OTHER OPIATES AND NARCOTIC

Street names: Speed, Billy (short for Billy Whizz), French Blues, Uppers, Dexies, Black Bombers, Black and Whites, Green and Browns. safedrugstock.com

Amphetamine sulphate comes both in powder and pill form, thus many of the street names refer to the colours of the tablets. Apisate or Tenuate Dospan (diethylpropion) and Ritalin (methylphenidate) are drugs with a similar effect.

Amphetamine, like cocaine, has a stimulant effect, producing a feeling of euphoria and excitement. Breathing and heartrate speed up.

How it is used

1. Snorted.
2. Swallowed.
3. Injected.
4. Drunk. The powder is dissolved in water and drunk. This is not a common method.

How often

Like cocaine, the euphoria and excitement produced by the drug are followed by a down period. Regular users may have to take increasing doses to attain the same feeling.

In the early stages of the illness, amphetamine addicts alternate periods of using the drug with periods off it. As their dependence progresses, they sometimes use tranquillisers or alcohol to bring themselves down.

Health risks

1. Lifestyle. Amphetamines literally use up those who use them. Both hunger and fatigue vanish when the drug is used, so lack of sleep and food lowers resistance to disease.
2. Hallucinations, delusion and paranoia develop among regular users. 'Amphetamine psychosis' can develop.
3. Heart attacks and damaged blood vessels can result in those who use the drug and take strenuous exercise.
4. Injecting has the same risks as injecting heroin.

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