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Author: Justin Mckibben
The words Crystal Meth have a pretty solid reputation as the name of a dangerous and devastating drug. The physical signs of meth due to the recent surge of TV series covering this drug both in drama shows such as “Breaking Bad” to documentary style pieces dedicated to educating the public, which quite often feature before and after pictures of people on meth, like The Meth Project.
But why Ritalin? Is that not a prescription medication for behavioral issues like ADHD? So isn’t it safe? Well this stimulant medication is quickly gaining some notoriety of its own due to the adverse health effects caused by regular abuse and misuse of this medication. So today on the substance showdown we take a look at what may seem like a one sided fight, but should be a good example of why you should not under-estimate the under-dog: Crystal Meth vs Ritalin.
This is a substance showdown: Ritalin vs Meth
The two substances, Ritalin and meth will go head to head for three rounds based on: health effects, insidiousness and legality, and withdrawal. The winner is the worst of each category and the winner will be the one who wins the most categories. Let’s see who comes out on top in today’s main event, RITALIN vs. METH!
ROUND 1: HEALTH EFFECTS
RITALIN
This amphetamine-like substance causes the same types of effects on the body as other forms of speed! Some symptoms include things like loss of appetite, insomnia, increased heart rate. When Ritalin is abused in larger doses, especially through different forms of ingestion like injection or snorting, it puts an even greater stress on the body, and as a result excessive trauma on the heart can be fatal.
SHORT-TERM EFFECTS
- Loss of appetite
- Increased heart rate
- Increased blood pressure
- Increased body temperature
- Dilation of pupils
- Disturbed sleep patterns
- Nausea
- Bizarre, erratic, sometimes violent behavior
- Hallucinations
- Hyper-excitability
- Irritability
- Panic and psychosis
- Convulsions, seizures
- Death from high doses
LONG-TERM EFFECTS
- Permanent damage to blood vessels of heart and brain, high blood pressure leading to heart attacks, strokes and death
- Liver, kidney and lung damage
- Destruction of tissues in nose if sniffed
- Respiratory (breathing) problems if smoked
- Infectious diseases and abscesses if injected
- Malnutrition, weight loss
- Disorientation, apathy, confused exhaustion
- Strong psychological dependence
- Psychosis
- Depression
- Damage to the brain including strokes and possibly epilepsy
METH:
Now, once we get into these health effects, pay really close attention to the similarities between the two, and see how many of these are the same.
SHORT-TERM EFFECTS
- Loss of appetite
- Increased heart rate
- Increased blood pressure
- Increased body temperature
- Dilation of pupils
- Disturbed sleep patterns
- Nausea
- Bizarre, erratic, sometimes violent behavior
- Hallucinations
- Hyper-excitability
- Irritability
- Panic and psychosis
- Convulsions, seizures
- Death from high doses
LONG-TERM EFFECTS
- Permanent damage to blood vessels of heart and brain, high blood pressure leading to heart attacks, strokes and death
- Liver, kidney and lung damage
- Destruction of tissues in nose if sniffed
- Respiratory (breathing) problems if smoked
- Infectious diseases and abscesses if injected
- Malnutrition, weight loss
- Severe tooth decay
- Disorientation, apathy, confused exhaustion
- Strong psychological dependence
- Psychosis
- Depression
- Damage to the brain similar to Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and epilepsy
- Collapse or death
ROUND 1 HEALTH EFFECTS: WINNER IS NEITHER IT IS A DRAW- In case you didn’t notice, the short-term AND long-term effects of the two are THE SAME!
ROUND 2 INSIDIOUSNESS AND LEGALITY
Meth:
Schedule II drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a high potential for abuse, less abuse potential than Schedule I drugs such as marijuana, with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence. Meth is a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act. Meth has little to no insidiousness because it is well known in its effects and addictiveness. Most people have seen The Meth Project’s before and after photos of meth users either on TV, on billboards, on the internet or maybe even in their D.A.R.E class. Most people who end up smoking meth know the horrors and dangers of it but think either it can’t or won’t happen again. As some of us have heard before the saying “just once” is what most future meth addicts say. This doesn’t make meth insidious. Although on a little side note, I was kind of surprised to find out that Schedule II substance along with prescription narcotics. I don’t know if this is supposed to be saying meth isn’t that dangerous or that prescription narcotics are more dangerous than people like to think.
