#GHB harm reduction

[teg-report]

GHB: The Party Drug with a Dark Side

Ah, GHB. The party drug is known for being between a “fun night out” and “why am I passed out on the floor?” If you haven’t heard of GHB yet, don’t worry—soon enough, you probably will. It’s popping up everywhere. You can find it at nightclub raves. It’s also showing up in living rooms. It is becoming quite the buzzkill in more ways than one. Welcome to this thrilling tale of yet another…

[nv-alexander]

PSA: HARM REDUCTION

This term has been getting thrown around quite a bit this year and I want to clear some things up because this is a very important topic.

What does harm reduction mean?

Harm reduction is the practice of reducing Harm or risk associated with activities such as substance use, self injury, or sex.

For an everyday example: a parent who says, "If you're going to drink, drink at my house," is actually promoting harm reduction strategies. If you are going to do it, do it safely.

Having a DD or using a taxi is harm reduction. Practicing safe sex is also harm reduction.

Harm reduction strategies for substance use:

- education on substances and associated risk

- creating safe use sites

- education on overdose and first aid

- providing new, sterile supplies for use--find out if your town has a needle exchange, never know when you or someone you know will need one

- providing test kits for fentanyl, xylazine, GHB

- public education on administering narcan

- legalization of recreational use of substances to ensure regulation of ingredients

- providing narcan

- creating crisis response units comprised of social workers and paramedics for people experiencing OD or substance related crises.

Harm reduction for self harm:

- using sterile blades

- cutting in places that are not potentially lethal

- using shallow cuts

- properly cleaning and treating of wounds

- education on first aid

- having a crisis plan

- having a safe, clean space for engaging in self harm

- social worker/paramedic crisis response units for mental health crises

Harm reduction for sex:

- condoms and contraceptives

- plan b

- engaging in sex in a safe space (swinger clubs actually fulfill this)

- getting tested for STDs & HIV (also many swinger clubs check this)

- taking PreP

- reproductive education

- decriminalized sex work (provides protections for sex workers and can help limit spread of STDs)

Harm reduction is a very specific concept and does not apply to politics unless you are promoting the implementation of harm reduction practices

Harm reduction is a public health issue. It is not "well person A will be worse than person B so we will vote for person B"

Harm reduction does not present alternative actions but ways to engage in high-risk actions safely. Using it to describe a choice between A and B is a gross misunderstanding of the basic concept.

Harm reduction is "if you are going to do it, do it safely"

[theharmreductionista]

Drug Harms chart: Created by scientific researchers from the Imperial College of London

source: http://thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)61462-6/abstract

[taketherest-blog]

Ur telling me you did ghb and ketamine in the same night and it didn't go well? Prob should be mixing drugs if you have no idea how they would interact with each other boo.

On their own I personally think they are pretty amazing, but I also don't make a habit of putting shit I don't education myself on in my body.

I’ve dabbled with enough of drugs on the entire spectrum at this point that there are none I would want to spend a penny on besides weed, coke, and molly lol with the exception of shrooms/lsd every other year besides that I hate all other drugs and have built such a bad conenection with them I just can’t handle them anymore I feel like I’m gonna die when I do anything besides those I hope all my homies stay safe out there shit is so unsafe these days :(

[ravelength-19]

Ravelength #2

  This time we will focus on GHB/GBL, a drug that is causing stir among the communities of queer ravers due to being easy to misuse, that can lead to overdose - often called “collapsing”. Despite being knit-tight with sex and parties, G is an addictive depressant that remains shrouded in myths and confusion. “G” has been around for very long, starting as a medicine and having caught the party scene's attention for its social and sexual lubricant, being called “liquid ecstasy” and far more powerful than alcohol.   Why did it generate so much controversy in the past years around the queer party scene? What are the alarming signs of G addiction and what kind of resources do we have to tackle it?    To explore these questions, for this session we invited Wanda Gaimes, party organizer and awareness worker from queer feminist sex party Lecken (Berlin), Filipe Couto Gomes (psychiatrist, Lisbon) working with addiction and mental health, focused on queer people, sex-workers and migrants, and Bernardo Rahe (psychiatrist, São Paulo), working in LGBTQ mental health and substance use and Mariana Cunha (pharmacist, Lisbon), working in harm reduction and drug checking with Kosmicare and Ravelength. The talk will be moderated by Pedro Marum.

