Speed

Using speed makes you feel awake and cheerful. As a result, you may feel the sedating effects of the alcohol less and you may tend to drink more alcohol. Be careful, because this can cause an extra large hangover. So do not drink alcohol while taking speed use or make an agreement in advance with yourself or your friends how many glasses of alcohol you want to drink. This prevents headaches the next day and is better for your health!

Sometimes people use benzodiazepines to help them sleep after using a stimulant. Read more about that here.
Most importantly, you need to make sure you don’t need a benzodiazepine to sleep. Plan your doses so that you can sleep when you want. If you get used to always having a benzodiazepine on hand, chances are you’ll use more and more often.

• Do not take uppers a few hours before going to sleep, gradually reduce your party (take it easy, drink tea (without caffeine/theine)).
• Try to go to sleep without sleeping medication first. Maybe you are tired enough to fall asleep without sleeping pills.
• Have you tried everything? Are you really not able to sleep? And do you really want to sleep? Then a sedative/benzodiazepine may be an option.
• Do you realize that when you take a benzo, you mainly rest physically, and less mentally. A benzo inhibits your emotional processing and memory storage.
• Make sure you have the right dose.
• Are you taking a benzo? Then go to bed, otherwise you won’t fall asleep.
• Do not use benzos too often, and only if there is really no other option. Otherwise, you run the risk of becoming addicted to it.
• Choose a short-acting drug such as temazepam (Normison), this generally works better for sleep and if you take a long-acting drug such as diazepam (Valium) you will be drowsy the day after and you can’t drive a car, for example.
• Never use benzos for more than 2 weeks in a row if you have severe sleeping problems.

Speed is often cut with caffeine. The caffeine often makes you feel a bit more jumpy or rushed, in a negative way. Both drugs increase the heart rate.

Some users find it a pleasant combination. Cannabis can soften the ecstasy rush, especially at the end of the experience. However, it can also make the experience a bit more vague, which is not always positive.

Sometimes people use cannabis after or while using speed to calm down or fall asleep more easily. Cannabis can soften the amphetamine effects, especially at the end of the amphetamine rush. However, this is not recommended for everyone, some people may feel anxious or restless. If you suffer from insomnia after using speed, it is advisable to time your use better. Keep in mind what time you want to go to sleep and do not take any more about 12 hours before you want to go to sleep.

Speed ​​is sometimes combined with GHB to take the edge off speed or to get hornier when used in a sexual setting. The risk of this is that due to the stimulating effect of speed, you will not feel the anesthetic effect of GHB properly, increasing the chance of overdosing with GHB. If you then take too much GHB, your body is still stimulated, but you are no longer or not fully conscious. This looks rather weird and intense. Someone then moves very strangely and is no longer (properly) approachable.

Here you can read more about what to do if someone passes out.

Some people think that combining speed with GHB works against passing out. You can then feel clearer than under the influence of GHB alone. But it doesn’t really stop passing out. There is also a chance that you will take more GHB than you would if you were only using GHB. There are indications that if you go into a coma due to an overdose of GHB in combination with speed, the chance of a deep and longer coma is many times greater. And the likelihood of complications during the coma is higher. So never use ‘uppers’ to prevent passing out. Only sensible dosing with GHB helps against passing out. In addition, there is an increased risk of epileptic activity in the brain and an increased risk of movement disorders (automatic movements, agitation, self-mutilation).

Combining MDMA with uppers mainly ensures that you notice less of the MDMA. The desired effects, such as euphoria, are smoothed out. So you feel less of the MDMA. There is a chance that you will then take more MDMA to get a bit more effect. The uppers also remove the vagueness of the MDMA. You feel a little brighter.
The more MDMA you take and if you combine it with other uppers, the bigger the hangover. You feel empty and exhausted.
The combination also causes more brain damage. And a greater load on the heart and blood vessels.

To be able to weigh a certain dose properly, you need a good scale. Have a scale that can weigh milligrams, to 3 decimal places (0.001 mg). A scale that weighs 0.01 (2 decimal places) may be just accurate enough for MDMA, but not for many other substances.

Where can you find such a scale?

On the large international online webshops you can find scales for around 20 euros that can weigh 3 figures after the decimal point. You can buy empty capsules in different sizes at pharmacies, smart shops or drugstores. Some are also suitable for vegetarians. You can write the drug and dosage on the capsule with a waterproof marker or a CD marker.

Sometimes people use cannabis after or while using speed to calm down or fall asleep more easily. Cannabis can soften the amphetamine effects, especially at the end of the amphetamine rush. However, this is not recommended for everyone, some people may feel anxious or restless. If you suffer from insomnia after using speed, it is advisable to time your use better. Keep in mind what time you want to go to sleep and do not take any more about 12 hours before you want to go to sleep.

4-FA is a stimulant that can cause complaints on your cardiovascular system. This risk is increased by combining it with other stimulants such as speed or MDMA. The effects reinforce each other and because 4-FA continues to work for a long time, you increase the risk of unpleasant side effects and risks such as: tight jaws, muscle tension, heart palpitations, pressure on the chest, sleeping problems, a strong hangover and hangover the days after. You are also more likely to suffer from severe headaches.

When someone close to you uses a substance often it is normal to worry. There are risks: to physical health; that he/she will gradually use more and more and become dependent. When only using it on weekends, there is the possibility that he/she is able anymore to go out without using. It can then be useful to have a conversation with each other in an open, non-judgmental way. Mention the impact the use has on you as a person, for example that you are worried. If you would like tips or advice for this, please contact the addiction care institution in your region.

