Maternal methamphetamine use during pregnancy and subsequent neurodevelopmental and psychological sequelae in the child - a Cape Town experience
Master Thesis
2011
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University of Cape Town
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Methamphetamine, part of the amphetamine group of drugs, was first discovered in Japan in 1919. It has been clandestinely manufactured in the United States since the 1960s, and is still legally produced there as a nasal inhalant, as treatment for Attention Deficit Disorder and exogenous obesity, as well as off-label treatment for narcolepsy. (1) It is a cheap (about R15- 30 per 'straw'), easily obtainable, odourless, white powder, which has a bitter, taste, but dissolves easily in water or alcohol. Known as, amongst others, ' speed', 'ice', 'crystal', 'chalk', 'glass', 'crank', and locally, 'tik', it can be smoked, snorted, orally ingested, injected intravenously or even administered anally. In South Africa the preferred method consists of placing the powder or crystal in a light bulb (from which the metal threading has been removed) and inhaling the fumes produced while heating the bulb from below with a lighter.(2). The use of methamphetamine has risen sharply globally over the last decade, used by 26 million people worldwide by 2007, more than heroin and cocaine combined, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. This has been ascribed to many interlocking reasons: it is cheap, easily obtainable, easy to use without the need for needles or other special 'equipment', and it produces in the user a characteristic 'rush'. This feeling of confidence, power and heightened sexual levels, of feeling 'on top of the world' has made it especially popular amongst teenagers and young adults. (3)
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Van Dyk, J. 2011. Maternal methamphetamine use during pregnancy and subsequent neurodevelopmental and psychological sequelae in the child - a Cape Town experience. University of Cape Town.