[ameliaattar]

[darkwebspider]

Harm reduction guide for ‘G’

‘G’ is increasing in popularity, and for good reason. It has some extremely positive subjective effects, and relatively few negative side effects when used correctly. However, it can be extremely harmful when used incorrectly, and its margin for error is also smaller than for other most other recreational drugs. So it’s worth thinking seriously about harm reduction strategies if you’re planning on using it.  

GBL (gamma-butyrolactone) is a clear liquid that is converted rapidly in the bloodstream into GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid), which is the psychoactive compound. GBL is a liquid at room temperature, has a smell similar to acetone (nail polisher remover) and a very unpleasant chemical taste. GHB is a solid at room temperature, but it’s normally used in the form of a solution in water, where it tastes salty and soapy. GBL/GHB is very popular as a sex enhancer because of its arousing, euphoric, disinhibitory and sensation-enhancing effects, and is often used at ‘chemsex’ parties. You can find more information about GBL/GHB on Erowid and Wikipedia.

Despite being the precursor substance, GBL normally takes effect more quickly than GHB because it is fat-soluble and so is absorbed more rapidly through the stomach lining. The most important thing to remember about GBL/GHB is that its effects are highly dose-dependent. Accidentally consuming as little as 50% above your desired dose can temporarily put you into a sleep (’coma’) from which you can’t be woken up, and larger overdoses can be deadly. A G coma should not be taken lightly. Even if the person wakes up feeling none the worse for wear, there is evidence that these comas cause harmful changes in the brain.

Do not try to measure out a dose of GHB/GBL ‘by eye’ - use a syringe, a pipette, a graduated dropper or some other means of getting exactly your desired dose!

A comfortable starting dose is normally between 0.5 and 2.0 milliliters of pure GBL, bearing in mind that smaller people generally require smaller doses! When you’re first trying it, obviously start towards the lower end of the range, to get a sense of what works for you! Getting an exact dose is often more complicated with GHB than with GBL, because GHB is normally sold already diluted in water, with dealers often able to say the exact concentration. One milliliter of pure GBL makes 1.65 grams of GHB (when GHB is in its most common form as a sodium salt). A completely saturated solution of GHB is about 0.8 grams per milliliter so, as a rule of thumb, you won’t go wrong if you treat 2 milliliters of an unknown GHB solution as equivalent to 1 milliliter of GBL. In practice, it will probably be much less than this, as GHB is normally more diluted. But it’s better to start dosing with a small amount in every new batch, then slowly work your way up!

It is extremely dangerous to mix G with other drugs, especially depressants or ‘downers’ like alcohol, benzos (valium, xanax, etc), opioids, ketamine, pregabalin and so on. Please be especially conscious about alcohol, as it can be easy to forget you’ve used G and have ‘just one drink’. There are recorded cases of people in otherwise good health dying from respiratory failure after combining moderate amounts of both GBL and alcohol (e.g. one or two glasses of wine). If you plan on taking G, do not drink any alcohol before, during, or after!

You may want to use stimulants or ‘uppers’ to counteract the sleepiness that can be a side effect of the GHB/GBL. This is safe in itself, but note that it can also lead to overdose if the effects of the G last longer than the effects of the upper. This is especially likely with stimulants of shorter duration like (snorted) cocaine. I’m personally partial to combining G with psychedelics like 2-CB, LSD and on, which are more lightly stimulating than classic uppers and tend to last longer. The combination of G with methamphetamine or mephedrone is popular, and these are the classic ‘chemsex’ combinations. You may even want to experiment with perfectly legal stimulants like caffeine!

With any combination you try, please be cautious and start out with low doses of each substance, in case you experience an unexpected effect! Here’s a handy drugs combination reference if you’re unsure about any particular combo.

