I have a heroin addict in my family - they'll shoot up anywhere they can. Fingers are hardly ever covered, you don't need to undress or go into a bathroom or anything. My family member shot up on her knees in summer....it seems also to be a matter of personal preference like where you part your hair or if you pierce your nose and whatnot. Hey - I knew less than nothing about heroin addicts before October 2015 - look at me now! Woo-hoo?
I believe it has to do with hiding track marks. The most common and visible area for track marks are forearms and back of legs. It's the place cops look at when they stop a junkie. So in order to try and hide their use they pick areas that are easily accessible and won't show marks.
Veins will only take so much so they find other places to shoot up. Been said that increase in heroin use is b/c it's cheap. For people who have chronic pain & can't get a prescription due to new regs, change in ins coverage, etc or use/abuse opiate meds, heroin much cheaper than black market. Interesting that heroin price dropped about same time as ins changes, new regs, etc. Couldn't be a coincidence.... :-(
I have never understood the heroin allure. It certainly doesn't sound like a lot of fun, all that vomiting and whoring yourself out and stuff. Not to mention, don't they just lay there after shooting up? That isn't even worth vomiting for, let alone all that whoring out.
Now, hallucinogens...they sound fun--what with all the visuals and flashbacks and all. Plus, I've never heard of anyone turning tricks for LSD. Do people do that?
Obviously, I know very little about all this stuff. Beer rules.
Thanks for all the info. My husband and I laugh quite a bit about our lack of "street cred" and how it gives away how uncool we are...mostly because 30 years ago we thought we WERE cool! Not sure I'd want to be cool today, though...very sad behavior and really dangerous drugs out there. :(
People cannot get prescriptions for opiates for a good reason - because they are users, just of legal drugs. I cannot even begin to tell you how disgusted I am with most of them. There are legitimate patients with chronic pain, however the majority that I have seen are drug seekers. I could tell you some stories
Hallucinogens as in XTC and LSD? There are some dangers involved; bad trips (this happend to a friend of mine. He almost stayed in it) or things that have been put in it that doesn't belong in there as in rat poison. That is why you need to have it tested to make sure it is safe and all.
Turning tricks for LSD? I could have sworn that it did happen, but I am not sure.
Actually over 90% of ppl w/ chronic pain *never* become addicted. Physically dependent, yes, but any meds taken on a regular basis equal phys dep. One big problem is that for ppl who are in pain (verified by xray, MRI, etc) often look as if they're drug seeking b/c they are...they don't want to be (& should not have to be) in pain. The media, etc skewed all of this to look like an epidemic. Very rarely do ppl die from opiates alone, it is when they are mixed w/ muscle relaxer, alcohol, benzos, etc that it occurs. Too many Dr's that didn't & don't understand pain that do not correctly treat ppl. And you can make a lot more $s putting ppl in privatized prisons for heroin than you can selling them meds.
And I am not suggesting people who don't need opiates try to get them, either. I just think the media, etc blew this waaay out of proportion & now many ppl w/ pain are suffering. The bottom line is $s. And it usually is. Sad.
Heroin is so 80s that I thought only extremely stupid homeless and crazy (in a literal way) people still did it. It amazes me that rich people do it these days having all those choices like coke, adderall, many others with English names I do not feel like to search, and even meth.
From what I've learned over the last few months, it's as simple as heroin dealers undercutting street prices for prescription opiates. Heroin is cheaper than OxyContin. Smart move, from a business perspective for the big time heroin movers. That how this one started - Oxys just as pills, that became snorting Oxy, which became too expensive, so heroin it was. When snorting heroin wasn't as great anymore, the needle was the next step. She was doing 20 bags a day before she went to rehab. I've had people tell me that's impossible, but it's been verified. She claims that on Fridays it was 30/day because party! but everything I know about heroin, I've learned since October. She has a 2 year old son - no idea how that little guy survived. I lived through the 70s & 80s and never had to deal with it. Must have been more expensive or harder to get then. Oops, tangent. I'm done, sry
Sorry to hear that KWU...I'm from a rural town in the Midwest and it's even made its way here....I know of 3 people from my area who have died of overdoses....it's really sad
There was a teenager in the news who died because of the dehydration they experienced while on E. They drank tons of water and it caused their brain to swell. I forget what her name was but it was awhile ago, maybe early 2000's.
