Speed

Consequences: Undesirable effects

Overheating
Noradrenaline induces a higher body temperature. Just as in the case of ecstasy, you can become overheated, especially if you are in a hot place, dance a lot and get dehydrated.

High blood pressure
Extended use of speed can make your blood pressure soar to dangerous levels.

Teeth grinding
The tensed muscles in your jaw make you grind and damage your teeth.

Depression
The action of amphetamine can exhaust your supply of dopamine, and that can trigger feelings of depression.

Dependency
The effect that amphetamine has on your brain’s reward centre can make you dependent on the drug. You want to experience that euphoric feeling again and again. Tolerance to speed can also develop. As the number of nerve receptors dwindles, you need more speed to feel the same effects.

Psychoses
Too much speed can also lead to psychotic episodes, hallucinations and extreme paranoia. Here, too, the disrupted dopamine transmission is to blame.

Damage
It has been shown that nerve damage can result from the long-term use of speed. Dopamine axons may shrivel. Since that reduces the number of working dopamine neurons, it becomes harder to achieve pleasurable feelings.