Ritalin:
Methylphenidate is a Schedule II controlled substance, and both production and distribution are designed to be tightly controlled. While Ritalin use has recently declined in the past few years, prescription patterns involving similar drugs such as Adderall have sky-rocketed, primarily due to the progression of the demand within the United States for ADD and ADHD medications. In 2005, 1.9 million U.S. prescriptions were written for Ritalin, while prescriptions for Adderall-XR and Concerta totaled out around 8.7 million and 8.2 million. During that same year, use of methylphenidate and dextroamphetamine figured into 7,873 emergency-room visits in the United States alone. The U.S. has the highest rate of both ADD diagnosis and methylphenidate use in the world, with an estimated 1.5 million U.S. children currently using some form of the drug daily, with millions more taking such other ADHD medications as Adderall and Concerta. While there is little evidence of physical addiction to Ritalin when used under medical supervision and correctly dosed and monitored, it can produce both tolerance and physical addiction when used recreationally to get high.
THE WINNER OF ROUND 2 IS RITALIN
Ritalin takes the title as being more insidious than meth because it is legal and actually dealt out to children. The dangers of meth are well documented and meth is very illegal, while Ritalin is considered to be safe to the point you can find is in house-hold cabinets across the country, and parents giving them to their kids, often unaware of the dangerous effects that can result from the abuse of this substance.
ROUND 3 ADDICTIVENESS AND WITHDRAWAL
Meth:
Methamphetamine can be taken orally, smoked, snorted, or injected. The user will experience a sudden “rush” of pleasure directly after smoking or injecting the drug. This sensation only lasts for about a minute or two while the effects of meth can last from 30 minutes to 12 hours. Meth also has a high risk of dependency in users. If the user becomes dependent, they need more and more of the substance to feel the high. Methamphetamine withdrawal varies depending on the level of addiction and frequency of meth use.
- Depression
It can be very difficult to deal with the mental anguish that you obtain from meth. Withdrawal from methamphetamine has been associated with depression.
- Fatigue
Once an individual stops using meth they can become extremely tired. Without the artificial source of energy, the person begins to feel uncomfortable and deprived of energy.
- Changes in Heart Rhythm
Methamphetamine is a stimulant, and can cause irregular heartbeats. When the addict stops using the drug changes in heart rhythm may occur.
Ritalin:
Ritalin withdrawal symptoms are most likely to be felt if you are taking a large dose of this medication. If you take a low or moderate dose, you are less likely to feel withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking Ritalin. Slowly tapering off over time can reduce your symptoms. So although Ritalin withdrawal is generally not life threatening, it can be uncomfortable. It can be so uncomfortable that people may start taking the drug again in order to relieve the withdrawal symptoms. Even more terrifying is the fact that if a pregnant woman is taking Ritalin her baby may have withdrawal symptoms after it is born, and have already developed some level of physical dependency.
- Depression
Being without this medication after abusing it for long periods of time can create serious depression due to the lack of focus and energy, and the combination of other adverse health effects and withdrawal symptoms.
- Fatigue
Again, with the lack of this stimulant being present there can be a chemical imbalance created that causes discomfort and lack of energy or enthusiasm.
- Changes in Heart Rhythm
As mentioned in health effects of Ritalin, this stimulant effects the heart and blood pressure in the body, so when someone abusing Ritalin regularly stops abruptly their heart rhythm may change and become even more irregular.
THE WINNER OF ROUND 3 IS METH-
The reason Meth wins out on this round is because anyone using meth even on a regular basis can experience withdrawals, and they intensify depending on the frequency and the amount of usage. Ritalin has the same type of effects on the body with withdrawals, but it takes someone over-using or abusing this medication against doctors’ orders. No doctor prescribes meth for a good reason.
THE WINNER OF THE SUBSTANCE SHOWDOWN RITALIN VS. METH IS. . . (drum roll please)
!!!RITALIN!!!
Ritalin, the often under-estimated and over-looked under-dog takes this fight for one simple reason, it is LEGAL. When comparing the adverse health effects caused by these to drugs, and the withdrawal symptoms, they are practically reflections of each-other as stimulants. Ritalin may not have some of the deterioration effect on the outer appearance, or the reputation from TV and media, but the fact that when abused it does the same kind of damage as meth can on the body is relevant. Ritalin is still kept in homes everywhere while looked at as an innocent medication to aid with ADHD, and while it does help a lot of people with severe Attention Deficit, it can be easily abused. The fact alone that it can hurt people the same way meth can and yet thousands of Americans dose themselves and even their children with it every day puts it in the winner’s circle, but regardless when either drug is abused, we lose!
Check out our other Substance Showdown blogs:
Heroin v. Prescription Painkillers
Many drugs have vastly different effects on the mind and the body, and some are more noticeably harmful than others, but the disease of addiction does not discriminate, no matter what the drug is! If you or someone you love is struggling with substance abuse or addiction, please call toll-free 1-800-951-6135.