I've def heard this, and my sister has been addicted for years. She gets clean then falls right back into it. She's lost all 3 of her kids and been to jail multiple times. Nothing will stop her. It's all about drugs all the time
A pharmacy tech??? You poor human!! One of my bf is a pharmacist & she def has stories! Big part is how shi##y ppl feel when they go off opiates, but that is phys dep not necessarily addiction & media's confused ppl by making phys dep same as addiction. Sure you're aware any time ppl take meds on a reg basis phys dep occurs. Stats are rare for ppl to OD from pain meds Heroin is another story. Most media coverage says "involving" & leaves out other issues (allergy, mixing, etc) so it is inaccurate. Where I am those drs are long gone. Where once drs overdid it, now decent pain drs only take high paying ins. Have a friend w/ neck probs was ref to only pain doc here who takes lower pay ins. She had clean history, in so much pain could not get out of bed w/o taking meds & waiting 1/2 hr. Dr would not prescribe but said he'd do surgery to take nerves out of her neck (there was no nerve damage). Sick. She ended up doing TM & alt med & no meds but the next 6 mos of her life was hell. So sorry to hear about your friends. :-(
Glad she got some help. And @ 2 we don't have same cognitive memory so very likely he won't even remember. ☺ 30 bags/day sadly not rare, tolerance builds over time. I know someone who used to smoke 15+ joints/day and actually worked, etc. Love to your friend & son. :-)
That sucks. I have 2 siblings who are alcoholics. One even has heart probs, distended liver, etc. Ppl forget the most commonly abused & worst drug to detox off of (health wise) is alcohol. It's bad stuff.
Dave Chappele ?
ReplyDeleteWhy would someone shoot up on their thumb and index finger? Seriously asking. I don't get it!
ReplyDelete??? No ideas Laura.... Doesn't sound pretty:(
ReplyDeleteEddie Murphy? It's the permanent A-list part that makes me think it's not Chappelle.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe Jim Carrey?
ReplyDeleteI have a heroin addict in my family - they'll shoot up anywhere they can. Fingers are hardly ever covered, you don't need to undress or go into a bathroom or anything.
ReplyDeleteMy family member shot up on her knees in summer....it seems also to be a matter of personal preference like where you part your hair or if you pierce your nose and whatnot.
Hey - I knew less than nothing about heroin addicts before October 2015 - look at me now! Woo-hoo?
Thanks, KWU. Sorry about your family member...it's becoming more and more common, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteI believe it has to do with hiding track marks. The most common and visible area for track marks are forearms and back of legs. It's the place cops look at when they stop a junkie. So in order to try and hide their use they pick areas that are easily accessible and won't show marks.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
ReplyDeleteIn the town where she lived at the time, 1 in 4 residents is a heroin addict. That's just insane.
Some people will even go as far as shooting into their eyeballs because there's no visible track marks left after.
ReplyDeleteI think it depends on where you want to get gangrene first., and notice it because you have a lot of tattoos..?.
ReplyDeleteVeins will only take so much so they find other places to shoot up.
ReplyDeleteBeen said that increase in heroin use is b/c it's cheap. For people who have chronic pain & can't get a prescription due to new regs, change in ins coverage, etc or use/abuse opiate meds, heroin much cheaper than black market.
Interesting that heroin price dropped about same time as ins changes, new regs, etc.
Couldn't be a coincidence.... :-(
I have never understood the heroin allure. It certainly doesn't sound like a lot of fun, all that vomiting and whoring yourself out and stuff. Not to mention, don't they just lay there after shooting up? That isn't even worth vomiting for, let alone all that whoring out.
ReplyDeleteNow, hallucinogens...they sound fun--what with all the visuals and flashbacks and all. Plus, I've never heard of anyone turning tricks for LSD. Do people do that?
Obviously, I know very little about all this stuff. Beer rules.
Thanks for all the info. My husband and I laugh quite a bit about our lack of "street cred" and how it gives away how uncool we are...mostly because 30 years ago we thought we WERE cool! Not sure I'd want to be cool today, though...very sad behavior and really dangerous drugs out there. :(
ReplyDelete+1 -- Think there have been statistics reported that prove this correlation, Cinabun. Sigh.
ReplyDeletePeople cannot get prescriptions for opiates for a good reason - because they are users, just of legal drugs. I cannot even begin to tell you how disgusted I am with most of them. There are legitimate patients with chronic pain, however the majority that I have seen are drug seekers. I could tell you some stories
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine (Rest in Peace) were a heroin addict as well. He used to be a model and pretty good, but later? Thin, toothless and sick.
ReplyDeleteHallucinogens as in XTC and LSD? There are some dangers involved; bad trips (this happend to a friend of mine. He almost stayed in it) or things that have been put in it that doesn't belong in there as in rat poison. That is why you need to have it tested to make sure it is safe and all.
ReplyDeleteTurning tricks for LSD? I could have sworn that it did happen, but I am not sure.
