Oxycontin/Oxycodone is nothing more than pharmaceutical grade HEROIN.



Source LINKY.

Perhaps the biggest untold story about Big Fun is the role heroin had in its formation. Currently, in Philadelphia, heroin prices have fallen to record lows.

Its new levels of purity permit it to be smoked and snorted as well as injected, and for this reason its appeal has risen among middle-class suburban white kids, especially those identified with "alternative" cultures, such as the hippie culture and the punk rock culture. This is the very same demographic group that established Big Fun. And there is a connection.



As I type, a reasonably large fraction of my Philadelphia-resident acquaintances met through Big Fun are suffering either from a personal heroin addiction or the addiction of their friends. Those who have never taken heroin are routinely "pressured" into trying it in a way that I had always assumed was guidance-counselor-fictional. But there is no glory, no coolness in heroin, just as there never was in smoking cigarettes.

Heroin makes people into uninspired dullards, full of empty conversation as they lay around complacently. They have no needs, they have no wants because they have heroin.

But in addition to being a surrogate for happiness, heroin is also a surrogate for life. And so it disgusts me.
It also disgusted the founders of Big Fun. The ascendance of heroin in Philadelphia and its impact on peers played a role in their decision to escape to rural Virginia, where heroin cannot be obtained. Meanwhile, some who held out against the heroin onslaught but who remained in Philadelphia became so depressed about the addictions of their friends that they themselves ironically turned to heroin as a source of numb solace. And some who had moved to Big Fun found that the absolute lack of heroin in rural Virginia was a cause for great aggravation. And so heroin recalled them.

I don't know what the solution is.

I do not believe in drug enforcement and prohibition. That gives heroin all the alternative-culture credibility that it doesn't deserve. My solution has been to ridicule the fools who depend on and seek out heroin.

But all I really feel is despair at their wanton waste of this one chance they have among the living.

Inside Philadelphia Heroin Culture

The following essay is the result of interviews conducted in Philadelphia in October of 1996.

The heroin economy is extremely well developed in Philadelphia, as it is also in New York City. It has been in place for years and serves a large pool of addicts in the greater metropolitan area. With increased competition and the relatively recent abundance of cheap, pure heroin, the market has changed from one based on large profits for small amounts at high risk to one of large amounts at small profits and low risk. The hub of retail marketing operations is located in North Philadelphia (called by junkies "the North"). Here, at places well known to purchasers, merchants staff sections of street, starting at 7 in the morning and working shifts until far into the night. They shout "Dope! Dope! Dope!" at cruising cars, especially if they contain white people (North Philadelphia is largely comprised of decaying Black and Hispanic urban residential neighborhood.) The same merchants also market clean syringes ($2 each), marijuana, crack and powder cocaine and are known to shout "Ready Rock! Ready Rock!" at passing motorists. Such solicitations are always blatant and can easily be denied should they result in a confrontation with authorities; the actual drugs are kept hidden around a corner, in a seemingly disgarded cigarette pack, under a board, or in similar concealed caches. Among the white addicts, especially of suburban Philadelphia, the only merchants trusted for heroin transactions are Puerto Ricans. Both White and Black merchants have bad reputations for ripping off purchasers. The prices are all fixed for each product, thus negotiation and haggling is never done. The purchaser mentions a trade name and the dealer goes to get the product. The product comes sealed in clear cellophane and is stamped with a trademark identifying the product. Example trade names include "I'll be back," "Whitehouse," "Viper," "V8," "Fugitive," "Cowboy," "Gandy," and "Game of Death." All these except "Game of Death" cost ten dollars, while "Game of Death" is five dollars. The money and product are exchanged simultaneously. Under most circumstances, the product is exactly what it has been stated by the dealer to be; its purity and quantity are rigourously maintained to ensure that the purchaser will return to make another purchase in the near future when another dose is needed. Furthermore, the dealers see to it that the neighborhood in which transactions take place is kept relatively safe so as not to discourage purchasers. It is not uncommon, however, for purchasers to rip off dealers, for example by slapping money in a dealer's hand and pulling away, having paid less than the standard price. Purchasers given to ripping off dealers in this way are forced to find new dealers (of which there is an abundant supply). However, they stand at risk of eventual brutal retribution. Naturally, there is no recourse to the law for either party.

Each heroin addict needs his own characteristic maintenance dose to keep from going into withdrawal and becoming ill. This characteristic dose changes over time, generally increasing. When an addict is in possession of uncharacteristically large amounts of money, he is likely to purchase and consume larger than a maintenance dose, allowing him to a enjoy euphoric bliss somewhat similar to his initial experience when first trying heroin.


But most heroin purchases are for maintenance, and mostly occur when the addict is already going into withdrawal. For this reason, the purchasing heroin addict is concerned about very little except the moment of consumption. He acts much like a greedy child at the cookie jar once the heroin is in his hot little hands. If he injects heroin, he will have his needle and spoon ready for action, tieing off a vein with any available cordage, dissolving the heroin into any available solvent (usually clean water but sometimes cheap wine and even puddle water are used) and injecting on the spot. If no clean needle is available, a dirty one will not be rejected. One must understand that at this point the addict is in a state of insane desire and the future can be sacrificed for the readily accessible now.

The heroin user considers all money to be potential heroin. Commodities such as food, alcohol, other drugs, activities such as sex, socializing and hobbies are viewed as irrelevant if they do not apply to the task of securing more heroin.

Most standards of dignity are lost in many cases; for example, women who are addicted are given to performing prostitutional or semi-prostitutional services in exchange for the money with which heroin can be purchased.

From lack of eating, weight is gradually lost. And in one case I know of, an addict is down to defecating only once each week. Meanwhile, to increase the impact of what heroin can be afforded, the addict moves from smoking and snorting heroin to injecting it. After months of injections, the veins become bruised, calloused and raw anywhere they approach the surface and can be accessed by needle. With the experience of injecting heroin, many addicts also begin injecting other drugs with which they are familiar, such as cocaine and even distilled alcohol. Cocaine injections lead to long term damage to veins, leaving behind hard knots that last for weeks.

Thus the addict gradually comes to find himself placed in a pathetic situation that is inconceivable to the non-addict.

Isolation from heroin seems to break the cycle only temporarily; addicts know too well the joys of heroin and seem to be unable to go back to the way they were before heroin. All their will power is seemingly destroyed, leaving them powerless and ineffectual in the trendy alternative world that brought them to heroin in the first place.

Junkie Wanna-be FAQ

now accepting submissions; credit will be given to those who contribute.

Kurt Cobain and other famous rock stars did heroin and they remained creative, productive people, plus folks thought they were cool. So why shouldn't I follow their example and be cool too? Kurt Cobain was a rich rock star. He didn't have to suck the penises of strangers to secure funds for his next fix. So his dignity could be preserved despite his addiction. And as we know, Kurt Cobain didn't make it in the long run. But heroin, it had the headlines, it had the stigma. It was the way to be fully bad in a way that cigarettes could never be.


Who would have ever imagined that heroin was just another form of slavery?

__________________
Gary Spicuzza, *SAFE
Copyright 1956.
No Rights Reserved.
*Self Appointed Financial Expert