Is meth really that popular and why?

[Crankinit]

It doesn't matter what percentage of the population are using what drug, the media will always latch onto the most widespread and dramatic substance and proclaim it an "epidemic," that way they have something to fall back on if they're having a slow news day, or are trying to distract people from more important issues. It has nothing to do with the actual level of use or harm caused to individuals or society, it's all about page hits/viewers/readers, fear mongering and distracting the public.

 

[SixBuckets]

It doesn't matter what percentage of the population are using what drug, the media will always latch onto the most widespread and dramatic substance and proclaim it an "epidemic," that way they have something to fall back on if they're having a slow news day, or are trying to distract people from more important issues. It has nothing to do with the actual level of use or harm caused to individuals or society, it's all about page hits/viewers/readers, fear mongering and distracting the public.

Well, the most widespread substance is cannabis by an astronomical margin, but people are becoming a little too sympathetic to weed smokers for the media to promote the huge sums of money we spend policing and incarcerating people who use it.

 

[canberracrack]

i aint never seen...a drug like methamphetamine...

 

[Runtoparadise]

Why the popularity with Meth though? If at the end if the night you're a psycho nasty individual where does the appeal lay?? I've tried it with varying results, but never has my personality been negatively affected.

Rtp

 

[SixBuckets]

Why the popularity with Meth though? If at the end if the night you're a psycho nasty individual where does the appeal lay?? I've tried it with varying results, but never has my personality been negatively affected.

Rtp

I don't have any data on this, but I'd bet real Earth moneys that it's the same as alcohol: the substance doesn't "make you violent". It's just that if you're already an asshole prone to violence, drinking or taking drugs will encourage you to lash out.

 

[Crankinit]

Well, the most widespread substance is cannabis by an astronomical margin, but people are becoming a little too sympathetic to weed smokers for the media to promote the huge sums of money we spend policing and incarcerating people who use it.

Widespread, yes, but meth is new (well, ice is anyway) and scary and dangerous sounding. But don't think for a second that if all the other drugs disappeared, the media wouldn't turn on weed as their new target de jour in a second.

Look at the British media if you want to see a nice weed-focused media frenzy.

 

[SixBuckets]

Widespread, yes, but meth is new (well, ice is anyway) and scary and dangerous sounding. But don't think for a second that if all the other drugs disappeared, the media wouldn't turn on weed as their new target de jour in a second.

It's not, though. Methamphetamine use has been pretty much constant for the last ten years. We're actually using less methamphetamine, as a nation, than we were in the 90s. And yeah, more people are using ice than powdered speed, but they're not new users. The crystal form of methamphetamine has been in use in Australia for at least twenty years.

I do see your point that the media would jump on weed if ice and other drugs just disappeared - but if that actually happened, the simple fact is that huge numbers of Australian drug users (ie exclusive cannabis smokers) would be completely unaffected.

Look at the British media if you want to see a nice weed-focused media frenzy.

I'm not really familiar with it, but I can imagine.

 

[Crankinit]

Methamphetamine use has been pretty much constant for the last ten years.

As opposed to marijuana, which has been widespread since at least the 60's and, iirc, actually declined in use. Meth is also more dramatic - addiction, psychosis, scary tweakers committing crimes, bikie gangs corrupting the youth, that sort of thing. They don't have to work very hard to turn it into something to get the TT/ACA crowd worked up, which makes it perfect material for when they have nothing more important or interesting to write about. But if it wasn't here, they'd find something else to get them worked up about, it would just take a bit more effort to portray it as some kind of scary, apocalyptic epidemic.

This isn't about facts or statistics - it's about the image of the drug that the media can portray and the narrative about it they can tell to make profit and distract the public.

but if that actually happened, the simple fact is that huge numbers of Australian drug users (ie exclusive cannabis smokers) would be completely unaffected.

Tell that to the Brits after they had their weed re-scheduling reversed due to a media frenzy. The weed smokers I know would sure as hell be affected if media fear mongering caused SA's state government to change their laws and start arresting and charging people caught with less than an ounce.

 

[canberracrack]

the media hypes ice up no end fpor sure. but you guys are naive trying to say its all just a media blow up. ice is completely ravaging and fucking up communities.

Out of 6 good childhood friends of mine, 4 are currently in jail for ice trafficking, and 2 are in the psych ward as a consequence of their use.

and I'm not very bloody far off i can tell ya that

 

[SKR]

^Well that is alarming for sure man, give it away is my advice. Nothing good comes from the habitual use of this drug. It's a top notch high but equally as strong on the come down. Wretched stuff really.

It's popular cos there is plenty of it and you get really high. Flood the streets with another drug that gets you quite high and that's what the people will choose. If high purity MDMA crystals or powder was around as much as meth is and I reckon most would swap over to it - rightly so too.

 

[slimvictor]

Is meth really that popular and why?

I suspect that someone who has tried meth would not ask this question.
I might have asked it myself until last Christmas, when I tried meth for the first time.
It was like LSD, without the visions/hallucinations, or MDMA.
My (emotional) heart was torn open, and I was filled with love.
It would have been impossible to act from a petty or small place.
I re-discovered my intense love for my family, remembered to set my priorities carefully (with family being at the top), etc.
It was a life-changing experience, in a good way.
I am aware that this is not what happens when someone is addicted to meth and uses it every day.
But that first time created an intense pull in me to want to use more (just as it does with everyone, I assume).
I have tried a few times since then, and enjoyed it, but the first time was the best.
One time, I was not planning on using meth, but when a friend offered me some, I immediately found myself saying "sure!".
That was strange, my mouth and my mind seemed not to agree, but I found myself smoking a hit of meth immediately.
(First, though, I discovered that my hands were shaking from anticipation.)
Very, very strong pull. That, and the fun of the first time (or few times) combine to make it popular, I would say.

