Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Creating Cravings

I'm not sure if I've discussed my P use before so I'll reiterate the situ as a background to this particular rant. I don't like P, I'll generally say no if I'm offered it, and I'll never EVER buy it. I find it makes me feel ok for a wee bit, then like there is a black hole where my stomach used to be for up to several days.

I've had a friend ruin her life with the stuff - lose her son, work as a prostitute, rip off a dealer and go underground, get knocked up by a cook and now has to live by his rules or get a punch in the face - luckily one of the rules is no P, unluckily she's already lost her front teeth at his hand. I've had friends use it for a period and suffer few ill affects other than (counter intuitively) gaining weight by staying up all night watching films and snacking. I've had other friends who take the stuff recreationally, staying up all night to hang out or work.

As someone who enjoys drugs, P holds no appeal for me. It isn't inherently fun like LSD, E or K. It doesn't make life more enjoyable like marijuana. It's terribly expensive and the effects are short-lived. And, of course, the addiction factor. Give me ritalin any day!

Having explained all this, you now have context for my assertion that for even people like myself, who will say no when offered P, experience cravings when shown an image of a full pipe. There are plenty about, such as the one below by Martin Sykes which accompanied this article in today's Herald. I've seen pics like this all over the place, from the Listener to the TV news, used to illustrate a piece on P.

I don't have any studies to back my view up, just my own reaction. But do we really need a study to prove that a P smoker, when they come across a photo like the below, wants a pipe? Sure, meth heads always want a pipe, but such visual stimulus helps to translate craving into action.

Given that we want to help, support and encourage anyone trying to quit P, I think it's unnecessary and irresponsible to have these tantalising pictures liberally littered throughout the media.

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