What does a meth tweaker look like? What does a meth tweaker act like? A meth tweaker is a heavy meth abuser who hasn’t slept for days.  Tweakers can go as long as 15 days without sleep. Their behavior is highly unpredictable and frequently violent.

tweaker-strung-outHere are some common signs of someone addicted to meth:

Eyes - The eyes of someone high on meth will move 10 times faster than normal and may even roll back. If they are also using alcohol, their eyes may jerk side to side or look out of the corners of their eyes. If you smell alcohol on their breath, be extremely careful around them, even if they don’t appear to be drunk.

Speech – A meth tweaker’s speech will be quick and their voice will quiver slightly.

Thought process – Paranoid thoughts that someone is out to hurt them, arrest them, steal from them, etc dominate their thinking. Delusional thoughts and hallucinations further distort their thought processes and will cause them to see people and things as something other than what they really are. They may think cows standing in a field are DEA agents watching their house, for example.

Sex drive and self control- Meth increases a meth abuser’s sex drive and removes inhibitions. As a result, meth users often engage in risky behaviors without giving any thought about the consequences of their actions. Their risk taking behavior increases when they use alcohol.  Unprotected sex is common among meth users in the gay and heterosexual communities, increasing their risk of contracting HIV and AIDS.

Body Language – Meth tweakers move quickly and will have exaggerated movements.

Behaviors – Meth tweakers  are easily angered, paranoid, and violent. Their lack of self-control and irritability makes them extremely dangers to others, especially law enforcement officers.  The use of alcohol increases their unpredictable and violent behavior.

Home Life – Domestic disputes are common for tweakers. Spouses, children, and pets are continually become the targets of a tweaker’s anger and lack of self control. Those living with a tweaker are at risk of sexual abuse, physical harm, and emotional abuse.

Children of heavy meth abusers are neglected. While meth abusing parents sleep, children are left to take care of themselves and one another. Many children of meth abusers miss school. Food is often lacking in the home of a meth abuser, as well. The stimulant effect of meth use keeps the user from feeling hungry. They will forget that children still need to eat, bathe, have clean clothes to wear, for example.

Meth abusers, especially meth lab cooks, will often have guard dogs. Dogs are often underfed and are tied up to porches or chained up somewhere in the yard, so they can alert them if a stranger comes too close to the house.

Guns are commonly found in the homes of meth abusers, who are always worried that someone is out to get them.

Driving  Habits – Hallucinations and paranoid thoughts increase the odds that a tweaker will become involved in a traffic accident. Getting involved in a traffic accident with someone who is high on meth is an extremely dangerous situation. If you should get in to an accident with a tweaker,  keep in mind that they may have a loaded gun.  Furthermore, paranoia and fear of the police can push them to take actions without regard for their safety or anyone else’s – including yours.

Criminal activity- Heavy meth users are typically involved in crimes that help them support their meth habit.  Crimes involving theft are common. Money, jewelry, iPods, laptop computers, cell phones, cars, and other valuables stolen from homes can be turned in to quick cash or used as a bartering tool with a meth dealer. The theft of electronic items is common, as is the theft of mail from mail boxes.  Stolen mail ultimately leads to identity theft. .

PLAY IT SAFE-If you come in to contact with a meth tweaker, knowing what to do can save your life. Here are some great tips by stopdrugs.org that may help keep you safe!

1. Keep a 7-10 ft. distance. Coming too close can be perceived as threatening.

2. Do not shine bright lights at him. The tweaker is already paranoid and if blinded by a bright light he is likely to run or become violent.

3. Slow your speech and lower the pitch of your voice. A tweaker already hears sounds at a fast pace and in a high pitch.

4. Slow your movements. This will decrease the odds that the tweaker will misinterpret your physical actions.

5. Keep your hands visible. If you place your hands where the tweaker cannot see them, he might feel threatened and could become violent.

6. Keep the tweaker talking. A tweaker who falls silent can be extremely dangerous. Silence often means that his paranoid thoughts have taken over reality, and anyone present can become part of the tweaker’s paranoid delusions.

13 Responses to “ Meth Tweaker – the boogie man is real ”

  1. don't want to say

    don't want to say

    We rent an apartment in Arlington, Texas. Our neighbors are manufacturing, selling and using meth. They have a kid, a small female toddler, who is severely neglected. The authorities have been notified, but they do nothing. These people have a lot of visitors at night and sometimes nonstop for days. They have blacked out the windows, but the inside of their apartment was seen and is without furniture and the floor is littered with trash and clothes. It is utterly filthy. These people keep us awake at night with door slamming, yelling and traffic. There is an ominous odor coming from their apartment that makes our throats sore and smells like ammonia. It is causing our pets to have labored breathing and we fear they will die. These people do not work, except for the female who works at (company name withheld), we feel as a front to cover up their meth sales. They are rude, unclean and unsafe. They are ruining life for us as we know it. We also feel that our family is in danger as we know that meth labs can explode. They have a bag of fertilizer on their porch, yet they do no gardening. We are in a lease and cannot move. The office here has been notified but has taken no action. PLEASE , PLEASE , PLEASE HELP US. These people are a danger to our family. HELP US? PLEASE!

    Reply
    • The situation that you’ve dealing with is a disaster just waiting to happen! You should call the police department and child protective services to investigate the situation asap! If they don’t respond, call your local newspaper and television stations and ask to speak to a reporter about it! Do not confront your neighbors about it!

      Reply
  2. My sons have been using meth since the age of 12 years to fourteen years of age. My oldest son is doing penetentiary time. My youngest son just did six weeks in jail. he is looking at life in a different view. I have noticed a big difference. I am there to support them. This drug is very evil and we all need to speak out about this drug and take action to save our children from those selling it and producing it.

