Inside the World of Crystal Meth: 10 Things You Didn't Know

"The devil's drug," aka Crystal Meth, has earned a nasty reputation here in America. We hear a lot about it in the news and in documentaries. Maybe you've watched in horror, seeing someone you love succumb to this treacherous substance. Up until a couple years ago, I really didn't know how much of a plague it is here in central Wisconsin. While I don't necessarily consider it a blessing that I had to learn about these things, I do feel that what I will tell you is an honest inside look into the underbelly. Here are 10 things you didn't know about crystal meth.

1. Heartbreak was experienced prior to use. Rarely do happy people wake up in the morning and say, "I think I'll try meth today!" and most potheads won't go near it. The pushers look for people who are down. You run into an old "friend" just at the right time. Divorce, loss of a loved one, abuse, ect. Everyone has a story of some kind of loss or heartbreak in their life that they experienced beforehand, leading them to the drug.

2. The extreme before and after pictures They are horrid!! What you probably didn't know is that these users probably stopped smoking it and switched to the needle. Smoking it will cause a user to lose weight and look strung out, but those who shoot it age much faster. Lungs act as somewhat of a filter, but straight into the blood stream? This caustic substance eats through a person's body like Drano through a pipe.

3. Around day 3-5 of being awake, you start seeing shadow people. We live in a spiritual world, and mind altering substances can open doors to spiritual activity. Well, if you ever try meth, you would start seeing black shadow people lurking around. Yes, this is really a thing. Give it a few more days and you'll be straight up seeing and interacting with people who aren't even there. People who look as real as me or you.

4. Once you start, your house may turn into a traphouse. A traphouse is a house/apartment that gets taken over by your new found "friends." It's almost impossible to get them to leave. They'll deal, steal, and destroy. This will go on until the house gets raided. By that time it will be trashed, garbage everywhere, punches through the walls, broken doors, graffiti, you get the picture. You don't dare call the cops, but they might leave only if you get violent, like if you pour gasoline on them and threaten to light them on fire. True story.

5. Despite losing weight and looking like crap, meth tricks the brain into thinking your fine. You don't look in the mirror and think, "Oh my, what's happened to me!!" You are under a spell, and you feel invincible.

6. Funeral Runs: one of the lowest things a person can do. Walking into his dealer's house, he saw everything was different. Furniture stacked up, kitchenware, odds and ends. "Why is all this stuff here?" He asks. "Funeral Run." was the brief answer. What they do is look in the obituaries to find out when a funeral will be. They take a trailer to a mourner's house, and clean it out. They take anything they can get their hands on. The poor grieving soul unsuspectingly opens their front door after the burial, and everything's gone.

7. Despite losing everything: kids, home, spouse, possessions...only when you run out of the drug will you feel emotions like guilt and remorse. Meth completely kills your conscience.

8. After being up for days, you can fall asleep in mid-walk and land on your face. Often only to wake up 10 minutes later feeling fine. On top of that you lose complete track of time. All you know is the sun is up or the sun is down...

9. Meth is not just a drug, it's a lifestyle. It's not like recreational use of drugs like alcohol or weed, where people balance their life around it. You don't go to work, come home, and catch a buzz. You're not working, and you rarely see outsiders. It has it's own culture that you learn as you go, such as thieving, backstabbing, allegiances that shift quickly, no real friends. They've been hurt so they want to hurt others, and soon a newbie will be the same. Cliques, schemes, always looking for a way to stay high, street names. Some girls call themselves Crystal. (Dumb, right?)

10. The meth and heroin dynamic Meth and heroin addicts mingle with each other, and often don't like each other either. People usually have a preference of one over the other. Methheads often steal heroin junkies blind, and if the methhead left $20 in the wallet, and took the rest, the heroin addict would actually say thank you. That said, heroin junkies steal more in general, shoplifting and such. A lethal mix of both is called a speedball. Both would be mixed together and injected, and it is much more dangerous than one or the other taken separately.

I'm sure you already knew a few things about meth, but I hope this gives you a greater knowledge of what this blight is all about. Why would I know all these things? Many of you don't know my story. Check it out here: https://steemit.com/family/@snowpea/wedding-day

Love, snowpea ❤

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