Crystal Hell

At 1am this morning whilst was waiting at traffic lights in Coogee, a Silver Service cab stopped next to me. A woman hopped out, slammed the door and came to my window. ‘Are you Vacant ?’, she asked in a pleasant voice. I hesitated.

Of Anglo heritage she was probably around 40 years old yet looked 50, betrayed by a hard, lined face. Additionally her hair was way too long for her age-the Stevie Nicks look. She was attired in tidy jeans and a singlet top, complemented with cheap neck chains and wrist bangles. Completing the ensemble were large tattoos adorning her shoulders and upper arms.

‘Where you going ?’, I asked. ‘Waterloo’, she replied. Whilst this was a tough Housing Commission suburb next to Redfern, I considered it a safer bet than way out west. She seemed okay so I told her, ‘Yeah, hop-in mate, no worries’, and she climbed-in the front.

‘What was wrong with the other cab ?’, I queried. ‘Ah, the fucking Indian bastard wanted to take my money first. I showed him the money but he grabbed it and put it down the side of his seat’. ‘Well, a lot of drivers are spooked after the cabbie was killed last week by those girls’, I explained. ‘Yeah, but I’m only tiny’, she retorted. ‘No way could I attack him. Anyway, those girls must have been ‘icing’ to do something crazy like that’.

This was a new term to me and I guessed she referred to the amphetamine derivative, ice, ‘You mean ‘ice’..?’. ‘Yeah’, she said, ‘it’s all over the place. It’s really bad shit’. Ice is also called 'crystal', a highly concentrated form of speed. One of the worst drugs around, speed is sometimes called the poor-man's cocaine. ‘So where’s this ‘ice’ coming from, Asia or somewhere ?’. ‘Nah, here’, she said. ‘They cook it up in kitchens. That’s what all the smackos are into now since the drought’.

Over recent years there’s been a big drop in Sydney’s heroin supply resulting in, amongst other things, decreased property crime. Anyone who frequents the inner city would have noticed reduced numbers of ‘nodding’ junkies around the streets. Though the Kings Cross injecting room may also account for some of this drop-off. I suspect the same phenomena applies to similar heroin-haunts in the western suburbs.

‘So you snort ice, right ?’, I asked. This has been the traditional method of using speed. ‘Bullshit’, she laughed dismissively, ‘they hit it up. Everything is hit-up now’. She was referring to intravenous injecting. ‘All the working girls who used smack now hit-up on ice’, she continued. ‘That’s why they’re working so cheap, because the shit is cheap’.

‘So what’s worst’, I asked, ‘heroin or ice ?’. ‘Well, I used to be a heroin addict but I got off it with methadone a few years ago’, she said and I believed her. She exhibited a level of lucidity and calmness usually not evident amongst drug addicts. ‘Heroin’s a much nicer hit than ice but it’s more addictive I reckon. Now I just smoke pot but back then I got into ice when it first arrived and shit man, it’s fucks your head and body big time. After a month on the shit I looked like a skeleton. That shit really scared me’.

To demonstrate the disastrous mental impact of heavy ice usage, my passenger proceeded to relate examples of a few friends. One couple she knows seriously believe they are building a space ship and receive regular visits from aliens !

Another girlfriend has started believing she’s hermaphrodite. ‘Her name is Chantelle’, my passenger laughed, ‘but she calls herself Sam and dresses like a man’. ‘What makes her think that ?’, I asked. ‘Cause she’s got this huge clit..’, and she spread a thumb and forefinger for effect, ‘which she reckons is a dick ! I had a look and it’s bullshit. I told her to wake up and get off the ice’.

Fortunately, as this was not a topic I felt comfortable pursuing, we arrived outside her Housing Commission block in Waterloo. As she paid the fare I commented, ‘The worst thing is that kids are getting into this shit’. ‘You got that right’, she agreed, ‘Some as young as twelve. Plus there’s even worst gear around called, base’. As we’d run out of time to discuss this, I’ve Googled for ‘base’. The world of ‘crystal’ is a real eye opener.

We exchanged farewells and she hopped out. Crossing the road behind the cab she called, ‘Hope you have a good night driver - not like that other fucking c... !’. Charming. As a matter of fact I did have a good night, thanks very much. Good night.

Comments

[Nick]

Meth is some bad news. My social group of friends that I grew up with in Brisbane were heavily into it. I missed the boat because my wife and I were abroad for a few years. We came back and the hard core partying on this stuff was out of control. I also have another mate who is on it. Can't tell him that it is bad for him. He just goes off the rails. He is looking ancient and he is only thirty. Adrian, it is scary stuff and it is too easy to do. Since living here in California I am always on the lookout for people hopped up. Just be wary. People become very unpredictable whilst on it.

[Steph]

wow, the people you meet!

[Carl]

I too have friends on it. One tried to convince me that i was waisting my life by NOT taking it. His rationalle being that I slept 6 hours a day - time waisted he enthused. He was serious that 12 hours a week was plenty. He spent his evenings adapting cigarette lighters and magnetising rods so that he didn't have to bend down to pick up his cone when he dropped it.

Mind you my wife thinks I'm waisting my time reading this blog.

Stay safe Adrian.

[adrian]

Nick, as you say, you were lucky to miss a boat called Titanic. I'm forever looking out for erratic 'speeders'. Like this bloke.
Carl, sounds like classic speed 'logic'. Plus I'm shattered your missus doesn't rate Cablog !

[Nick]

Odd times we are living in. Try travelling the buses here.

[sarah]

Hey adrian, you will find that whilst you can inject ice, most will smoke it in a glass pipe (if you have ever seen Traffic you will understand). There is a stigma nowadays especially around the younger users that "injecting" is too hardcore and "bad" but smoking is okay. Probably because of all the bad press with Hep C and AIDS etc.

Anyways smoking offers a similiar body rush to injecting and for young users seems more socially acceptable. It can really fuck you up tho... as a stimulant constant use means that many will go on weeklong benders with little to no sleep... that would fuck with anyones head really.

[stackja1945]

Weird! I think of paracetamol or anti histamine maybe anti biotic from the GP. But the rest is as I said weird.