Is smoking methamphetamine really all that bad?

[izzy31]

Is smoking meth compared to snorting it or taking it orally really that bad in terms of addiction? SWIM doesn't think smoking it even feels as strong as snorting it - it feels the same as if he swallowed it, exept it's instantaneous and he drips ALOT of sweat for the first 5-10 minutes. It lasts longer than it would snorted, but it definitely feels significantly smoother and less intense overall. SWIM read from many sources (even in uncle fester's secrets of methamphetamine manufacture 7th edition) that they wouldnt advise or condone smoking it, and even seem to discourage smoking it and suggest to use other methods.

So is smoking meth really any more bad for you than snorting it?

[Salvinorin A]

SWIM personally thinks meth isn't that healthy all around; however, smoking has a few other problems compared to snorting it...

1. If it's held in too long, SWIM hears that it can recrystalize within the lungs which obviously isn't too great.

2. Smoking often SWIM hears can hinder fluids going to the mouth, causing the gums to not hold up as well. (However SWIM isn't sure, SWIM thinks the lack of fluids is from just not drinking more than smoking).

Sal-A

[izzy31]

Wow, SWIM always holds it long enough so that there's little to no smoke that comes out when he exhales - not good I guess

[Salvinorin A]

Oh shit...well that can't be good. SWIM isn't positive however, he is not a meth user. But most of the people he knows that do it say the same results...

while vaporizing it, if they let off the heat, it re crystalizes almost instantly, so their common practice is to take a the deepest hit possible to force as much into the lungs, but then exhale it as fast as possible so that it does get stuck in the lungs since there isn't as much heat on it anymore.

Sal-A

[vantranist]

SWIM is sure that the cystals could not adhear to the surface of the lungs very well... They are moist and ridgidy... Most of anything that tried to recystalize in the lungs would be absorberd and anything i dont think would stick... not like it does on the tube of a pookie after hitting it...


In swims opinoin Smokiing is a much greater method than snorting... any damage ur doing to ur lungs probably isnt as great the the damage to ur nose when ur snorting that painfull stuff.

Smoking feels much more intense as well to swim.

[Jellyfish]

Meth crystallising on the lungs is a completely stupid idea!!!! Its water soluble, hence the reason it is so easily absorbed by the mucous membranes.

SWIM gets annoyed by the fact that such a silly story is believed by so many people.

[raven3davis]

SWIM has heard the same thing before!!! Meth really isnt THAT bad for you but you can sure make some bad decisions with meth. There aren't many drugs in and of themselves that are really that BAD for you except maybe inhalants. Its all about the decisions you make about drugs. Sadly, some drugs will do the deciding for you after a certain point. SWIM would thinking snorting it would cause just as much, if not more damage than smoking it.

[Heretic.Ape.]

If smoking just remember to brush brush brush those nice pealy whites

Reputation Comments on this post:

lol....i like that, spot on..

[noobadooba]

I Hate to be that guy who disagrees but yeah. Meth is BAD for you. It's probably one of the most damaging drugs there is, after even just a one night meth binge, theres pretty much nothing you can do to help speed up recovery because it's just that bad.

And if you binge on it for days at a time, well, enjoy your younger years.

[vantranist]

SWIMS mom has been tweakin atleast twice a day for the past 20 years... lests call it an average 1 a day, that comes out to 7300 times, she has no real physical damage to her... im sure its hurt some organs but not enogh to even go to the doctors for, her teeth are average for her age, skin, weight are all fine.

Theres not much damage there besides too the old brain... however thats mabye the most important thing.

What recovery would one seek after a 1 nite meth bindge... Comdown usually ends 10-15 hours later and SWIM feels compleatly back to normal after 1 or 2 days... and thats after not only a one nite binge but usaully 2-3 days.

