Ber Chipine

QUICK FACTS

1. Meth doesn’t cause teeth to rot or people to ‘age’ prematurely. LACK OF SLEEP AND FLUIDS DO! So make sure to drink fluids and get sleep! Meth is no more dangerous to your sleep and dehydration than Adderall, it’s just stigmatized because it’s not sold by the government. In fact, Adderall and street meth are nearly identical and have the same ‘side effects’ of trouble sleeping, dry mouth, etc. This is due to the nature of amphetamines in general and not methamphetamine specifically. Stigmatizing those who’ve used meth as the scum of the Earth without recognizing the dozens of legal, prescribed versions of virtually the exact same thing handed out by MD’s every single day is ridiculous.

2. Meth is no more addictive than Alcohol. Only 15% of people who try meth become addicted. If you’re prone to addiction, stay away from all substances. Meth is not going to magically turn you into a ‘junkie.’  Of the 12.3 million or so Americans who have tried it, less than half a million (3.6 percent) currently use it even as often as once a month. Again, ALL substances, in the hands of someone who is prone to addiction is a bad idea and everything including something as socially acceptable as alcohol can destroy your life. There is not anything specific to meth that turns people who are otherwise not prone to addiction into raving junkies living on the street and turning tricks to get a fix. If you’d like to dispute this, FOLLOW THE LINKS TO THE SOURCES. These are statistical FACTS and whether you like it or not, FACTS prove my point. Feel free to read and RE read the first few sentences of this paragraph as many times as it takes to comprehend.

3. There have been no conclusive studies linking meth to brain damage in human beings.  “The brain imaging literature is replete with a general tendency to characterize any brain differences as dysfunction caused by methamphetamine, even if differences are within the normal range of human variability,”  Columbia neuropsychopharmacologist Carl Hart.

LASTLY. I am not advocating people go do meth. I am providing these facts so that past and present users of meth can be understood as people who do not deserve to be targeted as scum and instantly vilified for choosing a drug that has an unfairly harsh and inaccurate public perception due to the continued misinformation being spread by people who believe a ‘FACES OF METH’ poster to be a fine replacement for statistical and scientific data. There is an effort to dehumanize people who do meth and those who truly DO need our help and understanding to pull themselves out of the sinking hole of addiction are often shunned due to being written off as human trash as soon as anyone hears the word ‘meth.’ This post is my small effort to educate in place of the hate.

http://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2014/02/27/scientist-says-meth-isnt-so-bad-doesnt-even-cause-ugliness-or-tooth-loss

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/22/meth_madness_how_american_medias_drug_hysteria_vilifies_the_poor_partner/

http://reason.com/archives/2014/02/23/meth-myths-exposed

http://theinfluence.org/neuroscientist-meth-is-virtually-identical-to-adderall-this-is-how-i-found-out/

We’ve all been there but here are some tips to make it easier

1. Drink orange juice. Drinking orange juice on the night or morning after will make you feel so much better. I cannot stress this enough

2. If you can, eat an orange/tangerine/watermelon when you start feeling the comedown - your body needs substance and this won’t be such a shock to your system. If you start eating a lot of carbs on a comedown you might go into a binge for a few days however this isn’t the case for everyone so do what works for you

3. You will feel much better when you sleep, if you can’t sleep don’t worry that’s normal but when it eventually comes you will be good as new

4. If you feel like you’re going to die that’s also normal, I promise you that you won’t - you are just experiencing a little anxiety which will go away once you have slept, eaten and re-hydrated

5. If you need to, listen to Zen music on YouTube to calm down and help you fall asleep

6. If you feel alone, try and be with an animal/pet - you will feel more relaxed. If this is not possible you can call an anxiety hotline

7. If you can’t keep your food down try drinking something that will help you replenish your electrolytes. This will 100% help