That beer scooter thing must be an American phrase. as I never heard of it.
My brother is a meth addict going on 10 years thanks to my parents’ enabling. His life is probably irretrievably ruined and he’s rotting in a state-run rehab facility at the moment. I no longer even acknowledge him.
I tried it once when I found a light bulb fashioned into a crude meth smoking pipe lying around my parents’ house in 2010. It was by far the least rewarding drug experience I’ve ever had, and the comedown was horrific. I was deeply depressed and almost violently agitated for 4-5 days afterward.
[quote]belligerent wrote:
I was deeply depressed and almost violently agitated for 4-5 days afterward. [/quote]
Hence your username?
[quote]Cortes wrote:
As far as quitting smoking, Allan Carr’s The Easy Way to Quit Smoking is the very best book I’ve ever read or heard of on the subject. I had already quit when I read his book, but I was riveted, and the incredibly genius method which is just to read the book is itself a miracle of a thing to behold. It is really incredible.
[/quote]
I quit smoking four years ago after having read this very book. A friend had sent it to me and I’m grateful for that as I feel it was the greatest vice that I have ever overcome.
Never touched meth though. Those pictures are sad for me to look at as it seems like those people are devoid of a soul. It appears as though they look right through you. Heart breaking. What those people have gone through in life to make this their distraction from it, I don’t know.
[quote]paulieserafini wrote:
meh, I’m sure meth isn’t as bad as people make it seem. Kind of like how everyone says cocaine is a hard ass drug…it’s not.[/quote]
Yeah for every one of those pictures, there are thousands that use it regularly but aren’t nearly as fucked up as that. Not saying it’s ok to try meth or anything, but some of those people got that way because their brains are already misfired with lack of self control. Chicken and eggs. But usually it’s a feedback loop that goes both ways. Some of those people probably would have ruined their lives other ways if they never found meth.
How do you feel the medication such as ritalin and adderral play into this? They are amphetamines, though perhaps slightly different in structure than crystal meth itself.
[quote]digitalairair wrote:
[quote]paulieserafini wrote:
meh, I’m sure meth isn’t as bad as people make it seem. Kind of like how everyone says cocaine is a hard ass drug…it’s not.[/quote]
Yeah for every one of those pictures, there are thousands that use it regularly but aren’t nearly as fucked up as that. Not saying it’s ok to try meth or anything, but some of those people got that way because their brains are already misfired with lack of self control. Chicken and eggs. But usually it’s a feedback loop that goes both ways. Some of those people probably would have ruined their lives other ways if they never found meth. [/quote]
A friend of mine has been a nurses in a mental hospital for over twenty years. He feels that everyone has a little demon inside that is just waiting for it’s tail to be pulled. Some folks can skate through life and have no idea because they never get in a situation to try some thing. He’s lost count how many patients say to him “if I only hadn’t gone out with the guys after work, never would have tried the pipe”. Parents don’t understand it, "he was captain of the hockey team, best marks in class, never stole from anyone etc. In other words if they had kept on hanging with people that don’t do drugs they would have been fine.
Could be wrong of course but it makes you think.
[quote]666Rich wrote:
How do you feel the medication such as ritalin and adderral play into this? They are amphetamines, though perhaps slightly different in structure than crystal meth itself.[/quote]
I don’t know about the chemical structures but the addiction potential appears to be much lower. I also don’t think that they are chemically amphetamines. People I have talked to that have used crack and meth say that meth is much more addictive. Dopamine inhibitors like Ritalin are routinely prescribed to kids for ADD/ADHD while meth has no known medical use. Top the addiction potential with the nasty chemicals they use to make it and you are just asking for trouble IMO.
