Think of the Brain as a Building with Three Stories   The Upper level is the Cortex. The Cortex actually covers and surrounds the lower two levels, from the front-to-back, side-to-side. The middle level or Midbrain is literally wrapped inside the Cortex. The ground level is the Brainstem, which connects directly to the body through the spinal cord. The Brainstem contains the On-Off switches for the body. If a drug turns Off the Brainstem breathing centers, you’re dead. If a drug turns Off switches that control consciousness, you’re in a “coma.” If a drug turns On too many switches in your Brainstem, your heart beats out of your chest and you die of stroke or heart attack.   The Midbrain contains the highways that connect upper and lower levels of the brain, and integrates the sensory information from the eyes, ears, touch, taste, and smell. Primitive animals have little to no Cortex, but they have senses and a Midbrain connecting them. The Midbrain also generates the instincts that animals have like when to eat, reproduce, sleep, and “the instincts to protect offspring.” Damage the midbrain, and the parent will allow its child to be harmed. Your Cortex (the top level of the brain) contains everything that makes you human, and creates your “personality.” The Cortex is the Third of the three basic structure levels of the brain. Meth works by destroying the connections between your Cortex and the “animal parts of your brain” in the Midbrain. But Meth doesn’t stop there, because even the disconnected Midbrain contains your “good” animal instincts to eat, reproduce, and protect your children. Meth reprograms your Midbrain so that it only craves Meth, nothing else. It does it at the expense of your “animal instincts” to eat, and protect your children from harm. This partly explains why, when adults are addicted to Meth, they can become something less than an animal, when it comes to the well-being of their children. This also partly explains why Meth is so uniquely dangerous to children. Meth disconnects the part of the brain that cares for children. It’s gone! If that wasn’t evil enough, Meth also reprograms the normal reproduction instincts in the Midbrain to something abnormal and perverted. Midbrain reprogramming with perverted excesses and dangerous activities, put Meth addicts at high risk for AIDS, HIV, and Hepatitis C. It also places children at high risk of Molestation, often times by parents or parents’ drug friends. Even animals don’t do this. So, if you have a friend who thinks they can “lose weight” with Meth, you can tell them that they will lose more than weight. They will not be a thin beautiful human being. With Meth they will become a thin , “something less than human”. Among other things, they will put their children at risk, get sores on their face, and their teeth will turn black. The Parietal Lobes are on the sides of the brain cortex. These control muscles and body movement, and sensation. When Meth causes a Stroke (a bleeding ruptured blood vessel in the brain that causes death of brain tissue) in this part of the brain, you are on crutches or in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. One of your arms could also be useless. Small strokes from Meth leave you with twitches and jerking movements you can’t control. The Cerebellum is tucked under the back of the brain. It coordinates movement and balance. When drugs affect the Cerebellum, you stumble and stagger from side to side. Now let’s study exactly how Meth does these things, and why Meth characteristically addicts with the first use.   Back to "How Meth Kills"