The Meth Makeover

I have dabbled in the drug scene in the past, it's no secret. I was a rave guy and loved ecstasy, and partied with cocaine off and on (fortunetly it never came a real problem) but I never urged to try Crystal Meth, which I regard as the worst drug of them all (at least heroin gave us awesome music to listen to). This drug basically transforms you into a repulsive, mutated warthog in no time flat. In a year's use, it will age you a fucking decade:



...and seeing what assholes are like when they use it, I wonder why anybody would WANT to try it in the first place. I have never seen anybody have fun on it, but I have seen it destroy countless lives that didn't have it coming.

Focus: The ugly side of substance abuse, whether it be drugs, alcohol, or any addicition. Have you yourself let it take hold of you, or someone close to you? What kind of horrible outcomes came from it?

 

Never did any of this shit myself - no time, too much else to do. Seen meth plenty, though. Seen people go to jail, seen people recover. All the bullshit paranoia and rationalization of what they're doing pissed me off the most. Low moment:

Other Person: "Hey, can I borrow your car to run up to the store and get some cigarettes?"
Me: "Sure, just grab my keys off the counter."

20 minutes later, other person returns, no cigarettes.

Me: "Where are the cigarettes you went to get?"
Other Person: "Oh, uh, they were out."

 

My roommates in college were addicted to pain killers. They got into a car wreck and were prescribed some I think vikodin. They had dabbled in snorting oxys in the past, but once they got a prescription, it became an every day thing. They eventually moved their mattresses into the living room, slept all day and snorted stronger and stronger oxys until eventually they dropped out of college, moved to Pittsburgh, and became strippers. The strippers thing I never understood because they were not physically fit girls.

Also, at one point they stole about 20 DVDs from me and blamed it on a break-in.

 

The last time I smoked pot I spent $34 at Taco Bell.


I'm now drug free.

 

My sister-in-law got mixed up in meth a few years ago. She cruised right through the typical sores on her face and the emaciated, bony appearance and jumped deep into the paranoia stage. She got it in her mind that one of her friends/customers/dealers - whatever he was - was molesting her sons, ages 7 & 11 at the time. She ignored the fact that she had repeatedly left them with him while she was out doing her thing, and they had never complained. She even took them to the hospital to have them checked where they kept denying that anything had happened. She was so convinced that she borrowed a friend's car and pistol and took the guy for a ride. She stopped on the side of the road and asked him to find something in the back seat, then she shot him in the back of the head and left him in the ditch. His body was found the next day, and she eventually plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and is serving 15 years in prison.

 

My ex lived in a little town in Florida called Groveland. This was a very rural town that was an odd mix of locals and very rich individuals who used to live in Orlando but got tired of the city life but still didn't want to be too far from civilization. Anyhow, my ex and her parents were the latter so the house they lived in was on an island in the middle of a lake, very pretty and very secluded. At night when I would spend the night there the dad and me would sometimes go out and look for gators, shoot the .22 at raccoons or something of the like. Almost every time I would go out at night I would hear the distinct sound of an explosion somewhere in the distance. When I first heard this I just assumed it was fireworks or something. So the next morning when I casually mention to my ex about the late night fireworks she started laughing and told me I heard a meth lab blowing up. Sure enough when we went out to breakfast that day they ran into a local cop friend who looked tired as hell because he was up all night taking reports from people who were involved with a meth lab incident that night.

After taking to that cop and the dad over time I learned that there were a lot of people, more then I expected who cooked meth at home as their primary means of support and would sell it to their customers in Orlando, which is only a hour away. Apparently its very good business for these folk, so good in fact that they try and cook as much meth as fast as they can, which has the unfortunate side effect of a higher then usual explosion rate.

I personally have never done drugs, mainly for two reasons. Never really saw the appeal and I needed a squeaky clean background for my job. But in college me and my friends would sometimes drive through the area the locals referred to "French town" to see the crack dealers and prostitutes. I just found it fascinating at the time that people would stand on corners selling either crack or their bodies. On one outing my ex didn't believe that those women were actually prostitutes. They were just slowly wandering the streets at 3 in the morning apparently. So when I decided to roll down my window as I was up along side one and the woman turns and yells, "Hey baby, you want your dick sucked!?" This was followed by my ex yelling and screaming for us to get the fuck out.

Oh college.