    Reply
    • I hope that you have some support too, Cherry. Having two sons, who are addicted to meth, hasn’t made your life easy, I’m sure. : (

      I agree with you wholeheartedly … we all need to speak up for children, whose lives are being destroyed by either its use or it’s manufacture. We can start to speak up for our children by asking what our legislators are doing about the meth problems in the jurisdictions that we live in. Is the meth situation getting worse where you live? If so, what are the elected officials who represent you and your children doing about it? You don’t have to answer that, I just asked because I think it’s a question we all should ask ourselves!

      Thanks for your comment, Cherry. Good luck to you and your sons.

      Reply
  3. David S.

    David S.

    02NOV11
    To Whom It May Concern, I have had, and continue to have Tweakers in my neighborhood. This is not acceptable to me. The City Drug Task Force is too busy, and unwilling to help the situation. I did find incredible amounts of help from the Gang Task Force! Usually Meth addicts are also involved with Gang activity. I made a contact with a lietenant in the Gang Task Force that I was able to leave messages on his phone Twenty Four Seven with the license plate numbers of the Tweakers visiting this address. The problem tweaker currently still living in my neighborhood is a Thirty-Five year old man living with his mother whom refuses to hear the truth about her son. The guy has had four vehicles repossesed in the sixteen years I have lived here. How does he continue to get loans? I speak about this to neighbors hoping he will someday leave.

    Reply
  4. Amy C.

    Amy C.

    Hello all I seen a news clip on Meth homes. Well to let you know my kids dad was and still is a addict to Meth ‘I think’. I haven’t seen him for a year or two but seven years ago he got into Meth. He didn’t tell me and well he took off with our little girl who was only eight months old. He stayed high the whole time she was with him. He kidnapped her from daycare and bought a truck to take her away from me. Once he did come too from the haze of the Meth he came back to my home where the police wouldn’t do a thing to get the baby from him. He handed my girl to my sister and took my keys so I couldn’t leave. But long story short my girl has problems now thinking of what was said and understanding things that a five year old understands.

    Reply
  5. Worried

    Worried

    I am living in total fear and threats and my landlord and the police won’t help, They both tell me to just move, I am on SS disability and it’s not enough to afford to move, the people. 2 women below me have all kinds of weird masking noises to cover up sounds and I think just to annoy me, there are sounds such az an electric table saw. Beep beep beep sounds that start when I walk into a room and sometimes they stay on constAntly, there r also sounds of birds crickets and frogs, nature z
    Nature sounds, my apt is built above a house with 80% of my walls in the attic, I heard when they had people installing the “sound masking system” but didn’t know WTF they were doing. Now I do. I hear them mix ing something with an electric mixer or blender of some sorts and they do it for hours at a time what kind of noises would be make making meth? They are both users and I think they hAd to buy into the operation and when they did for about a week straight there were 3 to five men installing whatever is making them noises. Personally I thing they want me to leave. Again, what sounds are associated with a meth lab. And what are The diff sounds for? And mostly, what is the mixing/grinding sounds from. Thanks And May God Bless you … And me.

    Reply
    • Worried,
      If your neighbors are making meth, the mixing and grinding sounds are likely coming from a food grinder, which they use to grind up the pseudoephedrine pills that they use to make meth. If they are making meth, or planning to make meth, it would definitely be safer for you to move, although I know that’s easier said than done because of the expenses and your disability. : ( If I were you, I’d contact the local newspapers and t.v. stations and tell them your story. Ask them if they can help you to get to the bottom of why no one is investigating your complaints. You might also want to let the state housing authority know what’s going on, if they have anything to do with your rental situation. It wouldn’t hurt to let the disabilities commission know how you’re being treated as well. You should not have to live in fear! God bless you too and keep you safe!

      Reply
  6. i dont know whats going on

    i dont know whats going on

    I got this friend that I am deeply concerned about. rumors say she is doing meth. but im not sure. she is going thru a messed up divorce. but she has kids and I get worried bout them. She never eats hardly, and when she does its not much. she’s doing things in her spare time(when she don’t have kids) that she never done before. wrong crowd partying, hiding from people that actually care about her. Its like she’s a totaly different personi don’t know what’s going on cause she denies all the rumors.
    Im worried that some of whatever she’s involved in might come home with her some day. how can I tell for sure if she’s on something?
    especially if she just denies everything and refuses to talk or do anything.
    she seems to be all “mommy” why she has her kids
    but

    Reply
    • If I were you in your situation, I’d have a heart-to-heart conversation with my friend about the changes that I’ve noticed in her behavior and ask her if she’s been using meth. She may or may not tell the truth, but I think it’s good for her to know that you and others are noticing changes in her behavior. The only sure way to know if your friend is using meth is through testing. Not eating, a radical change in a person’s normal behavior , avoiding close friends and family, and rumors of meth use, is a not a good sign. I worry about her children. Ultimately, they will suffer the consequences, if their mother is using meth or other drugs.

      Reply
  7. Yeah

    Yeah

    I don’t think talking about tweakers like they’re animals is going to help anyone. All you’re doing here is stereotyping them and generating fear. Fearing and exiling them isn’t going to help. Remember that these are afflicted people whose lives have been taken over by an unrelenting need for substence.

    Reply
    • I’m sorry if this posting made you feel that I was treating meth addicts like animals, that certainly was not my intent. Methamphetamine, as far as I’m concerned, is the most addictive, dangerous, and destructive drug on earth. It destroys those who are addicted to it and everyone else around them. Those who are addicted to meth need effective, long term treatment, according to research studies. Unfortunately, many who are addicted to meth and want to quit, can’t get or can’t afford the treatment and support that they desperately need.

      Reply
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