captain codshit
Bluelighter
Agreed. Meth, Crack and Heroin. 3 things I will probably never try.
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Anyone seen methamphetamine in the UK/Europe?
- Thread starter bignbrown
- Start date
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Agreed. Meth, Crack and Heroin. 3 things I will probably never try.
Shambles
Bluelight Crew
Tried all three of those. They are good %)
Public//Enemy
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2005
- Messages
- 1,107
Ohh Shambles what a rebel you are xP
hexxx:
Its interesting because the essay I posted in another thread mentions that of the domestically produced mandrax in South Africa, the majority is produced in JHB even though the market for it is in Cape Town. I have a feeling that the same demographic that uses mandrax primarily: Indian/Coloured uses Tik albeit the uses of Tik is associated with its younger members. Its a trip because here in San Diego the main slang term for meth is crystal or crystal meth too (out of alot of slang names). It usually looks like shards but I've seen yellow, brown, pink, and purple colored meth- result from different impurities in the synthetic process.
Actually, a golden yellowish oil is what crystal usually melts into and forms a puddle which is spread around bowel. Then this vaporizes to white smoke when the heat is reapplied.
Its interesting because the essay I posted in another thread mentions that of the domestically produced mandrax in South Africa, the majority is produced in JHB even though the market for it is in Cape Town. I have a feeling that the same demographic that uses mandrax primarily: Indian/Coloured uses Tik albeit the uses of Tik is associated with its younger members. Its a trip because here in San Diego the main slang term for meth is crystal or crystal meth too (out of alot of slang names). It usually looks like shards but I've seen yellow, brown, pink, and purple colored meth- result from different impurities in the synthetic process.
Actually, a golden yellowish oil is what crystal usually melts into and forms a puddle which is spread around bowel. Then this vaporizes to white smoke when the heat is reapplied.
hexxx
Bluelighter
Yup, all the big Mandrax as well as Methamp busts go down around JHB or at somewhere in or around Gauteng (smallest province spanning metropolitan JHB to PTA down to the Vaal river). My theory is that the guys further South cut the crap out of the product down there and because crystals are difficult to cut they crush up the shards very fine.
Some guys from Cape Town were up here a while ago and they were surprised that we could get large crystals. They also said that Tik feels stronger / more intense but not as euphoric which I can only attribute to cuts - although it would have to be something that melts and is stimulating. Maybe ephedrine / psuedoeph although they are flagged as a precursor and scheduled much higher. A type of caffeine or something as well perhaps (I find that caffeine makes the stuff around here feel very strong but not very euphoric).
The only methamp I've tried to smoke was almost clear when liquid and not that fluid although I was probably doing it wrong and not applying heat right, I have no one to really show me as no one really knows how, lol. It was almost boiling though (and disappeared within a second once too much heat was applied). It recrystallized in about 3-4s with a crystal textured finish after heat was stopped, that is when I didn't kill it.
Some guys from Cape Town were up here a while ago and they were surprised that we could get large crystals. They also said that Tik feels stronger / more intense but not as euphoric which I can only attribute to cuts - although it would have to be something that melts and is stimulating. Maybe ephedrine / psuedoeph although they are flagged as a precursor and scheduled much higher. A type of caffeine or something as well perhaps (I find that caffeine makes the stuff around here feel very strong but not very euphoric).
The only methamp I've tried to smoke was almost clear when liquid and not that fluid although I was probably doing it wrong and not applying heat right, I have no one to really show me as no one really knows how, lol. It was almost boiling though (and disappeared within a second once too much heat was applied). It recrystallized in about 3-4s with a crystal textured finish after heat was stopped, that is when I didn't kill it.
That sounds about right. On foil (which is the way I smoked it several years ago- my little group of dope fiends were familiar with foil because that is how we smoked chai {heroin}) it would melt into anything that was clear (the best) and ran with a amourphous ghostlike quality to white to offwhite/ yellowish. The bigest hit would come at the end especially with the porest quality that would leave alot of residue on the foil. In the pipe- clear liquid with a yellowish tint was the norm. There is actually a thread I came across a while ago about hints and tips to smoking meth.
Interesting you say that- maybe one of the reasons the thai still put caffeine in yaba pills- inaddition to the reason because that is the way its always been done and people like what they are familiar with even if it would seem inferior to someone outside the scene.