Re-dosing

Most people consuming GBL/GHB will re-dose throughout the course of a given night. This is very easy to get wrong, increasing the risk of an overdose. In order to re-dose sensibly, it’s helpful to know how GBL/GHB enter and are removed from the body (in technical terms, their pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics). GBL is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream and there is very quickly turned into GHB. You will typically start to feel the effects of GBL quite quickly, sometimes as little as 5 minutes after dosing. Personally, I usually start to feel the effects after about 30 minutes, and the peak effect after about an hour. However, this can be considerably quicker if I dose on an empty stomach, and much slower if I’ve just eaten a meal. Be aware of these factors before redosing - you don’t want to be caught by surprise if all the doses catch up on you at once!

GHB is also quite rapidly removed from your body, with a half-life of about 30 minutes (though varying up to an hour for some people). This means that about half of the quantity in your body at the start of a period will be removed every half an hour after that. Suppose you consume 1mL at time 0 and you metabolise it similarly to me, so it reaches its full concentration in your blood around time 60 (1 hour). At time 90, its concentration will be equivalent to the peak effect of 0.5mL, and equivalent to 0.25mL at time 120 (2 hours). 3 hours after your dose, you’ll be feeling the equivalent of 0.0625mL which shouldn’t be subjectively noticeable. Now suppose, instead of simply sobering up, you want to maintain something near the initial peak effect. Using these numbers, one way to do this would be to re-dose with 0.75mL every hour on the hour. The first redose, at time 60, would reach peak effect in your bloodstream at time 120 - summed with the 0.25mL still in your body from the first dose, the total effect would be 1.0mL. The second redose, at time 120, would then compensate for the removal of the previous two doses from your body, and so on.

Of course, this is just an example - the rate at which your body absorbs and removes GBL/GHB may be quite different, and you should experiment (starting with lower doses than you think you’ll need!) to see what works for you.

You should also remember that it may be difficult to keep track of when you’re due to take another dose, especially when you’re high! Try to think of a system that you’ll be able to stick to. You could write the time you last took a dose on your cup, on your hand, or send it to yourself in a text message. You could set a timer on your watch or phone. You could rely on a sober person (who you trust!) to keep track of things for you. Whatever you think will work best for you. It’s also best to drink an entire dose down as quickly as possible at the planned time, even though it does taste awful! If you mix it into a drink and nurse that drink for some time, as you might with alcohol, it’s possible to misjudge the timings and end up not spacing doses far enough apart. Remember that GBL/GHB is absorbed quickly, and it’s effects are cumulative!

GHB/GBL first aid

David Stuart has written an excellent guide to chemsex first aid, including a long section on GHB/GBL. I would recommend reading it in full.

The most important thing is that, if a person has recently redosed on G or seems very high, they mustn’t be allowed to sleep. After an overdose, the amount of GHB in a person’s brain will increase over time. They may start off simply sleeping, then lapse into a coma and finally suffer respiratory failure. Snoring or other breathing difficulties may signal that there is a problem, but you shouldn’t rely on this. If a person is asleep, there may not be signs that anything is wrong until they are beyond help. 

If someone on G is very sleepy, keep them them upright and in conversation to help them stay awake. If they fall asleep, wake them up by talking to them or gently shaking them. If this doesn’t work, use a pain stimulus, for instance firmly squeezing the trapezoid muscle in the shoulder. If a pain stimulus doesn’t wake them, they are officially “unresponsive” and in serious danger. You must call an ambulance immediately! Monitor their breathing carefully until the ambulance arrives - if they stop breathing, begin CPR.

If you are worried that you have taken a bit much, *please* don’t go anywhere by yourself, even if you are worried you are going to be sick. This is obviously embarrassing, but please tell at least one person who is relatively sober and can come with you or at least check up on you regularly. Do *not* lock yourself in a bathroom!

[buy-gbh-powder-online]

Buy GHB Powder Online

What is GHB Powder and Liquid?

GHB or gamma-hydroxybutyrate is a colorless and odorless designer drug made for getting people high. This chemical occurs naturally as a component in wine and in the human cells.

