Crystal, a current and local concern.
I write about methamphetamines, or crystal meth, for the simple reason that we are in Cluj-Napoca. And without bragging about my inside sources, my private informants, I can confess my quest for listening to the urban cry. And this collective sound unites many voices, some more muted, some more strident, but all speaking of the same tragedy. On our streets in Cluj-Napoca, more and more people are consuming crystal meth. A cheap drug, compared to others, a drug that gives you a short heaven and a lasting hell1. In this article I would like to present what methamphetamine is, how it came about, what led to its use as a drug on such a large scale and how we can prevent and treat its use.
Appearance and history
Crystal appeared towards the end of the 19th century, and its use began to increase especially during the Second World War, when it was used by both sides in the conflict to enhance the performance and endurance of soldiers. Massive quantities of crystal remained available after the war, leading to their prescription by doctors for depression, narcolepsy and weight loss. Gradually, it began to be used by people working longer shifts, such as truck drivers, or people working night shifts, such as factory workers2. After all, we’re talking about the crystal of empty promises, a powerful stimulant to the nervous system1, and when we need to press hard, our weakness often makes us choose shortcuts to fulfill them. Notice this pattern of human weakness? Are we always looking to skip steps to avoid pain? We are unable to confront and accept our own limitations and our own weak points.
What is crystal?
The crystal, at least in its pure state, and it is almost impossible to buy it pure from the dealer, is called methamphetamine by chemists. In appearance it is a white crystalline powder, odorless, bitter tasting and dissolves in water and alcohol. It is a very close relative of amphetamine, a drug that doctors use for the sole treatment of ADHD or short-term treatment of obesity. The significant difference between the two is that although both give a euphoric feeling of energy, openness to communication and appetite suppression, methamphetamine at the same dose as amphetamine, reaches the brain in much greater quantity and causes a much stronger effect3.
Problems at the global level
Although originally used as a stimulant to cope with difficult and stressful conditions or as a medicine in various diseases, amphetamine and then methamphetamine found a perverse way, through the dependence they install with repeated consumption, to become a widely used drug. In some countries it is even the most widely used synthetic drug for the simple reason that it is easy and cheap to make, gives intense euphoria and is highly addictive. Countries with a major methamphetamine addiction problem include the USA, the Czech Republic, Australia and much of Asia. In 2018, there were 24.7 million people worldwide abusing the substance, and the numbers are growing4.
Local legal context
Nowadays, even here in Cluj-Napoca, more and more people are trying this crystal of empty promises. What does the law tell us about it? These issues are regulated by the provisions of Law 45/2023 (supplementing Law 143/2000)8. Article 2 specifies that cultivating, producing, manufacturing, experimenting, extracting, preparing, transforming, offering, offering for sale, selling, distributing, delivering in any capacity, sending, transporting, procuring, buying, possessing or other operations relating to the circulation of risk drugs without right shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of 3 to 10 years and the prohibition of certain rights, and in the case of high-risk drugs, the penalty is imprisonment for a term of 5 to 15 years and the prohibition of certain rights. Methamphetamine and heroin, cocaine and LSD are high-risk drugs in our country. Let’s take note!
Consequences of crystal consumption
And to get down to everyday life, to the concrete consequences that repeated crystal consumption brings to the life of the one who is exposed to it, we will present a little of the these effects. The price paid translates into aggression, with serious statistics linking methamphetamine to an increased risk of homicide, psychosis induced under consumption or even becoming chronical, memory loss, weight loss below an accepted healthy limit, serious dental problems, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and even an increased risk of HIV and hepatitis6. Beyond the momentary ecstasy and high energy vibes, addiction to such a stimulant has a deeply morbid side.
Intervention: Sierra’s Frightening Drug Use Leads to Psychotic Break | A&E
Information, prevention and treatment
Always finding fault outside yourself is the easy way out for cowards. Taking responsibility requires courage. Each of us is responsible for what happens in this world, and the world starts with us. How many of us can boast that we have come to terms with the depths of our pain? How many of us acknowledge our inability to stop feeling it, but also that we are cyclically doomed to find that we have tried so hard to extinguish it in an unhealthy way? This is how we find true strength: by acknowledging our personal weakness. Only this can lead to the power to love ourselves in our smallness and to love others with equal measure. Awareness of the deep pain from which such consumption is born, I believe, is the only way to prevent and begin to treat such unhealthy behaviors. Education about what crystal meth use means is very important. Open communication with those in the group with the highest potential to use. I am referring here to rebellious and curious teenagers, who often seek to explore their identity in a way that leads to serious consequences. But I also want to talk about those who are really hurt, disconnected from the community, lying lonely in the misery of their own suffering. So often the drug becomes the meaning to belong in a group. But the illusion of connection to others and the illusion of escape from the reality of pain quickly ends. This leads to a deepening of this pain and an amplification of the feeling of powerlessness when the real problems are confronted again. So, if you are facing a crystal addiction right now, or have someone close to you who is addicted, you can turn to Teen Challenge with confidence. They can help you too!
Freedom and Christ
We come to believe that we are the pain from which we run into distraction, so we silence it for a few moments and forget that the grief inside comes from our desires that demand to be accepted and fulfilled in a healthy way. God, as we understand him, as AA says, can meet you in your pain and lead you beyond it, if you embrace reality with all that you can and are. Reality means coming to terms with your own dose of addiction, your helplessness in the face of it, and your sincere desire to change. Because this mind, which lies to you, keeps you stuck in a zone from which you know no other way to extinguish your pain than through addiction.
Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
The yoke of Christ is freedom, the radical freedom to take responsibility for every single thing you have done. Not to justify yourself, not to blame others for your pain, even if they have abused you. But the freedom and courage to accept both the pain others have caused you and also, the pain resulted from your own bad choices. Only then will you find joy by resting in your inner worth, as well as in your personal successes. This is the path to true life and in no way the seductive path of the crystal of empty promises.
The Goodbye Project: Dear Crystal Meth
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