Effy's (un)Closet(ed)

So I think in some ways, it’s both easier and harder to find those events than it used to be. In the late 2000s, it was really about knowing people who were already in that scene, which made it more difficult. Now this kind of thing has become more commoditized, so you can find those kind of parties on social media. But it also used to be easier to get into venues without an ID or anything, and now I think it’s harder to do that or to find places that won’t card/don’t take carding seriously, so be aware of that ahead of time if you’re underage.

In general though, my advice would be to ask any people you know who are in that scene. If you don’t know anyone, I would just Google “your city + underground raves” and see if you can find some social media accounts that post about events in your city. Some cities even have calendars for that kind of thing (https://19hz.info/Socal is the one if you happen to be in California, I think). Even if the events aren’t great, once you start going to events, you’ll be able to make friends who are deeper into the scene and can give you better recommendations. If you have specific types of music that you like, finding the up and coming local artists in that scene and following them can give you an idea of where those acts play.

There are actually a bunch! The biggest one is that I think series 4 needed two more episodes, one for Pandora and one for Naomi. I think that would have made the character arcs and the pacing make a lot more sense. I think that Freddie's death was unnecessary and there were better ways to wrap up his story. I think there are a bunch of characters, especially in early seasons, where it seemed like the writers didn't know what to do with them and so they're really not given as much screentime and dimension as they deserve (Maxxie, Jal, Anwar, Posh Kenneth, JJ, Thomas), which is especially disappointing given that a lot of those characters are played by Academy Award nominated actors.

Also, the way Franky's character was treated throughout series 6. Her character gets a huge personality transplant, and it takes away a lot of what was interesting about that character. Her complicated relationship with gender totally disappears, and we get a lot of weird queerbaiting with her and Mini that never gets resolved or even really discussed.

I think “Pop” is about Effy and Tony.  I may be wrong, but this was my interpretation of it:

Series 1 ended in March of 2007 and series 2 premiered in February of 2008, so series 2 was definitely filmed between those dates. We also know that Skins mainly filmed in the summer so that the actors could continue going to regular school as much as possible. Summer holidays for UK schools started on July 20 in 2007 and ended September 3, so my guess is they shot for the six weeks between those dates. They may have done pick-ups, reshoots, or supplementary content between September and January, but my guess is that that's when the majority of the series was filmed.

In gen 1, definitely Cassie and Chris. As time has gone on, I’ve also developed a fondness for Michelle - I think she was treated unfairly by the fandom back in the day.

In gen 2, obviously Effy, but also Naomi and Emily.

It gets kind of glossed over in the actual show, but she’s in Rome with her new boyfriend, Aldo. At the beginning of series 4, episode 5, we hear her over the phone and she says, “ciao mi bella bambini! I'm drinking a macchiato in Saint fսcking Peter's Square, exactly where we sat in the summer. I'm just thinking of you. Hope you're all right, darling. I'm having an amazing time with Aldo so, look, I'm gonna stay on a bit longer, sweetheart cos Rome shits on Bristol from a height! I'm missing you loads, and turn your mobile on, love, yeah? I'll call you later. Va fan, fսck yourself!”

The story of how that happened is fleshed out in Skins: The Novel, and it explains why Effy doesn’t get back to school until October.

I was not partaking last weekend, mostly because I have a broken foot and didn't want to end up in a situation where I had to be medievaced from upstate New York back to the city (a surefire way to ruin a wedding). I do think there's something incredibly chic about having MDMA lychee martini gummies on the half shell at your wedding, though. For some reason I've always found the idea of putting drugs in food to be very indulgent and opulent.

I feel like I've been doing this long enough and I'm old enough now to say that my experience with drugs is that I've done most of them at one point or another because I'm always interested in what different ways of interacting with the world feel like, but I actually don't do them that frequently. I find it to be a very vulnerable experience and I just don't love that feeling.

In terms of advice, first things first, I want to make it clear that I’m not advocating doing drugs. But I also understand that people are curious about them and I’d rather you have the information necessary to make better choices if you do decide to try them.  So many drug-related deaths are the result of misinformation, and I think it’s important to change that as much as possible. 

So a few harm reduction type things you should keep in mind when doing any drugs:

There are some situations where you should avoid drugs entirely. If you’re interested in trying drugs as a way to escape a problem in your life (including, but not limited to, anxiety and depression), you’re at a much higher risk for addiction than if you’re doing drugs recreationally at a party.  If you find yourself engaging in perfectionistic, compulsive, or addictive behavior when it comes to other things (school/work, video games, food, caffeine), you’re at a higher risk for addiction.  If you have family members who struggle with addiction, you’re at a higher risk for addiction.  If you have any type of heart of vascular condition, cocaine, MDMA, and amphetamines are ones to skip, since they increase heart rate and blood pressure. If you have family members who experience mental health issues, especially schizophrenia or psychosis, you may also be at a higher risk of developing those conditions, and it's a good idea to avoid risky substances.

