Sorry, no poll. The crack epidemic in the UK started some 10 years ago, but meth hasn't really hit us yet. I hear that in US states where meth is readily available, it has overtaken crack as the number 1 drug of abuse. A lot of crime in the UK is crack-related, I was wondering if anyone had experience/ knew about how things are changing in those areas where meth is the prevalent drug?

Whereas cracks was primarily an urban epidemic in the U.S., methamphetamines are a rural scourge.  Meth is often more toxic because of the garbage it's cut with.  Meth cookers will put any number poisonous chemicals into the mix.  Most meth cookers use ephedrine, a stimulant found in certain cough medicines, as a base.  Some states are regulating the amount of ephedrine a consumer can buy, and some places are now treating ephedrine as a controlled substance.
The methamphetamine drugs have longer highs than crack cocaine.  The user can stay high for hours, or days with some mixtures.  The duration of the high can cause disassociative states, paranoia, and combative behavior.  Withdrawal from methamphatimes is living hell.

However, once you have destroyed your life and health, what does it matter whether crack or meth is worse?

Both.

Sorry, no poll. The crack epidemic in the UK started some 10 years ago, but meth hasn't really hit us yet. I hear that in US states where meth is readily available, it has overtaken crack as the number 1 drug of abuse. A lot of crime in the UK is crack-related, I was wondering if anyone had experience/ knew about how things are changing in those areas where meth is the prevalent drug?


The number one abused drug in America is and always has been alcohol, but as far as illegal drugs are concerned, cannabis is and always has been top dog.

I happen to operate around small town TX, and I know of many so-called "meth towns." The people that do it get very skinny, and they are fidgety. They also get a weird palor to their skin. I can't say which drug is worse. I haven't done either one of them and never will. I tend to think of crack as something dirtier, but I know that the rate of success when trying to quit meth is about 4%. So to tell you the truth, I don't know which is worse, they are both terrible.

I didn't realise that there was such a problem with crack in the UK. The US "epidemic" peaked in the 80's, but there is still a problem with it, that's for sure. My entire generation has had the "crack kills" sentiment pounded into us from a young age, so for the most part it is an issue with older people who didn't get all the conditioning and therefore have less of the stigma.

As a recent graduate of a public American high school, I know all about popular drug use. The mainstream drug culture here doesn't readily accept the hardcore users of things like meth, heroin, and crack. Their entire schtick rests on weed, ecstasy, LSD, shrooms, various pills, and sometimes powder cocaine. In the 90s, a lot of people were getting into heroin, but that's mostly over with. The hallucinogens made a huge comeback in the early 00's in high schools, and though their popularity has waned, they are still widely used.

Don't even get me started on the pill epidemic among middle class women, because officially speaking, it doesn't exist. However, it should be said that there is a very significant portion of society hooked on legal, perscription drugs like valium, oxycotin, xanax, etc... And they are everywhere. Soccer moms, church members, businessmen and women, doctors and nurses.

Thanks folks. I'm interested for a number of reasons, but mainly because we seem to 'inherit' trends from the US as far as drug usage goes. By what Mcdonald says, it seems the pattern of drug usage amongst people in his area is fairly similar to that in the UK, and there is a common hidden problem with abuse of prescription drugs. I'm surprised there isn't more meth about in the UK, given that most chemicals used to make it are quite readily available; my girlfriend's a drug & alcohol mental health worker in a town with 2,000 registered heroin addicts who frequently take/ come into contact with crack, but she's only met 2 people whom have ever taken meth. That being said, it's probably best if it doesn't get too popular here; a lot of drug-related crime is commited by desperate addicts undergoing withdrawal, if the withdrawal from meth is as bad & as drawn-out as Maxwell suggests, I can see it leading to an even worse crime situation- particularily as it's not that widespread yet, it means addicts will have to pay more money for it & may have problems sourcing it, leading to prolonged withdrawal & the dark mental state that goes with it.
Crack was spread around the UK mainly via Jamaican Yardie gangs & their urban crime links, in a seemingly aggressive attempt to addict as many people as possible. Powdered cocaine is less prominent in the market, due to it being 'converted' to crack at import stage. Heroin seems to be less 'pushed' than crack, but is more readily available to those who want it. Meth seems to have spread across the world from South East Asia; perhaps the spread won't be as quick as crack, purely because the Triad equivalents don't have as much influence in the UK as the Yardies; also, meth can be home-produced, so any large organisation wanting to invest in getting our nation hooked on meth would know they only have a limited time of operation before domestic supplies flood the market. Here's hoping, anyway...

