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There are a few ways that guys do speed.
For the most part, the
methods depend on which orifice you put the drug in and whether
it’s
a solid, liquid or gas when it goes in.
Each way of doing the drug involves a different ritual. It also
takes a different time to kick in – some methods deliver
the drug to your brain faster. Remember, faster isn’t necessarily
better – faster
can also mean more addictive and it can involve more potential harms.
Here’s
the breakdown:
Swallowing | Snorting | Smoking | Booty
Bumping | Hot
Rail | Shooting
Up
 Swallowing
How
it’s done:
Can be taken in pill form by putting it into empty gelatin capsules
(available at most health food stores). Other people mix it into
water, juice, soda, or add it to coffee to make ‘biker coffee.’ Then
there’s ‘parachuting’ in which the meth is wrapped
in a small bit of toilet or tissue paper then swallowed.
Time to get off:
About 20-30 minutes – slow and gentle.
Things to watch out for:
This method involves the fewest risks.
However, it’s
not without risk, especially if there are contaminants
in the speed or if you have stomach troubles, like ulcers.
Swallowing drugs offers advantages to other ways of taking them:
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Your body has a safety mechanism
for anything swallowed that could be dangerous to you – you
tend to throw up or vomit.
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Drugs are absorbed more slowly
through the gut therefore the positive and negative effects
of the drugs tend to be less extreme; however, they tend to
last longer.
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The risk of getting HIV or Hepatitis
C is greatly reduced from swallowing a pill. |
Strategies
to
reduce possible harms:
Fill
the pill yourself or think twice about
taking
it, because who knows what you may be getting.
back to top
 Snorting
How
it’s done:
This is the most common method of
use. The crystals are chopped up into a powder using a razor blade
or Exacto-Knife.
The powder is inhaled directly into the nasal passages through
a straw or rolled up bill. Once inside the nose and sinuses, the
drug is absorbed by
the blood vessels.
Time to get off:
About 3-5 minutes.
Things to watch out for:
Snorting drugs tends to destroy the tissue
in the nose. The lining of the nasal passages is fairly delicate
and can be injured leading to nose bleeds, sinus trouble, and in
some cases permanent damage to the nasal structure. Sharing straws
or bills can transmit all types of germs from the common cold and
flu to possibly Hepatitis C (and theoretically HIV).
Strategies to reduce possible harms:
Chop it up fine, fine, fine!
Big chunks in your nasal passages can cause damage and often
don’t
get absorbed by the bloodstream. Don’t share straws or bills.
If you’re
trapped on a desert island and have to share a straw, clean between
use. This is no different
from washing dishes after eating. At a certain point, snorting
becomes an ineffective way of delivering the drug because the nasal
passages can’t
absorb any more of the drug due to congestion, over-use or permanent
damage. So, it’s
best not to snort speed like it’s coke – or switch
the way you do it and try swallowing it.
back to top
 Smoking
How
it’s done:
The drug is heated in a glass pipe
until it becomes gaseous (smoke); then, it’s inhaled
into the lungs, finally entering the blood stream via the lungs.
Time to get off:
Time to get off about 7-10 seconds – very
quick.
Things to watch out for:
Smoke irritates the lungs, which can lead
to breathing difficulties and coughing. It’s also most likely
carcinogenic. People with asthma, emphysema, and other lung problems
are particularly at risk. If you are smoking speed, you are most
likely going to consume larger quantities of the drug much faster
than if you are snorting
or swallowing.
Keep in mind, the time to get off is much quicker and the high
is more intense, therefore the tendency to develop addictions to
speed
using this method is much greater.
Strategies to reduce possible harms:
If you can, try to
set limits on how much you smoke or how often you choose to smoke
speed.
back to top
 Booty
Bumping
How it’s done:
Think turkey baster! The speed is dissolved in water then a syringe
without a needle is used to “bump”
this solution of crystal into your butt hole. The drug is absorbed
by the blood vessels in the lining of the rectum..
Time to get off:
3-5 minutes.
Things to watch out for:
If you bottom after booty bump, you will have something else in
your rectum besides your absorbent blood vessels and his big dick.
You will also have a somewhat abrasive powder which can increase
chances for internal abrasion and condom breakage. If there is not
a condom on that dick, you will increase the risk for abrasions
both in your rectum and on his dick and increase the chance for
exchange of blood. Possible damage to the mucous membranes, burning
or tearing of the tissue of the rectum which will put you at high
risk of transmitting HIV and other STDs.
Strategies to reduce possible harms:
If you booty-bump and bottom make sure he has a condom on. Make
sure you use clean water to dissolve the speed. Don’t share
booty bump syringes – you could be sharing shit which could
give you hepatitis, parasites or any number of diseases.
back to top
 Hot
Rail
How
it’s done:
The tip of a short glass stem, or the middle
of longer stem, is heated until it’s red-hot. The end of
the stem is placed over a bump or line. The heat vaporizes the
speed and the vapor is inhaled, usually through the nose.
Time to get off:
Similar to smoking, about 7-10 seconds.
Things to watch out for:
As with smoking, the vapor may be carcinogenic
and can definitely irritate your lungs. Since you rail through
your nose, so there’s also irritation
of the nasal passages to consider. The stem will be very very hot,
and can burn you or someone else.
Strategies to reduce possible harms:
The stem used for railing
could theoretically transmit HIV and Hep C. Have your own stem
and, if
you have to share, try and wash the
stem between uses and users. Keep your eyes on the hot stem before,
during and after railing. And have a glass or metal tray or dish
to put
the hot stem on after
you've done your hit.
back to top
 Shooting
Up
How
it’s done:
Crystal is injected directly into the veins
with a needle and syringe, commonly known as "works".
Other known ways of injecting crystal are "muscling" -
injection of the drug into muscle and "skin popping"-
injecting the drug under the skin. Muscling and skin popping are
not recommended because you won’t get high and it’s
almost a guarantee for an abscess.
Time to get off:
About 15-30 seconds.
Things to watch out for:
Injecting directly into the veins is the
most dangerous of all forms of administration, as this bypasses
all the defenses the body has
to protect its blood supply. Abscesses – If the skin through
which you inject has bacteria on it, you can develop an abscess
at the injection site. Sharing works can transmit numerous diseases
such as Hep B, Hep C and HIV. If there is a bubble of air in the
mixture, it can travel through the veins to the heart and cause
the heart
to stop. Any contaminants in the crystal will be
injected directly into the bloodstream.
Strategies to reduce possible
harms:
We have a whole section about this topic, click
here.
Looking for Needle Exchange in San Francisco, click
here.
Looking for Needle Exchange in Los Angeles, click here.
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