It is a depressant of the central nervous system which was initially sold in the food stores for enhancing the physical performance, stress reduction, sleep-inducing, muscle building, and burning fat. But today, it has no legal medical use.

What are different forms or types of GHB Powder and Liquid?

GHB drug is available in powdered and liquid form. This drug is taken orally and is not injected or insufflated.

What are the street names of the GHB drug?

The street names of the GHB drug are:

Gamma Oh Goop Cups Liquiid E Liquid Ecstasy 􏰀 Liiquid X Somatomax Vita G Georgia Home Boy

Where to buy GHB Powder and Liquid?

You can buy GHB powder  from qualitytripresort.com online store. It is shipped worldwide. We strongly recommend avoiding misusing this drug.

How GHB Powder and Liquid works?

The GHB drug acts at 2 receptors present in the brain, namely, the GABAB and specific GHB receptors. When it acts on these 2 sites, CNS depressant, stimulant, and psychomotor impairment occur.

GHB Powder and Liquid Overdose:

The overdose of GHB powder and liquid leads to severe consequences and in some cases, its excess of it also leads to the death of the person.

You must be careful regarding the dose as a small overdose can also lead to temporary unrousable sleep.

In such a situation, supportive care and keeping the airways open are the primary measures that can be taken.

How to get GHB Powder and Liquid prescription?

You can’t get a prescription for GHB drug as it is an illegal drug. Get it from our online store without a prescription. But we strongly recommend you not to use for intoxication or other illegal purposes as it can have life-threatening side effects which can lead to death.

What is the legal status of GHB Powder and Liquid?

GHB powder and liquid is a controlled substance and has no legally accepted medical use. Best Place to Buy GHB Online –

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[graduationemmasep]

This Is How Festivals Can Stop Encouraging Drug Abuse

“I had been in the sun all day, seeing bands and smoking pot, which made me drowsy. I tried an energy drink, but it didn’t have enough kick.”

This past March, I was in Miami for Ultra when I learned Above and Beyond was performing at 2 am the night before the festival. “There’s no way I’ll make it up that late,” I thought. “Unless…” and then my mind turned to drugs.

At the festival itself, which ran from noon until midnight, the drinks sold included a “Miami mule,” which contained vodka, ginger beer, and Red Bull. Still, the stimulant use I noticed there was nothing compared to Germany’s Time Warp, a festival which runs from 7:30 pm on a Saturday to 2 pm on a Sunday. Nearly everyone there seemed to have giant pupils and/or grinding jaws, and two strangers asked me if I had ecstasy. (I did, and I took more than I’d planned, partly because I’d otherwise have crashed before my favorite DJs hit the stage.)

People use drugs at music festivals for all sorts of reasons, but could one of them be the desire to stay awake for the headliners at the end of the night—or, in some cases, the following morning or afternoon?

“A wide range of stimulants are commonly used by party attendees to stay awake,” says Joseph J. Palamar, associate professor of population health at New York University Langone Medical Center. “These drugs range from caffeine to methamphetamine, with many drugs in between.” Some people use pharmaceutical drugs like Adderall for this purpose, while others use speed or MDMA, which are sometimes mixed with methamphetamine or bath salts. “People often use cocaine so they can keep pounding down drinks and not fall over,” he adds.

Anton Gomez-Escolar, a technician for the drug checking and harm reduction organization Energy Control, has also seen this type of drug use at events he’s staffed, but he believes the reason is twofold. People are using stimulants like cocaine, speed, and energy drinks to stay awake, but they’re also using more drugs at events that go late simply because these events often last longer. Another issue, he says, is that people take more drugs as the days go on because they’re tired and have built up a tolerance to drugs. In addition, people often begin buying drugs on-site, which are more likely to be adulterated, toward the end of events.

Most US festivals tend to end before midnight, Palamar says, but their attendees are more likely to use drugs to make it through afterparties or keep themselves going throughout the weekend. “It’s attending a festival multiple days in a row that can become really exhausting and even dangerous if you’re partying too hard or not sleeping, eating, or drinking enough fluids,” he adds.

