I was watching something on tv the other night, where a young lad who was having a 'whitey' after smoking weed, was told to rub some speed into his gums to counter the effect. I've heard of rubbing coke into your gums, but never speed. What will this 'speed' have been, exactly? And also, can anyone who's taken speed this way describe the taste, as the young lad in the show reacted like it tasted horrible. I'm guessing it tastes like Marmite being rubbed onto your gums, but this is only a guess and I need confirmation for reasons of accuracy.
Well, I think it sounds odd that he was being sick after weed (after all, it's an analgesic) but rubbing speed on your gums certainly works. Coke and speed are very similar, although from the sounds of the character, it was more likely mephedrone, commonly known as MCAT or bubble. It may also have been base. All of these things are amphetamines, meaning that they can all be taken by rubbing onto gums. The hierarchy, starting with the best and most expensive, is coke, then speed then mephedrone then base (base is basically bad-quality speed mixed with shitty bubble). If you've had them, then it's easy to distinguish between the tastes, but it certainly isn't pleasant. I liken the taste of mephedrone to salty washing up liquid. Speed, on the other hand, doesn't taste too bad. Although I much prefer insufflation to ingestion.
Very big difference. They are both amphetamines but speed is a stimulant while meth is more of a dissociative. In terms of chemical formula, they share the amphetamine base, but differ greatly in properties.
Thanks, GD, that's great ammo you've given me there. I am surprised that you find it odd that weed causes nausea. Everyone's heard of 'whiteys' and how sick they make you feel. Most people trying weed for the first time will get a whitey. It was enough to put me off every trying the stuff again.
No problem Actually I thought it was unusual for that to happen, I felt fine the first time but of course it will vary from person to person.
I've never heard of a whitey; not in that context any way. But, then, what I know about drugs is either from movies, which are often inaccurate, and textbooks, which are purely clinical. In fact, I've only ever had second-hand pot smoke, and don't really fancy going beyond that.
Despite what @General Daedalus says, if that speed was ever in pill form (which is quite likely, no mater what kind of speed it was) then the crushed pills have a whole lot of the inactive suspension mixed in with them. Most pills are around a 50% to 90% suspension. The majority of the pill is inactive ingredients. You can simulate that taste right now. Go to your pill cabinet, grab an aspirin and crush it between your teeth.
Okay, after checking several resources, Speed is frequently used as a street name for methamphetamine. Adderall is dextroamphetamine, prescribed to treat ADHD. Related, but different.
Probably by locality as well, around where I live people use it to refer to alcohol-induced sickness more than anything. E.g. 12-year-old chav girls with bottles of Lambrini screaming "he's on the whitey" in cutting Geordie accents. I do love the North East.
No, I'm simply grouping them by effects, especially considering that coke is often referred to as rich man's speed. Seemed relevant to the post.
Speed is the street name for amphetamines. It is an entirely different animal from cocaine. In any event, most are cut (or danced on, to coin a colloquialism) to such an extent that they possess a small percentage of purity of the actual 'product' being bought/consumed. Cocaine is (usually) cut with a variety of other more readily available drugs that give the user a similar numbing sensation when applied to the gums. Benzocaine, novocaine and other local anaesthetic drugs, the type of which used in dentistry are some such examples. Speed, less so, although I believe caffeine for obvious reasons is used as a mixing agent.
