ecaarch

G is hugely dosage dependent. When someone consumes a rum and coke, they can generally tell if the cocktail is "strong" by the taste. When someone takes a pill(s), they can count how many they are consuming and calculate the dosage. The problem with G is that it is mostly odorless and tasteless so when a bottle of swirl is passed around, the user has no way of knowing how "strong" it is. It is exceptionally easy to OD.

PS - For my friends reading these posts and wondering how I know so much, remember that I work in gay clubs. My personal lifetime substance use consisted of 1/2 a joint in July 1982. (And yeah, I inhaled, so I guess I'm not qualified to run for the White House)

airlinemileswhore

G is not tasteless by any stretch....you can taste it in your drink...

ecaarch

Not having any firsthand knowledge, I'll take your word on that one.

BKKboy

That's awesome!!! Props to you BigLar ^

Bbnewbie

While this may seem as a new subject... has methampehtamine abuse not been around for over 40 years. I believe that black mollies used to be taken as weight loss drugs...

Likewise, people are abusing non-illicit forms of Methamphetamies (adderal) but why is this claimed to be a gay centric issue.

Although I may be young at 27, still this has been around longer than some article that talks about gay people using it... dissapointing that this has been focused on our community...


Cy

Sassy!

I agree with the previous poster that there is a Gay Foucus on Meth where in actuallity it's in a lot of communities like the professional community who needs the NRG to meet those deadlines and production goals and give that self confident radiance needed to close the merger deal.

Meth is a problem in the county here in America because of it's use by rural residents and the manufacture of bath tub gin meth in rural areas.

The long time sherrif around these parts knows that I have a history of investigating out of place stuff I find on the road side. About 2 years ago he told me to stop. He was aftraid I would get exposed the toxic bi products or run accross a black painted Wal Mart portable air tank with cobalt blue stained Anhydrous Ammonia fittings attached. Farmers around here have hit them with their "Bushhogs" (big tractor size rotory mowers) while mowing fence rows along side the county roads.

It's slowed down a bit now that the base chemicals available at drugstores over the counter now have to be signed for.

The crazy behaviour of some users, even after they stop, is due just as much to the nerotoxity of the Tulene, Red Phosporous, and chemicals in lithium ion batteries that are used as a sourse of lithium in manufacture. If you are unluckey enough to get a bad batch your brain is fried from the by products more than the meth it self.

Meth is still around though. My guess is we have just moved production from down on the farm to off shore.

trvlr70

I'm friends with a couple that owns and rents a beutiful mountain house in a gated community in the mountains of West Virginia. About a year ago, they were approached by a middle aged, Caucasion woman about renting the house. She paid the entire year of rent at once. My friends thought they had just gotten the deal of year.

It turns out, she used there house as a meth lab. Being in a gated community, the house had all the protections of not having police interference.

Sadly, the loosers destroyed the house. Each room was completely ruined. My friends are not having to deal with all this hell.

Moral of the story: don't have preconceived notions about what a drug dealer with look like.

trvlr70

Sadly, Meth IS very prevalent in the gay community. I personally know of many accomplished, well educated people that are users. It is absolutely heartbreaking to me since I've never seen anything remotely positive being attributed to tina use. Things only go down from here.

Please, please never even consider taking this very dangerous, very addictive, and ultimately destructive drug.

Seeksreal

Although warnings about the drug are very important, I think it is equally important to always keep it in perspective. There are a lot of people who use this and most other popular drugs recreationally without becoming addicted or allowing the drugs take over their lives. Perhaps that is why they are so insidious and dangerous?

If people try it, they will most likely feel that the high was ok, but not a big deal and they'd think chances are slim that they'd ever become addicted to it. I'm not saying that anyone should try it or avoid it. That is an individual decision, but be aware that you are not necessary going to notice the addiction creeping up on you. I have seen it happen in many people, but I have also seen even more people be able to use it occasionally and then move on. It is not all black and white.

Historically there has always been a "drug du jour". In the 90s it was ecstasy, in the 80s cocaine, heroin in the 70s and LSD in the 60s. Who knows what will take over in the next decade, but I see a waning trend for meth in the gay community now. It will take time, but something else will take over.

robb

I think there are several fundamental differences between methamphetamine (meth) and amphetamine (speed).

I don't think anyone is claiming this to be a gay-centric issue. The media actually don't seem to be talking about meth in the gay community anymore, focusing instead on the massive meth problem in the midwest.

However, it is still a drug that is a big problem in the gay community and for a different set of reasons than it is in the straight community.

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

Wow not sure how meth got onto FT but I will opine my two cents anyway

First, I have seen people get caught by this drug, however, the same can be said about booze. But anything made from cleaning fluid and other such stuff certainly is not intended for human consumption. I don't think that if someone invited gay men over to his house to consume Drano he get much of a taking.

Second, it appears that this drug's use in the gay community is wanning because of all the tweeking messes. That or it has gone more underground.

Third, it now appears to be more of a problem with the population in general, particularly in rural areas.

trvlr70

I don't know, but I do think meth is different. I think the way it effects your brain is quite different from other party drugs. I've never seen anything like it before. Recreational users can go from normal people to people who have lost everything they ever held as important in their lives in quick order. It is shocking.

Take Ecstacy for comparison: Produces heightened feelings of empathy, emotional warmth, and self-acceptance. Users are polite and friendly to the point of idiocy. But(and this is important) even at its peak, users can handle important matters. It's not disassociative, that is, you don't ever feel outside of your own body so you don't do anything that could harm yourself. You still realize what is important. Your values don't alter.

Now with meth, things are very different. Users are shakey, paranoid, the have a hard time registering emotion, they bump you in a club and don't say "excuse me", they are impolite, and they don't care about anything anymore. And don't even get me started to what it does to the user's physical appearance. Teeth, skin, and breath are all shot to hell.

YVR Cockroach

Meth lab operators don't have to cause any physical damage. The byproduct of production is reported to be toxic (not sure if it's at the level of an EPA SuperFund site) not to mention dangerous (it can be highly explosive). I;ve noticed that cough and cold medicine containing pseudo-ephredrine now requires visiting the pharmacy counter in WA.

With drugs laws being less draconian north of the border, meth labs and grow ops (for pot) are a problem here. I've heard the industry is so profitable that custom-built grow-ops have been built and as long as crops can be harvested for over a year, the cost of the land and building has long been recovered even if seized in a drug raid.

trvlr70

The point of describing the destroyed house was made to demonstrate how chronic users just let their lives fall completely apart. Somehow, a person who grew up in a traditional home, could live in total filth and disgust when using.

stratofortress

I very much disagree. It's much easier to find a willing partner in just about ANY situation where the participants are predominately gay men (don't know about lesbians). I was "straight" once, and let me tell you - it's a lot harder to bag a girl than it is to bag a guy...