How safe is speed?

Although you’ve made up your mind it’s important to remember the best way to stay safe is to avoid using speed altogether. But you’re definitely doing the right thing by trying to find out information about using safely.

Speed (also known as amphetamine) is a stimulant. Stimulants, as the name suggests, stimulate the way your body works. They speed up your heart rate and breathing and as a result you feel that you don’t need to sleep and you lose your appetite. This might sound like a good thing and it may feel like it the first few times, but the difficulty with speed is that it can make you feel confident and can trick you into thinking that it will always make you feel that way. And, potentially, the more you use it the worse it can make you feel, sometimes this feeling can spiral out of control. Lack of sleep can make you irritable and low in energy and you could start feeling anxious, even paranoid.

If you’re definitely sure that you want to take it, try swallowing it the first time rather than snorting or smoking. Swallowing can be less of a shock to the body because it can take a bit longer to take effect and the effects will be less intense. This will give you time to decide whether or not you like it and will reduce the intensity of side effects. It’s incredibly dangerous to inject so this is not advised.

Try to be somewhere that you feel comfortable and have people around you that you can trust. This is just in case you have a bad experience. If you want to get some further support about this contact Frank on 0300 123 6600 for free and confidential advice and information. You will also be able to get information about local drug and alcohol support services where you can get further advice and information about staying safe.