Drugs


Moderators: Freakzilla, ᴶᵛᵀᴬ, Omphalos

Post Reply
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Drugs

Post by Freakzilla »

I try to teach my kids that drugs aregood but some people abuse them.

"Daddy, what's a crack-head?" is always a fun question to answer.
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
A Thing of Eternity
Posts: 6090
Joined: 08 Apr 2008 15:35
Location: Calgary Alberta

Re: Drugs

Post by A Thing of Eternity »

That's the only honest thing to say to kids once they're old enough to understand in my opinion. Because eventually they're going to find out that alcohol is actually a "harder" and more dangerous drug than weed is, and they'll wonder at the hypocracy that booze is legal and pot isn't. I'm not a fan of lying to kids, it messes up their respect for adults in general and is just going to lead to more drug abuse (I've had a lot of friends end up ruined from drugs, and a lot that turned out fine - how their parents reacted to their first experiments with pot and booze in my personal opinion had a big influence on which ones became dependant and which became recreational).

But that's just my opinion, and I'm hardly a parent so I do defer to whatever the parent wants. I would never say anything about drugs (anything positive) to kids who's parents were raising them to believe that pot is dangerous, not my place.
Image
User avatar
Drunken Idaho
Posts: 1197
Joined: 15 Sep 2008 23:56
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Drugs

Post by Drunken Idaho »

I agree that it's all about respecting the parents' reasonable wishes. And I actually don't find that last Fail pic to be too controversial. He's at some kind of concert/festival enjoying a hilariously over-sized joint which was obviously passed to him randomly. He probably smoked it because of the novelty of having the opportunity to smoke such a giant joint. And she's what? 3? She likely isn't going to remember, let alone adequately understand what she's seeing, so I think the only reason some might feel like innocence is being robbed here, is mainly because the substance is illegal here. I mean, what if it turned out the photo was taken in Amsterdam? Not quite such a Fail, is it? What if he was holding a bottle of beer? Alcohol was once banned in the US, and the result was a crime tsunami. Prohibition of marijuana in the US has ruined Mexico. I'll refrain from posting another Ron Paul video.
"The Idahos were never ordinary people."
-Reverend Mother Superior Alma Mavis Taraza
User avatar
SandRider
Watermaster
Posts: 6163
Joined: 05 Oct 2008 16:14
Location: In the back of your mind. Always.
Contact:

Re: Drugs

Post by SandRider »

man, that first photo is for-damn-sure a FAIL ... crazy bitch ain't broke up the bud or nothin ...
gonna try to get that sticky mess lit up ... shit, and then get pissed off at ME, cause she cain't get the pipe lit ...
................ I exist only to amuse myself ................
ImageImage

I personally feel that this message board, Jacurutu, is full of hateful folks who don't know
how to fully interact with people.
~ "Spice Grandson" (Bryon Merrit) 08 June 2008
User avatar
Abraxas
Posts: 17
Joined: 17 Nov 2010 12:22
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Drugs

Post by Abraxas »

I've done Marijuana quite a few times, never been a huge fan though. Whenever I smoke with other people around my anxiety gets the better of me. :?

Thinking of trying some lsd or mescaline, not sure yet though...
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Drugs

Post by Freakzilla »

Abraxas wrote:I've done Marijuana quite a few times, never been a huge fan though. Whenever I smoke with other people around my anxiety gets the better of me. :?

Thinking of trying some lsd or mescaline, not sure yet though...
If pot makes you anxious, maybe psychoactive hallucinogens aren't for you.

Just a thought.

:think:
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
merkin muffley
Posts: 1584
Joined: 23 Apr 2010 15:18
Location: War Room

Re: Drugs

Post by merkin muffley »

Also, if you're going to refer to it as "doing marijuana," LSD and mescaline would probably end up being a very dark journey into the mind of Abraxas.
"I must admit, you have an astonishingly good idea there, Doctor...."
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Drugs

Post by Freakzilla »

Sheriff faces meth charge in state ravaged by drug

Image

By JIM SALTER, Associated Press – Tue Apr 19, 10:17 am ET
VAN BUREN, Mo. – One county on the edge of the Missouri Ozarks seemed oddly immune to the scourge of methamphetamine ravaging the state, boasting few meth raids or arrests in recent years. Some residents now think they know why, after a meth bust landed the Carter County sheriff himself in jail.

Tommy Adams, county sheriff for a little more than two years, was arrested earlier this month after giving meth to an informant at his cabin on a remote and hilly gravel road, according to a court document. He also allegedly snorted the drug himself with a straw. Authorities would not detail the extent of Adam's alleged meth involvement, but charged him with meth distribution. He is being held in Cape Girardeau County jail on $250,000 bond.

Now, a county once seen as an exception has become the latest example of how deeply meth has saturated every corner of rural Missouri life. Other rural law enforcement officers have been linked to drugs over the years, but Adams is one of the first arrested for meth.

"I think it's pretty sad," said Vicki Babbs, 46, of Van Buren. "You've got someone who's sheriff riding around high on meth with a gun. It's pretty scary."

County residents hope the case sheds light on the extent of the local meth problem as well as other crimes. Days after the sheriff's arrest, his chief deputy, 23-year-old Steffanie Kearbey, was charged with burglary and receiving stolen property — a gun taken from the department's evidence room.

No state has been hit harder by the meth epidemic than Missouri, which led the nation in meth lab busts every year for a decade before Tennessee took over the top spot in 2010, dropping Missouri to second. Missouri has reported more than 13,000 meth lab incidents in the past seven years. The highly-addictive drug, made by cooking common chemicals, has caused countless fires and explosions, along with severe health problems among users.

Carter County sits in the Ozark Mountain foothills, surrounded by the Mark Twain National Forest. Thousands of visitors come each year for float trips and to visit Big Spring State Park, just outside of Van Buren, where crystal-clear water bubbles constantly into a meandering stream.

Just more than 6,000 residents live here. Good jobs are hard to come by.

Adams, 31, worked as a laborer around Ellsinore, his hometown, before getting his law enforcement certification about four years ago, and was soon hired as an Ellsinore city officer, Mayor David Bowman said. "I never had any trouble with him," Bowman said. "He was outgoing, friendly."

After just two years of law enforcement experience, Adams, a Republican ran for sheriff in 2008 against favored Democratic incumbent Greg Melton. But just weeks before the November election, Melton died in what was ruled a suicide. It was too late for the Democrats to replace him, and Melton's name remained on the ballot.
Adams won by a single vote — 1,424-1,423 — and took over the $37,000-a-year job.

Other southern Missouri counties have had dozens of meth lab busts in recent years. But Carter County had just five since Adams took over as sheriff — two in 2009, three in 2010.
"I think meth is out there and maybe he knew what was going on," Carter County Presiding Commissioner John Bailiff said. "I think a lot of people just turn a deaf ear to it, including maybe the sheriff."

Lloyd Parsons, 37, a member of the Van Buren Fire Department, never figured Adams for one of the bad guys. He described Adams, the married father of an infant son, as professional and knowledgeable.

"I've worked several accidents with the guy and he knew his stuff, even the medical part," Parsons said.

But Richard Stephens, who was a Van Buren officer before being appointed as temporary sheriff until a special election can be held this summer, said he had concerns about Adams.

"I had a suspicion that things weren't being handled effectively and professionally," said Stephens, 42. He would not elaborate, citing ongoing state and federal investigations.

Mark Alan Kennedy, attorney for chief deputy Kearbey, said his client had no law enforcement experience before the sheriff paid for her certification training, then hired her for the $20,000-a-year job.

He said Adams was the "instigator" of the crimes alleged against Kearbey. She is accused of selling a gun that had been stolen from the sheriff's department's evidence room and taking a duffel bag of coins from a house.

"We're hoping that an eventual jury will understand that this young woman was under a lot of pressure from the sheriff," Kennedy said. "She was new in law enforcement, and acted under threats of loss of her job or physical threats."

Adams and his attorney declined several interview requests. The Missouri Attorney General's office has taken over prosecution of the case.
Stephens and county commissioners are trying to ease the minds of residents left angry and disappointed.

"They're upset about the breakdown in trust," Stephens said. "We need to be bending over backward to try and regain that trust with the public."
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Drugs

Post by Freakzilla »

Meth did this to my best friend:

http://services.georgia.gov/gbi/gbisor/ ... =239822FB9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Known him since third grade.

