KCI The Anti_Meth Site

Is there a smell when you use Meth?

patti worried	meth odor during use My teenage stepdaughter claimed she couldn't wait till school started so she could fine someone to buy meth from during her last mental breakdown a couple of weeks ago. (she got in trouble for something trivial). Yesterday when I got home from work, as soon as I got halfway upstairs to her bedroom and bathroom I noticed a chemical odor. She was in her bathroom with loud music and the ventilator fan going for at least 30 minutes (possibly 90 since she gets home on hour before me). I know meth labs have a chemical smell, but is there a smell when you use meth? I am pretty sure she wasn't manufacturing meth, but what I need to know is if there is a chemical smell when you use the stuff? Her hair wasn't permed, so it wasn't that. Hair color smells nice these days, so it wasn't that. Could have maybe been using Nair hair remover.... I just need to know what it smells like when you are using it.
Replies...
forget suzette	Re: meth odor during use you can't smell it... ...if you do, it's like a vague shower curtain smell.
Naiev Newly wed	Re: meth odor during use Well, some say there is no odor and some say the odor is somewhat of a sweet smell....so sweet you would almost gag from it. I've heard it to be described as a mayonnaise smell before. However, the odor that comes out of the user's skin after using has been described as a very foul odor, like cat urine. I don't think she could have been manufacturing either...is it possible she was just Nairing her legs? I know Nair has a distinct odor?
patti worried	odor during use Could have been Nair. there isn't an odor when you smoke it? Thanks !
Naiev Newly wed	Re: meth odor during use Sometimes not - it really depends on what other chemicals the dope was mixed with. are there any other signs?
vctry7	Re: meth odor during use I have noticed a faint odor when smoking it before. Like NN said, it depends on what it was made with. But, I have never smelled it anywhere strong enough to come through a door or down a hall.
silly veronica	Re: meth odor during use *Quote:* My teenage stepdaughter claimed she couldn't wait til school started so she could fine someone to buy meth from during her last mental breakdown a couple of weeks ago. Can't believe nobody has questioned this part. More information, please? Has she used before? I know for a fact that meth was smoked in my home and I never, ever smelled it. I did recognize the cat urine smell on wash clothes and towels though (never forget that).
patti worried	Re: meth odor during use Well she ate a big dinner last night, so that would be a sign that she did not get high. But she stays up all night on the computer and just got out of jail three months ago after 18 months of juvenile boot camp for assaulting her mom with a deadly weapon when her mom tried to make her go to school. We just got full custody of her in march when she was released. She is from California and has not made any friends yet, but has admitted to using it before and wanting to find it as soon as she makes friends/contacts here so I am definitely trying to stay on top of it. she washes at least 3 loads of laundry every day. That's a lot of laundry! However, she has done this since she arrived, and I don't think she could have anyway of getting meth until school started two weeks ago because she didn't know anyone. going on my lunch break now...will check back later. Thanks everyone. It is sounding like I don't have anything to worry about (yet anyway). Thanks everyone! I'm just trying to keep her out of trouble.
imlost inky	Re: meth odor during use Patti, I only smelled meth once when my husband had smoked it in the bathroom. I had came in right after him and it smelled like burnt shower curtain mix smell.......quite hard to describe. If you are not in family counseling with her, I would suggest it greatly. When my husband briefly had custody of his teenage daughter from a previous relationship, we went through family counseling. Great help. Has she been ordered to any follow up treatment? Is she being seen by a therapist/doctor? You said her last mental breakdown- that suggests to me there has been more than one. Is she being treated by a doctor? If not, maybe she really should be?
jacks mom	Re: meth odor during use Where in Cali. are you from? And how old did you say this child is? My daughter raged and attacked me when she'd been off of meth for months - three to be exact; could this have happened with the assault of her mom? If she's been using, I was told by my daughter's rehab counselor that sometimes the worst behavior can start even si months after quitting depending on how bad the use was. Mental breakdown? If she was having behavior issues and 'breakdowns' and depression and rages that lead a Psychologist or Psychiatrist to diagnose 'mental breakdown', it could very well be meth use and they didn't know it. I took my daughter to counselors, shrinks of all kinds - they told me her behavior was 'NORMAL' teen behavior. Even when we found out she was using meth, it was always 'MY' problem...she's just being a teen. THESE FOLKS PAY GOOD MONEY TO GET EDUCATED AND ACTUALLY HAVE DEGREES!!! You/she needs a professional that deals with addiction...if they don't, you waste your money; five professionals and three of them called 'Bipolar' which was not even close. Internet search will give you a lot of info. When the crap is out of her system, and it can take a long time, is when you can find out FOR SURE whether she's truly got a mental disorder. When you seek help, look for and ask if they specialize in addiction. A lot will tell you, but ask more questions. Or maybe you can get help through an outpatient rehab. The shrink at my daughter's place was GREAT!!! Good luck!
forget suzette	Re: meth odor during use I have smoked in many a bathroom. .....from homes to gas stations and no one ever smelled it. they did notice me turning into a ghoul.
Sfj	Re: meth odor during use To jacksmom, That was very interesting. In my opinion it was anyhow. I'd like to talk with you about that some more. How do you feel about that? To pattiworried, The meth molecule itself is odorless. But there is no quality control among those who manufacture. There is virtually no way of telling.
jacks mom	Re: meth odor during use I forgot to clarify that it was AFTER the O.D. that we were told she may be bipolar. Before that it was always 'teen stuff'.
Sfj	Re: meth odor during use To jacksmom Thanks
JUSTCATS	Re: meth odor during use I know that if I was a teenager, and bold enough, to smoke anything in my parents house, I would definitely be paranoid and turn on a fan, spray air freshener... whether there was much of a smell or not.
patti worried	odor during use Part of her probation requirements is that she continues to have counseling, which my husband keeps saying he is going to do, but he keeps procrastinating so that is not happening, but I know she does need counseling. We live in Arkansas, but she came here from Riverside County juvenile boot camp and lived in Hemet, California before she was incarcerated. They diagnosed her as bipolar at Riverside but she said they never knew about her doing meth because she hid that from them at Riverside. She just turned 15. I am wondering if she was on meth when she attacked her mom. Sounds like she may have been. She likes to dress in the gothic attire (lots of black and chains) and even though she doesn't have friends yet, when she gets on myspace.com, these are the type of people she associates with. Shouldn't judge by looks, I know. I'm kind of scared of her. I mean if she attacked her mom, is she going to attack her stepmother? I would think that is highly possible. I don't get much sleep at night! I'll continue to keep a close eye on her and mention to my husband (again) that she still needs counseling.
Sfj	Re: meth odor during use To JUSTCATS, There are plenty of meth addicts who come from a totally different background. I hear dozens of stories a week from recovering users. It is common to hear that parents are giving drugs to their kids. Not unusual to hear something like. "My Mom and Dad gave me me my first hit of speed or pot on my 13th birthday."
JUSTCATS	Re: meth odor during use SFJ, I am sure that there are plenty of parents, that give their children drugs. Like my ex-best friend- she said she would rather have her kids smoking pot and drinking at home, with her, instead of out on the streets... In my post, I was addressing the fact that she could have been smoking meth in her stepmothers home and covering up the fact, with the ventilation... I was just saying that, if I was 15 and needed to get high, that is what I would do, to cover up any possible smells...