Actually over 90% of ppl w/ chronic pain *never* become addicted. Physically dependent, yes, but any meds taken on a regular basis equal phys dep. One big problem is that for ppl who are in pain (verified by xray, MRI, etc) often look as if they're drug seeking b/c they are...they don't want to be (& should not have to be) in pain. The media, etc skewed all of this to look like an epidemic. Very rarely do ppl die from opiates alone, it is when they are mixed w/ muscle relaxer, alcohol, benzos, etc that it occurs.
ReplyDeleteToo many Dr's that didn't & don't understand pain that do not correctly treat ppl.
And you can make a lot more $s putting ppl in privatized prisons for heroin than you can selling them meds.
And I am not suggesting people who don't need opiates try to get them, either.
ReplyDeleteI just think the media, etc blew this waaay out of proportion & now many ppl w/ pain are suffering.
The bottom line is $s. And it usually is.
Sad.
There is also the danger of dehydration if you use XTC/LSD with alcoholic drinks.
ReplyDeleteI can see this.
ReplyDeleteHeroin is so 80s that I thought only extremely stupid homeless and crazy (in a literal way) people still did it. It amazes me that rich people do it these days having all those choices like coke, adderall, many others with English names I do not feel like to search, and even meth.
ReplyDeleteI'll go with Jim Carrey. He's such a whackjob.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about the loss of your friend, @Me.
ReplyDeleteSorry about your friend.
ReplyDeleteAddiction sucks.
I think you got it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.adfam.org.uk/families/find_a_local_support_group/call_a_helpline
Where is that town? Seriously.
ReplyDeletePennsylvania
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've learned over the last few months, it's as simple as heroin dealers undercutting street prices for prescription opiates.
ReplyDeleteHeroin is cheaper than OxyContin. Smart move, from a business perspective for the big time heroin movers.
That how this one started - Oxys just as pills, that became snorting Oxy, which became too expensive, so heroin it was. When snorting heroin wasn't as great anymore, the needle was the next step.
She was doing 20 bags a day before she went to rehab.
I've had people tell me that's impossible, but it's been verified.
She claims that on Fridays it was 30/day because party! but everything I know about heroin, I've learned since October. She has a 2 year old son - no idea how that little guy survived.
I lived through the 70s & 80s and never had to deal with it. Must have been more expensive or harder to get then.
Oops, tangent.
I'm done, sry
Heroin reputedly gives you the most blissful feeling of all drugs but is also said to be the hardest to kick.
ReplyDeleteBefore coke was an 80's drug, it was a Roaring Twenties drug.
Dope...the worst.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that KWU...I'm from a rural town in the Midwest and it's even made its way here....I know of 3 people from my area who have died of overdoses....it's really sad
ReplyDeleteI thought it was in between the fingers / toes? I had a friend who I found out was hooked by catching them doing that.
ReplyDeleteWhen are we going to get a *LIKE* button up in this junt?
ReplyDelete'Cause ***LIKE***
There was a teenager in the news who died because of the dehydration they experienced while on E. They drank tons of water and it caused their brain to swell. I forget what her name was but it was awhile ago, maybe early 2000's.
ReplyDeleteI've def heard this, and my sister has been addicted for years. She gets clean then falls right back into it. She's lost all 3 of her kids and been to jail multiple times. Nothing will stop her. It's all about drugs all the time
ReplyDeleteA pharmacy tech??? You poor human!! One of my bf is a pharmacist & she def has stories!
ReplyDeleteBig part is how shi##y ppl feel when they go off opiates, but that is phys dep not necessarily addiction & media's confused ppl by making phys dep same as addiction. Sure you're aware any time ppl take meds on a reg basis phys dep occurs.
Stats are rare for ppl to OD from pain meds Heroin is another story. Most media coverage says "involving" & leaves out other issues (allergy, mixing, etc) so it is inaccurate.
Where I am those drs are long gone. Where once drs overdid it, now decent pain drs only take high paying ins.
Have a friend w/ neck probs was ref to only pain doc here who takes lower pay ins. She had clean history, in so much pain could not get out of bed w/o taking meds & waiting 1/2 hr. Dr would not prescribe but said he'd do surgery to take nerves out of her neck (there was no nerve damage). Sick. She ended up doing TM & alt med & no meds but the next 6 mos of her life was hell.
So sorry to hear about your friends. :-(
☺☺☺
ReplyDeleteGlad she got some help. And @ 2 we don't have same cognitive memory so very likely he won't even remember. ☺
ReplyDelete30 bags/day sadly not rare, tolerance builds over time.
I know someone who used to smoke 15+ joints/day and actually worked, etc.
Love to your friend & son. :-)
+1
ReplyDeletePpl forget after WWs how many soldiers were dependent on morphine.
That sucks. I have 2 siblings who are alcoholics. One even has heart probs, distended liver, etc.
ReplyDeletePpl forget the most commonly abused & worst drug to detox off of (health wise) is alcohol.
It's bad stuff.