A drug like Narcan would be an antidote to an overdose or an adrenaline shot like Pulp Fiction -- into the chest unnecessary. Intravaneous seems the only way to go. Cocaine can numb the gums because it is a local anaesthetic and the gums are membranous enough to freeze the nerves, but could anything get to the bloodstream? I strongly think not. Or what's that other stuff they put below a person's nose and it wakes them up from the vapours? I forget, and no, I'm not joking.
We call it Liquid Gold in the UK. Incidentally my MC isn't OD'ing. It's just that the drug he's taken puts users into a coma-like state. Unfortunately, his friend has cause to try and rouse him before the effects are allowed to ware off naturally.
Ammonium smelling salts. They're pretty much straight ammonia, and smelling them is a strange experience. It's like someone drove a screwdriver straight into the back of your brain and electrified it. It evokes an immediate and unrestrainable physical response.
Note the distinction between local and general anaesthesia. Local anaesthesia means the drug is only applied to one specific part of the body, to prevent physical sensation - it's mostly for pain relief (so maybe it's more appropriate to refer to it as local analgesia). Feels like when you sit on your leg and it goes all numb (prior to the pins-and-needles feeling when sensation returns). You're still fully conscious. I assume that the inclusion of a local anaesthetic makes insufflation ('snorting') more tolerable. Think how much it hurts to pluck a nose hair - your nasal membranes are sensitive! So I believe the local anaesthetic is bundled in with the actual drug to aid delivery of it; the amphetamines themselves are still stimulants. (Perhaps the unusual numb feeling has some minor appeal in itself, too.) There may be other factors involved that I'm unaware of. Not claiming first-hand knowledge. I would not trust the hygiene of a drug that the producers aren't accountable for.
The speed could've been any pill crushed enough or broken into powder or a grain like consistency. What pill this could be is a mystery to me, as some have different effects that they're known for that only work on certain people, at least in my experience. Plus, I'm not good with the names for a lot of them. It could be simple adderall for all I know, but some tend to have thick beads inside that aren't good for absorbing through your gums, although I've never tried. I don't know if that's the case with many types, but... I wouldn't know. The taste is very bitter, like a scoop of that hershey's chocolate powder in a can. It's also sticky, meaning it doesn't go away for a while, and if you take it nasally, you develop the drips in which it coagulates in the back of your throat making it taste like copper plus the bitterness. Plus the drips vary in thickness and can make someone gag randomly at a party during conversation and you're left wondering: "The fuck is happening with this guy...?" Strange though, I've never heard of the term "whitey". I live in the North East and always heard it called getting the spins. A friend of mine used to get them Adderall would be my guess. Fairly common. Fairly cheap. Fairly easy to find. Not enough to give the a numbing sensation on the body as far as I know.
I'm curious about this coma-like state. When I was reading, the first drug to come to mind was Ketamine. A strong Ketamine hit, (strong enough to that the taker is pretty much immobilised) tends to be internalised. It's simply too much like effort to keep the eyes open, so to an outside observer it appears that there is little awareness of what is going on outside of the body. If the consumer decides they've had enough of the internalised navel gazing, the hit of an upper will bring them back. I've seen both Speed and Cocaine used for this, but mostly Speed. (And on the very rare occasion Ephedrine, though over here at least, it's very rare.) Most white powders taste vile...very bitter, like the taste equivalent of an acrid smell and, in the case of Cocaine, a top note reminiscent of pretty much any solvent. The powder tends to clump within range of the sinuses and, on aspirating and swallowing one would get a fresh burst. On the subject of 'whiteys'... it's a bit of a misnomer as most folks will look a tad yellow... like jaundice but less so. Despite having antiemetic qualities, weed, if too much is taken too quickly can cause queasiness...feels a bit like motion sickness. My own experience has led me to suspect the change in intraocular pressure might have something to do with it. As with any drug, the body builds a tolerance to it. Regular smokers would be far less likely to experience it than those who rarely smoke.
Thank you! This paragraph addresses my questions very nicely. Remember the drug in question is a made-up one, but the affects from Ketamine sound exactly right. Also, thank you for confirming that uppers/speed would help bring the user round, and your views on the taste. As for the term 'whitey', I think it's safe to assume this is not only an English term, but specific to the NW of England.
Why - if your one 'drug' is fictional, why refer to speed..? Can't you use blue pill and red pill, rely on imagination for the effects? Here's a book about drugs back in the 1890s.
Good question. I wanted a 'dirty' drug, an addictive one... but didn't want to go down the Trainspotting heroin route. It was kind of a cop-out really. My thinking was that if I invent a drug, no one can call me on authenticity.