My sister was addicted to meth for about two years and it was horrible seeing her downward spiral. She is off it now but is still prescribed opiates for pain so I wouldn’t say she is clean. She is however in much better shape physically gaining back weight and able to semi function in society. Addiction runs strong in both sides of my family so I could not even imagine trying meth and or opiates.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
I can tell when patients use because the damage to teeth and gums is very distinct. It is like it just wrecks the inside of the mouth. I don’t know if it is because of the deteriorating diet of the user or more aggressive bacterial strains or overall poor immunity, but I have seen enough in clinical treatment to never want to even be near the stuff.[/quote]
Meth mouth is commonly chalked up to corrosive chemicals in the smoke, though I don’t know how accurate that really is outside of broscience. I know the production of meth requires various corrosive chemicals, but I’d be curious to know how irritating the smoke is to the airway/lungs, as well.
What I KNOW to be an issue is the combination of poor oral hygiene (as one might expect with hardcore drug addicts), shit diet, teeth clenching/grinding (this one is funny because you don’t even realize you’re doing it) and lack of saliva production (for those who don’t know, saliva contains various antimicrobial agents).
[quote]666Rich wrote:
How do you feel the medication such as ritalin and adderral play into this? They are amphetamines, though perhaps slightly different in structure than crystal meth itself.[/quote]
I take adderall.
I don’t get high from it, nor do I lose sleep from it, or go on two week benders.
It’s at a dose that’s low enough, however, where I don’t experience side effects unless I haven’t eaten.
Meth is cooked up with crazy chemicals in oft unsightly and unsanitary conditions. Probably not much of a correlation to be made there.
[quote]BradTGIF wrote:
[quote]666Rich wrote:
How do you feel the medication such as ritalin and adderral play into this? They are amphetamines, though perhaps slightly different in structure than crystal meth itself.[/quote]
I take adderall.
I don’t get high from it, nor do I lose sleep from it, or go on two week benders.
It’s at a dose that’s low enough, however, where I don’t experience side effects unless I haven’t eaten.
Meth is cooked up with crazy chemicals in oft unsightly and unsanitary conditions. Probably not much of a correlation to be made there.[/quote]
Adderall and ritalin are quite different when crushed and insufflated.
[quote]anonym wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
I can tell when patients use because the damage to teeth and gums is very distinct. It is like it just wrecks the inside of the mouth. I don’t know if it is because of the deteriorating diet of the user or more aggressive bacterial strains or overall poor immunity, but I have seen enough in clinical treatment to never want to even be near the stuff.[/quote]
Meth mouth is commonly chalked up to corrosive chemicals in the smoke, though I don’t know how accurate that really is outside of broscience. I know the production of meth requires various corrosive chemicals, but I’d be curious to know how irritating the smoke is to the airway/lungs, as well.
What I KNOW to be an issue is the combination of poor oral hygiene (as one might expect with hardcore drug addicts), shit diet, teeth clenching/grinding (this one is funny because you don’t even realize you’re doing it) and lack of saliva production (for those who don’t know, saliva contains various antimicrobial agents).[/quote]
I think meth mouth is primarily due to the latter set of factors. Bruxism (compulsive teeth grinding, tongue chewing, etc.) can be caused by a vitamin B5 deficiency (and also possibly a deficiency of magnesium and zinc, not as sure about this one, though). Back in the bad old days, I had more than a few cases of bruxism, and at it’s worst, it is literally impossible to keep from grinding your teeth, clenching your jaw, and chewing on the inside of your mouth. After one session that was actually maddening, in that I could not think of or do anything but finding some relief for it, I finally found this information on the internet. I got some B-complex and a calcium/magnesium/zinc supplement, took a good dose of each, and experienced almost immediate relief.
Combine what I describe above with an almost completely dry mouth, no inclination to drink, eat (nutrition), or brush one’s teeth, an almost total absence of sleep so that the damage being done could be somewhat mitigated with rest, and you have a perfect storm of oral chaos.
[quote]Fletch1986 wrote:
[quote]BradTGIF wrote:
[quote]666Rich wrote:
How do you feel the medication such as ritalin and adderral play into this? They are amphetamines, though perhaps slightly different in structure than crystal meth itself.[/quote]
I take adderall.
I don’t get high from it, nor do I lose sleep from it, or go on two week benders.
It’s at a dose that’s low enough, however, where I don’t experience side effects unless I haven’t eaten.