Know how recreational drugs interact with anything else you take. For example, taking MDMA while you're on an antidepressant (especially an MAOI, but also an SSRI) can increase the likelihood that you'll develop Serotonin Syndrome, and taking cocaine while on an antidepressant can increase the risk of high blood pressure or a brain bleed. Combining two substances that are depressants (such as vicodin and xanax, oxycontin and ambien, valium and alcohol, etc.) can make it more likely that you'll go into respiratory depression and stop breathing. ADHD medications combined with a depressant alcohol or opiates can dull the effects of the depressant, increasing the risk of overconsumption or overdose. All this is just to illustrate that if you take a prescription medication, you want to make sure you know how any recreational drugs will interact with it before you take them. This also includes any supplements you might be taking (such as HTP-5 or St John's Wort).

- Know what you’re getting.  Some drugs look like one thing but turn out to be another or turn out to be laced with something else.  You can get testing kits online that can help you figure out if the drug you were sold is what you think it is or not.

- Have a sober companion. Having someone around who’s in a sober state can help to prevent anything really bad from happening.

- Don’t mix. As with mixing prescription and recreational drus, combining recreational drugs can increase risk to your system, and so can mixing drugs with alcohol.  In this case, “combining” is taking any drug/medication/alcohol up to 24 hours before another drug.

- Go slow and know your dose. Make sure to research the correct dosing for any drug you might be thinking about taking, and then take less of it than is recommended.  You can always take more if you’re not feeling an effect, but you can’t take less.  Also make sure that you’re taking the right dose for you.  Body weight, height, and gender can impact how drugs are metabolized in our systems, and so what works for your friend may be too much for you (although some drugs, like hallucinogens, are not bodyweight dependent).  Don’t try to compete with other people to see who can do the most.  Along with that, it’s important to know how long the drug takes to “hit”.  Sometimes people fall into the trap of waiting a few minutes, deciding the dose they took isn’t going to do anything, and then take more, which results in them having too much of the drug in their system.  Again, it’s important to go slow.  Take more time than you think you might need before taking another dose.

- Write everything you’ve taken down and never lie to paramedics. In the event that things do go south, you want to be able to tell the paramedics everything you’ve taken, in what doses, and how long ago so that they can treat you.  Paramedics will not report you to the authorities for taking illegal drugs; they just want to treat you.  If you’re ever in a situation where someone is having a bad reaction to a drug or overdosing, call the paramedics. You won’t get in trouble and you can save a life.  

- Do it somewhere safe, and give yourself time. Preferably in a house, without a ton of dangerous items around, where you are unlikely to encounter the police or other people who may cause a problem.  Whether or not you agree with it, in most countries doing drugs is illegal, and you don’t want a court case on your hands.  Drug addiction ruins lives, but so does being arrested for drug possession (in the US, at least), and being arrested happens more frequently.  You also want this environment to be one in which you feel relaxed and where nothing disturbing or scary is likely to happen.  You also want to make sure that there are no time pressures on you for more than the duration of the drug- clear at least your entire day just in case.

- Know the signs of overdose. These include blue or extremely pale face, difficulty breathing, vomiting, foaming at the mouth, seizures, cold and clammy skin, dizziness and confusion, extreme drowsiness, choking, gurgling or snoring sounds, and chest pain.

Other than that, how to reduce harm will depend on the drug.

- For drugs that are snorted, take care of your nose. Dilute it with water before snorting and rinse your nose with water after, insert the straw deeper into your nasal passage so that the powder doesn’t get stuck in your nose hairs, alternate nostrils, and make sure that the drug is chopped into a fine powder.  Use a straw instead of a dollar bill, and don’t share it with others. With too much usage, cocaine can create damage to your nasal tissue, so you want to be careful. 

For amphetamines, MDMA, cocaine, and other stimulants:  Make sure that you’re drinking plenty of water or a sports drink, and that you’re regularly going to the bathroom, since stimulants can stop you from urinating. It’s a good idea to avoid anything that might make you more dehydrated, like alcohol.  A guideline is to drink up to 1 cup per hour (250 ml) of electrolyte containing fluids, or up to 2 cups (500 ml) if you are dancing or in a hot environment. Popsicles are also excellent for this, since they’re mostly water but also help the oral fixation some people get when they’re on a stimulant.

If you have any other questions or questions about particular drugs, I'm happy to answer. In general, if you're interested in trying psychoactive substances, hallucinogenic mushrooms will be your safest bet, followed by LSD and MDMA: