There is much speculation about the problem of meth abuse and its origins. Some believe it started after World War II, and probably it did. It is used in diet pills and various other medications to help resolve issues of insufficient energy to perform a day's work. Things such as asthma medication contain ephedrine which is one of the constituents of meth and, during the last two decades, more prevalently and possibly the main culprit contributing to such an enormous jump in the meth abuse statistics, is the commonly prescribed ADHD meds.

The problem with ADHD meds is that youngsters have access to and become drug dealers at a very young age, selling their "speed" to friends and school mates so the problem of addiction is starting at an extremely young age, right in the school grounds. All they have to do is crush the tablets and ingest them in any of the ways, previously mentioned. The result in the classroom can be and is catastrophic and that's the start of meth abuse. It heralds the end of absorption of data and the start of absorption of a substance.

Think of a time when you had too much alcohol or some or other medication. Could you concentrate on the job at hand? I think not. It's difficult to concentrate, which now makes you a target to be prescribed something to "make you alert". As drugs don't make you alert and you have to pay attention in class, you get the syndrome of "the dog chasing it's tale". The problem won't resolve and now your kid is getting a prescription for a legal "drug". No difference.

Prolonged meth abuse can result in a tolerance for the drug and increased use at higher dosage levels, creating dependence. The continued use of the drug, with little or no sleep, leads to an extremely irritable and paranoid state. To suddenly stop using meth can lead to depression, fatigue, apathy, inability to think and use one's innate intelligence, paranoia, anxiety, insomnia, convulsions and, eventually, brain damage.

Not a pretty picture. Meth abuse can leave one feeling

hopeless and in despair. Don't despair. Speed, pardon the pun, is of the essence before further brain damage occurs. Something can and should be done about it.

Possibly one has already tried to resolve the meth abuse before and failed. The major reason for failure is just selecting the wrong program for the addict. This too is understandable as there is so much information out there and misinformation abounds.

There is a way to determine which program will do the job. It's simple, really, once you know how. The first step is to ensure that the program does a withdrawal program that is comfortable for the addict. No cold turkey. That's agony.

Once the addict is through withdrawal, the next key issue would be to ensure that a full meth detox is undertaken without the introduction of further drugs. We certainly don't need to add a new "fix" to the list and create a new reason for rehab. Key components of a properly done meth detox program would include the use of a sauna, the proper oils, vitamins and minerals, run and administered very closely by properly trained staff.

Once the person is free of the meth and other toxic residues, he is now and only now ready for the final steps of rehabilitation. This should include establishing with the person why they started off on that road in the first place. As no-one but he knows the reason, it is very harmful for someone to tell him what to think and give him reasons. He will not recover if this is done.

It is so important to his recovery that it cannot be emphasized enough. The reason for this is that the correct reason will allow rehabilitation to occur fully as the steps that are taken after meth detox include him studying the data needed and then resolving his reasons for himself by himself. It cannot work any other way. Think of a time when someone told you what was wrong with you and how you felt and started to think about yourself. No-one knows but the individual himself.