Hi, my dissertation is going to focus on Methamphetamine. I am wondering if you could help me? Basically, Im wondering if somebody could clarify the difference between normal Amphetamine (the stuff which has been in the UK for years) and Methamphetamine. I am aware that both are a type of amphetamine, but what exactly is the difference?
I am well acquainted with the normal 'speed' you get in the UK (the normally white powder you get at raves etc), and I am also aware that the media certainly portray 'Meth' as a more powerful and stronger version of 'speed'. However, my initial research into the two drugs has made them sound extremely similar, rather than making a clear distinction between the two. I am further confused by the different forms of Methamphetamine.
Basically I need to know:
Is the powdered amphetamine in the UK (Whizz/speed etc) any different to the powdered Methamphetamine in the US/Austraila etc?
and if this is the case,
Are the effects of Crystal Meth distinctly different to powdered Methamphetamine?
Basically, would there have been a difference if Louis Theroux's documentary had have been called:
'The town addicted to Meth', as opposed to 'The town addicted to CRYSTAL Meth'.
Sorry if these questions sound stupid, any help would be much appreciated.
I am well acquainted with the normal 'speed' you get in the UK (the normally white powder you get at raves etc), and I am also aware that the media certainly portray 'Meth' as a more powerful and stronger version of 'speed'. However, my initial research into the two drugs has made them sound extremely similar, rather than making a clear distinction between the two. I am further confused by the different forms of Methamphetamine.
Basically I need to know:
Is the powdered amphetamine in the UK (Whizz/speed etc) any different to the powdered Methamphetamine in the US/Austraila etc?
and if this is the case,
Are the effects of Crystal Meth distinctly different to powdered Methamphetamine?
Basically, would there have been a difference if Louis Theroux's documentary had have been called:
'The town addicted to Meth', as opposed to 'The town addicted to CRYSTAL Meth'.
Sorry if these questions sound stupid, any help would be much appreciated.
Shambles
Bluelight Crew
Crystal meth and meth are the same things and it is fairly different to standard UK speed. It's far more euphoric, more potent, longer-acting and also smokable - a contributing factor to it's addictiveness, I suspect. I don't really have enough experience with meth to be writing dissertations on the difference in effects but they are pretty different. Although also pretty similar...
If you search around the site you'll find a ton of information about speed in all of its forms. You may also want to check the Trip Reports forum to read some subjective experiences
Also, welcome to BL and EADD
If you search around the site you'll find a ton of information about speed in all of its forms. You may also want to check the Trip Reports forum to read some subjective experiences
Also, welcome to BL and EADD
Thankyou, there is a lot of info on here, so I think Im gona like it.
I just wanted to make sure that there was a significant difference between the two drugs, and that the 'epidemics' in Australia and the US were the subject of a drug that has yet to really take hold in th UK.
I watched a documentary on Youtube of an American who snorted Meth, and it just seemed so similar to standard UK speed that I was concerned that Meth was just another name for the speed we have had in the UK for years.
cheers
I just wanted to make sure that there was a significant difference between the two drugs, and that the 'epidemics' in Australia and the US were the subject of a drug that has yet to really take hold in th UK.
I watched a documentary on Youtube of an American who snorted Meth, and it just seemed so similar to standard UK speed that I was concerned that Meth was just another name for the speed we have had in the UK for years.
cheers
Shambles
Bluelight Crew
They are certainly different enough to do a decent write up on. You may also want to have a flick through the Good Documentaries thread as there are some decent meth documentaries in there. I recommended one earlier today, in fact
The topic of your disertation is interesting. The question of how amphetamine is different from methamphetamine from a chemical standpoint is due to the replacement of a hydrogen in the terminal nitrogen with a methy (CH3 group.) Meth users are reported to experience more euphoria, less PNS side effects, and a rush (possibly because the CH3 facilitates crossing the blood brain barier. Thread pertaining to SAR of these drugs compared as well as neurotoxicity:
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=452626
Also, amphetamines as drugs with chiral centers exsits in 2 different configurations: one the polarizes light to the left (levo) and another to the right
(dextro). In other words, they are mirror images of each other (in three dimension). d-amphetamine is more potent and many feel more euphoric than the levo isomer. Some, notably Uncle fester who wrote an underground book about meth manufacture prefers d,l (racemic) amph which contain both stereoisomers in a 1:1 ratio. On the street level the synthetic process determines what you get with the use of ephedrine (or pseudoephedrine) as the precursor leading to d methamphetamine while P2P can be used to produce either amphetamine or methamphetamine (using methylamine). The racemic forms are produced but could be resolved chemically though its a pain in the ass so rarely done.