Tessa Torgeson, a 31-year-old student in Minnesota, remembers using cocaine and Adderall to stay awake through a music festival that ended at midnight and after parties that went until sunrise. “I had been in the sun all day, seeing bands and smoking pot, which made me drowsy,” she says. “I tried an energy drink, but it didn’t have enough kick.” (Torgeson asked that we mention that this was seven years ago and she’s now in recovery.) One 33-year-old Madrid-based writer, who avoided using her name so clients won’t learn about her drug use, remembers smoking cocaine-laced weed and doing bumps throughout a concert that went from 1 am to 6 am.

While many people don’t think of caffeine as a drug, coffee and energy drinks can be risky when overused, which they often are at festivals and parties with challenging schedules. Jaime Schultz, a 24-year-old freelance photographer in California, remembers using an assortment of legal drugs to get through BottleRock. “I’d start my day with a cup of coffee, drink a Monster energy drink on my way to an event, have one to three beers or hard liquor beverages, then probably take the second half of the day to drink caffeine and water or a Coke at some point.”

Using any stimulant to stay awake when your body needs to sleep can lead to exhaustion, as well as undernourishment due to loss of appetite, Palamar says. “Being awake for too long on stimulants can also have an adverse effect on your mind,” he adds. “Typically, the real paranoia doesn't kick in until you've been up for 48 or more hours, but it can kick in sooner, especially if large amounts of stimulants are taken.” Under any condition, stimulant abuse can lead to heart problems, heat stroke, and anxiety, Gomez-Escolar says, and these drugs become especially risky when combined with other stimulants or depressants like alcohol or GHB.

Though we’d need more research to confirm this, Gomez-Escolar suspects that events could reduce drug use by having less demanding schedules. “Probably, by making festivals not too long in days and days not too long in hours, they could better promote rest and decrease the absolute consumption of drugs for festival goers, but at the same time, problems related to binge consumption might be derived from making festivals too short,” he says. “So it might be a delicate balance to study.”

If you’re going to a festival or another event with difficult hours, Palamar recommends getting plenty of rest beforehand (which could include a nap right before you leave), eating well, and staying hydrated. Gomez-Escolar suggests testing your drugs and deciding in advance how much of each drug you’ll take so that you’re less tempted to exceed it. And if you’re going to use stimulants, like cocaine or especially MDMA, don’t mix them with alcohol.

[pitz182]

Government Contractor Accused Of Plotting To Sell Drugs On Cruise

Two would-be tourists were collared earlier this month in Miami as they boarded a gay cruise, where officials said they planned to sell drugs. Peter Melendez and Robert Koehler allegedly hatched the idea in a series of emails before the ship was set to sail. They were caught, according to NBC News, because one of the men worked as a government contractor and sent the messages from his work computer. When authorities picked them up, they allegedly had 27 grams of MDMA, 18 grams of ketamine, 246 grams of the “date rape drug” GHB, 7 grams of Viagra and 5 grams of the ADHD medication Adderall in their luggage.It’s not clear when the emails were sent or what, exactly, they said. But, according to a police report, it was Melendez’ decision to send them from his work computer that flagged the interest of Homeland Security investigators. Reports did not specify which agency Melendez worked for. The men are due to be arraigned sometime in March.Last year, 38-year-old Storm Chasers star Joel Taylor overdosed on a gay cruise. In the hours before he died on an Atlantis Events-chartered ship, other passengers reported spotting him so drugged up he needed help back to his room. His death later sparked a broader discussion about drug use on party ships, and some dinged the floating festivities for failing to embrace harm reduction efforts that could prevent future fatalities. “The comments online say people need to take responsibility for their own actions—if they use drugs, they’re responsible—and I completely agree with that,” LGBTQ activist Jim Key told Quartz. “But because the promoters know that there are people at their parties who are going to be doing drugs, they share some responsibility there. If you say you have zero tolerance for drugs, that’s not going to stop people from using drugs—but it is going to stop people from seeking treatment.”At the time, the CEO of Atlantis—which brands itself as the world’s biggest gay and lesbian cruise producer—told the online news outlet that the company went to great lengths to ensure guest safety and offered full medical facilities and an intensive care unit on each ship. And, he added, medical staff don’t share information with the police.

