Attention Employers
Tennessee has one of the worst meth problems in the country and
many of our state's meth users are employed. In fact, some meth addicts
say they were first introduced to the drug in the workplace. Please
visit the Meth Free Tennessee website at www.methfreetn.org and find out how you can help in the fight against meth in the workplace.
What Is Meth?
Methamphetamine is a powerfully addictive and illegal stimulant
known on the street as "Meth", "Speed", "Crank", "Chalk", "Fire",
"Glass", "Ice", "Tweak", "Uppers", "Yaba" and other names. Whatever it's
called, none of the names tell you what it really does.
Meth is different. People who use it can get hooked after just
their first try, and once a person is addicted it's extremely difficult
to get off the drug. The ingredients used to make meth include toxic
chemicals that do permanent injury to the body. Meth doesn't just affect
the user, it also impacts the user's family and society as a whole.
This is one drug capable of destroying lives, families and
communities. This is a lasting destruction, including irreversible and
serious damage to the body, parents in jail and kids in foster homes,
and serious environmental damage from toxic chemicals in communities
where meth is made.
Effects On Children
Not only does meth have negative, long-lasting
effects on users, it also has a destructive impact on everyone around
them. Tennessee's children are falling victim to this horrible epidemic
everyday.
Abuse and unimaginable neglect are common, and the
physical health of children who live in homes where meth is made is
especially at risk. They breathe in toxic fumes just by playing on the
floor or in a yard where poisonous wastes are dumped.
Fourty percent of child welfare officials surveyed
report that methamphetamine has led to an increase in the number of
children removed from homes. – National Association of Counties survey
polling 500 sheriffs' departments in 45 states.
It makes you so cold and ruthless. I love my children with all my heart, but at the time I never thought about them."
– Recovering addict, Putnam County, TN
"You see people–good
people–people that were good parents at one time, people that genuinely
loved their children, and they give everything up for the drug."
– Betsy Dunn, Tennessee Department of Children's Services
Long Term Effects of Meth Use
Long term effects of meth use include:
- Tooth decay
- Fatal kidney and lung disorders
- Possible brain damage
- Depression
- Hallucinations
- Disorganized lifestyle
- Permanent psychological problems
- Violent and aggressive behavior
- Weight loss
- Insomnia
- Behavior resembling paranoid schizophrenia
- Decreased social life
- Malnutrition
- Poor coping abilities
- Disturbance of personality development
- Liver damage
- Stroke
- Death