 

I did meth everyday for about 2 years then just once in a while for a year or so, and it was a very bad time in my life but it was fun at the beginning. When I first started snorting meth I could go to the bar and drink about 20 beers, stay up all night and bang some nasty bar skank for hours and go to work the next morning with no sleep and a little bump. That was all well and good for a few months then it catches up to you, the lack of food and sleep as well as your dependence on it starts to jack with you. I lasted about a year doing meth and having a job then I quit or was fired. By then I had good connections and could buy in bulk and sell to a few of my drug friends to support my habit, I did odd jobs to make money.
It got to the point where I was doing about an 8 ball a day (smoking it and snorting it), I was friends with the guy I bought it from and helped him with basic stuff like reading his mail, as he was an illegal alien and could not read or speak english very well.
That world all came crashing down once I got evicted and my dealer was arrested by the DEA with 12 pounds and sentenced to 8 years and was then to be deported. It was probably a good thing as I was very unhealthy had no job and was living with people a few days at a time and or sleeping in my car.
I finally got another job and basically quit meth for the most part only doing it on weekends or if I really needed it at work once in a while, it took me about 2 months of sleeping 12 hours a day to get back to somewhat normal.
Finally in 1999 I quit for good and have not done it since, to combat any effects I had from not doing meth I began to drink heavily which did not end well either.

I loved doing meth, it was like rocket fuel when you snort it you could feel it dripping down your throat and fire running in your veins it was awesome, smoking it was ok snorting was better. When I think about it today as much heartache and pain that shit caused me when I see people snort it on TV my brain goes back to how awesome that first one was. It is probably the worst drug ever but for the record I would be for decriminalization of it with a strong emphasis on rehabilitation and not incarceration.

Yeah, I have been told I am an addict and that I have an addictive personality, but I am an addict in anything I do. If one is good one hundred is better. The older I get the more I am able to recognize and deal with it, the hard thing is that everymorning when I wake up that addict is still there.

 

Weren't you the one that introduced that stripper to the board in the longest thread full of hypocracy and lies ever?

And if so was she one of these people addicted to pain pills?

If I am wrong. Sorry. It wouldn't be the first time.

Edit: I only ask this because she claimed to not be addicted to drugs, and only stripped because it was easy money.

 

I've never understood meth addicts. Granted, I don't know many, but the ones I do know were normal non drug using people that went to no teeth and face scars and Gary Busey crazy. What goes through someones mind to decide, "Hey, I think I'll start smoking meth today"? Even if you decide you need or just want to do some type of drug it's pretty well known that meth isn't even a fun one. I have an aunt that has or has had an addiction to pretty much everything bad, I'm sure she has tried every drug imaginable.

 

Cocaine I can say I honestly hate now. I didn't used to hate it, but when you add up the risk involved in aquiring it, the money you pay to get it, the short amount of time it lasts when you use it, and the self-hate, paranoia, and itch you can't scratch when it's gone adds up to one thing: you have a problem, and it HAS TO END.

Easier said then done. I nearly lost my wife-then-girlfriend half a dozen times because I was telling lies about where I was when I was partying instead (I had post-traumatic stress issues then and I was doing anything to push bad memories out of my head) and that could have been the end of me if I had gone too far.

No it isn't as bad as TV and movies would force you to believe, but in the end it is still evil and years later, I still get those "cravings" that gnaw at your cerebral cortex like "Gee, I would be having even MORE fun right now with a couple of cheap rails". This, my friend, is the voice of Satan. Ignore it. You're better off, you had your fun, it's time to put on big boy pants and find better things to do.

Ecstasy, however, is the ONE chemical drug I would still do (especially pure MDMA). Yes I know it can get tainted with God knows what sometimes, but I have done it probably more than anybody on this entire board and never once actually craved it to a point I went on a fool's quest for it. If you've never tried it I can't really explain why people love it but I could say that everything looks and sounds beautiful and it feels like you have the coolest, freshest mountain stream running through your veins. On the other hand, it's still a chemical weapon and must be respected at ALL COSTS. We're all adults, and it's your choice in the end.

 

One thing that wasn't clear in your story was how you made the initial decision to take meth. I (and I assume most people on here) have no desire to even see the stuff, because I know it will only end with me clawing a whole through my cheek. You mentioned that this was in the 1990s, when (as far as I understand) it was less common and its effects less well known. Did you just not know/understand the spiral that it would lead to, or did you just not care?

 

Every drug has a give and take, even if its not physically harming or addictive. Even the soft drugs. While I've enjoyed the fuck out of pot, it also tends to make me nervous around new people, an unhealthy eater, and less motivated. My biggest issue with smoking is that it can make you complacent and your goals tend to get brushed aside. Smoking is fun, but unless you've got your life figured out and a high disposable income, it probably shouldn't be an everyday thing.

