Brownwood Drugs: "Deep in the Heart of Texas" !
crystal meth
to view the above article cut and paste this address: www.doitnow.org/pdfs/comeback.pdf
(crystal methamphetamine, tina, crystal meths, krank, tweak, ice)
Crystal meth is an intensive stimulant with disinhibitory qualities
Once very big amongst some of the US gay community but now spreading fast into mainstream culture, meth was originally used by bikers and truckers to stay awake on long journeys. Crystal is made of highly volatile, toxic substances (based on such chemical "precursors" as methylamine and amyl amine) that are melded in differing combinations, forming what some have described as a "mix of laundry detergent and lighter fluid."
The mixes are never exactly the same, but basic types are a rough yellow substance called Hydro and a smooth white blend called Glass. Half a gram costs around £25 and a £15 hit would probably keep you going for a few days.
The drug can either be snorted or injected, or in its crystal form 'ice' smoked in a pipe, and brings on a feeling of exhilaration and a sharpening of focus. Smoking ice results in an instantaneous dose of almost pure drug to the brain, giving a huge rush followed by a feeling of euphoria for anything from 2-16 hours.
For some this could result in obsessive cleaning or tidying, but for many the biggest bonus is the sense of sexual liberation which can result in mad, abandoned sex for hours - sometimes days - on end.
It's ability to keep users awake and feeling good for long periods have resulted in the drug making heavy inroads into the US gay dance scene, although its use is still rare in the UK.
Side effects: The biggest risk is from the increased chance of HIV infection through unprotected and uninhibited sex while under the influence of meth. The liberating nature of the drug means that often safe sex is discarded while sexual activity increases greatly. It has been reported in the States that in almost half of the new AIDS cases, crystal meth has been a factor.
Smoking ice results in body temperature rises and rapid cardiac and respiratory rates developing as the blood pressure increases. The drug can lead to hallucinations, paranoia, and bizarre, aggressive and psychotic behaviour.
Health risks: The effects and dependence potential of meth are similar to that of amphetamine misuse, although as the stuff is a lot stronger, the dangers involved are greater with an increased chance of overdose.
Overuse can bring on paranoia, short term memory loss, wild rages and mood swings as well as damage to your immune system. As far as we know, it is not physically addictive, although many have quickly developed a very strong psychological and damaging dependence for the drug.
Overdosing can lead to severe convulsions followed by circulatory and respiratory collapse, coma and death. Some people have died after taking small doses.
source: http://www.urban75.com/Drugs/meth.html
Deadly Behavior: HIV 'supervirus' must be seen as a warning
10:01 PM CST on Sunday, February 20, 2005
In a scathing screed delivered last November, AIDS patient and ACT-UP founder Larry Kramer roared, "One of these days the miraculous drugs we have to keep us alive are going to stop working ... What are we going to do when they don't work any longer?"
We may be about to find out. Health officials in New York City have identified what they suspect is a drug-resistant "supervirus" form of HIV, one that can take the patient from infection to full-blown AIDS in only three months. The supervirus was discovered in an unidentified male patient who admits to unprotected sex with hundreds of men, often while high on crystal methamphetamine, which has become popular as a sex enhancer.
It's too early to know whether the mutation will spread, but AIDS activists fear the worst. The New York Times reports that some gay leaders are considering radical steps to fight risky sexual behavior in the gay community. Good. Silence or timidity could cost lives.
AIDS experts have warned for some time that a reckless gay subculture, in which carriers of different strains of the virus have frequent unprotected sex, would eventually produce a drug-resistant HIV mutation. If that has happened, we must face the stark possibility that 25 years of progress in controlling AIDS could be in jeopardy. There are political risks as well: Those who peddle homophobia will surely exploit any evidence that gay men themselves are prolonging the epidemic through suicidal acts.
For too long, well-meaning people, both gay and straight, have been reluctant to denounce this shadowy underside of the AIDS epidemic because of what New York City's health commissioner referred to last week as "the population and political context in which it arose." Yet who is served by such reticence? Deadly behavior is deadly behavior – whether sharing needles or indulging in unprotected sex. If we care about someone, we have an obligation to call them on it.
Begging his peers to grasp the seriousness of the threat – even before the revelation of this new HIV strain – Mr. Kramer told them, "You cannot continue to allow yourselves and each other to act and live like this!"
He's right. Now is not the time for the band to play on, again.
source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/stories/022105dnediaidsnyc.8de9a.html
also see:
[PDF] Crystal's Comeback
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat
... They’re just shooting what they’re making.” And Brownwood chemists take crystal ...
There’s even purple meth.” The drug’s effects are as different as ...
www.doitnow.org/pdfs/comeback.pdf - Similar pages
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