Thanks folks. I'm interested for a number of reasons, but mainly because we seem to 'inherit' trends from the US as far as drug usage goes. By what Mcdonald says, it seems the pattern of drug usage amongst people in his area is fairly similar to that in the UK, and there is a common hidden problem with abuse of prescription drugs. I'm surprised there isn't more meth about in the UK, given that most chemicals used to make it are quite readily available; my girlfriend's a drug & alcohol mental health worker in a town with 2,000 registered heroin addicts who frequently take/ come into contact with crack, but she's only met 2 people whom have ever taken meth. That being said, it's probably best if it doesn't get too popular here; a lot of drug-related crime is commited by desperate addicts undergoing withdrawal, if the withdrawal from meth is as bad & as drawn-out as Maxwell suggests, I can see it leading to an even worse crime situation- particularily as it's not that widespread yet, it means addicts will have to pay more money for it & may have problems sourcing it, leading to prolonged withdrawal & the dark mental state that goes with it.
Crack was spread around the UK mainly via Jamaican Yardie gangs & their urban crime links, in a seemingly aggressive attempt to addict as many people as possible. Powdered cocaine is less prominent in the market, due to it being 'converted' to crack at import stage. Heroin seems to be less 'pushed' than crack, but is more readily available to those who want it. Meth seems to have spread across the world from South East Asia; perhaps the spread won't be as quick as crack, purely because the Triad equivalents don't have as much influence in the UK as the Yardies; also, meth can be home-produced, so any large organisation wanting to invest in getting our nation hooked on meth would know they only have a limited time of operation before domestic supplies flood the market. Here's hoping, anyway...

Interesting info.  Whether it's an American ghetto or the north of England, where young people are unemployed, bored, and frustrated, they are at risk for drug abuse.  Young people think less about consequences than their elders, but without hope for the future who cares about consequences.
Qualitify of life in rural America has been going down the can for the last generation.  I think the rising epidemic of meth is no coincidence.

BTW, what's a "Yardie," as "Jamaican Yardie gang"?

From what i have seen in The Clubs and Bars in the city that i live in Cocaine is mosd ef on the up... you see a lot of people snorting now.. this has been a growing trend for about 4-5 years to the best of my knowledge and shows no sign of stopping. Meth is not v. available at all.. i know of many people that take Coke but not one person that has ever taken meth.

At the school i used to go to a few years ago in the city centre Coke was fairly available however once again Cannabis was the main drug of choice.

How prevelant is Heroine in the US... in England it is mos def one of the most used

From what i have seen in The Clubs and Bars in the city that i live in Cocaine is mosd ef on the up... you see a lot of people snorting now.. this has been a growing trend for about 4-5 years to the best of my knowledge and shows no sign of stopping. Meth is not v. available at all.. i know of many people that take Coke but not one person that has ever taken meth.

At the school i used to go to a few years ago in the city centre Coke was fairly available however once again Cannabis was the main drug of choice.

How prevelant is Heroine in the US... in England it is mos def one of the most used


We have our share of junkies, but most people are either too smart or too poor to f*ck with herion. In the 90s, lots of teenagers were doing it but its popularity has waned.

Too Poor :o


Here that's why people do it.. because it's so cheap

From what i have seen in The Clubs and Bars in the city that i live in Cocaine is mosd ef on the up... you see a lot of people snorting now.. this has been a growing trend for about 4-5 years to the best of my knowledge and shows no sign of stopping. Meth is not v. available at all.. i know of many people that take Coke but not one person that has ever taken meth.

At the school i used to go to a few years ago in the city centre Coke was fairly available however once again Cannabis was the main drug of choice.

How prevelant is Heroine in the US... in England it is mos def one of the most used





    Although very few people that I know use heroine, Mary J  being the drug of choice here too.... the 3 people that I do know who were users all have Over Dosed and died from it.  The most recent one being last year.  I also had a friend commit suscide a couple years ago, he was an occasional user, Im not sure if his drug problem was the reason he took his own life :\'(

I'm sorry to hear about your losses, Neebs. I've lost 2 friends to heroin myself. :\'(

Maxwell asks what a "Yardie" is. The term is used for Jamaican gangster-types, I believe it derives for their term for 'home', which is 'yard'. Bit like 'homeboy', I suppose...

^..

That's kind of it from what i know (not much addmitedly) however there are gangs called Yardies.. unlike the popular belief that the Yardie gangs are one large one.. akin to the mafia.. no.. Yardie gangs are basically Jamaican/West Indians etc gangs and can crop up anywhere and not be related to one another.

That dosen't mean to say they aren't in some ways related but i would compare them more to different chapters than one large Gang.

Both are equally horrible drugs. There shouldn't even be a comparison.

Both are equally horrible drugs. There shouldn't even be a comparison.

I brought it up because other people were comparing legal & soft drugs, I was interested because meth isn't yet a big thing in the UK. I find this messageboard very useful to get a variety of opinions/ experiences from all different types of people, of many nationalities- obviously there are other places where I can get this sort of info, but having been a member now for 2 years or so, I feel I 'know' some of the participants, and so am able to gauge 'where they're coming from'. As GWBush proves virtually every time he posts an extract from what he reads/ sees, media coverage of subjects is usually biased towards a hidden agenda, therefore generally unreliable. Didn't mean to offend anyone!