Meth addicts need up to two full weeks of detox before they are able to fully participate in rehab, and get any benefit from the programs and counseling offered.

Faced with the increasing devastation of crystal meth addiction, University of Iowa researchers examined what features were most successful in the treatment of meth addiction, and concluded that the standard drug rehab programming was appropriate and beneficial for meth addicts, but that longer term stays were necessary due to the destructive capacities of the drug.

The university researchers recommended long rehabs and also recommended that government shift funding away from incarceration for meth offences and towards funding treatment for addicts of the drug.

Long a part of the gay club scene, the use of crystal meth has become synonymous with increased rates of HIV.

Animal studies indicate that the long term consequences of even occasional meth use in people already predisposed to neuro muscular conditions like Parkinson's may be severe.

Contingency management, a therapeutic approach in which recovering crystal meth addicts are rewarded with non monetary vouchers for increasing periods of sobriety, has proven a very effective strategy for increasing the long term abstinence of crystal meth addicts in recovery. Research continues on how best to incorporate contingency management principles into existing rehabilitation programs, but the initial news is very good, and provides some additional hope to addicts suffering the devastation of crystal meth dependency.

Follow a few hardcore meth addicts on weeks of binging and crashing, and understand the lifestyle a little better, as you see the human costs and humanity, of the affliction