehabilitation is long and hard, and many may end up failing and get hooked back onto meth. It’s a very sad and slow process which marches you towards death, and the number one way that we can help people is to implement stronger drug policies that eliminates the opportunities for people to get on meth (“Methamphetamine” 1).

First and foremost, we can start by introducing a plan of action to sweep out the drug dealers who do business across the southern border, and we can then work with Mexico to help implement stronger policies that imprison these people. The effects of meth use are apparent and they are some of the worst drug effects in the entire world. In order to help people, it’s best we eliminate the potential for abuse before it even happens.