Pervitin, crystalline methamphetamine – a new threat to the Polish drug scene
Anna Dietrich-Muszalska

The term pervitin refers to methamphetamine in Central Europe, illegally produced from ephedrine or pseudoephedrine as a precursor. A growth in the use of psychoactive substances in some European countries has been noted for several years. According to data from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, the number of addicted people to pervitin increases in Europe at a rate of several percent per year. Pervitin is illegally produced and sold especially in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Germany and the Scandinavian countries, where its use is a significant social and healthcare problem. In Poland, the use of pervitin to intoxication were observed mainly in the provinces of southern and south-west, to which this substance is generally imported from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Use of pervitin leads to addiction and a number of negative health consequences associated with its influence on the central and peripheral nervous system, cardiovascular and respiratory systems. In the course of pervitin use psychosis caused by intoxication, depression, neuropsychological deficits and damage to various organs may occur. Acute poisoning by pervitin can lead to death due to cardiovascular disorders, or hyperthermia and injecting promotes the spread of blood-borne diseases. The negative effects of its use are also described, such as risky sexual behaviours and crime. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to the relatively new problem of using pervitin in Poland (the so-called Czech crystalline methamphetamine) to intoxication and to describe, among other things, the actions of the substance and the risks arising from its use.