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Bluelight Crew
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Crystal meth a Class A drug
Press Association
January 18, 2007
The sex and dance culture drug crystal meth has become a Class A drug in a bid to prevent it becoming a mainstream epidemic.
People who use the stimulant will face up to seven years in jail and an unlimited fine, while dealers could get life behind bars.
The ultra-addictive drug produces a "high" similar to crack cocaine when it is smoked or injected, but its effects are even more damaging.
Properly known as methamphetamine, its street names include ice, crazy medicine, go-fast and Nazi crank, after an apocryphal story that Adolf Hitler injected the substance twice daily.
American singer Rufus Wainwright is among the celebrities who have admitted former addictions to the synthetic drug's euphoric effects.
Home Office minister Vernon Coaker said: "Crystal meth is a very harmful drug but fortunately it is not widespread in the UK.
"However, we know from the experiences of other countries that it has the potential to ruin the lives of individuals and their families. We cannot afford to be complacent.
"Reclassification is a precautionary measure that helps to ensure crystal meth does not gain a foothold in the UK."
Moving the drug to Class A alongside heroin and cocaine means the police and the Serious Organised Crime Agency will make tackling it an even higher priority.
The drug can quickly become addictive and lead to depression, paranoia, violent behaviour, kidney failure and internal bleeding. It also leads to less inhibited sexual behaviour, and therefore to an increased risk of infection with HIV and other diseases.
The Home Office has released horrific photographs of the drug's effects on two women in the United States which demonstrated how crystal meth smoking can lead to rapid ageing and to "meth mouth" - a chronic rotting of teeth and gums.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6353371,00.html
Press Association
January 18, 2007
The sex and dance culture drug crystal meth has become a Class A drug in a bid to prevent it becoming a mainstream epidemic.
People who use the stimulant will face up to seven years in jail and an unlimited fine, while dealers could get life behind bars.
The ultra-addictive drug produces a "high" similar to crack cocaine when it is smoked or injected, but its effects are even more damaging.
Properly known as methamphetamine, its street names include ice, crazy medicine, go-fast and Nazi crank, after an apocryphal story that Adolf Hitler injected the substance twice daily.
American singer Rufus Wainwright is among the celebrities who have admitted former addictions to the synthetic drug's euphoric effects.
Home Office minister Vernon Coaker said: "Crystal meth is a very harmful drug but fortunately it is not widespread in the UK.
"However, we know from the experiences of other countries that it has the potential to ruin the lives of individuals and their families. We cannot afford to be complacent.
"Reclassification is a precautionary measure that helps to ensure crystal meth does not gain a foothold in the UK."
Moving the drug to Class A alongside heroin and cocaine means the police and the Serious Organised Crime Agency will make tackling it an even higher priority.
The drug can quickly become addictive and lead to depression, paranoia, violent behaviour, kidney failure and internal bleeding. It also leads to less inhibited sexual behaviour, and therefore to an increased risk of infection with HIV and other diseases.
The Home Office has released horrific photographs of the drug's effects on two women in the United States which demonstrated how crystal meth smoking can lead to rapid ageing and to "meth mouth" - a chronic rotting of teeth and gums.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6353371,00.html
