Heavy methamphetamine users require between fourteen and twenty-four months of abstinence to show normal brain activity.

Different drugs damage the brain in different ways, meaning recovery speeds vary. For people recovering from strong stimulants like meth, the wait for normal brain function is quite long. Researchers found it takes between fourteen and twenty-four months of staying clean for their brain activity to look like someone who has never used. This shows that while the brain is highly resilient, deep rewiring is a slow, gradual journey.