Phenethylamine — Natural neurotransmitter with stimulant properties. Similar effects to amphetamine, but extremely short duration. Forms the underlying skeleton of many other compounds, which are collectively known as substituted phenethylamines. Amphetamine — A powerful psychostimulant and substituted phenethylamine with a very long duration of effect. Used to treat ADHD, narcolepsy, severe obesity, and, sometimes, treatment-resistant depression. Forms the underlying skeleton of many other compounds, which are collectively known as substituted amphetamines. Comes in two isomers (well, two that are used in medicine): dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine. Dextroamphetamine is by far the more powerful mental stimulant of the two, but levoamphetamine has an even longer half-life and a slightly stronger effect on the peripheral nervous system (i.e. more side effects). Adderall: Mixture of four amphetamine salts, half dextroamphetamine and half racemic. Comes out to 75% dextroamphetamine and 25% levoamphetamine. Dexedrine: Like Adderall, but active ingredient is 100% dextroamphetamine. Vyvanse: Contains lisdexamfetamine, a prodrug that consists of dextroamphetamine coupled with the amino acid L-lysine. Effects are similar to other formulations, but the body has to cleave the amino acid off the stimulant before it can go to work, resulting in a delayed onset. Methamphetamine: An amphetamine molecule with an extra methyl group. Half-life is slightly shorter, but the body converts it back into regular amphetamine at the end of its run, resulting in an even longer duration than the parent compound. Damages serotonin and dopamine neurons. MDMA: An amphetamine derivative with both stimulant and psychedelic properties. Has a strong effect on serotonin. Common name is "ecstasy", although the purity of street formulations is by no means assured. Wellbutrin: An antidepressant. Has an amphetamine structure, but not listed as a controlled substance, and not considered to have much in the way of abuse potential. Often thought to disrupt sex drive less than compounds such as Prozac and Zoloft. Ephedrine/Pseudoephedrine: Natural amphetamines with much weaker effects on dopamine than the parent compound. The two drugs are isomers of each other, and they can be found in the traditional Chinese herbal preparation ephedra. Cocaine: A substituted phenethylamine with stimulant and local anesthetic properties. High potency, but short duration of effect. Stimulants in general are not good for the heart, but its local anesthetic properties add an additional burden, exerting a disruptive effect of their own. Methylphenidate: A stimulant with duration intermediate between amphetamine and cocaine. Used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy. Common brand names include Ritalin, Metadate, and Concerta. Norepinephrine (noradrenaline)/epinephrine (adrenaline)/dopamine: Natural neurotransmitters. Many stimulants (all on this list) work by manipulating one or more of them, and they all have phenethylamine structures themselves.
If your character was snorting 'white powders,' you might write something about the rolled cardboard, the pen top, or the ten pound note. The credit card, the application of face to mirror/desk, a sting in the nostril - sensation from cheap n nasty stuff, and a deep snort, like the grunt of a pig, heh. Swing back of head, foul ring of white cheese round the nose's tip. Your novice gets only a quarter of the gunk up his nose, licks the rest with tongue, sucks the applicator. This is bad form. An experienced rascal gets it up the skull in one sweep of hooter. Then druggists talk about the drip, and the quality of the drip, down the gullet, the throat. This is good talk before everybody babbles a crock of shit for fifteen minutes, fifteen hours. High grade cocaine is smoother on the lining of the nose - and the consistency more chalky, whereas the speed and miaow-miaow horribles appear more crystalline. Anyway this is all hypothetical analysis - from my Raymond Chandler collection, also my time as an amateur detective in Berrylands. I have not loitered around lavatories for many years. Indeed I now approach sitting rather standing era. The bloody gross craze among bad youth at present is chucking tranquillisers in their pints, very nasty.
Kick the boys' room door open. Amulet made of grocery bag flutters to ground. Allow the disenchanted to use detective flashlight.
Also: I'm no pharmacologist, but I'm not at all convinced at the anti-nausea properties of speed. That's certainly nothing I've hear of it being used for.
See, now I'm confused again. Perhaps I should have covered this in my OP, but I didn't, so I will now. My MC is wallowing in the closing stages of a fix. The drug he took is a fictional one, but based on the sedative types, and in this case renders the taker in a virtual coma. It takes them to some very nice places while they're experiencing the effects, but the come-downs fill them with utter despair. Anyway, to try and rouse my MC, his friend rubs some speed onto his gums. I need to know if all this sounds plausible, but if you're saying speed type drugs are anaesthetics, then they won't have the desired effect.