 

[junkie skumbag]

I seem to be following you around JS. I got busted trafficking when I was 17, folks turning up on my doorstep carrying TV's with the cord dragging behind them rang some serious alarm bells. I was a mess, cops did me a favour.

Yeah luckily I got my self out of the meth dealing game before I had any problems...I'm yet to have any trouble with cops regarding drug!my problem is overdosing but yeah even being out of the game and just hanging around "those types" I still get offered like stolen sunnys shoes phones iPods scripts ect ect

 

[canberracrack]

^^ no offence but if you didn't have any problems hyou werent really in the game...every dealer i know has been robbed or had some sort of threat come their way

 

[justsayknow]

I suspect that someone who has tried meth would not ask this question.

I think your post is a very graphic illustration of why this drug is popular. Its not for everyone though. I have had doses of meth recreationally and occasionally for more than a decade and while I like it from time to time I really couldn't put my self through that roller coaster on a regular basis. For me the comedowns really outweigh the high you get(As great as it is) Also I love my sleep and fucking hate sleep deprivation in any shape or form. That said I've met more than one person who while they also hate the come down they see the only way to treat it is to have more meth. It can be a vicious cycle for some.

 

[mister]

I found meth pretty boring, Ive tried it 3 times now and cannot see the attraction. MDPV on the other hand......mmmmmm yum

 

[pisspotnrock]

^^ if you can manage to score really good gear, youll understand.. Im personally over it but I wont say no if the pipes past to me, doesnt have the same attraction as it originally did and that can be nothing but a good thing at my age

 

[Chicken_Nipples]

I "get it" but don't understand how people become addicted. I use rarely, my last pipe was 6months ago. 3 of us burned .4 in about an hour or so. Use it all up in a quick go and then ride it out. It's pretty amazing stuff once you've smoked it all real fast. You're high enough not to feind around the pipe, theres no more there to feind over anyway so you enjoy it so much more than trying to stretch it out. Kinda like nibbling at a pill to make it last. You never get the full effect so you chase it endlessly. Drop the whole pill and just enjoy.

The comedown is hard, always is this way but it's hard enough to put me off for months and months. I never get cravings for it and turn the stuff down all the time because of it, I think. Maybe I'm just not wired for addiction?

 

[LSDMDMA&AMP]

People do B and Es ect to pay for more meth I've had stolen items offered to me for cash (for shard) or payment in shard itself it's a sad thing but it DOES happen

That shit is mad common with drug addicts in general though, like people do that shit/steal/crime to pay for heroin/painkillers/crack cocaine just as much though.
if its boring though, you got some shit gear or you didnt do enough/do it right (especially with smoking. If you dont know how to smoke properly you wont get nearly as high as you do when you knkw how to hit it right)
The thing i dont get though is how this is such a big deal in australia to people when theyre using such small amounts.
The only thing i can say for certain, from personal experience, is that in (north) las vegas, meth is real big/popular, and its really cheap and easy to get, and people dont trip about such small amounts the way people in australia seem to do.
as in, you couldnt buy just a point if you wanted to out there from most people. When i bought, i bought an 8ball the first time, and a teener the 2nd time. The dude i went to/know, his speed costs a little more than most peoples out there as it is, but from him, i could get a quarter (oz. 7g. 70 points.) for about what a quarter GRAM goes for in australia.
thw thing i dont get is all the fuss over the small amounts that people buy/use in australia.
like for me, if i am gonna get crystal/go to the trouble to buy it, im buying at least a 1.5 or a sixteenth, minimum, and i can kill that in 2 or 3 days of using so long as ive got spikes and or a pipe....
maybe US gear is just shit compared to aus gear but i doubt it.
seriously its intriguing to me. A quarter gram is a normal size shot for me if im doing crystal, to get fuckin spun

 

[Curleycole]

The reason shard has become so dangerous is because its not just a set type of people doing it (junkies) everyone is!

Before i got done the people i had comeing for it (primary school teachers, office workers, normal parnets with children)

Its become so socially excepted in the younger comunity they dont see any wrong in doing it, its just like going to the pub and haveing a beer.

The problem is people just think only junkies do it well they dont.

Im 19 now have been useing for 4 years for most days, im a full time fully qualified carpenter and go to the gyn every night but people wouldnt think i use it.
My mate is a school teacher and he uses (not good i know but what can i say)

Everyone just need to forget about he stero typical junkie and see that this drug can get everyone.

The one thing i never understood is when i went out for the weekend (in melbourne) why people woud just do meth like its good and all but it just like a base drug, keeps you awake and makes you chatty but you need something else to floor you or make you get loose like GHB?

 

[mostly-human]

I'm not from Australia but more than a decade ago I used to correspond with a guy from there who at the time lived in or near Perth; but had lived in Sydney as well and he said how meth was huge there even then.

I can attest first hand to meth being huge in Melbourne in the early 2000s, it really blew up then and has continued to do so. Heroin is still huge in Melbourne too, mind, I think in Perth too. Not sure about other states.