He's a veteran.
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Drugs

Post by Freakzilla »

Far out: Magic mushrooms could have medical benefits, researchers say

Image
The hallucinogen in magic mushrooms may no longer just be for hippies seeking a trippy high.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have been studying the effects of psilocybin, a chemical found in some psychedelic mushrooms, that's credited with inducing transcendental states. Now, they say, they've zeroed in on the perfect dosage level to produce transformative mystical and spiritual experiences that offer long-lasting life-changing benefits, while carrying little risk of negative reactions.

The breakthrough could speed the day when doctors use psilocybin--long viewed skeptically for its association with 1960s countercultural thrill-seekers--for a range of valuable clinical functions, like easing the anxiety of terminally ill patients, treating depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and helping smokers quit. Already, studies in which depressed cancer patients were given the drug have reported positive results. "I'm not afraid to die anymore" one participant told The Lookout.

The Johns Hopkins study--whose results will be published this week in the journal Psychopharmacology--involved giving healthy volunteers varying doses of psilocybin in a controlled and supportive setting, over four separate sessions. Looking back more than a year later, 94 percent of participants rated it as one of the top five most spiritually significant experiences of their lifetimes.

More important, 89 percent reported lasting, positive changes in their behavior--better relationships with others, for instance, or increased care for their own mental and physical well-being. Those assessments were corroborated by family members and others.

"I think my heart is more open to all interactions with other people," one volunteer reported in a questionnaire given to participants 14-months after their session.

"I feel that I relate better in my marriage," wrote another. "There is more empathy -- a greater understanding of people, and understanding their difficulties, and less judgment."

Identifying the exact right dosage for hallucinogenic drugs is crucial, Roland Griffiths, a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins who led the study, explained to The Lookout. That's because a "bad trip" can trigger hazardous, self-destructive behavior, but low doses don't produce the kind of transformative experiences that can offer long-term benefits. By trying a range of doses, Griffiths said, researchers were able to find the sweet spot, "where a high or intermediate dose can produce, fairly reliably, these mystical experiences, with very low probability of a significant fear reaction."

In the 1950s and '60s, scientists became interested in the potential effects of hallucinogens like psilocybin, mescaline, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on both healthy and terminally ill people. Mexican Indians had, since ancient times, used psychedelic mushrooms with similar chemical structures to achieve intense spiritual experiences. But by the mid '60s, counterculture gurus like Dr. Timothy Leary and Aldous Huxley were talking up mind-altering drugs as a way of expanding one's consciousness and rejecting mainstream society. Stories, perhaps apocryphal, circulated about people jumping out of windows while on LSD, and some heavy users were said to have suffered permanent psychological damage. By the early '70s, the US government had essentially banned all hallucinogenic drugs.

But recent years have seen the beginning of a revival of mainstream scientific interest in mind-altering drugs, and particularly in the possibility of using them in a clinical setting to alleviate depression and anxiety. A 2004 study by the government of Holland (pdf) found psilocybin to have no significant negative effects.

Here in the United States, too, the climate may be shifting. In a statement accompanying the announcement of the Johns Hopkins findings, Jerome Jaffe, a former White House drug czar now at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said the results raise the question of whether psilocybin could prove useful "in dealing with the psychological distress experienced by some terminal patients?"

The hope is that the long-lasting spiritual and transcendental experiences associated with psilocybin could--if conducted in a controlled and supportive setting, and with appropriate dosage levels--help ease patients' fear and anxiety, allowing them to approach death with a greater sense of calm. (You can see one terminally ill cancer patient speak movingly about the positive effects of psilocybin here.)

Griffiths thinks the drug may have the potential to alleviate the suffering of terminal patients. He's currently leading a separate Johns Hopkins psilocybin study, using volunteers who are depressed after being diagnosed with cancer. "So far we've had--anecdotally only--very positive results," comparable to the study with healthy volunteers, he said. A study from the University of California, Los Angeles last year reported similar positive results.

But Griffiths said his study, under way for three years, has only recruited 20 patients, in part because oncologists are more interested in curing cancer than helping patients cope with its effects, so they don't refer provide many referrals. "Most oncologists just don't get it," he said. "It's not the focus of their research, and they're busy people."