For a comparison b/w street meth and street amph and pharmaceutical amphetamines here is a good thread:
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=454861
which goes into the subjective difference between different amphetamines. Sometimes different salts that a amphetamine is in (HCl vs SO4) seem to influence subjective effets (eg Adderall).
In california meth and crystal meth are used interchangeably. When you are talking about ice which is popular in Hawaii because its more volatile the difference is that it has less impurities because it is recrystalized (washed) in methanol or acetone so has less impurities and is able to vaporize at a lower temp and forms long crystals like glass, hense its name. Ice/shards/shabu is not methamphetamine base. Meth base is an oil at room temp so in that sense it is not analogous to crack- cocaine base is a solid at room temp. The term Ice has also been applied to an amphetamine like drug called 4 methyl aminorex in the past.
History of the meth scene in San Diego is interesting too and might answer some of the questions:
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=452771
Yaa Baa meth scene in Thailand:
http://www.geopium.org/Chouvy-HarvardAsiaPacificReview-2005-YaaBaaSoutheastAsia.html
Captagon an amphetamine type stimulant (ATS) whose use has exploded in the persian gulf/ middle east and maximiton forte (name used in Egypt for ATS) is also interesting.
Some more misc posts might want to skim through because they don't directly address the questions you raised, more like background info on the overall picture:
http://books.google.com/books?id=rt...esult&ct=result&resnum=9#v=onepage&q=&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?id=Ck...E+ABUSE+PANAMA+CANAL+ZONE#v=onepage&q=&f=true
http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/amp04.htm
http://books.google.com/books?id=1e...=onepage&q=amphetamine hypersexuality&f=false
http://www.unodc.org/documents/scientific/ATS/Global-ATS-Assessment-2008-Web.pdf
http://www.pdea.gov.ph/documents/The National Drug Situation 2006.pdf
http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/dcpc/Reports/DCPC-Report_Amphetamine_2004-05-05.pdf
http://www.apaic.org/TRENDS/cambodianew.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/2518085.stm
http://cambodia.ka-set.info/culture...s-addict-ice-narcotics-crystallised-crys.html
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/bangkok/child/trafficking/downloads/thailand.pdf
http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/selected_features/yama.htm
I know there is alot of stuff here that is maybe not all on the subject since its for your disertation maybe some of this stuff might be useful. I'll let you decide.
I don't notice any difference between the powdered meth and the meth forming larger glass like crystal except the former is usuallyof poorer quality (probably because its easier to cut although I've seen shards that were bad quality and residue tasted salty- didn't burn clean so I feel the rule isn't hard and fast. My expertise was heroin more that methamphetamine though.
Last edited:
jimmyblaze1
Bluelighter
mmmmm'yes!! I came across it 3 years ago in a industrial club night in Angel...my friend Clara used to do it a fair amount..too much I reckon, but yeah, I did a dab when I was getting heavy limbs after doing a bunch of mdma so it perked me up - a livener indeed...
Want to try it properly now..and I FOUND it!
Want to try it properly now..and I FOUND it!
Here is something from the venerable online magazine black poppy. More about past meth scene in 60s UK than whats currently going on:
http://www.blackpoppy.org.uk/SOS_methamphetamine.html
Methamphetamine
BP issue 11. Written by M.M (additional text and research E O'Mara)
Recently making a re-appearance in the UK, methamphetamine is starting to make itself known. BP investigates the drug - its effects - and the hype that surrounds its use.
