Student Worksheet

The Meth Education Toolkit

Directions:
United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has called meth "the most dangerous drug in America." In order to evaluate the truth of this statement, you need to become more familiar with the development and impact of meth on individual users and their communities. You will be answering questions on the worksheet individually and then comparing your ideas with members of your group.

Individual Exercise

Open the following URL: http://www.metheducation.com, select the section labeled METH FACTS and answer the questions for each of the following categories.

METH OVERVIEW

• 1. What is the relationship betweens the brain's release of dopamine and meth addiction?
• 2. How is meth made? What dangers are associated with meth production?

EFFECTS OF METH

• 3. List six effects of meth use. Which do you think are most dangerous? Why?
• 4. Compare the "before" and "after" pictures. What differences do you see?

DANGERS AND RISKS

• 5. Identify five short-term and five long-term risks of meth use.
• 6. Compare the two pictures of the brains. What is the significance of the color orange in these pictures?
• 7. What are three dangers that meth production poses for the community?

ROAD TO TREATMENT

• 8. Discuss three problems that make it difficult to treat meth addicts.
• 9. If you could devise a treatment for meth addicts what kinds of things would you incorporate into your program?

THE METH TIMELINE

• 10. What was the first over-the-counter product used to make methamphetamine? In what year was this produced?
• 11. In 1937 amphetamines were prescribed for narcolepsy. Read the definitions for narcolepsy here. What is the definition for narcolepsy? Why do you think that a meth-like product would help it?
• 12. What changes in meth production and use occurred in the 1980s? Why was this development important?
• 13. How has the production of meth changed in the United States from 1995 to the present? What has caused this change?

GROUP EXERCISE

1. Compare your answers to the above questions and add any additional information to complete the assignment.
2. As a group compare your answers on narcolepsy. Why might amphetamines help people with this illness? How might this relate to the use of amphetamines in the 1960s? Record your discussion here.
3. Compare the treatment programs that you would recommend for meth addicts. Create a composite program, using the best of each member's ideas. Record your composite program here.
4. Each student should select a different letter or poem from this site and read it carefully. Then answer the following questions:
• List four or five major points made by the author. What was the author hoping to do by sharing his or her story?
• Was he or she successful? Why or why not?
• As a group compare the answers to the above questions. What similarities do you find in the letters/poems? What differences do you find? Record your answers here.