[alexdmorgan30]

Government Contractor Accused Of Plotting To Sell Drugs On Cruise

Two would-be tourists were collared earlier this month in Miami as they boarded a gay cruise, where officials said they planned to sell drugs. Peter Melendez and Robert Koehler allegedly hatched the idea in a series of emails before the ship was set to sail. They were caught, according to NBC News, because one of the men worked as a government contractor and sent the messages from his work computer. When authorities picked them up, they allegedly had 27 grams of MDMA, 18 grams of ketamine, 246 grams of the “date rape drug” GHB, 7 grams of Viagra and 5 grams of the ADHD medication Adderall in their luggage.It’s not clear when the emails were sent or what, exactly, they said. But, according to a police report, it was Melendez’ decision to send them from his work computer that flagged the interest of Homeland Security investigators. Reports did not specify which agency Melendez worked for. The men are due to be arraigned sometime in March.Last year, 38-year-old Storm Chasers star Joel Taylor overdosed on a gay cruise. In the hours before he died on an Atlantis Events-chartered ship, other passengers reported spotting him so drugged up he needed help back to his room. His death later sparked a broader discussion about drug use on party ships, and some dinged the floating festivities for failing to embrace harm reduction efforts that could prevent future fatalities. “The comments online say people need to take responsibility for their own actions—if they use drugs, they’re responsible—and I completely agree with that,” LGBTQ activist Jim Key told Quartz. “But because the promoters know that there are people at their parties who are going to be doing drugs, they share some responsibility there. If you say you have zero tolerance for drugs, that’s not going to stop people from using drugs—but it is going to stop people from seeking treatment.”At the time, the CEO of Atlantis—which brands itself as the world’s biggest gay and lesbian cruise producer—told the online news outlet that the company went to great lengths to ensure guest safety and offered full medical facilities and an intensive care unit on each ship. And, he added, medical staff don’t share information with the police.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241841 http://bit.ly/2DEVill

[emlydunstan]

Government Contractor Accused Of Plotting To Sell Drugs On Cruise

Two would-be tourists were collared earlier this month in Miami as they boarded a gay cruise, where officials said they planned to sell drugs. Peter Melendez and Robert Koehler allegedly hatched the idea in a series of emails before the ship was set to sail. They were caught, according to NBC News, because one of the men worked as a government contractor and sent the messages from his work computer. When authorities picked them up, they allegedly had 27 grams of MDMA, 18 grams of ketamine, 246 grams of the “date rape drug” GHB, 7 grams of Viagra and 5 grams of the ADHD medication Adderall in their luggage.It’s not clear when the emails were sent or what, exactly, they said. But, according to a police report, it was Melendez’ decision to send them from his work computer that flagged the interest of Homeland Security investigators. Reports did not specify which agency Melendez worked for. The men are due to be arraigned sometime in March.Last year, 38-year-old Storm Chasers star Joel Taylor overdosed on a gay cruise. In the hours before he died on an Atlantis Events-chartered ship, other passengers reported spotting him so drugged up he needed help back to his room. His death later sparked a broader discussion about drug use on party ships, and some dinged the floating festivities for failing to embrace harm reduction efforts that could prevent future fatalities. “The comments online say people need to take responsibility for their own actions—if they use drugs, they’re responsible—and I completely agree with that,” LGBTQ activist Jim Key told Quartz. “But because the promoters know that there are people at their parties who are going to be doing drugs, they share some responsibility there. If you say you have zero tolerance for drugs, that’s not going to stop people from using drugs—but it is going to stop people from seeking treatment.”At the time, the CEO of Atlantis—which brands itself as the world’s biggest gay and lesbian cruise producer—told the online news outlet that the company went to great lengths to ensure guest safety and offered full medical facilities and an intensive care unit on each ship. And, he added, medical staff don’t share information with the police.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241841 https://www.thefix.com/government-contractor-accused-plotting-sell-drugs-cruise

[kootenaygoon]

So,

Fentanyl + Shambhala Music Festival = scary combination.

