fact
sheets
Amphetamines
Amphetamines are a group of drugs that speed up brain messages.
They have short and long–term effects, can lead to mental problems,
addiction and dependence, and health problems. They’re illegal,
and can cause problems in your day–to–day life. You can get
help for problems with amphetamines.
What are amphetamines?
They’re a group of drugs which are stimulants (meaning they speed up
messages to and from your brain). Some of the different drugs in the
amphetamine family are known as methamphetamine, speed, ice,
goey, base, shabu, whiz and crystal meth.
What do amphetamines do?
At low doses, amphetamines can make people:
› Feel awake, energised, confident, happy or euphoric
› More talkative, or agitated
› Less hungry or tired
›Aggressive
›Sweat
› Clench their jaws
› Have hot and cold flushes
Higher doses can also lead to:
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Headaches, dizziness and restlessness
Confusion (feeling scattered or sketchy)
Very quick / irregular heartbeat
Paranoia, anxiety or depression
Pale skin
Long–terms effects of doing amphetamines regularly include:
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Anxiety, depression and sleep issues
Constant paranoia or confusion
Psychosis (where your perception of reality changes)
Violence out of no–where
High stress and blood pressure
Neglecting to eat and getting run down
Getting hooked
This could be
for you if...
› You want to know
what amphetamine
are and do
› You’re thinking of
taking amphetamines,
or already have
›
You or someone you
know are having
problems with amphetamines
› You want to get
help dealing with
amphetamines
Take action...
› Find out about psychosis
Amphetamine addiction
› Learn about other drugs
It’s totally possible to get hooked on speed, meth, ice – any amphetamine.
Signs you (or someone you know) is getting hooked are:
› Get help for drug
problems
› Finding amphetamines is your main problem.
› You feel stressed when you can’t get any.
www.reachout.com
› It takes more time to score, and you’ll try harder to get some.
› You need some before you feel good talking to other people/or feel “normal”.
› You need it to start the day.
amphetamines
If you’re finding yourself (or seeing someone else) get hooked on
amphetamines, you should get help.
Getting help
To get help with amphetamines or other drug issues, contact the
Australian Drugs Information Services.
Other issues
Other areas where people run into problems with amphetamines are:
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Work and family. You performance will suffer and amphetamines could cause
behaviour that messes up your close relationships.
Sanity. You’re more at risk of having a psychotic episode, (where your perception of
reality changes) on amphetamines. You might also get acute psychosis, where you hear,
see or feel things that aren’t there.
Mixing. It’s a terrible idea to mix amphetamines with any other drug. If you mix it with
alcohol, you’re more likely to drunk–drive or have unsafe sex.
Legal troubles. Amphetamines are illegal, and most are made in backyard labs. You get
in a ton of trouble and ruin your future options if you get caught with amphetamines.
From everyday troubles through to really tough times, take the first step
with ReachOut.com, Australia’s leading online youth mental health service.
www.reachout.com