Focus: Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine (meth) is a powerful illicit stimulant. The use of meth has grown in popularity across the United States and throughout the world, especially within the last decade. One of the reasons for this is its highly addictive nature -- users keep taking it regardless of its negative effects.

This website can help you learn more about methamphetamine through vivid images, several animations, and scientific fact. Follow the Meth Facts link for a text based explanation of the drug's effects. The Animations link brings you to a more dynamic format, and includes 6 short animations about how the brain is impacted by meth exposure. Or follow the Virtual Reality link to see how virtual reality technology can be used to experience meth's effects.

Methamphetamine is thousands of times more powerful than caffeine, and can be responsible for brain loss comparable to that observed in Alzheimers’ or Parkinsons' patients. The reasons for this and the phenomenon of addiction are biological at the root, and involve how methamphetamine gets into the brain and alters normal cell communication. This site explores how this works; you're invited to learn about the science of the effects of methamphetamine through the images, videos, and animations found here.