I was startled to see this article by Nelson Star reporter Tyler Harper, which says fentanyl was more prevalent at last year’s event than was previously reported. This is important work by one of the Kootenays’ finest journalists, and it should alarm any thinking person. 

The specific findings will ultimately be published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health and co-author Chloe Sage of the harm reduction tent (ANKORS) has warned that much of this is due to cross-contamination, meaning people are taking this shit by mistake. 

“The problem is even with a small percentage, when you’ve got a population of people who are opioid naïve, meaning they don’t have a tolerance for it, it really is a death sentence if they accidentally do get fentanyl in their body.”

Glad to see they’re still using my photos, and linking to my feature article from last year “Meet Doctor Shambhala”. I got to cover the festival three times during my time at the newspaper, and it was routinely the highlight of my year.

All in all, I think the work Shambhala’s harm reduction team does every year is awe-inspiring, and I’m not the only one. Their work on mass gathering medicine is being shared world-wide, and they’re considered an industry leader.

Interestingly, I learned that GHB is the number one cause of overdoses at the festival. I knew a lot of people take it, but had no idea it had such widespread repercussions.

Scary stuff.

The Kootenay Goon

[fantaisie-pastorale]

Methadone

What is it? Methadone is a synthetic opiate. It was first synthesised by German scientists during World War II because of a shortage of the morphine that was used as a painkiller. It produces similar effects to heroin or morphine. Medicinal uses Although it was originally developed for use as an analgesic, methadone is mainly used today as a substitute for heroin in an attempt to relieve some of the problems associated with heroin addiction. It is usually prescribed as a liquid syrup to be swallowed but it is also manufactured as tablets and ampoules for injection. Methadone mimics many of the effects of opiates such as heroin. Methadone maintenance programmes are intended to reduce the risks associated with heroin addicts who use illicit sources for their drugs. It is presumed that these risks – such as heroin overdose, HIV or hepatitis infection from shared syringes and risks associated with the need for criminal activity to fund illicit drug use – are reduced if addicts receive a daily supply of methadone as a substitute for illicit heroin. It is also presumed that – given a regular supply of a prescribed drug – addicts will be able to lead a more stable life, as they will no longer suffer from repeated heroin withdrawal. The effects of methadone last far longer than those of heroin or morphine. They can last up to 24 hours, which allows an opiate addict to take methadone only once a day in methadone maintenance programmes without experiencing withdrawal symptoms. The effectiveness of methadone maintenance programmes has come under question in recent years and this remains a controversial practice. Methadone can also be used for a short period to help addicts get through the physical and psychological trauma of opiate withdrawal in detoxification programmes. What effect does it have? Methadone has a similar effect to that of opiates but not as intense. The fact that it is a slow-action drug that is usually prescribed as liquid syrup means the pleasurable feelings derived from methadone are far milder than those produced by – say – injection of heroin. Although methadone produces a mild sense of well-being and relief of stress similar to that of heroin, this does not mean that methadone is a weak alternative to that drug. For it to work effectively, methadone needs to be as powerful as heroin and many addicts have stated that withdrawal from methadone is worse. Abuse of methadone Abuse of methadone can take several forms: – conning a doctor into prescribing a higher dosage than is required; – taking more than the recommended dosage; – taking methadone in combination with other drugs, including alcohol; – using methadone as a ‘top up’ drug while continuing to take heroin; – selling prescribed methadone in order to buy heroin. A serious problem with much of the methadone prescription in the past was that heroin addicts were often given sufficient methadone to last one week – or even one month. As a result, addicts commonly sold their prescribed methadone in the illicit drug market. Schoolchildren have been found in possession of this drug and several have died. It is more common practice today to require addicts on methadone maintenance programmes to collect their prescription from a clinic or pharmacy daily – and to swallow this under observation. This is to prevent methadone from entering the illicit market. In 1996 more than twice as many people died in the UK from methadone-related causes than died