20 Tips for Safer Ice Use
1. HARM REDUCTION IS ALL ABOUT PLANNING. Think ahead! Here’s a starter list... Trusted drug source. Sterile equipment. Comfy clothing (optional). Safer sex. Cool companions. Location, location, location. Nutritious food. Water. A cosy bolt-hole for comedown sleep. Alarm for your next “straight” gig.
2. THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN BE SURE TO AVOID A BLOOD BORNE VIRUS (hep B, hep C and HIV) is to use your own sterile equipment for every shot and every puff. Make up a Boy Scout kit with enough injecting or smoking equipment to see you through a binge. Include a safer sex kit with condoms, lube, dams, gloves etc.
3. ESTABLISH SUPPORT NETWORKS of people you can call on if you are feeling unsettled. Use the “buddy system” where you and a mate look after and keep each other safe. That could include things like always answering a call from them, getting each other home, telling each other if you get a bit scattered, keeping sexual predators at bay and making sure you only use sterile equipment. Listen to your friends! Let people know where you are.
4. MAKE YOUR ENVIRONMENT WORK FOR YOU. For some people using ice in a club or at some other public event is fun. They also find they use less when they are out and active than if they are home alone. Others prefer to party at home with their friends and not to be “on show”. Either way, choose activities that maximise the fun factor, companions who love you and places that make you feel comfortable and safe.
5. MANAGE USE BY MANAGING YOUR FINANCES. Decide how much you are going to use and stick to it. It may help to pay your rent and bills first then pay for your drugs. Buy as many drugs as you need then leave your ATM card at home and avoid borrowing or tick.
6. PLAN FOR SAFER SEX. Think safer sex and make sure you have safer sex supplies. If you “Party ‘N’ Play”, think about how you can keep yourself safe. If you feel uncomfortable anywhere, get out. There’s lots of other places to be.
7. LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH. If someone is giving you free drugs, wonder why. If someone is mixing you drugs to inject, watch and make sure the equipment is new and sterile and the area is bacteria free. If someone is injecting you, make sure they have washed their hands and swabs have been used freely!
8. BE AWARE OF RISK SITUATIONS. Using ice at times of illness, the death of someone close to you, relationship breakup or job loss can make you vulnerable to a negative experience which may put you at risk of overdose or a mental health episode. Take steps to reduce the harms around your drug use. Be gentle on yourself. Talk to someone about your problems and be with people who care about you.
9. SLEEP, EAT, SHOWER. Pre-load on sleep and food before a binge. While you are high, take a rest break, even just ten minutes of deep breathing. Eat something, even if you are not hungry (check out the nutrition section in this mag). Get a friend to drop stuff in or get delivery if you can’t bear to go out. Having a shower can give you a much needed break, calm you down a little, soothe your skin and make you nicer to be near.
10. DRINK WATER but don’t guzzle. There is such a thing as too much. Add a salty snack or a sports drink so you are replacing body salts you lose by dancing or other activity. Drinking water hydrates veins, making them easier to find. It will also combat “dry mouth” leading to tooth decay which affects people who use drugs. Chewing gum can also keep your mouth moist.
11. A NOTE ON THE HARMS AROUND ADMINISTRATION. There are different risks associated with the way you take drugs. Taking ice by putting it in a drink and swallowing it, or by shafting it, (putting it up your butt) is safer than smoking or injecting. No matter how you take ice, you will get as stoned. What differs is the speed it comes on with. Shafting comes on nearly as quickly as injecting. Next comes smoking, then swallowing. Experiment and try mixing it up a little to minimise the harms.
12. TIPS FOR SMOKERS. You get most of the drug’s effect in the first few seconds, so there is no need to hold smoke in your lungs. Because of small cuts and abrasions on lips, gums and throat from vapour, it can help to gargle salt water, drink water, suck cough lollies, use lip balm and chew gum. Gas (jet) lighters melt the crystal faster and better so you don’t suck in crystal granules plus you waste less. They also don’t leave black marks around the pipe so you can see what is happening more easily. Pipes can get very hot with continuous use so let it cool from time to time to ward against the cough and sore throat that can come from burning the gear and will protect your pipe from becoming brittle and breaking.