If you were a heroin addict in London during 1967/68 it was likely you were either a doctor or someone in the medical profession with easy access to prescription drugs. Or, you were one of the small clique of several hundred addicts who frequented the West End, many being prescribed 'jacks' (diamorphine in soluble pill form), cocaine and a plethora of drugs we might only dream about today (e.g Mandrax, Drinamyl, Seconal, Dexedrine etc). These drugs were prescribed to users by a handful of well meaning, sympathetic -although some might say misguided, doctors, many of whom were based in the West End. One such doctor, now mythologized in British drug culture was Dr. John Petro. Dr Petro was the first G.P to switch his clients from cocaine to Methedrine, (the brand name for methamphetamine) as a result of a clinical preference for the latter. His colleague, Dr Christopher Swann, also switched his cocaine using patients to Methedrine, but for very different reasons. The rules governing the dispensing of cocaine to addicts were, during the late 1960's, being tightened and this was to affect the way other doctors would prescribe at the time.
There is little doubt that some of those who were switched to Methedrine were drastically over prescribed with some patients receiving as many as 20 to 50, 25mg ampoules per day (1/2g -1 gram). It's not hard to foresee that the massive over prescribing of amphetamines would cause problems within the drug using community and in retrospect, one can only stagger back in disbelief at the naivete or inexperience of the few doctors involved in this practice. One must remember however, that the treatment of 'addicts' was still in its infancy and a good deal less was known about methamphetamine, which of course was liberally used by medical students under the recommendation of doctors - as they crammed for exams while working extremely long hours.
The ramifications of the sudden introduction of Methedrine ampoules were twofold. One consequence of the availability of injectable speed was that it caused a significant number of current 'pill taking' amphetamine users to begin injecting Methedrine ampoules, the injecting of which didn't have the same connotations as injecting heroin. Once familiar with a needle and the injecting process, barriers to trying other drugs IV were effectively overcome, making methedrine a more realistic 'gateway' drug than the contentions around cannabis. While many of these IV speed users soon came to rely on barbiturates in order to come down after a binge on Methedrine, it was soon discovered that barbs could also be injected although this was a far more dangerous practice and overdose became endemic amongst the drug using population of the time, particularly in the West End. Many users were known on a first name basis by the doctors in the A&E department at Charing Cross hospital, sometimes presenting as many as 2 to 3 times a day. Barbiturates on the whole, were not made for injection and caused horrific abscesses known amongst users as 'barb burns'.
In Soho and the West End a new 'type of addict' started to emerge who had never taken heroin but were experiencing very real problems with Methedrine and barbiturate dependence. The physical health of London's users deteriorated rapidly coinciding with the increase of methamphetamine and barbiturate prescribing and the subsequent leakage onto the black market. These new drug users were more visible and a good deal harder to treat than their heroin/cocaine predecessors. Methedrine when taken in large doses and administered frequently, does little to improve the mental health of users and when combined with the disinhibiting effects of barbs, many of these patients became unruly and occasionally violent, suffering from varying degrees of drug induced psychosis. In 1968 pharmacists themselves voluntarily agreed to desist in the practice of dispensing Methedrine ampoules.
That was then, the first time that methamphetamine had darkened the doorstep of our green and pleasant land to any significant degree. It seems likely however, that it won't be the last as anyone with their ear to the ground will no doubt be aware. Methamphetamine has reemerged, but this time entirely through the black market…In simple terms, methamphetamine is the granddaddy of the amphetamine family, being twice as strong as dextroamphetamine (e.g dexedrine), and four times the strength of ordinary amphetamine i.e Benzedrine.
And we use it like...
In today's market, methamphetamine is currently available as a white or pinkish white powder. It's also seen as pills, usually pink or as a pink or clear crystalline base or salt form (ice) which, as a purer form, is commonly smoked. This is best and most efficiently achieved by placing the crystals in a glass pipe or on tin foil and applying the heat, not on top of the crystal as you would with crack, but underneath it; heating it from underneath the foil (like 'chasing the dragon') or through the glass bowl, thus heating it at a lower temperature. This also means you're inhaling vapours, not smoke although some users may smoke it like crack. Certainly, as in the US, it's by no means unheard of to mix the two, crack and meth, together. But it can be swallowed, snorted, dissolved in water and injected, or inserted anally (with or without dissolution in water).
However, unlike crack which will give you an instantaneous but short acting high, meth will give you an instantaneous but long lasting high, as much as 4-14 hours from a few doses, depending on how you ingest it. This can mean that your desire to repeat the dose occurs just when your body needs to sleep and eat. Naturally this can lead to days awake, often with little food as methamphetamine is a powerful appetite suppressant, leaving users physically run down and mentally strung out. It's essential you try and eat well before any drug use, particularly when you know you mightn't be hungry for a while.