[cyndi]

Swim guesses it is a personal decision that swiy has to ask himself. For swim it got bad, swim isn't and can't be a weekend warrior. Swim will binge till the ball is gone and find more without giving herself much of a break. She well really deteriorated with the last binge, but is getting back on her feet and looking a lot better. Yeah it can get bad. When swim was using daily for 8-10 years, she was crazy and suicidal and shot herself in the head. Yeah bad, uh huh. Swim is giving swiy the worst case scenerio. Ok Snort or smoke, swim doesn't believe it recrystalizes in the lungs. She also held it in a long time before exhale, that is how to get the best bang for the buck. Snort, well when she was hooked 14 years ago that was the only method she used. Railed the hell outta of it. Yeah bad burn and drip, but more intense high as swim remembers. But the comedown is as bad as swiy uses, binge longer comedown worse. Swim at 44 still has all her teeth that are white by the way.

[tweakerman]

Originally Posted by noobadooba

after even just a one night meth binge, theres pretty much nothing you can do to help speed up recovery because it's just that bad.

Swim would hardly consider one night a binge! Usually a binge on meth is 2-3 days or longer.

You said because it's just that bad but you didn't tell us anything about what's bad. Your comment makes no sense at all. You don't give any reason that it is bad, it just is. Just because you say it is, everyone is supposed to believe it?

Swim wants to answer the OP. Smoking really is not good for you. Not only are there the physical effect of long term use. Swim is not going to discuss those side effects because they may or may not happen to each and every smoker. But addiction does happen to each and every meth smoker Swim believes.

Swim believes that smoking is the most addictive way to use meth. More addictive than shooting, and way more addictive than snorting. Here is Swim's reasoning about saying that.

If you're a smoker, do you ever wonder what you are addicted to more? The process of loading the pipe, clicking the lighter, melting the shit, taking a hit, repeat, repeat, repeat? Or are you more addicted to the meth itself? Swim thinks it is a dual addiction, 2 seperate addictions working in harmony. The addiction to the pipe is pretty obvious when a smoker will smoke the pipe dry, hitting it again and again until the pipe is black.

Even though Swim may feel sufficiently high off the meth, he continues to hit the pipe. The urge to click the lighter, melt the shit, twist the pipe, watch the vapors, and take a hit becomes overwhelming. It becomes difficult to put the pipe down and walk away from it to give it a break. Swim is addicted to the process, the steps involved in the smoking, in addition to being addicted to meth..

Addiction to the pipe makes the addiction to the meth stronger. The addiction to the meth makes the addiction to the pipe stronger. It is a vicious circle, a trap, that, with continued use, becomes stronger over time. That "trap" makes it very difficult to stop using. Near impossible for some people.

The addiction to the pipe is called a Process Addiction, an addiction to an action or routine or process. see the page at http://www.answers.com/topic/addiction

[Horiz]

Originally Posted by tweakerman

Swim would hardly consider one night a binge! Usually a binge on meth is 2-3 days or longer.

You said because it's just that bad but you didn't tell us anything about what's bad. Your comment makes no sense at all. You don't give any reason that it is bad, it just is. Just because you say it is, everyone is supposed to believe it?

Swim wants to answer the OP. Smoking really is not good for you. Not only are there the physical effect of long term use. Swim is not going to discuss those side effects because they may or may not happen to each and every smoker. But addiction does happen to each and every meth smoker Swim believes.

Swim believes that smoking is the most addictive way to use meth. More addictive than shooting, and way more addictive than snorting. Here is Swim's reasoning about saying that.

If you're a smoker, do you ever wonder what you are addicted to more? The process of loading the pipe, clicking the lighter, melting the shit, taking a hit, repeat, repeat, repeat? Or are you more addicted to the meth itself? Swim thinks it is a dual addiction, 2 seperate addictions working in harmony. The addiction to the pipe is pretty obvious when a smoker will smoke the pipe dry, hitting it again and again until the pipe is black.

Even though Swim may feel sufficiently high off the meth, he continues to hit the pipe. The urge to click the lighter, melt the shit, twist the pipe, watch the vapors, and take a hit becomes overwhelming. It becomes difficult to put the pipe down and walk away from it to give it a break. Swim is addicted to the process, the steps involved in the smoking, in addition to being addicted to meth..

Addiction to the pipe makes the addiction to the meth stronger. The addiction to the meth makes the addiction to the pipe stronger. It is a vicious circle, a trap, that, with continued use, becomes stronger over time. That "trap" makes it very difficult to stop using. Near impossible for some people.

