What 14 Years Of Doing Meth Does To A Person

Knowing what we know about it, it seems strange that anyone would want to do crystal meth. Yet, a look at how the brain reacts to a dose of the drug reveals exactly what compels users to stay in its clutches.

As with any drug — including alcohol and nicotine — meth triggers the release of the pleasure chemical dopamine, resulting in an energized, euphoric feeling. The problem with meth is that it releases 12 times as much dopamine as you get from other pleasurable activities like eating or sex, which means the resulting rush is unlike anything the user has ever experienced. Yet, as they say, what goes up must come down because once the drug wears off, the user experiences an equally intense depression. So the user takes it again because it’s the only way they can make that horrible feeling go away, thus beginning a very addictive cycle.

If that cycle isn’t broken, the drug puts them through hell. It raises a person’s body temperature to dangerous levels, so they risk death every time they take it. Meth can also make someone extremely paranoid, their moods erratic and their behavior unpredictable to the point that they can become a danger to themselves and others.

Yet, one of the most haunting stories a user can tell about their journey is written all over their face. That stark progression as addiction drags on shows itself very well in the case of 32-year-old Matthew Medlin. We’re going to look at how he’s changed over the last 14 years.

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Here we see 18-year-old Medlin after his first arrest in 2002.

His chiseled good looks, which is comprised of his tan, high cheekbones, and piercing gaze, have been compared to those of a model.

Five years later, he’s already starting to age prematurely.

Meth is known to have this effect as it dulls the skin and introduces the sores you’re starting to see on Medlin. Many users tend to make these sores worse by obsessively picking at them.

By 2013, we find Medlin sporting some odd face tattoos.

Below the crude teardrop ink, you may notice his sunken cheeks. Meth tends to cause a loss of appetite so Medlin has likely lost a lot of weight by this point.

Medlin would be arrested three times that year.

This photo seems similar to the previous one aside from his racoon-style haircut.