How does it work in the brain?
Street meth stimulates the brain's reward centre, the hypothalamus, which chemically regulates emotions and controls feelings, mood, energy levels and creative activity. This triggers the release of high levels of the brain's feel-good chemical, dopamine - which mediates the transfer of signals associated with positive emotions between the left prefrontal area and the emotional centres in the limbic area of the brain - and releases neurotransmitters (serotonin and norepinephrine) into the bloodstream. Meth blocks the re-uptake of neurotransmitters but unlike cocaine and other stimulants, it blocks the enzymes that help to break down invasive drugs, so the chemicals released from only one hit in a first-time user float freely and remain active for as many as 10 to 12 hours before wearing off, compared with about 45 minutes for cocaine.
Cooking it up...
It is true to state that there has been many, very unpleasant accidents, sometimes fatal, caused by inexperienced/ / irresponsible meth cooks. Primarily produced for the black market, 'meth labs' can be put together in a couple of hours in a caravan or a garage. Some of the more common ingredients involved in making methamphetamine include pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, iodine crystals and red phosphorus. This list is by no means exhaustive as methamphetamine can be produced without using any of the above.
When things go arse up...
Chronic or dependent use of methamphetamine is likely to give rise to a number of health problems, both psychological and physical. Intense anxiety, paranoia, hallucinations, headaches, sweating, teeth grinding and irritability are common as are the developments of strange behaviour patterns including the phenomena known as 'PUNDING'. This basically means the compulsive repetition of certain tasks such as the disassembling and reassembling of objects (known in the States as 'tweaking'), such as cars, radios or other electrical equipment, compulsive collecting, cleaning, hoarding etc.
Similarly obsessive speed habits are skin picking (or squeezing of spots), not dissimilar to that which occurs in the crack and coke user. 'Compulsive Foraging Disorder' often seen in heavy cocaine/crack users, - that relentless hunt for specs of imagined crack in the carpet, ashtrays etc will be covered along with skin picking issues, next issue).
It is worth noting that anti-anxiety drugs such as benzodiazepines have been helpful here and in cases of meth psychosis, short term neuroleptics have also been proving successful. Perhaps one of the more effective treatments for methamphetamine (and other stimulant) addiction is cognitive behavioural interventions (such as CBT; Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), currently gaining popularity in the UK. These approaches are designed to help modify your thinking, experiences, and behaviours and to increase skills in coping with various life stressors.
As the global popularity of methamphetamine goes from strength to strength it looks certain that the attendant problems to both health and society will one day hit our shores on a larger scale than it has at present. Expect to see more of this. Although it has the potential for serious addiction, there are things you can do to look after yourself - with a drug that encourages the user to eat AND sleep less, it's going to be important that you go the extra mile to look after yourself and pass on safer using info whenever you get the chance.
written by M.M and additional text and research by E. O’Mara for BP issue 11
Reducing Methamphetamine & Amphetamine Harms
+ Do not take Methamphetamine if you are currently taking an MAOI, most commonly found in some prescription anti-depressants (check with your GP) & don’t mix with Viagra.
+ Individuals with heart disease, hypertension, epilepsy, gastric ulcers, with persisting mental illness, impaired immunity, or who are pregnant/breastfeeding should avoid meth. (see links below for more info)
+ Get some L-tyrosine/B6 pills. Take one or two of the pills the morning, afternoon and evening the day after you have been speeding for a few days, each time with a glass of orange/lemon juice, works wonders!
+ Drink orange or lemon juice (or anything that contains a lot of vitamin C)
+ Use dental floss before using speed. And brush your teeth before going to bed. Meth appears to do some real damage to teeth, the reasons why this happens needs more research. So take extra care with them.
+ Try to drink some water once or twice every hour. Speed causes the kidneys to produce less urine leading to toxic wastes getting recycled back into the bloodstream, making you feel like shit.
+ Eat, eat, eat! Make sure you get in some good food before using speed.
