Raise the Hammer
Made from products you can find under your kitchen sink, Crystal has a long high and provokes sudden and violent mood swings.
By William Guyatt
Published July 11, 2018
As peer harm reduction workers, we "warm transfer" folks to get tested for infections. We share our experience, strength and hope to those who are in the jackpot of addiction. As former injection users, we connect in a way that no physician, nurse or social worker can.
That's because we have been there and we know that we could be there again. In a word, we are real.
Whether smoked, smashed, snorted or swallowed, crystal methamphetamine, or "Crystal" as it is called on the street, has overtaken crack cocaine as a drug of choice. Crystal's ingredients come from products which are stored under your sink - hence the word Drano.
An overwhelming high engulfs the beginning crack user, but that feeling soon goes by the wayside. Crystal, on the other hand, has a high that goes into the night, stringing out the user for days.
This drug provokes sudden and violent mood swings. To trip on Crystal is to be deeply and profoundly suspicious. If you enter Hamilton shelters, you will see young people with terrible sores. That's because users begin to pick. They believe that insects are erupting from their skin.
Peer harm reduction workers reach out to Crystal users. We want our brothers and sisters to know that they have not been abandoned.
Please join us in celebrating World Hepatitis Day in Gore Park on Friday, July 27, 2018 from 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM. The event includes one-on-one consulting, on-site testing for Hep B, Hep C and HIV, and giveaways.
This article was first published in HepC News, Issue 32, and is republished here with permission.
By sugarlit (registered) | Posted July 11, 2018 at 12:20:19
Thank you for actually helping people in the throes of addiction in our city, instead of exploiting or enabling them to suit your agenda or simply removing them to make room for the "creative class".
By TreyS (registered) | Posted July 11, 2018 at 15:35:42
Interesting article. Who knew Crystal was replacing crack?
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