Speed is the street name for amphetamine. Like cocaine it’s a stimulant that people use to keep them awake and alert. It’s Britain’s least pure illegal drug. It’s often taken along with ecstasy.

Amphetamines like speed are usually sold in wraps. The powder is offwhite or pinkish and can sometimes look like small crystals. Base speed is purer, is a pinkish-grey colour and feels like putty. Crystal meth, or methamphetamine, is processed speed that looks like off-white rocks or crystals. Prescription amphetamines like dexamphetamine are usually small white pills.

Speed is either dabbed onto the gums or sniffed in lines like cocaine using a rolled up bank note.

Sometimes it’s rolled up in cigarette paper and swallowed, which is called a speedbomb. It can be mixed in drinks or injected, while methamphetamine can be smoked in its crystal form.

Effects & Risks

The effects kick in after about half an hour if ingested but much quicker if injected or smoked (methamphetamine) and can last for up to six hours, but it all depends on the quality of the speed. The high is followed by a long slow comedown.

• Breathing, heart rate and blood pressure increases, and the pupils enlarge.

• Loss of appetite.

• The user will generally feel alert, energetic, confident and talkative.