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The Icy Highway
The Icy Highway
by Alexander Renault
Methamphetamine
is currently the drug of choice among members of the gay community.
More frequently than we might gather from
the documented histories of drug use in this country, amphetamines in
their various forms have been the most frequently consumed illegal drug
in the U.S. According to Philip Jenkins's 1999 book Synthetic Panics:
The Symbolic Politics of Designer Drugs (New York University Press),
amphetamines were "archetypal designer drugs" first synthesized
in the late nineteenth century: "The most popular drugs of the twentieth-century
have been amphetamines. Although heroin has had a dramatic resurgence
over the past decade, it is the amphetamine which has remained at the
front of the illegal drug popularity race."
Going back to the beginning, Benzedrine
was first synthesized in 1887. This led to the 1920s creation of Dexedrine.
D-phenyl-isopropyl-methylamine hydrochrloride, better known as methamphetamine,
was also synthesized during the 1920s.
Benzedrine was given to soldiers during
World War II when they had to perform with little sleep. Factory workers
were given the drug to keep them productive during long hours so they
could survive their wartime swing shifts. Amphetamines were later considered
a wonder drug by those in the trucking industry. It likewise continues
to be a favorite artificial motivator among stressed-out students.
Crystal methamphetamine is vastly popular
because it mimics the brain's natural catecholamines such as dopamine,
epinephrine, and norepinephrine. These affect cardiovascular functioning
and the central nervous system, causing the brain to release more feel-good
chemicals.
"Crank" and "crystal"
are both amphetamines, but each is prepared with a different solvent.
While crank is more powdery, crystal (a.k.a. "rock") is a harder
crystallized form cut with a razor blade. Both are usually snorted or
can be mixed with a liquid and injected directly into the bloodstream.
My mother told me that amphetamines were
handed out to women like candy in the 1960s as appetite suppressants.
She first realized their power while cleaning windows at our house at
3:00 A.M. Then she threw them away.
The drug of choice within the gay community
throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium is methylene-dioxymethamphetamine,
better known as Ecstasy. The drug was first synthesized in 1912 by the
Merck Corporation to treat lethargy. Its use later increased in the 1950s
as, believe it or not, an adjunct to psychotherapy.
Beware: some have compared the chemical
compound in Ecstasy to that of SSRIs (selective seratonin reuptake inhibitors)
such as Prozac, Paxil, and Celexa. The Ecstasy-Prozac comparison is like
comparing apples and oranges. Each has a completely different effect on
the brain. Those claiming that amphetamines help relieve their depressive
symptoms are in for an unpleasant surprise down the road.
A serious problem with the study of illegal
drugs and their effects is a great lack of exploration of its role in
sexual functioning and pleasure. It took the medical establishment almost
two decades to point out the correlation between drug use and HIV infection.
"Get high, get stupid, get AIDS" should have been one of the
main thrusts of initial HIV education. But our culture's notorious lack
of maturity
and squeamishness regarding anal sex contributed to avoidance of identifying
the role drugs play in the sexual realm. No wonder Europeans laugh at
us until they pass out.
Cocaine has long been glorified as an aphrodisiac
because it works on brain receptors related to sexual response and pleasure.
Similarly, Ecstasy can often dramatically increase sexual pleasure in
addition to pepping you up on the dance floor. Ecstasy and crystal meth
make you feel fabulous.
Studies of male prostitutes have shown that
cocaine and crystal methamphetamine are frequently used by customers as
a means to increase sexual arousal, intensify orgasm, and reduce the sexual
refractory period in order to experience multiple ejaculations within
a smaller timeframe. If there was ever a "good reason" to use
crystal, that is certainly it.
Unfortunately, the same drugs that bring
pleasure can also bring serious health problems. The most pronounced are
dehydration and obliviousness to dangers: your central nervous system
is so overloaded that it cannot warn the brain to slow the body down.
Some guys have literally dropped dead on the dance floor with body temperatures
reaching 107 degrees Fahrenheit. This is extremely rare but it does happen.
The most pervasive effects involve the way
the brain is trained to produce its chemicals in a non-drug aroused state.
Extensive use of amphetamines may result in a brain that no longer recognizes
the need to produce some of its own neurotransmitters. Like the shrinking
testicles of the man who chronically uses anabolic-androgenic (testosterone
based) steroids, the chronic amphetamine user can be left with a brain
that permanently does not produce adequate amounts of seratonin.
Other studies have shown that subjects who
are classified as "heavy users" of Ecstasy - those who use the
club drug three times per week or more for at least six months - are ten
times more likely to develop Major Depressive Disorder than members of
control groups. The results also suggest that this effect may be irreversible.
We
may currently be looking at a generation of gay men who will experience
chronic biological depression once the party is over. But scare tactics
regarding drug and alcohol abuse and dependence do not work well. We all
like to have a good time, and we are all immortal - at least while we
are still young. Education is the key to safety. It is more important
to understand the risks you may be taking so you can make informed choices
about drug and alcohol use than to blow off the naïve and impotent
"Just Say No" message.
Just know what you are getting into. Knowledge
is power, so take good care of yourselves.
H ave an excellent year 2004.
Copyright © 2003 Alexander Renault. All rights reserved. Alexander
Renault is the pen name for a writer who has published in multiple genres.
He has worked in the mental health and drug and alcohol fields for the
past fifteen years. Mr. Renault is currently editing the non-fiction anthology
Walking Higher: Gay Men Write About the Deaths of Their Mothers
from Renault Publishing, Inc. He invites you to visit him at AlexanderRenault.com