Meth is cooked up with crazy chemicals in oft unsightly and unsanitary conditions. Probably not much of a correlation to be made there.[/quote]
Adderall and ritalin are quite different when crushed and insufflated. [/quote]
Yes. Absolutely. Also when used for the purpose of getting high, rather than as a therapeutic agent.
[quote]Chushin wrote:
[quote]Cortes wrote:
[quote]harrypotter wrote:
[quote]dirtman wrote:
[quote]harrypotter wrote:
I have no sympathy for these people.
The only thing that irritates me is my tax money being spent on drug rehab programs and for what? The ones with multiple mug shots are know to the police and by the looks of things have been arrested and bailed.
Fuck them.[/quote]
I am one of those people that went to rehab. It does work if you want it too. Thanks for your tax dollars :)[/quote]
Drug rehab or home rehab, you will fail both if you dont have the will power and determination to see it through.
Here in the UK drug rehab for repeat offenders waste so much money. Money which can be spent elsewhere.[/quote]
This is not true. Recovering from addiction has absolutely nothing to do with willpower. In fact, often the people with the greatest degree of willpower are the ones least able to escape from addiction.
Recovery is achiever via a radical change in self-perception. This is the ONLY way that an addict will ever become a non-addict. Recovery happens in a moment, but sometimes that moment must be combined with the appropriate reaction to take advantage of and maximize it.
I have personally recovered from alcoholism. Like, I come from a family of drunks, was an incorrigible alcoholic myself, and about three years ago I completely cured myself of the addiction. As in, I did not quit. I did not cut back. I changed, wholly and completely. I now have a very occasional drink of beer or good bourbon, and have not been drunk in that entire time because I no longer have any desire to be in that state. I also cured myself of a more than a pack a day addiction to cigarettes in a very similar fashion.
On topic, I used quite a number of drugs, soft and hard, in my younger years, including my share of crystal meth. Anyone who has used “good” meth one time does not have any trouble understanding how certain people became this way.
The Faces of Meth thing I found about a week ago and I agree, it is about as powerful a deterrent as I can imagine. [/quote]
Man, I’m getting tired of us saying this, but we really do need to hang out again sometime soon…[/quote]
I’ve got a 15lb turkey sitting in my freezer, ready to go. Let me check with a couple of folks and see what I can come up with. I’m about ready to have that housewarming/late Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years get together I’ve been planning. Are you tied up just before New Years Day or a few days after?
proudly Straight Edge
[quote]Cortes wrote:
[quote]Fletch1986 wrote:
[quote]BradTGIF wrote:
[quote]666Rich wrote:
How do you feel the medication such as ritalin and adderral play into this? They are amphetamines, though perhaps slightly different in structure than crystal meth itself.[/quote]
I take adderall.
I don’t get high from it, nor do I lose sleep from it, or go on two week benders.
It’s at a dose that’s low enough, however, where I don’t experience side effects unless I haven’t eaten.
Meth is cooked up with crazy chemicals in oft unsightly and unsanitary conditions. Probably not much of a correlation to be made there.[/quote]
Adderall and ritalin are quite different when crushed and insufflated. [/quote]
Yes. Absolutely. Also when used for the purpose of getting high, rather than as a therapeutic agent. [/quote]
Not really. ADHD isn’t a dopamine deficiency, so it’s not correcting a neurotransmitter imbalance. It just masks the symptoms. Adderall and Ritalin are quite different. Ritalin is methylphenidate, which is derived from amphetamines, but much milder and with a lower addiction potential. Adderall is a combination of the levo- and dextro- isomers of amphetamine and is closely structurally related to meth, though methylation changes the effects of meth and it is significantly stronger.
Methylphenidate has a low addiction potential, but I’m not sure I’d say the same about Adderall. Tolerance develops very quickly and dosage can accelerate alarmingly fast. And when your daily use is 3x (or more) the amount that a casual user would use in a day, in addition to other stimulants, the crash is pretty awful when you stop. Quitting meth must be hell.