Drug Use & You

[Clarence_Tillman]

I've seen a lot of people roleplay using drugs. It can add a lot to your roleplay but sometimes I see people not roleplaying drugs very well. I'd like to write a bit about it, and if you want to incorporate some of what I said into your roleplay, then cool.

Let's talk a bit about heroin.

There are a few types of heroin you can come across on the streets. For roleplay sake, the type of heroin your character get doesn't really matter too much.

Black tar heroin. This gets its name from the resemblance to tar, in both looks and touch. You would usually inject or smoke it, but it's not really good for snorting.

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Brown heroin. Lower quality and gives a bit of a different high than white heroin. Ideal for smoking.

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White heroin. This type of heroin is pretty pure. Although it's called white, it could be brown or any other color. It's often cut with other stuff. This is the type of stuff one would want to inject or snort.

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How quick and intense the effects of the drug depends on your character's tolerance and how he takes the drug. The three popular types of administrating heroin are:

• smoking
  
• snorting
  
• injecting
  

Smoking heroin, in my opinion, is pretty old school. This is often called "chasing the dragon". I've read before that this is a "good" alternative to injecting, because it's more intense than snorting but not as dangerous or taboo. Tar and brown heroin works best for smoking. What's usually done is someone wanting to smoke puts heroin on foil and heats it up. As it turns to vapor, they use a straw, pipe, or makeshift aluminum pipe to inhale the smoke. This is harder to do I'm not sure it's very common, as there are easier methods for determined people.

Snorting is when you use heroin as you would drugs like cocaine, through your nose. You can snort tar, but not as you buy it. You're going to want to break it up and/or dissolve it. Snorting is less intense than if you were to inject it, but it will still get you high. It takes longer to get to your brain. It's often considered safer than other methods with less of a chance to OD, and almost none of the adverse health infects that are typically associated with drug use, like HIV from a used needle for example. It usually takes 10+ minutes to effect you.

Injecting, also referred to as mainlining, IVing, or shooting is a very common method that gives users the most intense high, but it's also considered the most dangerous. As you're using needles, you run the risk of hepatitis and HIV. Addiction and OD is par for the course when you inject. It's very popular because not only do you get an instant high, but you get a body rush. White heroin works best and is favored by addicts.



This is a video on harm reduction and shows a safe way to inject heroin. Though if you're an addict, you're going to have a hard time finding half of the stuff in the video. So, practically, your average addict is going to have a syringe, a spoon, a lighter, and a filter. Commonly, the addict would put his heroin in a spoon and put a little bit of water. The addict would then light the bottom of the spoon until it's hot, then stir the mixture together. To filter out the heroin and make it safer to inject, it's common to put a filter in the spoon. Cotton works, but one could use the filter of a cigarette. With it in the spoon, you inject the needle into the filter and draw the plunger.

Some addicts inject into their arm. To do this, one would clench their fists over and over to find a vein after wrapping a belt or something tight around your arm. You need to be careful when you inject. Some people pull back on the vein to test if they hit the vein or missed. If you inject it into your skin, it's going to leave an itchy bump. If it really hurts when you inject, you probably hit your artery. A tip I've heard people doing is pulling the needle back slowly to pull blood in the syringe. If it's bright and fast, it's an artery. If it's darker and it oozes slower, you hit a vein and you're safe to inject. A user should make sure whatever was used to wrap around your arm is pulled off either before you fully inject, or immediately after. It's not uncommon to throw up a short while after injecting heroin. I've heard this happens a lot, but it depends on the person .

You don't need to shoot in your arm. You can have as much success with your groin, leg, hand, or neck. Too much use on a vein can damage it. Injecting leaves a trackmark that is pretty obvious but not always permanent. Users consider the body rush a huge advantage over other forms of use. This lasts a short while, but users report an overwhelming sense of euphoria. What follows after is a heroin high that can last a few hours, but a "glow" can carry on for a day. Your mileage may vary. A common reporting feeling is euphoria and safety. People who have used heroin said they feel secure and happy while high. An immediate side effect of heroin is constipation.



Heroin withdrawal is really rough and can happen as little as a day after use. Someone experience withdrawal can feel flu like symptoms, including nausea, aches, vomiting, diarrhea, and chills. Even if it's your first time, you can still get withdrawal symptoms. This is the main thing that gets addicts to continually use. Withdrawal is scary and painful, and most will do anything to avoid it.

A common misconception is that whenever you do heroin, you nod off. A lot of people who use heroin are high functioning addicts. It depends on your tolerance and how much you use, but it's possible to do heroin and leave a seemingly normal life. Depending on how your character doses, heroin can either make you more social and happier, or something to calm you and help you fall asleep. I've seen people get made fun of for roleplaying doing heroin and going to a club, but a lot of addicts need to dose to remain functional and normal. It's not that uncommon.