How much methamphetamine are you using?

It’s completely normal to ask yourself, “Am I using more than most people?”

Reflecting on how much you’re using can be a helpful starting point to think about your situation. Like with any substance, how much and how often you use methamphetamine will affect your experience, your recovery, your energy, sleep, mood, and relationships.

Checking in with yourself about how much you use can help you spot if the balance is shifting in a way that you don’t like. 

How much do methamphetamine people use in a typical session? 

The amounts are different for different ways of using methamphetamine. Here are some ranges compiled from people use methamphetamine (sourced from psychonautwiki.org). You can find more information on our drug information page.

Method	Light dose	Common dose	Strong dose	Heavy dose
Smoked	5 – 10 mg	10 – 20 mg	20 – 60 mg	60 mg+
Injected into a vein	5 – 10 mg	10 – 30 mg	30 – 40 mg	40 mg+
Swallowed	5 – 10 mg	10 – 25 mg	25 – 50 mg	50 mg+

Take a moment to think about how much you typically use in a session. If you’re often in the “strong” or “heavy” range, your body may be developing tolerance. That means you might be feeling less of the effect, because your body is used to methamphetamine, so you feel like you need to use more to get the same feeling. The more you take, the more strain your body experiences. 

How often do people tend to use methamphetamine?

The New Zealand Drug Trends survey looked at how frequently people used methamphetamine in the previous six months. It found that among people who said that they had used methamphetamine, many had used it monthly or less.

The 2024 survey found that among people who had used methamphetamine in the past six months:

• 29% had used it daily or near daily
• 25% had used it once or twice a week
• 13% had used it monthly
• 33% had used it just once or twice in the last six months.

Earlier surveys showed that people were using meth less frequently.

Data published in the NZ Drug Trends Survey.

Take a moment to think about how often you used methamphetamine in the past six months, and consider if you’re comfortable with that frequency.

The effects of methamphetamine usually last for four to twelve hours. But the after-effects, like fatigue, lack of sleep, low mood, and irritability can stretch longer and build up over time. If you’ve had several sleepless nights or extreme mood swings, that could be your body asking for a pause.

Larger or more frequent use increases the chances that your methamphetamine use affects your daily life, relationships, and health.  

Check out the first article in this series for more tips to help you reflect on your methamphetamine use.