Meth Effects

Drugs affect people in different ways. The way meth makes you feel depends on several things, including:

• Your age and body size
• How much you take
• The way you get it into your body
• The people around you or the place where you take it
• If you have other physical or mental health conditions
• Whether you have alcohol, medicine, or other drugs in your body

How long does it take meth to kick in?

You’ll usually feel a “rush” pretty quickly. But how fast meth kicks in depends on the method you use:

• Injecting or smoking: Within seconds
• Snorting: 3-5 minutes
• Swallowing: 15-20 minutes

Meth dosage

Unless you use an approved methamphetamine medication under the direction of a doctor, there’s no recommended dose for meth. The least risky (and slowest) way to use meth is to swallow it. Your odds of harmful effects go up if you put meth into your vein with a needle. But you can lessen the chances of harmful effects if you use smaller amounts of meth no matter what method you choose.

Here are some typical ranges for doses:

• Light dose: 5-10 mg
• Common dose: 10-30 mg
• Strong dose: 30-40 mg

Meth short-term effects

You may feel a high similar to other stimulants, such as cocaine. Even with small amounts of meth, you may:

• Feel more alert and confident
• Have more energy
• Talk and move more
• Sleep and eat less

You may get physical symptoms. Some may be uncomfortable, such as:

• Fast breathing
• Racing heart
• Chest pain
• Dry mouth
• Muscle tension
• Increase in body temperature

How long does the high last?

In general, you may feel the effects of meth for around 2-6 hours if you smoke it or 6-8 hours if you inject it. The high may linger a little longer if you snort or swallow the drug, lasting up to 12 hours or longer. The duration may differ for you depending on how often you use meth.

Meth comedown

After the high wears off, you may start to feel bad physically and emotionally. These negative feelings may equal the intensity of your high but in the opposite way. You may seek out more meth to make these feelings go away.