Bastique

For my latest article, Addiction Treatment, I did an internet search, and came up with this news piece: Better drug treatment for gays urged. It starts off:

To combat the problem of substance abuse within Chicago's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, drug-treatment services should become more sensitive to issues of sexual orientation, according to a report released Thursday by the city's Health Department.
The first-of-its kind report, which took three years to produce, says substance-abuse programs that address the needs of the LGBT community are "clearly lacking" and recommends the improvement of existing services through cultural-sensitivity training. It also calls for the establishment of standards to guide service providers on how best to address drug problems in the community.

Click the article title to see the entire article.

Whose fault is this? It's 2005, well into the 21st Century and we still haven't dealt with the problem of gay drug abuse. Believe me, it hardly comes from within our own community, where glass pipes are almost a status symbol and track marks are noted with cute comments like, "oh, Mary, looks like someone missed."

Crystal Methamphetamine, the leader of the latest plague facing the gay community but far from the only drug involved, is generally referred to as Tina and an over-the-top, sleepless-for-days user is referred to as being tweaked or spun. Even the name Crystal does little to reveal the beast that lurks within its addiction. I have to laugh when I hear people refer to Tina as The Bitch, a kind of euphemism-on-euphemism.

Snorts are referred to as bumps. Needles are called simply points. I don't know yet whether the pipes have got a cute name. If you didn't think it couldn't get cuter. Take a look at this (warning, could be triggering): Mr. Veiny's Crystal Meth Tips.

Perhaps it would be better to begin to call it crank once more...or does that simply bring up images of Hell's Angels bikers producing it from condoms. I'm afraid that will probably encourage rather than dissuade many of the community.

Meth seems entirely appropriate, and lends a hint of scientific credibility. It's like referring to one's tallywacker as a penis.

Maybe if we called it used smegma people would think twice about using it. Junk has a nice ring to it, and brings up images of arm-sore herion addicts drifting away in a shooting gallery.

How about we call it something with a ring of truth to it, like Slow death? I believe that would get people thinking.

"Hey Phil, you got a bump of slow death, would ya?"

Naw...now it sounds too much like a mixed drink.