johnboy
Bluelight Crew
What follows is a rambling stream of conscious thing about crystal. I am both thinking aloud as well as asking for input.
This was brought about by being asked to do a radio interview for ABC radio's PM show on the subject of crystal meth. Usually I'm very happy to do such interviews as I feel fairly confident in being able to talk unscripted on the subject of ecstasy and pill testing. This time, however, I declined as the subject was a little out of my comfort zone.
It isn't that I dislike crystal, the opposite in fact, it was more that I didn't feel I had much to contribute that was of much use. Aside from esoteric details of its manufacture and chemistry, which no one wants to know, I only know what most people know; that there is more of it about.
The researcher asked me this question; Why is there more of it about? And I started answering it, but I quickly got into territory I don't think they wanted to explore, and which made me very glad I had decided to not do this on air.
My thoughts went like this: Crystal has existed for a very long time but up until recently it was only ever seen in Australia in very specific areas, usually in ethnics groups such as filipinos and Polynesians. Australians generally took speed that was locally produced methamphetamine, usually of a very cut down variety.
Remember the old days? Remember cut down speed, a gram baggy for fifty bucks, stepped on about 16 times? There was a very organised system of distribution which for many years supplied Australia with it's amphetamine needs. Methamphetamine was produced locally, usually from traditional biker pseudo recipes, and distributed via networks of established dealers. It seemed that quite a few of these networks had either the cooperation or the active involvement of police. I can say this without fear contradiction as this has now all come out in court and is a matter of record. Google "Hicks police amphetamine" and you'll see what I mean. Added to this was the increasingly tough regulations surrounding pseudoephedrine, which has put a dent into supply of precursors for local production.
So the traditional speed distribution systems were gone, or least reduced. But there was still a demand for amphetamine. People have been using it recreationally in Australia since at least the '50's so it would be miraculous if it just disappeared.
But has demand increased? I think it has, and one factor in that is the growing number of people using MDMA, which corresponds to a growing number of people "losing the magic" and looking for another high. The crystal meth high, while still being a lot "speedier" than MDMA, does have a kind of similar "ecstatic" quality. I have seen, both in real life and here, many people making the transition from MDMA to meth. I can only speculate that this is happening in the wider drug taking community.
So increased demand, but reduced supply. Well it doesn't take Adam Smith to work out that people will do what ever they can to meet demand. I believe that two things happened. New local manufacturers popped up, without the sophisticated distribution systems of old. This resulted in more speed being distributed in a purer form. "Base" "meth" and the like became far more common as it was easier for new dealers to move less bulky, more potent forms within Australia. Also it passed thru less hands, resulting in a purer, yet still highly priced, product.
At the same time this was going on other people were looking to OS for supply. The Philippines is awash in crystal, and quickly supply routes were set up. Now that Australians had a taste for high quality meth there was less reason to step on the product and it could be released as "pure" crystal.
So I am figuring that the coinciding raise in demand for another high met the reduce in supply of traditional "speed" and resulted in where we are at today.
Thoughts?
This was brought about by being asked to do a radio interview for ABC radio's PM show on the subject of crystal meth. Usually I'm very happy to do such interviews as I feel fairly confident in being able to talk unscripted on the subject of ecstasy and pill testing. This time, however, I declined as the subject was a little out of my comfort zone.
It isn't that I dislike crystal, the opposite in fact, it was more that I didn't feel I had much to contribute that was of much use. Aside from esoteric details of its manufacture and chemistry, which no one wants to know, I only know what most people know; that there is more of it about.
The researcher asked me this question; Why is there more of it about? And I started answering it, but I quickly got into territory I don't think they wanted to explore, and which made me very glad I had decided to not do this on air.
My thoughts went like this: Crystal has existed for a very long time but up until recently it was only ever seen in Australia in very specific areas, usually in ethnics groups such as filipinos and Polynesians. Australians generally took speed that was locally produced methamphetamine, usually of a very cut down variety.
Remember the old days? Remember cut down speed, a gram baggy for fifty bucks, stepped on about 16 times? There was a very organised system of distribution which for many years supplied Australia with it's amphetamine needs. Methamphetamine was produced locally, usually from traditional biker pseudo recipes, and distributed via networks of established dealers. It seemed that quite a few of these networks had either the cooperation or the active involvement of police. I can say this without fear contradiction as this has now all come out in court and is a matter of record. Google "Hicks police amphetamine" and you'll see what I mean. Added to this was the increasingly tough regulations surrounding pseudoephedrine, which has put a dent into supply of precursors for local production.
So the traditional speed distribution systems were gone, or least reduced. But there was still a demand for amphetamine. People have been using it recreationally in Australia since at least the '50's so it would be miraculous if it just disappeared.
But has demand increased? I think it has, and one factor in that is the growing number of people using MDMA, which corresponds to a growing number of people "losing the magic" and looking for another high. The crystal meth high, while still being a lot "speedier" than MDMA, does have a kind of similar "ecstatic" quality. I have seen, both in real life and here, many people making the transition from MDMA to meth. I can only speculate that this is happening in the wider drug taking community.
So increased demand, but reduced supply. Well it doesn't take Adam Smith to work out that people will do what ever they can to meet demand. I believe that two things happened. New local manufacturers popped up, without the sophisticated distribution systems of old. This resulted in more speed being distributed in a purer form. "Base" "meth" and the like became far more common as it was easier for new dealers to move less bulky, more potent forms within Australia. Also it passed thru less hands, resulting in a purer, yet still highly priced, product.
At the same time this was going on other people were looking to OS for supply. The Philippines is awash in crystal, and quickly supply routes were set up. Now that Australians had a taste for high quality meth there was less reason to step on the product and it could be released as "pure" crystal.
So I am figuring that the coinciding raise in demand for another high met the reduce in supply of traditional "speed" and resulted in where we are at today.
Thoughts?
) is something i read on this site 
