KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 (Bernama) -- A delirious woman addict once jumped down from a two-storey building, after hearing "a voice" telling her to do so.
This 30-year-old woman also had frequent hallucinations, among which, seeing a serpent lurking behind every person she came across.
"Something was wrong with my mind," she said.
The woman, at that time, failed to realise that she was experiencing paranoid delusions.
It all happened a year after she began to flirt with the designer drug syabu or "ice", an artificial hallucinogenic agent.
Finally, she had to seek psychiatric treatment.
The doctor who attended to this woman explained to her what the hallucinations were about and advised her to quit drugs if she wanted to live longer.
ECSTASY, SYABU
Meanwhile, the Guardian News Service reported that London University doctors revealed details of a British man who took 40,000 ecstasy pills over a nine-year period.
Despite having stopped taking the drug seven years ago, the 37-year-old former addict still suffers from severe physical and mental side-effects including amnesia, paranoia, hallucinations and depression.
Ecstasy contains the active ingredient methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). As for syabu and ecstasy, they are categorised as "Amphetamine-Type Stimulants" (ATS) due to the amphetamine content.
Syabu's precursors are ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine while it is called "speed, meth, chalk or china white" on the streets. The drug can be smoked, orally ingested, injected or snorted.
PHYSICAL, MENTAL STIMULANTS
Amphetamine is a potent physical and mental stimulant. Another stimulant used to produce "psychotropic pills" is the highly-addictive methamphetamine.
This group of ATS drugs is not something new as most of the stimulants were invented at the turn of the 20th century. During the second world war, amphetamine was given to fighter pilots for them to stay awake and alert.
ATS has not been widely used for medical purposes but this group of drugs is produced for the black market as demand rises.
According to a 1997 World Health Organisation (WHO) report, there were half a million ATS users in which 10 percent of them suffered from psychosis -- a mental state in which thought and perception are severely impaired.
People experiencing psychotic episodes may experience hallucinations and delusions apart from showing personality changes and mental disorientation.
ATS TYPES
The threat posed by ATS drugs is spreading like wild fires worldwide. Malaysia is also affected, particularly the country's youths staying in major urban areas.
Before, Malaysians are familiar with conventional drugs like cannabis, heroin, morphine and opium.
Of late the street talk is on, among else, "pil kuda" (ecstasy pills), ice, crystal, meth, speed, erimin-5 and ketamine.
Pleasure-seekers take them when patronising entertainment centres and wild parties. The drugs can be taken in various ways including in the form of pills or by hypodermic injections.
Former hardcore drug addict, Tan Hai Chan said most Guest Relation Officers (GROs) in pubs or karaoke lounges take psychotropic pills.
Tan said these women take the pills to remove their "moral barriers", enabling them to entertain their male clients. "They never care what these drugs can do, what's important is how much money can they get".
Enjoying and taking drugs at nightspots seem to be the "hip thing to do" among urban youngsters. Unfortunately they fail to see the repercussions of their actions.
SEVERE BRAIN DAMAGE
The youngsters are actually ignorant of a very devastating point -- that the ATS drugs which they took during their fun and weekend outings not only make them addicts but also create irreversible damage to their brain.
"Both drugs, conventionals and synthetics have their own dangers but designer drugs became more prominent as there is a shortage in the supply of conventional drugs like heroin.
"From patients' feedback, designer drugs are easily available," said Dr Salina Abd Aziz, Hospital Kuala Lumpur's (HKL) Consultant Psychiatrist, who is involved in the setting up of HKL's Drugs Clinic and Methadone Replacement Therapy Clinic.
Dr Salina said ATS drugs are more "potent" due to its effects on the brain when taken over a long period of time.
"Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) have shown damaged brain cells due to synthetic drugs. This is what we need to monitor as damaged brain cells cannot be replaced," she said.
Dr Salina said most of her patients also show psychological changes similar to schizophrenia, a severe brain disease that interferes with normal mental functions.
These interferences can trigger hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia apart from making patients very aggressive.
BRAIN DAMAGE, ZOMBIES
Social activist Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said youths, without realising the danger, only seek pleasure when indulging in synthetic drugs.
"Such drugs have been proven to cause damage to the brain and other organs such as liver and lungs".
He said ultimately the addicts would "withdraw into a shell" and become zombies as they cannot differentiate between right and wrong.
"In the end, they are going to destroy themselves," he said.
According to Dr Salina, even after addicts decide to kick the habit, the effects have already gone to the brain.
"These effects could not be reversed or alleviated. Once the brain cells are damaged, they have to suffer the consequences for the rest of their life.
"Hallucinations will continue. They will become schizophrenics and have to be given medicines for their condition," said Dr Salina.
AGGRESSIVE, VIOLENT
Dr Salina said the patients are aggressive and violent in several ATS cases that she came across.
"The ATS drugs cause the brain to produce excessive dopamine and this contribute to the peculiar behaviour. Dopamine controls movement, emotional response and ability to experience pleasure and pain," she said.
She also said most of the ATS addicts were referred for treatment either by the police or their respective families.
"These young people won't come for treatment voluntarily. They won't stop taking the drugs until they're fully satisfied and dare to claim that they can control the situation.
"Furthermore they claim of only taking the drugs once in a while. For them, such drugs won't bring them harm," Dr Salina said.
PSYCHIATRIC PSYCHOSIS
Dr Salina recalls the case of a male addict.
The young man, in his early 20s, was admitted to the HKL's psychiatric ward in a psychotic state.
"This guy frequently took syabu and he was at a club when he took excessive dose. He became violent, forcing the police to arrest him and took him to the hospital.
"The addict said he heard voices and he talked to himself. We had to treat him like a schizophrenia patient.
"It didn't take long to get rid his body from effects of ATS drugs but as he had taken them for a long time, some of his brain cells had been damaged and we don't know what cells are damaged," explained Dr Salina.
Dr Salina said most ATS cases that she handled involved male patients and most of them got involved in drugs during their schooling days.
These people took drugs because they wanted to work hard and if they were students, it's because they wanted to stay awake to study.
"The problem is these drugs damage the brain. If they stop taking them, they would sleep all the time or become depressed," she said.
ADDICTION A MENTAL DISEASE
Dr Salina said addiction is a mental disease due to effects on the individual's psychology.
"Drug addiction is neither a physical nor a social illness. It's a mental sickness and this is recognised by WHO," she said.
On drug-addiction, she said it depends on the individual.
"The impact of drugs depend on its chemical contents. It can cause addiction and we cannot determine the addiction level, so it's best not to take or try these drugs at all," Dr Salina added.
