CRYSTAL METH USE CAN HAVE DISTURBING SIDE EFFECTS, ACCORDING TO HEALTH-CARE WORKERS AND COUNSELLORS A new story out of Canada discusses the use of methamphetamine and its relation to psychosis. It seems that the use of methamphetamine or as it sometimes called, crystal meth (one of its more popular street names), has the potential to induce psychosis: (Psychiatrist) Dr. (Heather) Keizer (has seen) a spike in the number of youth with psychosis after using meth in the winter of 2004. It dropped a bit in the summer months but picked up again this past winter. She sees youth, mostly boys, who hear voices in the walls, in their heads and believe they're being chased. The psychosis lasts anywhere from a few weeks to more than a year with no end in sight. Methamphetamine changes the structure of the brain.It can be an "on switch" for schizophrenia, she said. "So we can clean you up, get the drugs out of your system and you're still psychotic because you've turned on that switch, and I do see that. I'll diagnose them with psychosis secondary to substance abuse, but a year down the road I diagnose them as schizophrenic.... I've had a lot of cases and that's why I'm disturbed by this." According to a street drug resource book used by staff in emergency rooms, "only 20 per cent of crystal methamphetamine addicts ever recover. Yet, in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, meth is rated lower than cannabis-based drugs." This news is distressing considering that research has already shown that the use of cannabis or pot can induce psychosis. Supporting this point, Dr. Keizer has "also seen patients who have experienced psychosis after smoking pot." In addition, it seems that dealers sometimes combine crystal meth with pot. Dr. Reizer encourages parents to be "vigilant" with their children when it comes to drugs. She states, "(i)t's OK to say no to marijuana even if they (parents) tried it when they were young. It's not the same stuff." Further, though this may seem like a teenage problem, the ages of Dr. Reizer's patients span all the way from 13 to 50. Thus, psychosis induced by drugs, isn't a problem that only youth face.