from taking heroin. This casts doubt on the usefulness of methadone maintenance programmes and illustrates the danger inherent in its abuse. Consequences of methadone use and abuse Consequences for health If methadone is taken as intended by the prescribing doctor it causes no damage to the physical health of the user, apart from minor symptoms such as constipation, small pupils, sweating and itchy skin. The dangers to health associated with illicit heroin or morphine – such as HIV or hepatitis infection, overdose or poisoning are not present. Taking extra methadone above the recommended dose or mixing it with other depressants such as temazepam, alcohol or even heroin is very dangerous. This can – and does – commonly result in overdose and death of the user. Withdrawal symptoms occur when a regular dosage of methadone is halted. Although these develop more slowly and are less severe than those associated with morphine and heroin withdrawal, they are more prolonged and in many respects more unpleasant. Dependence Tolerance to methadone, (where more and more of the drug must be taken to achieve the same effect) and physical/psychological dependence on the drug may occur. Anecdotal evidence appears to suggest that methadone is equally as addictive as heroin, although the attraction of injecting a ‘fix’ (a large part of psychological addiction) is not present. Legal consequences Methadone is a class A drug and it is only legal for a person to possess methadone if it has been prescribed for that individual. If prescription for an individual involves drinking the methadone syrup within the clinic or pharmacy dispensing it, possession of the drug outside of those premises would constitute an offence – it would be unlawful possession. The maximum sentence for unlawful possession of methadone is 7 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine. The maximum sentence for supplying methadone (including giving some to a friend) is life imprisonment and an unlimited fine. Methadone maintenance programmes Methadone maintenance is commonly used as a form of treatment for opiate addiction in the UK because it could break the cycle of dependence on illicit drugs like heroin. Although methadone does not produce the same ‘high’ as heroin, it does prevent withdrawal symptoms and (hopefully) reduces the craving to use other opiates. The underlying rationale of methadone maintenance is that if patients are receiving methadone, they are not inclined to seek out and buy illegal drugs on the street, or engage in criminal activities to fund illicit drug use. Also, the health risks associated with injection of illicit drugs are removed. This approach to heroin addiction is often referred to as ‘harm reduction’ or ‘harm minimisation’ as its primary aim is not so much to encourage addicts to stop using drugs but simply to attempt to reduce the damage that such use causes to addicts and society. It has been demonstrated that the probability of a methadone maintenance programme helping a heroin addict to become abstinent from all drugs – or at least find a stable lifestyle – is increased if other help, such as counselling, advice and support is also accepted. Problems associated with methadone maintenance Methadone has been accused of acting only as a palliative to the problem of heroin addiction and simply prolongs drug addiction within any individual. Prescription of a substitute for heroin offers no incentive to abstain from using drugs and many addicts simply use it as a free ‘top up’ to their existing illicit drug consumption. While methadone prescription for a short period to counteract the symptoms of heroin withdrawal must have a place in addiction treatment, its widespread use could increase the number of chemically dependent individuals. Abuse of methadone maintenance programmes is common, particularly when the drug is dispensed on a weekly basis rather than daily. Prescribed methadone is frequently encountered on the illicit market and has recently been associated with a greater number of overdose deaths than has heroin. As previously mentioned, many addicts have stated that it is physically more difficult for addicts to stop using methadone than it is to stop using heroin. While methadone maintenance does represent a low-cost form of treatment for opiate addicts (and this may be its main attraction), it offers little or no incentive for an addict to stop taking drugs. Prepared by Paul Roberts in UK http://www.darvsmith.com/dox/drugtypes.html http://eliterehaballiance.com/drug-types-from-stimulants-to-tranquilizers/

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Prepared by Paul Roberts in UK http://www.darvsmith.com/dox/drugtypes.html #Stimulants #Depressants #Analgesics #Hallucinogens #Alcohol #Amphetamines #Barbiturates #Cannabis #Cocaine #Ecstasy #GHB #Heroin #Inhalants #LSD #Methadone #’Magic’ Mushrooms #Tranquilizers

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