Mkpuru Mmiri: All you need to know including side effects

Methamphetamine Hydrochloride, popularly known as ‘Mkpuru Mmiri’ in Igbo language (igbo land) or crystal meth/ Ice in some parts of Lagos state, comes in clear crystal chunks or shiny blue-white rocks. This new dangerous drug as reported by NDLEA is already sending Nigerian youths to their graves.

Mkpuru mmiri is a very addictive stimulant drug. It is a powder that can be made into a pill or a shiny rock (called a crystal). The powder can be eaten or snorted up the nose. It can also be mixed with liquid and injected into your body with a needle. Crystal meth is smoked in a small glass pipe. Meth at first causes a rush of good feelings, but then users feel edgy, overly excited, angry, or afraid. Meth use can quickly lead to addiction.

To my never-ending heartbreak, reliable sources such as Wikipedia Health, NDLEA Health website, and Health magazines have given me quite the education about this deadly drug. As I recently learned, I now can see a random person in a store and recognize if they are “tweaking” (which is the name for the behavior when someone is very high on meth).

The first things you might notice, even if the person is not using a lot, is that the meth user doesn’t sleep, and they don’t eat. If they are trying to cover it up, they might accept food that you give them, but you will start noticing that it gets left unfinished or thrown away. They might pretend to go to bed, but you will discover the next morning that they are up–maybe they will claim they woke up early, when actually they haven’t slept at all. And this can stretch for days.

But the real indicators of someone who just shot a large amount of meth–oh yes, it can be injected– are:

A) Very agitated movement. They couldn’t sit still even if their life depended on it.

B) Jerky, flailing movements of the arms and legs.

C) Weird mouth movements: they feel the need to grind or clench their teeth but often try not to, so you might notice a quick side to side movement of the lower jaw– repetitively.
How Youths take ‘Mkpuru mmiri’

D) If they are smoking it: in the least, terribly chapped lips; in the worst, horrible mouth ulcers. (The teeth thing is a bit of a stereotype and not something that would show right away. The mouth sores happen quickly, though.)

HOW TO QUIT METH;

You must have a plan for your idle time to keep you occupied and focused on something productive. You must lose the contacts of people who use and avoid the places frequented by every person who could enable you. Stop doing anything that might cloud your judgement and cause you to rationalize using, such as alcohol.

Proper sleep and nutrition will go a long way. Take things one day at a time, so you do not become overwhelmed. Most importantly, if you do mess up, remind yourself of the things you hate about it. Then convince your mind that you didn’t slip up and use and that it was all a dream so that you may not become resigned to giving up. This will work only if slip ups are minimal.

Try to find someone with values that you admire and can draw close to, but first learn to love yourself. You are worthy and deserve the opportunities that would otherwise be missed while using.
The message is very clear – don’t try meth because you might not be able to stop, and if you are already using you need to quit right now.

Written by Chukwuemeka Egbo