3 good links for more info:
1) www.tweaker.org 2) www.scahr.info
3)www.nyhealth.gov/diseases/aids/harm_reduction/crystalmeth/docs/methamphetamine_index_0_9_5.PDF
http://www.blackpoppy.org.uk/SOS_methamphetamine.html
Methamphetamine
BP issue 11. Written by M.M (additional text and research E O'Mara)
Recently making a re-appearance in the UK, methamphetamine is starting to make itself known. BP investigates the drug - its effects - and the hype that surrounds its use.
If you were a heroin addict in London during 1967/68 it was likely you were either a doctor or someone in the medical profession with easy access to prescription drugs. Or, you were one of the small clique of several hundred addicts who frequented the West End, many being prescribed 'jacks' (diamorphine in soluble pill form), cocaine and a plethora of drugs we might only dream about today (e.g Mandrax, Drinamyl, Seconal, Dexedrine etc). These drugs were prescribed to users by a handful of well meaning, sympathetic -although some might say misguided, doctors, many of whom were based in the West End. One such doctor, now mythologized in British drug culture was Dr. John Petro. Dr Petro was the first G.P to switch his clients from cocaine to Methedrine, (the brand name for methamphetamine) as a result of a clinical preference for the latter. His colleague, Dr Christopher Swann, also switched his cocaine using patients to Methedrine, but for very different reasons. The rules governing the dispensing of cocaine to addicts were, during the late 1960's, being tightened and this was to affect the way other doctors would prescribe at the time.
There is little doubt that some of those who were switched to Methedrine were drastically over prescribed with some patients receiving as many as 20 to 50, 25mg ampoules per day (1/2g -1 gram). It's not hard to foresee that the massive over prescribing of amphetamines would cause problems within the drug using community and in retrospect, one can only stagger back in disbelief at the naivete or inexperience of the few doctors involved in this practice. One must remember however, that the treatment of 'addicts' was still in its infancy and a good deal less was known about methamphetamine, which of course was liberally used by medical students under the recommendation of doctors - as they crammed for exams while working extremely long hours.
The ramifications of the sudden introduction of Methedrine ampoules were twofold. One consequence of the availability of injectable speed was that it caused a significant number of current 'pill taking' amphetamine users to begin injecting Methedrine ampoules, the injecting of which didn't have the same connotations as injecting heroin. Once familiar with a needle and the injecting process, barriers to trying other drugs IV were effectively overcome, making methedrine a more realistic 'gateway' drug than the contentions around cannabis. While many of these IV speed users soon came to rely on barbiturates in order to come down after a binge on Methedrine, it was soon discovered that barbs could also be injected although this was a far more dangerous practice and overdose became endemic amongst the drug using population of the time, particularly in the West End. Many users were known on a first name basis by the doctors in the A&E department at Charing Cross hospital, sometimes presenting as many as 2 to 3 times a day. Barbiturates on the whole, were not made for injection and caused horrific abscesses known amongst users as 'barb burns'.
In Soho and the West End a new 'type of addict' started to emerge who had never taken heroin but were experiencing very real problems with Methedrine and barbiturate dependence. The physical health of London's users deteriorated rapidly coinciding with the increase of methamphetamine and barbiturate prescribing and the subsequent leakage onto the black market. These new drug users were more visible and a good deal harder to treat than their heroin/cocaine predecessors. Methedrine when taken in large doses and administered frequently, does little to improve the mental health of users and when combined with the disinhibiting effects of barbs, many of these patients became unruly and occasionally violent, suffering from varying degrees of drug induced psychosis. In 1968 pharmacists themselves voluntarily agreed to desist in the practice of dispensing Methedrine ampoules.
That was then, the first time that methamphetamine had darkened the doorstep of our green and pleasant land to any significant degree. It seems likely however, that it won't be the last as anyone with their ear to the ground will no doubt be aware. Methamphetamine has reemerged, but this time entirely through the black market…In simple terms, methamphetamine is the granddaddy of the amphetamine family, being twice as strong as dextroamphetamine (e.g dexedrine), and four times the strength of ordinary amphetamine i.e Benzedrine.
And we use it like...
In today's market, methamphetamine is currently available as a white or pinkish white powder. It's also seen as pills, usually pink or as a pink or clear crystalline base or salt form (ice) which, as a purer form, is commonly smoked. This is best and most efficiently achieved by placing the crystals in a glass pipe or on tin foil and applying the heat, not on top of the crystal as you would with crack, but underneath it; heating it from underneath the foil (like 'chasing the dragon') or through the glass bowl, thus heating it at a lower temperature. This also means you're inhaling vapours, not smoke although some users may smoke it like crack. Certainly, as in the US, it's by no means unheard of to mix the two, crack and meth, together. But it can be swallowed, snorted, dissolved in water and injected, or inserted anally (with or without dissolution in water).
