Speed

Snorting 13: What happens in the liver?

Some of the amphetamine molecules pass through the capillary walls and enter the liver cells. Liver cells contain vast amounts of enzymes. These are a kind of workers that help convert or break down substances.

The liver breaks down a small proportion of the amphetamine molecules. The breakdown products, or metabolites, then enter the blood and travel through the body. Ultimately only about half of the speed you take is broken down in the liver. The rest remains unchanged and is eliminated from the body in the urine produced by the kidneys.

Because amphetamine is broken down so slowly, it stays in your body for quite some time. For that reason, blood tests try to detect amphetamine, rather than its metabolites. The metabolites leave the body quickly, making them more difficult to trace.