And a note on psychedelics-- A unique irony to hallucinogens is that they can actually be positive experiences and give you truly amazing mind-opening epiphanies (as well as just a really good high), but once all the pretty colors fade, are you actually going to learn from what you experienced, or just want to buy more mushrooms? Shrooms/acid are non-addicting, (usually) have no hangover (actually more like an afterglow for me), and if you're comfortable with your life and who you are, really, really fun (if you're not, your probably going to realize it when you're tripping).

The problem is people tend to either hate the experience and never do it again, or become completely infatuated with it. I had a couple of years where I became a really unbalanced individual because I was spending too much time with my head in the sky. Like anything else, moderation is key.

 

I had never done any drugs up until the time I did meth, I had never smoked pot or anything I had only drank and my decision to do meth was a spur of the moment thing. I was getting a ride home from the bar with a some girl one of my friends knew, she asked me if I wanted to try it, I did and snorted it off a key and stayed awake the rest of the night talking to her.
I was convinced it was the greatest thing ever, it opened my mind and made me talk about anything and everything, it also made me want to have sex with that girl who, at 320 pounds was a looker, but I did not get lucky enough.

Meth will make you do and think things a rational person would never do.

I knew nothing about meth had never even heard of it and what it does, nor did I really care, I knew I liked it and wanted more. I can tell you it changed my brain, after I quit I did not get excited about much because nothing compared to the meth rush nothing is exciting.

The scary thing is, if I found some meth today I can not tell you that I would not do it.

 

I'm a semi-regular pot smoker (maybe once every 2 weeks or so). I've also done shrooms and acid. I'd like to try mescaline and E but haven't had the opportunity. My rule is basically to not do anything addictive. The worst I've ever been was after a very rough breakup where I was stoned for about 2 weeks straight. I was lucky in that this happened during a winter break in college so the negative repercussions were more or less nonexistant. Had I done it to myself during school, I might have not gone to any classes those 2 weeks. I see no problems with weed but the fact remains that while you are high you are going to be pretty unproductive. If you've got something that you've got to take care or a long term project going on, weed isn't going to help you make any progress.

Shrooms I've done twice, about 2 years apart. I didn't have any life changing revelations or anything either time. Both times, I had a blast and didn't really feel the desire to do it again soon. Plus, it does fuck up your stomach pretty bad so that turned me off it a little bit too I'm sure. I definitely don't regret it though since it is a unique and exciting experience.

Acid is more of a trip. I expected to be a bit of a nutcase while I was on it but it turned out to be a more lucid high than even weed. The entire time I felt composed and was easily able to carry myself as if I was sober. Everything was definitely pretty insane though. But again, no immediate desire to do it again. Good and very interesting experience. I might try it again, especially if I end up going to Bonnarroo like I'm planning.

 

My Best Friend: "How many joints do you smoke a year?"
Me: "Dunno. At least 365."

Pot, like any drug, is debatable amongst people. It's the only drug I actually defend. It SHOULD be legal, I've never seen it cause violence, and it it does wonders for my chronic pain and humour writing. When people tell me it's just like any other drug, it pisses me off. Why? Because people that don't know what the fuck they're talking about piss me off. Hey, I LOOOOOOVE booze. Love it long time, love it forever. But I cannot for the life of me explain why it is legal and pot isn't when anybody that doesn't have an ashtray for a brain can tell you that alcohol is more dangerous in every single way.

That doesn't stop either of them from being awesome, though. Can I get an amen?

My old saying: "If it grows in the ground, it rocks."

 

Yeah, that was a little presumptuous/preachy of me to say. I guess personally, it just doesn't jive with mylife to be smoking every day right now.

Stuff that grows in the ground does rock, except when we try to make it rock even more by processing it (re: coke). If I had a solid opium connection I would probably be buying it, and that doesn't lead anywhere good in the long run.

 

I have drawn the line at needles, thank baby jesus.

I have holes in my brain stem from all of the E I have consumed (not verified) and suffer from pretty intense depression, my head doesn't work quite right anymore. Regardless of the damage it has already inflicted, I would do it if it were around. I could seek it out, but I guess I've grown up a little bit.

Hallucinogens. I watched Gladiator in the theater tripping acid. Whoa. I always have had a great time on acid, but don't really care to do it anymore. I would do mushrooms again, provided the circumstances were right.

Coke, Meth, it all sucks. Makes me edgy and paranoid and that is not conducive to me enjoying myself. The ex did alot of coke, shit is awful. He lost everything.

Pot. I smoke EVERY DAY. I love it. It makes me happy and reduces the pain my body subjects me to.