The addiction to the pipe is called a Process Addiction, an addiction to an action or routine or process. see the page at http://www.answers.com/topic/addiction

This is partly true, yes, however also completely wrong. Do you not think people can get addicted to the "ritual" of chopping into lines and railing it, or burning into a spoon, sucking it up into a needle, tapping the vein(s) and shooting?

[tweakerman]

Yes, Swim agress that "people can get addicted to the "ritual" of chopping into lines and railing it, or burning into a spoon, sucking it up into a needle, tapping the vein(s) and shooting". Swim did not mean to imply that snorting and shooting does not have a Process Addiction attached to them. Of course they do. But Swim still thinks that smoking is the most addictive method of using. Here's why Swim stands by his original response about that:

How many times does a typical user perform his ritual in 5 minutes?

The smoking ritual of clicking the lighter, melting the meth, twisting the pipe and taking a hit can be repeated every 20-30 seconds for 10 minutes or more depending on the amount in the pipe. The smoking ritual is short and repeated continually over X amount of time. Swim believes that the number of times the smoking ritual can be performed in 5 minutes can easily reach 10 times, with 15 times in 5 minutes not too difficult to attain. The smoker can take 15 hits in 5 minutes without much thought or effort going in to doing it.

How many times can a shooting ritual be performed in 5 minutes? Swim has not had the experience of watching a shooting ritual repeat immediately upon completion each time. Swim is not saying that it can't/doesn't happen. Swim has watched a repeat of the shooting ritual happen within 5 minutes or less. From observing the shooting ritual, Swim has noticed that the dose per hit injected is higher than the dose per hit smoking. While Swim is not minimizing the Process Addiction associated with injecting, but the number of times it is repeated is fewer and less frequent than a smoking ritual.


Is it possible for a shooter to repeat their ritual and take 15 hits in 5 minutes? While Swim will not say impossible, it is unlikely to be performed that many times in such a short time. The typical larger dosage would make it cost-prohibitive to take that many hits in 5 minutes. Maybe if the dosage was reduced for each hit shot, perhaps the shooting ritual could be performed more frequently. But the number of performances would still be less than the number of times a smoker would perform his ritual. Swim does not believe that the veins would stay open being hit so frequently. Would someone honestly give themselves 15 needle sticks in 5 minutes then 15 more 5-10 minutes later? Swim can't imagine why someone would do that, one larger does, one ritual performed. The smoker can take lower does more frequently without his lungs collapsing. The more times the ritual is performed, the more addictive it becomes. The smoking ritual then is more addictive than than the shooting ritual.

The same comparison can be made with the hot rail approach. The pipe being used must be heated to a certain temp, very hot. Swim believes that the glass will cool from that super-heated temp relatively quickly. Thus needing to be reheated to take another hit. That reheating of the glass will take too long to get 15 hits in 5 minutes like a smoker can. Yes, the hot rail ritual is no doubt addicting, but again the smoking ritual can be performed more frequently over a given period of time. The more times a ritual is performed the more addictive it becomes. The hot rail ritual can be performed more times than a shooting ritual, but not as many as a smoking ritual.

Swim respectfully disagrees with your assertion that smoking is not the most addictive way to use meth.

[psyche]

When swim was using daily for 8-10 years, she was crazy and suicidal and shot herself in the head.

Wow. How did he survive? Was there any permanent damage? Where did he shoot? Not many people stand saying they shot themselves in the head, altough it's not bulletproof method of suicide.

[Horiz]

tweakerman, I can see what you're getting at here, however I still believe that IV'ing a drug will always bring much more powerful effects than smoking or snorting in pretty much any case. And if the more powerful effects are desireable, then it's only going to be much more addictive. But in terms of ritualistic addiction, then smoking is probably going to be, as you say repeated much more often than someone IVing it which is completely probable but I'm still entirely convinced that someone who IV's a drug is far more likely to be pulled into addiction than someone who smokes it.

Horiz added 1 Minutes and 40 Seconds later...

Originally Posted by psyche

Wow. How did he survive? Was there any permanent damage? Where did he shoot? Not many people stand saying they shot themselves in the head, altough it's not bulletproof method of suicide.

She* and I hope I'm not the only one who caught the irony of your statement. (italic)