13. IRRITABLE SKIN. Injecting stimulants is known to cause a rash, but this should go away within ten minutes. The combination of dried sweat and drugs leaching out can make your skin feel irritated; a shower helps. Infections from injecting or picking may need prescription medication. If you feel like you have insects in your skin it might be a drug reaction, but there are real parasites and bacteria so ask a chemist and take their advice. Good advice with all skin problems is to minimise picking. Using bactericidal soap, such as PhisoHex ® or Sapoderm ® available at pharmacies, along with keeping fingernails short and clean, can really help.
14. RECHARGE YOUR BATTERIES. If you begin to hear or see things, feel weak or physically off, feel a bit paranoid or find yourself impatient or quicker to anger than normally then your body and mind is telling you to live a quiet life for a bit. At this stage you may not realise you need it - we can sometimes be the last to know when we are a little off kilter - but if you are experiencing those symptoms and continue to use, it may become a problem for you and those around you. You will have to push through the depressing come-down but it will end and you will feel a lot better for the break. There is always another day and more drugs.
15. KNOW WHEN TO CALL IT A DAY. Knowing when a binge has run its course is an art form and practice makes perfect, but like pro-athletes and movie stars, it’s best to go out on a high with no regrets. If you’re out and about, it helps to have a welcoming cocoon waiting for you and know how you’re getting home.
16. OVERDOSE SYMPTOMS include anxiety, racing pulse, profuse sweating, excessive thirst, breathing difficulties, seizures (fits), nausea, vomiting, delusions (seeing or hearing things that aren’t there), psychosis and chest pain. It’s getting super serious if they stop sweating (and they are getting hot), have a stroke (headache; loss of balance; blurred or decreased vision in one eye; difficulty in speaking; numbness or partial paralysis) or fall unconscious.
17. IF SOMEONE FITS. First make the area safe. Remove anything that can cause injury. Don’t restrain them, the fit will only last a short time. Don’t worry about their tongue, they will NOT swallow it. Second, call an ambulance on 000. Third, put them in the recovery position. Put them on their side to keep the airway clear so they won’t gag on vomit; bend the top knee to keep the body from rolling; bend the top arm and put that hand under their head to support it. Stay with them.
18. WHAT IF YOU START TO EXPERIENCE A PANIC ATTACK OR PSYCHOSIS? Remind yourself that the way you feel is a side-effect of the drug (and sleeplessness). The drug will wear off and you will sleep! Concentrate on controlling your breathing - evenly and deeply - as this often helps overcome anxiety and can slow a racing heartbeat. Try not to get into arguments; you may say or do something you will regret later. This is especially important for couples who use together. Use your “drug buddy” if you have one, or if you know people who are safe and won’t freak out at you looping, go find them. If you are at a venue, find the “chill-out” space.
19. TIPS FOR CARING FOR SOMEONE WHO IS DISTRESSED OR OVERDOSING. Stay calm! How you react will affect the person. Move them away from bright lights and action if you can. Avoid sudden movements and confrontational situations. Sit beside not in front of them. If there are people around who are making things worse, ask them to leave or move away from them. Offer food and water. Most people will be diverted by talking about stuff they love doing, so try to get them talking about their interests to get their head in a more comfy space. Stay with them as it may only take a few minutes to wind themselves up again.
If they are physically unwell, monitor pulse, breathing and conscious state. Keep them warm. Encourage them to keep sipping water. Without making it a big deal, discourage them from smoking; the heart is having enough trouble getting oxygen through the body. If they are delusional, don’t challenge them but remind them they are out of it. They may be talking nonsense, they may react to things, or talk to people who aren’t there. Telling them they are imagining things or disagreeing with them won’t help. Because they are likely to panic, people experiencing psychosis can become extremely frightened, irrational, aggressive, and sometimes violent. Listening and not freaking out will often calm them down.
If at a venue consider getting help from staff. Large events employ First Aid officers. If you are concerned about anyone’s safety, or are worried that the person is at serious risk, call an ambulance. Be aware that police will usually attend, and may transport the person to hospital where they will probably have to spend 24 hours. They may be taken to a mental health facility. If so they are likely to be released within two weeks.
20. WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN. Come down is inevitable. Be nice to yourself when your body is detoxing. Make a nice space to retire to until it is all over, if possible somewhere with clean sheets, good music and food in the fridge. You will feel depressed, but remember your feelings are exaggerated and it will pass. Feeling bad is okay sometimes. Take multivitamins, eat fruit and drink water. Most of all, remember detox has a beginning, middle and end. The middle is often the hardest but it does end.