Thanks everyone who has taken the time to post so far!
One of the things that I'm interested in in terms of context of use is the controls put in place by users to regulate use and/or minimise risk. Things like information gathering and research before use, carefully managing things like set, setting and dosage, carrying out tester sessions before a main session with a new substance, avoiding certain use behaviours e.g., particular ROAs, not mixing substances etc. Do these kind of things look familiar? How important is control when thinking about trying any drug (new or familiar)? How important was it with mephedrone? Do users who are part of online communities differ from people who are not in this?
They only things I test before doing a full dose are coke, heroin, & meth, and that's only because needles are involved & I've had varying OD symptoms from all three. I always got my mephedrone from the same source & quality never seemed to change significantly. People active on drug forums probably are more knowledgeable & concerned about their health than people who aren't, but that's just my assumption.
Another thing I'd like your perspective on is the degree to which mephedrone's popularity or appeal (or not) came from it being considered socially acceptable in a way, maybe not by society in general but perhaps by other users?? I'm planning on asking about effects in more detail but it seems that in the case of mephedrone that they were related to this. It's duration of action has already been mentioned - i.e., did this allow it to fit in with work, school, uni, or anything else you had going on? Also, initially, it didn't seem to be perceived as 'dirty' but then the fiendishness and compulsive side of it seemed to some negative attention from users, as did the idea of 'meph heads'. What do you think?
I don't think it's social acceptability factored much into its popularity in my area. It lacked the stigma of heroin & the negative associations with meth use; it was this new chemical kids really liked. It was regarded like blow, MDMA, or ketamine around here IMO. Yes, the short duration meant that I could get high any time I had an hour or two to spare. After about 8-12 hours on the stuff, the negative side effects became increasingly prominent, so I agree with you.
Also, I wanted to ask one other question in relation to context. It seems that from what you've said so far that the main reasons for using mephedrone were social reasons, experimentation, and mood enhancement. Are there any more that I'm missing (I'm excluding things like price and availability here)? In particular, I was wanting to know about the use of mephedrone for sex. This is something that has come up in part of my research with other subgroups, and I was just wondering what your perspective was? Did you or people you know either IRL or on BL use mephedrone to enhance sex?
Some people liked to have sex on it, and others couldn't perform. I never tried or had any desire.
The first is mephedrone effects. I know some of you have already touched on this already but it would be great if you could just give a summary (or a re-summary if needs be!) of the main positive, negative, and neutral effects of mephedrone during the high and during the comedown. Crucially, it would also be great if you could comment on whether or not these effects changed over time - some of the data I have seems to indicate that the comedown effects and hangovers seemed to get worse...or did people just start reporting them more? Or is it that different effects are experienced by different people?? Also, mephedrone seemed to be most commonly described as a mixture between MDMA/ecstasy and cocaine or speed - would you agree?
Positive: Immense euphoria, energy, social inhibition
Negative: Increased perspiration, insomnia, tachycardia, xerostomia
Neutral: Mydriasis, decreased appetite
I didn't notice a comedown; I was high & then I wasn't. The only thing that changed was the social aspect. When I first started, I enjoyed talking to people, but as my use increased I quit being so open. I could dose around others & be silent, wrapped up in some other task like managing files & folders on my computer. I've never felt MDMA, but the ecstasy & coke mixture seems to be an apt description of the experience.
Again, I know this has been touched on by some, but the second is outomes of mephedrone use and adverse effects. I know that this may not have affected everybody but it is an important aspect of my research. What kinds of problems did people experience (if any)? This includes physical problems, psychological problems, and any social problems.
Severe vasoconstriction leading to blue knees, hands, & feet is what I remember other people describing, though I never experienced it. I had a little stroke & now I can't handle stimulants like I used to, but I can't be sure that that is a direct effect from mephedrone usage.
Thanks for the posts over the weekend. There are a couple of things that stand out for me which I've highlighted below (but please feel free to add something different if you like)....
Firstly.....
I'm interested to know how common mephedrone IV was/is? Again it's something that has come up in my research into other groups. It doesn't seem to be discussed all that much online so my assumption was that it was relatively uncommon. Do you think that's correct? What about IRL? Has this changed?
Albion - you mentioned earlier that not IV-ing was a principle that you would apply to any drug. What do others think?
It wasn't very common around me, but IV drug use, heroin notwithstanding, isn't very common either. Not everyone I knew who shot up slammed mephedrone, but everyone I knew who did also IVed other drugs. I did a few times, but I preferred snorting it.
It's a principle I
should've applied to other drugs, but as a wise teenager once said, "You only live once" 8)
Secondly....
It's interesting to see these two perspectives side by side. It would be interesting to hear what others think about this idea of acceptability??? And whether or not it is tied to legal status? Or perhaps something else, like duration or effects, type of effects, ROA, how controlled you are able to be over use etc. I get the impression that tied up with this there is an element of personal responsibility that is assumed of users by other users i.e., to take appropriate HR measures, to not get to out of it or do anything stupid etc. I guess that's why I asked about the 'meph head' descriptor which seemed to emerge after mephedrone had been about for a bit and become quite popular. What would you say?
I doubt its legality played a significant part in its acceptance around me or in most of America
Also, what about things like tolerance, craving or withdrawal? Did people experience these or anything like them, or not? If so, what was that like, and how were you using mephedrone in the lead up to that?
People got slightly more tolerant as their use increased, and a few people got pretty fiendy, but I'm not aware of any of social groups experiencing w/ds.
