Methamphetamine route of administration
The common route for medical methamphetamine use is oral administration. In recreational use, meth may be swallowed, snorted, smoked, dissolved in water and injected (or even without water, in what is called a dry shot), inserted anally (with or without dissolution in water; also known as a booty bump or shafting), or into the urethra. The potential for addiction is more important when meth is administered by methods that cause the concentration in the blood to rise quickly, principally because the effects desired by the user are felt more quickly and with a higher intensity than through a moderated delivery mechanism.
Studies have indicated that the subjective pleasure of meth use (the reinforcing component of addiction) is proportional to the rate that the blood level of the drug increases. Generally, smoking meth is the fastest mechanism (i.e., it causes the blood concentration to increase the most rapidly in the shortest period of time as it allows the drug to travel to the brain through a more direct route than intravenous injection), followed by injecting, anal insertion, insufflation and swallowing.
"Smoking" methamphetamine actually refers to vaporizing the drug to produce fumes, instead of burning and inhaling the resulting smoke, as with tobacco. It is frequently smoked in glass pipes, or in aluminium foil heated by a flame underneath. This method is also called "chasing the white dragon" (as derived from the method of smoking heroin commonly known as "chasing the dragon"). There is little proof that methamphetamine inhalation results in greater toxicity than any other route of administration. Lung damage has been reported with long-term use, nonetheless manifests in forms independent of route (pulmonary hypertension and associated complications), or limited to injection users (pulmonary emboli).
Injection is a popular method for methamphetamine use, but carries quite important risks. The hydrochloride salt of methamphetamine is soluble in water; injection users might use any quantity from 125 mg to over a gram, using a small needle. This dosage range might be deadly to non-addicts. Meth addicts quickly develop tolerance to the drug. Injection users frequently experience skin rashes (occasionally called "speed bumps") and infections at the site of injection. As with any injected drug, if a group of meth users shares a common needle or any type of injecting equipment without sterilization procedures, blood-borne diseases like HIV or hepatitis can be transmitted as well.
Little research has focused on anal insertion as a method, and anecdotal evidence of its effects is infrequently discussed, possibly because of social taboos in numerous cultures regarding the anus. This is frequently known within communities that use methamphetamine for sexual stimulation as a "butt rocket," "booty bump," "keistering," or "plugging," and is anecdotally reported to increase sexual pleasure while the effects of meth last. The rectum is where most of the drug would likely be administered, through the mucous membranes lining its walls.
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