Crystal
Also known as: Crystal Meth, Methamphetamine, Tina
Pronunciation: meth-am-fet-ahmeen


"The first time a friend gave me some crystal I thought it would be just like coke. Two days later, when I still couldn't sleep, and had had so much sex that I couldn't walk straight, it was obvious that it's a whole different thing. I find that crystal makes most people feel invincible and gives them tons of energy. It also makes you really horny and heightens sexual sensations, so it's a great 'sex drug' if you don't mind being objectified or objectifying your sex partner(s). The term "Dick Fever" comes to mind. The down side is that, like most things, you don't get nothing for free. A big Saturday night with Miss Tina (crystal) is usually followed by what is affectionately known as "Suicide Tuesday." It's also the most addictive thing I've ever run across, and I've had a few friends really fuck up their lives because of it. So I treat it with respect -- actually, with fear."



Intro
Crystal methamphetamine has been around since the 1970s, but its use among gay men did not become widespread until the early 1990s. It has since made alarming headway. According to a recent report published by the National Institutes of Health, crystal methamphetamine is now the dominant gay drug problem in Honolulu, San Diego, San Francisco, Phoenix, Seattle, Tucson and Los Angeles.

Crystal in powder form is most commonly snorted in small doses (or bumps). Some say the drug heightens arousal and increases sexual stamina by delaying orgasm, but impotence is just as common a side-effect. Crystal produces what people describe as a giddy and euphoric wakefulness that can last several hours. Maintaining that high requires frequent re-dosing, more bumps, lines or tokes and makes crystal's potential for abuse -- even among new users -- very high.

What is it really?
Methamphetamines are closely related chemically to amphetamines, but their impact on your central nervous system is more acute. Methamphetamines bear a close resemblance to two powerful chemicals in your body, dopamine and norepinephrine. These drugs affect several areas of the brain, including the nucleus accumbens, which regulates mood; the prefrontal cortex, which plays a critical role in functional memory; and the striatum, an area of your brain involved in movement.

How is it used?
Methamphetamine can be swallowed in pill form, snorted as a powder, injected into your bloodstream, or smoked. Methamphetamine is neurotoxic. If you ingest it, the rush you experience comes from the forced release of serotonin and dopamine in your brain. Use of methamphetamine damages these cells by shriveling their nerve endings.

Some report that they feel "normal" even "superhuman" after losing a night or two of sleep because of the drug; people also report a feeling of being sharp or in control, feeling confident you can pass at work, for example, or fool family members. But this confidence is misplaced, certainly artificial and, of course, temporary. Wanting to prolong the high and delay the inevitable crash another hour, another evening or another day -- is emblematic of the drug's addictive character.

Depriving your body of sleep exacerbates the chemical impact of the drug on your brain. You become irritable, anxious, afraid, confused, aggressive and you may even experience bouts of delusional paranoia. In other words, you become a pleasure to be with.

Physiological Impact
Methamphetamine carries a high potential for abuse and dependence and the health consequences associated with prolonged use are serious. Regular use of methamphetamine has been shown to cause permanent damage to the brain by destroying nerve cells that produce dopamine. A similar destruction of dopamine producing cells is associated with the progressive and debilitating neurological condition known as Parkinson's disease.

More immediate methamphetamine dangers include a sharp spike in blood pressure, dangerously irregular heartbeats, chest pain, shortness of breath, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. The drug can increase body temperature to critical levels provoking cascading failures in vital systems. Brain hemorrhage is perhaps the biggest risk associated with use and abuse of the drug, which if not fatal, can cause permanent paralysis and speech loss.

Methamphetamine can cause brain damage that results in slower motor and cognitive functioning -- even in users who take the drug for less than a year, according to two studies by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory. The studies, published in the March 2001 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, found that meth use depletes the brain of dopamine transporters, which allow dopamine -- a brain chemical that affects feelings of satisfaction and pleasure -- to be absorbed back into the nerve cells that produce it. The depletion of these transporters may make meth users more susceptible to Parkinson's Disease, a brain disorder associated with dopamine deficiency and characterized by shaking and difficulty with walking, movement, and coordination.

You may think that recreational or occasional use can be handled and, perhaps in your case it can, but realize that no one who is physically addicted to or dependent on methamphetamine set out to get hooked.

Given the drug's powerful (some would say frenzied) impact on the sex drives of male users, Crystal meth is one of the most dangerous drugs in terms of protecting yourself and your partner from the transmission of STDs, including HIV.


by Christopher Barillas