But the experience of one volunteer in Griffiths's study offers a glimpse of the potential benefits. Lauri Reamer, 47, told The Lookout that she participated in two Johns Hopkins psilocybin sessions last September, not long after ending intensive chemotherapy and radiation to treat a rare form of leukemia that, several times in the preceding few years, had almost taken her life.

Reamer, an anesthesiologist from Ruxton, Md., with three young daughters, said that although her disease was in remission by that time, she was still suffering psychologically from the trauma of the illness and the treatment. She had walled herself off emotionally, she said, and was unable to show empathy for others or even for herself.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookou ... rchers-say" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The psilocybin had an immediate impact. "At the end of the session, I was just in this joyous, happy, relaxed state," she said. "The drug was gone--what was left was just this peaceful calm."

That calm had lasting benefits. Reamer said the experience--what she called "an epiphany"--gave her the impetus to get out of a failing marriage. Since doing so, she said, both she and her daughters have been much happier.

"I don't think it was the drug that did it," she said. "It was the drug that helped me find the clarity."

That's not the only improvement. "My sleeping has gotten better. My relationships have gotten better with people," she said. "The fog has lifted."

"The best thing it did for me was heal me psychologically and emotionally and allow me to be back in my kids' lives, be back to being a mother," Reamer concluded. As she spoke, she was taking her daughters--two 15-year old twins, and a 6-year-old--on a trip to Hershey Park.

And although doctors tell her that, thanks to the effect of the illness and the treatment, she likely has only 10 or 15 years to live, she's able to approach that challenge with equanimity.

"My fear of death kind of disappeared," she said. "I'm not afraid to die anymore."

Griffiths, of Johns Hopkins, said Reamer's experience isn't an outlier among the volunteers, both sick and healthy, who have tried psilocybin. "People feel uplifted, and very often have a sense that everything is O.K. at one level," he said. "That there's sense to be made out of the chaos."

"When you see people undergoing that kind of transformation," he added, "it's really quite moving."

(Magic mushrooms at a farm in Hazerswoude, Netherlands, August, 2007:Â AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
A Thing of Eternity
Posts: 6090
Joined: 08 Apr 2008 15:35
Location: Calgary Alberta

Re: Drugs

Post by A Thing of Eternity »

Mushrooms and LSD apparently are fairly effective treatments to shut down cluster headaches (the kind I have), but the downside is obviously that you get high, and they could potentially get you in shit with the law. Nobody with cluster headaches gives a flying fuck about the law though, they're just trying to stop each headache without the use of a bullet as best they can.
Image
User avatar
SadisticCynic
Posts: 2053
Joined: 07 Apr 2009 09:28
Location: In Time or in Space?

Re: Drugs

Post by SadisticCynic »

Those kinds of drugs work by using chemicals similar to, but not identical with, the usual neurotransmitters, right?

Would be interesting to see if that's important in the causes of those headaches... :think:
Ah English, the language where pretty much any word can have any meaning! - A Thing of Eternity
User avatar
A Thing of Eternity
Posts: 6090
Joined: 08 Apr 2008 15:35
Location: Calgary Alberta

Re: Drugs

Post by A Thing of Eternity »

I'm sure that is involved, that's how the usual meds work. Cluster headaches are weird, I was talking to my neurologist, they still don't know what is "broken" in the brain or why, but they have tracked it down (they're almost certain) to the hypothalamus, specifically to the "internal clock" part/function (many people with cluster headaches have them literally down to specific minutes in specific hours during a cluster, mine were not nearly as orderly). It's definitely not a condition caused by any visible defect in the brain, something is going seriously wrong way down at the cellular level.


For cluster headaches there are several meds that are all receptor agonists (blockers), they're used right as a headache is beginning and they shut the headache down generally before it gets too bad, but if you take it late then you're probably in for a full blown headache (also used for migraines, but for migraines you're only allowed to use a few of these pills or nasal sprays a month. For cluster headaches the doctor generally just says to avoid more than 2 or 3 a day because you might have a stroke, worth the risk though. Also not supposed to use them within 2 hours of eachother, but I did once use 2 doses on the same headache as it was so bloody long and powerful).