However, unlike crack which will give you an instantaneous but short acting high, meth will give you an instantaneous but long lasting high, as much as 4-14 hours from a few doses, depending on how you ingest it. This can mean that your desire to repeat the dose occurs just when your body needs to sleep and eat. Naturally this can lead to days awake, often with little food as methamphetamine is a powerful appetite suppressant, leaving users physically run down and mentally strung out. It's essential you try and eat well before any drug use, particularly when you know you mightn't be hungry for a while.
How does it work in the brain?
Street meth stimulates the brain's reward centre, the hypothalamus, which chemically regulates emotions and controls feelings, mood, energy levels and creative activity. This triggers the release of high levels of the brain's feel-good chemical, dopamine - which mediates the transfer of signals associated with positive emotions between the left prefrontal area and the emotional centres in the limbic area of the brain - and releases neurotransmitters (serotonin and norepinephrine) into the bloodstream. Meth blocks the re-uptake of neurotransmitters but unlike cocaine and other stimulants, it blocks the enzymes that help to break down invasive drugs, so the chemicals released from only one hit in a first-time user float freely and remain active for as many as 10 to 12 hours before wearing off, compared with about 45 minutes for cocaine.
Cooking it up...
It is true to state that there has been many, very unpleasant accidents, sometimes fatal, caused by inexperienced/ / irresponsible meth cooks. Primarily produced for the black market, 'meth labs' can be put together in a couple of hours in a caravan or a garage. Some of the more common ingredients involved in making methamphetamine include pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, iodine crystals and red phosphorus. This list is by no means exhaustive as methamphetamine can be produced without using any of the above.
When things go arse up...
Chronic or dependent use of methamphetamine is likely to give rise to a number of health problems, both psychological and physical. Intense anxiety, paranoia, hallucinations, headaches, sweating, teeth grinding and irritability are common as are the developments of strange behaviour patterns including the phenomena known as 'PUNDING'. This basically means the compulsive repetition of certain tasks such as the disassembling and reassembling of objects (known in the States as 'tweaking'), such as cars, radios or other electrical equipment, compulsive collecting, cleaning, hoarding etc.
Similarly obsessive speed habits are skin picking (or squeezing of spots), not dissimilar to that which occurs in the crack and coke user. 'Compulsive Foraging Disorder' often seen in heavy cocaine/crack users, - that relentless hunt for specs of imagined crack in the carpet, ashtrays etc will be covered along with skin picking issues, next issue).
It is worth noting that anti-anxiety drugs such as benzodiazepines have been helpful here and in cases of meth psychosis, short term neuroleptics have also been proving successful. Perhaps one of the more effective treatments for methamphetamine (and other stimulant) addiction is cognitive behavioural interventions (such as CBT; Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), currently gaining popularity in the UK. These approaches are designed to help modify your thinking, experiences, and behaviours and to increase skills in coping with various life stressors.
As the global popularity of methamphetamine goes from strength to strength it looks certain that the attendant problems to both health and society will one day hit our shores on a larger scale than it has at present. Expect to see more of this. Although it has the potential for serious addiction, there are things you can do to look after yourself - with a drug that encourages the user to eat AND sleep less, it's going to be important that you go the extra mile to look after yourself and pass on safer using info whenever you get the chance.
written by M.M and additional text and research by E. O’Mara for BP issue 11
Reducing Methamphetamine & Amphetamine Harms
+ Do not take Methamphetamine if you are currently taking an MAOI, most commonly found in some prescription anti-depressants (check with your GP) & don’t mix with Viagra.
+ Individuals with heart disease, hypertension, epilepsy, gastric ulcers, with persisting mental illness, impaired immunity, or who are pregnant/breastfeeding should avoid meth. (see links below for more info)
+ Get some L-tyrosine/B6 pills. Take one or two of the pills the morning, afternoon and evening the day after you have been speeding for a few days, each time with a glass of orange/lemon juice, works wonders!
