Methamphetamines and diving

[Louie]

Dear medical experts

Now I realise that the simple and sensible approach to drugs and diving is: "don't do it".

However, I work in a part of the world where travellers do the party routes and often follow up with a bit of diving. In particular, the Full Moon parties where revellers engage in days of drinking, drugging and partying are the must-do's for many young backpackers.

So without pontificating or passing moral judgements on these practices, can you please enlighten me on:

How long do drugs such as methamphetamines and ecstasy stay in a person's system (generally speaking)?

Are there any reliable research on the relationship between the use of these drugs and oxygen toxicity?

Thank you

 

[TSandM]

http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic859.htm

According to that article, the half-life of methamphetamine in the human body is 10 to 20 hours, and its effects are more marked when it is consumed with ethanol.

MDMA has a somewhat shorter half life, in the neighborhood of 8 to 9 hours.

Methamphetamine is an extremely nasty drug, capable of producing seizures and arrhythmias, as well as strokes and heart attacks in young people. From a liability standpoint, if you were fairly sure that someone had been using this particular substance, I'd refuse to take them diving. Meth use accelerates arteriosclerosis to a malignant degree, and people who are habitually using meth have the vascular risks of someone far older and sicker than they appear to be. (Not to mention the poor judgment and risk-taking behavior of someone who is abusing meth.)

 

[dhampton82]

I'm not sure about the methamphetamine, but XTC is about 3 days. Unforunitly my teenaged years were wasted by partying and being on probation.

 

[fisherdvm]

In an area of large lawsuit, knowingly letting an overt high or low individual dive put yourself at risk of a lawsuit.

But of course, if you were in another country.... that is different.

I would not knowingly let anyone who used any illicit drug, or even social alcohol drink on a dive. Of course, if you didn't know, and can prove you didn't know, they can't sue you.

If I own a dive boat, I would take the Cedar Point/Six Flag approach. Post a big sign on your dive boat - Thou shalt not dive, if: ...... Taken any illicit drug... Drank more than 1 drink within 8 hours... low back pain, seizures... etc..

As much as folks here don't like medical questionaires..... If you don't sue, your great grand daughter or ex spouse might!

 

[cerich]

http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic859.htm

According to that article, the half-life of methamphetamine in the human body is 10 to 20 hours, and its effects are more marked when it is consumed with ethanol.

MDMA has a somewhat shorter half life, in the neighborhood of 8 to 9 hours.

Methamphetamine is an extremely nasty drug, capable of producing seizures and arrhythmias, as well as strokes and heart attacks in young people. From a liability standpoint, if you were fairly sure that someone had been using this particular substance, I'd refuse to take them diving. Meth use accelerates arteriosclerosis to a malignant degree, and people who are habitually using meth have the vascular risks of someone far older and sicker than they appear to be. (Not to mention the poor judgment and risk-taking behavior of someone who is abusing meth.)

do either of these drugs get stored in fatty tissues and released under heavy exercise?

Many years ago my cousin had a very bad drug problem. He licked it after treatment and was back on the family farm. One day a couple cows broke a fence and my cousin started to chase them, he collapsed and died from an OD, he had been clean for over 6 months.

 

[TSandM]

Both methamphetamine and MDMA are very lipophilic, which is one of the reasons they have such marked central nervous system effects. This means that they will diffuse readily into fat, and since fat has relatively poor perfusion, they probably (and I speak from basic physiology, not specific data) eliminate more slowly from those tissues. However, with a half-life of 12 hours, I wouldn't expect any significant amount of drug to be remaining in the body after a week, even in fat.

In the story told, I would be suspicious of one of two things: Either a relapse of use, or an MI/arrhythmia on the basis of the damage which had been done during the prior drug use and acutely brought on by exertion. I'm puzzled as to how anybody could call it an OD, as we have no way of measuring methamephetamine LEVELS in most ERs -- just a way to test for the presence of the drug at all.

 

[cerich]

Both methamphetamine and MDMA are very lipophilic, which is one of the reasons they have such marked central nervous system effects. This means that they will diffuse readily into fat, and since fat has relatively poor perfusion, they probably (and I speak from basic physiology, not specific data) eliminate more slowly from those tissues. However, with a half-life of 12 hours, I wouldn't expect any significant amount of drug to be remaining in the body after a week, even in fat.

In the story told, I would be suspicious of one of two things: Either a relapse of use, or an MI/arrhythmia on the basis of the damage which had been done during the prior drug use and acutely brought on by exertion. I'm puzzled as to how anybody could call it an OD, as we have no way of measuring methamephetamine LEVELS in most ERs -- just a way to test for the presence of the drug at all.

It was years ago and I wasn't there, just what my family said.