As I understand it the LSD or shrooms are also taken to shut the headache down. Both the legal and illegal drugs here aren't being used as painkillers persay. (Painkillers generally have no effect on cluster headaches, something about they way they work just doesn't do the right job. Before I was diagnosed I remember taking something like 6 extra strenth advil, probably at least 5 super-tylenols, few other things, all at once. Did absolutely nothing).

Then there's preventative drugs like the one I'm on now, 2 pills 3 times a day, maybe for life, maybe not. Those just stop the entire cluster of headaches (though I can still feel them in the background often, leading me to believe that if I were not currently medicated I would be still have full blown headaches all the time), again, not painkillers though.
Image
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Drugs

Post by Freakzilla »

Image
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
inhuien
Posts: 3638
Joined: 09 Feb 2008 05:03

Re: Drugs

Post by inhuien »

That's a nice bag of Oregano.
User avatar
JustSomeGuy
Posts: 791
Joined: 26 Feb 2011 03:02

Re: Drugs

Post by JustSomeGuy »

I bring nothing to the table.
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Drugs

Post by Freakzilla »

Florida man, Robert Morris, busted for smuggling crystal methamphetamine in cat food, Meow Mix
BY Aliyah Shahid
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, July 22nd 2011, 9:39 AM

Image

This was one bag of cat chow that really delivered.

Authorities busted a top Florida real estate agent after discovering that he was attempting to smuggle $30,000 worth of crystal methamphetamine - in a bag of cat food.

Robert Morris, 48, was charged with drug trafficking and resisting arrest Wednesday after he claimed a FedEx box stuffed with about 260 grams of the illegal drug in a package of Meow Mix.

The parcel was sent from Arizona to a title insurance company in Leesburg, Fla. It was addressed to a client who lives in Washington, but when contacted, the recipient said he wasn't expecting any deliveries.

Police were contacted, and upon inspecting the package found the meth, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Image

There was about 260 grams of meth in the package of Meow Mix. (Lake County Sheriff’s Office)

During the investigation, Morris contacted the company to ask about the delivery. Undercover detectives then arranged a meeting with the Eustis resident in the parking lot of a restaurant.

Morris accepted the package and was taken into custody following a brief struggle.

"This amount is most definitely a distributor amount," Lt. John Herrell of the Lake County Sheriff's Office told the newspaper.

Morris is a graduate of Brigham Young University and father of four, according to an online biography.

His bond was set at $500,500.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... at_fo.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
merkin muffley
Posts: 1584
Joined: 23 Apr 2010 15:18
Location: War Room

Re: Drugs

Post by merkin muffley »

JustSomeGuy wrote:
Suckin' on that glaaaaaassss dick :teasing-smokingcrack:
"I must admit, you have an astonishingly good idea there, Doctor...."
User avatar
JustSomeGuy
Posts: 791
Joined: 26 Feb 2011 03:02

Re: Drugs

Post by JustSomeGuy »

merkin muffley wrote:
JustSomeGuy wrote:[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agT2GVNQ ... r_embedded[/youtube]
Suckin' on that glaaaaaassss dick :teasing-smokingcrack:
Oh my God. What a horrible thing to say! Why would you say that?
I bring nothing to the table.
User avatar
JustSomeGuy
Posts: 791
Joined: 26 Feb 2011 03:02

Re: Drugs

Post by JustSomeGuy »

Freakzilla wrote:Florida man, Robert Morris, busted for smuggling crystal methamphetamine in cat food, Meow Mix
BY Aliyah Shahid
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, July 22nd 2011, 9:39 AM

Image

This was one bag of cat chow that really delivered.

Authorities busted a top Florida real estate agent after discovering that he was attempting to smuggle $30,000 worth of crystal methamphetamine - in a bag of cat food.

Robert Morris, 48, was charged with drug trafficking and resisting arrest Wednesday after he claimed a FedEx box stuffed with about 260 grams of the illegal drug in a package of Meow Mix.

The parcel was sent from Arizona to a title insurance company in Leesburg, Fla. It was addressed to a client who lives in Washington, but when contacted, the recipient said he wasn't expecting any deliveries.