+ Drink orange or lemon juice (or anything that contains a lot of vitamin C)
+ Use dental floss before using speed. And brush your teeth before going to bed. Meth appears to do some real damage to teeth, the reasons why this happens needs more research. So take extra care with them.
+ Try to drink some water once or twice every hour. Speed causes the kidneys to produce less urine leading to toxic wastes getting recycled back into the bloodstream, making you feel like shit.
+ Eat, eat, eat! Make sure you get in some good food before using speed.
3 good links for more info:
1) www.tweaker.org 2) www.scahr.info
3)www.nyhealth.gov/diseases/aids/harm_reduction/crystalmeth/docs/methamphetamine_index_0_9_5.PDF
Wondering if the white or pinkish white powder their talking about is amph sulfate. Yes I have seen meth in those colors as well as other colors (brown, light brown [penut butter crank], white, purple, pink, redish, crystalline). Presumably some of the pink meth is the result of the coating on the pseudo pills that comes over in the extraction and colors or contaminates the product. They mention pills too. Are there meth pills on the British scene as opposed to E pills that test positive for meth- kind of reminiscent of yaa baa pills in thailand.
The SO4 base is an oil yea? I have heard that it or the paste finds its way on the scene. What is the prefered way of using base/paste- smoking, injection, oral?
fastandbulbous
Bluelight Crew
^ SO4 isn't a base, it refers to the sulphate salt (suphuric acid is H2SO4). As far as I know, all methamphetamine encountered both medically & on the street is the hydrochloride salt. This means that it's smokable as hydrochoride salts are capable of dissociating to methamphetamine base & hydrogen chloride with heat, bith of which are quite volatile. Never try smoking amphetamine sulphate as it'll be very wasteful as amphet sulphate decomposed before dissociating with the application of heat
Thanks, I ment to say the SO4's (corresponding) base but omitted the "'s" because I was in a hurry.
Used that terminology because I often hear the amphetamine street speed refered to as "the sulfate". But I didn't realize that meth HCl can be vaporized so easily because of HCls volatility. Does one remove the HCl when cooking rock because the cocaine molecule is so big and bulky compared to the methamphetamine molecule?I believe that one method of crystalizing meth base is bubbling HCl gas through the "honey" (methamphetamine base). But this begs a question- can the HCl in smoked meth HCl cause damage to lung tissue or is the concentration too diffuse. In that case smoking the base, if possible, would be preferable from a harm reduction standpoint. I have often wondered about, in the case of smokable methaqualone, if smoking the base would be less likely to lead to the production of harmful breakdown products that result from pyrolysis due to decreased volatility of the hydrochloride- was going to post this question to methaqualone thread but haven't gotten around to it.
Anyway, back to my original question. I have read that amphetamine sometimes finds its way on the market as a liquid or a paste. How does one use the drug in this form? Has anyone seen this product or am I completely mistaken and misinformed. Wouldn't be the first time.
Another question that comes to mind- It is my understanding that on the street amphetamines are found as the sulfate. In medicine they occur as different salts (adderall contains the saccharate and asparate along with the sulfate) in biphetamines when they were around (aka black beauties) you had the amphetamines d and racemic in a cationic-anionic resin exchange complex or something like this to effect an extended release form. But I have never seen or heard of amphetamine complexed with HCl, either on the street or in the formulary. Is there a reason for this chemically? Where as methamphetamine seems to always occur as the hydrochloride. I know that in synthetic chemistry when producing a substance that is a weak base the "happiest route" is to form the salt using one acid or another depending on the substance in question.
Shambles
Bluelight Crew
I usually inject it but most folks use it orally. As noted above, it's not smokable and it's too wet and sticky to be practical to snort, although some people leave it to dry out and try to snort it. Pretty sure it's most commonly used orally though.
Liquid is extremely rare (I don't know anyone who's tried it outside of a small group of people I knew when I was friendly with a phet chemist many years ago) but the paste is probably the most common form of speed in the UK. Sadly it's usually very heavily cut these days although there have been recent reports of much better quality/less cut speed doing the rounds. Just need to lay hands on some to confirm it cos I won't believe it till I've sampled it :D
parttime crackhead
Bluelighter
i'm exactly the same, despite the stupid name. i'm too para because i don't trust myself to not like it too much
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