KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasThe Meth Effect

The Meth Effect

The resurgence in the use of illicit methamphetamine in the southwest appears to have no end in sight. The destructive power of meth addiction crosses socio-economic lines and is ruining the lives of people everywhere. In this special report, the Eye on Health team gets a closer look at the effects of meth use -- from some of those closest to the problem.

"There are projects everywhere around you that are unfinished. And so that becomes a part of who you are... unfinished stuff." Dawn can tell you anything you want to know about the life of a meth addict -- because she's been there herself.

At first, she enjoyed the high and thought she was in complete control. But it wasn't long before the drug took over and the joy ride was all down hill from there. "It practically took over my whole life. I lost my job. I lost friends, my family. Nobody wanted to have anything to do with me," Dawn says. 

Dr. Mel Pohl is an addiction specialist with The Las Vegas Recovery Center. "When someone uses methamphetamine, it makes them feel so good, so powerful, so positive. And then it wears off and they feel so terrible that they're induced to do it again."

Dr. Pohl says the intense pleasurable sensation from using meth makes the drug hard to resist. As with other addictions, it becomes a person's number one priority, even after the pleasure turns to utter discontent.

"Who needs to eat? Who needs people in their lives? Who needs relationships? Who needs to sleep? They just need that drug. So in that sense, it becomes extremely overpowering and as bad as any drug I've ever seen," says Dr. Pohl.

Dawn says, "You just feel so helpless. And you feel like there's no other way. A lot of fear."

As a meth addict, Dawn would go for days on end without sleeping. A common result of this sleep deprivation is a heightened sense of paranoia, which, for some users, will spur acts of violence.

"It's not like I would hallucinate, but just would think that people were watching me. It was a very scary feeling."

Not everyone survives the rush of speed. At the Clark County Coroner's office, several deaths a week can be attributed to meth use, according to forensic pathologist, Gary Telgenhoff. Much of the damage caused by meth can only be seen under a microscope, such as the accumulation of crystals in the lungs.

Dr. Telgenhoff says, "There's particles that are actually inhaled and the body can't get rid of them. And so it forms scar tissue around these little crystals." These crystals are far more damaging than cigarette smoke.

A sometimes-fatal characteristic of meth is it's racing effect on the heart. If fibrillation occurs during use, heart failure becomes a distinct possibility.

Dr. Gary Telgenhoff says, "It's been compared to a bag of worms. Rather than a good contractual pump, it's just writhing and the blood is not going anywhere. And within seconds to minutes, the person will be rendered unconscious. And if not brought out of this condition, by a paramedic or someone, death is going to be imminent."

Dawn adds, "With all the chemicals that are put in it, you might as well be drinking battery acid. It's insane." Dawn says she's living proof that drug addicts can turn their lives around and once again become contributing members of society.