Police were contacted, and upon inspecting the package found the meth, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Image

There was about 260 grams of meth in the package of Meow Mix. (Lake County Sheriff’s Office)

During the investigation, Morris contacted the company to ask about the delivery. Undercover detectives then arranged a meeting with the Eustis resident in the parking lot of a restaurant.

Morris accepted the package and was taken into custody following a brief struggle.

"This amount is most definitely a distributor amount," Lt. John Herrell of the Lake County Sheriff's Office told the newspaper.

Morris is a graduate of Brigham Young University and father of four, according to an online biography.

His bond was set at $500,500.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... at_fo.html

I bring nothing to the table.
User avatar
JustSomeGuy
Posts: 791
Joined: 26 Feb 2011 03:02

Re: Drugs

Post by JustSomeGuy »

Hey, Merkin, I was just kidding. Check this out:


I bring nothing to the table.
User avatar
merkin muffley
Posts: 1584
Joined: 23 Apr 2010 15:18
Location: War Room

Re: Drugs

Post by merkin muffley »

JustSomeGuy wrote:Hey, Merkin, I was just kidding. Check this out:


:laughing-rolling:
"I must admit, you have an astonishingly good idea there, Doctor...."
User avatar
SandChigger
KJASF Ground Zero
Posts: 14492
Joined: 08 Feb 2008 22:29
Location: A continuing state of irritation
Contact:

Re: Drugs

Post by SandChigger »

JustSomeGuy wrote:
:lol: :clap: :clap: :clap:

I don't even want to begin to contemplate the amount of free time that enables finds of this sort! :lol:


And the C.O.P.S. one... :doh: :lol:
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Cocaine Laced With Veterinary Drug Eats Away at Flesh

Post by Freakzilla »

Image

By KATIE MOISSE
June 23, 2011
Cocaine cut with the veterinary drug levamisole could be the culprit in a flurry of flesh-eating disease in New York and Los Angeles.

The drug, used to deworm cattle, pigs and sheep, can rot the skin off noses, ears and cheeks. And over 80 percent of the country's coke supply contains it.

"It's probably quite a big problem, and we just don't know yet how big a problem it really is," said Dr. Noah Craft, a dermatologist with Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute.

In a case study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Craft describes six cocaine users recently plagued by the dark purple patches of dying flesh. And while they happened to hail from the country's coastlines, the problem is national.

"It's important for people to know it's not just in New York and L.A. It's in the cocaine supply of the entire U.S.," Craft said.

Craft is one of several doctors across the country who have linked the rotting skin to tainted coke. The gruesome wounds surface days after a hit because of an immune reaction that attacks the blood vessels supplying the skin. Without blood, the skin starves and suffocates.

Eighty-two percent of seized cocaine contains levamisole, according to an April 2011 report by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Why dealers would stretch their stash with levamisole instead of the more traditional fillers, like baking soda, is unclear, although studies in rats suggest the drug acts on the same brain receptors as cocaine. So it might be added to enhance or extend the cocaine's euphoric effects on the cheap.

Despite the widespread contamination, not all of the country's cocaine users experience the flesh-rotting reaction. It appears that some are more vulnerable to the tainted cocaine's effects.

"We don't know who this is going to happen to," said Dr. Lindy Fox, the University of California, San Francisco, dermatologist who first connected the gruesome lesions on cocaine users to levamisole. Similarly, some patients have more extreme reactions than others. Fox said she once saw a photo of a man whose entire body, face included, was black with dying flesh.

Once the drug is cleared from the body, the wounds do heal, leaving behind a shiny scar.

Although some people might be more vulnerable to the effects of levamisole, the drug doesn't discriminate based on race or socioeconomic status.

"Rich or poor, black or white," anyone who uses cocaine is at risk, Craft said.

As if rotting skin wasn't enough, levamisole also prevents the bone marrow from producing infection-fighting white blood cells.

"It's a little bit like having HIV," said Craft, adding that without medical attention, the condition can be fatal. "About 10 percent of those patients will die from severe infections. They may be walking around like a time bomb."
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
A Thing of Eternity
Posts: 6090
Joined: 08 Apr 2008 15:35
Location: Calgary Alberta

Re: Drugs

Post by A Thing of Eternity »

Well, better legalize that shit too and try and clean it up... yikes.
Image
Post Reply