From what I understand you need a 'street drug'. So you are going to need inexpensive materials. You could use blowfish poison in a small enough dose for the paralytic properties, and then invent some kind of Acid (LSD) type concoction. Then all you need to do is figure out some way of making it addictive, and how you want to get it into the body. You could even go as far as harvesting endorphins, or dopamine for the addictive/happy experience. IDK. Just have to think about it. Maybe look into a little on how the chemical reactions work in the brain, that might help with how to find suitable ingredients.
BUYING DRUGS ON THE STREET Is this something any user can do? What I mean is, could someone who needed drugs simply find somewhere he knows is likely to have dealers, step up to that person and buy the goods? Or is that not how it works? Logic tells me it isn't, and that you would have to know a dealer in order to arrange a meet and then buy, but I'm not altogether clear on this. If the latter is true, can anyone explain how someone needing to procure some narcotics, would go about getting their hands on some when in an unfamiliar part of the country?
No dealer just walking down the street is gonna be prepared right then and there to sell drugs to a stranger and more than likely will be sketched out if they're just casually asked. I think one would have to find someone who is a user and buys regularly. Then through them they can get a connection and that friend can give the good word to their dealer that they have another buyer. Some don't take new buyers, though. It depends on the risk. If they want money, they'd be more inclined, but having a new face that could possibly get them in trouble would definitely be something to think over
Mmm. Problem is my characters are never in one spot for more than a day or two at the most. Anyway, thanks. At least now I know the correct procedure I can work something out.
It would honestly also depend on the dealer as well. Don't get me wrong, I've heard of people going to the right neighborhood and finding a source within an hour just by asking around. Problem is, (at least in my opinion) you'd have to get knowledge of the place somehow, and if it's freely given out to any average joe who's new to town, it's probably not as secret as you'd like. However! Maybe your characters are accustomed to the risk. Maybe they know how to navigate these places or even find them on their own. They may have an eye for the habits of druggies, their appearance, their nervous ticks, etc... Maybe they knew a person in the first town who knows a person in another area who knows a person in the next area... I mean, I've heard of stranger shit happening. There's a ton of possibilities and people always keep you guessing
This is great! Thanks. This would all have some believability, anyway, as my second character used to deal.
If they live in a city it's simply a matter of walking around a populated area and looking like they're interested in buying drugs. That's pretty much it. Every time I wander onto the 16th street mall in Denver I can count on asking if I'm looking to buy at least once. Or could. Things have changed now. Have them ask, "are you holding?" and if they aren't you ask them to set up a meeting with their supplier. Do not contact their supplier on your own. Let them call and see if the dealer wants to meet you. Showing up at a dealer's house looking for drugs will get you shot.
Getting drugs in another city or country isn't really that hard. People who buy drugs tend to know what to look for. There's signs, slang, and symbols in most places. Shoes hung on a telephone wire = dealer in the neighborhood. Certain keywords spoken to enough people and you're brought to the right person. Just going to certain areas can be enough to be solicited. It honestly depends on your location as to whether it's potentially dangerous or not. Some places you may get shot, others you'll be made tea while you're waiting for your stuff to be measured out. Too much K? Seen it plenty of times. You should use a 1/3 Sas, 1/3 Cocaine, 1/3 MDMA mix to counter it in your story. Sas keeps some of the effects of the K without being too jarring (it also gives it an extremely bitter taste), the cocaine is an immediate boost, and the MDMA is a sustained boost. Make up a name for it and done. Hell... I know a few names for that mix, but it's your book.
Really, the trick is to look like someone who wants to buy some drugs. Then everyone will try to sell you drugs.
Hello Jud, Sometimes we agonise too much about writing something 'the right way' - or the way the reader consumes our prose causing the least discomfort. I would unshackle a little with this quandary of yours. Firstly, it is sci-fi - so the mores/rules of engagement can be anything you choose. Probably the microchip will sense imbalance in character's cortisone levels, deliver electric shock as punishment, withdraw his voting rights for eighteen days, y'know. But I don't think there's much of a secret to be gleaned regards 'drug purchase.' Unfortunately a chap of my age and civic stature ambling down riverside for 'joints,' 'puff the reefer' whizz bang, 'hit me daddios' will not succeed. Best to send one's twenty year old daughter for 'crow.' Also be aware the classic ruse, the scenario: 'Hey guys, guys guys. Do you know where I can...y'know?' 'No problem, old-timer. Give me the money and I'll be right back with all the drugs you ever dreamed of.' 'Whoopee...' 3 HOURS LATER 'They did say ten minutes. I'll just wait another hour, hmmm...' I believe this scam is popular on the Algarve. One gent, indeed, smoked a whole half pound of purchased plasticine, his Bob Marley collection on the turntable through the night. The Algarve, don't go there.