Combining different drugs is extra risky and unpredictable. If you combine, you are more likely to have problems with your health. Check the theme combination use for more information.

Cannabis and speed

Sometimes people use cannabis after or while using speed to calm down or fall asleep more easily. Cannabis can soften the amphetamine effects, especially at the end of the amphetamine rush. However, this is not recommended for everyone, some people may feel anxious or restless. If you suffer from insomnia after using speed, it is advisable to time your use better. Keep in mind what time you want to go to sleep and do not take any more about 12 hours before you want to go to sleep.

If you use speed often, your teeth can suffer. You clamp your teeth together or grind your teeth, which can cause extra pressure and therefore wear. You can also bite your tongue or damage your gums, and get wounds that irritate and don’t heal quickly. Bacteria also have an earlier chance to inflame your gums due to reduced saliva production. This in combination with drinking sweet drinks is very bad for your teeth. Therefore, use sugar-free chewing gum (or special chewing gum for your teeth) and take good care of your teeth after using speed. This prevents unnecessary damage to your teeth!

Wet speed is speed dissolved in a solvent, for example methanol.

To get from wet speed to dry speed you have to let it dry for a while. The solvent will then evaporate. Solvents are toxic and you don’t want to ingest them. When the speed is dry, there is no difference from speed that was already dry when it was sold.

It is often thought that wet speed is better or fresher than dried. It would come straight from the source. But those solvents can just as easily be added again after cutting it. The fact that speed is wet tells you nothing about the quality. The test service also shows that wet speed is still often cut, for example with caffeine.

But to reduce the risks, it is better to let your speed dry first! That also makes it easier to use.

In animal experiments, amphetamine has been shown to cause brain damage. However, this has not been demonstrated in humans. Several studies show that people who use amphetamines have impaired functions such as memory, concentration and attention and decision-making. The problem is that these people have often also used other substances and it is therefore difficult to say whether this is only due to the use of amphetamine. It is also still unclear whether this recovers if you have stopped for a longer period of time.

According to various researchers, the brain damage attributed to MDMA is partly determined by combination with amphetamine use. In any case, it seems that the use of amphetamine increases the risk of brain damage. More and more research is appearing that makes this plausible.

Yes, there are three forms of amphetamine: left rotation, right rotation, and racemic (50-50 left- and right rotation).

Amphetamine can be dextro-rotatory and levo-rotatory. Left-handed amphetamine is also called levo- or l-amphetamine. Dextrorotatory amphetamine is also known as dex- or d-amphetamine. Dextrorotatory amphetamine fits better on the receptors of the brain than levorotatory, and therefore has a stronger effect. Dextrorotatory and levorotatory amphetamines can be compared with a right and left glove. If you put the left glove on your right hand, the glove is the same, but it does not fit optimally because it is mirrored. The amphetamine that is offered ‘on the street’ in the Netherlands is always a combination of dextrorotatory and levorotatory amphetamine. This is called racemic.

In addition, there are other substances that resemble amphetamines:

1. Ephedrine is found in the ephedra plant and also has a stimulant effect.
2. 4-Fluoroamphetamine (4-FA) is a different drug than amphetamine, with effects that are similar to those of MDMA.
3. Methamphetamine (meth, crystal, Ice, Tina, Shabu) is a different drug than amphetamine, with effects similar to it. It is often experienced as very addictive. Methamphetamine is a variant of amphetamine and is rare in the Netherlands. An important difference with amphetamine is that methamphetamine dissolves better in fat than regular amphetamine and is broken down more slowly. As a result, methamphetamine enters the brain more easily and has a longer effect. It is 2 times stronger than the (dextrorotatory) dex-amphetamine. In addition, methamphetamine is smokeable.

Amphetamine is considered a hard drug in the Opium Act. It is on list 1. This means that possession, production and trade are punishable by law. The police will generally not intervene when a quantity is intended for personal use. However, the police can confiscate the drug.

The police consider possession of a 1/2 gram as intended for their own use. Unless there are clear suspicions that you are a dealer.

During some events or in some places, stricter controls can be applied, then a so-called ‘zero tolerance’ policy is enforced. This means that at those moments stricter penalties can be imposed, even for the possession of small quantities.

You can overdose on speed. Whether a dose is harmful depends, among other things, on how often someone uses it. It is therefore difficult to give clear advice about a safe dosage of speed, this is different for everyone.

Symptoms that are consistent with an overdose of speed are: anxiety, agitation/aggression, motor restlessness, tremors (involuntary movements), sudden muscle twitching, psychosis and an excited delirium syndrome. Ultimately, an overdose of speed can lead to high blood pressure, overheating (hyperthermia), cardiac arrhythmias, cardiac arrest, seizures, acute kidney and/or liver failure, electrolyte disturbances and in rare cases even death.

No it is not the same. The active ingredient in Ritalin is methylphenidate. This is a substance similar to amphetamine, but not the same. Although the effect of methylphenidate is similar to amphetamine, it is less strong.

Speed/amphetamine is used in different ways. The most common ways are snorting and swallowing. Drugs that are snorted enter the bloodstream faster through the nasal mucosa and therefore work faster than drugs that are swallowed. The peak is higher but the effects do not last as long. Because it works faster, snorting is more addictive than swallowing, because your brain makes the connection between the moment of use and the effect, so that the association between the drug and the effect is stronger! Keep in mind that the dose is higher when swallowing than when snorting. So you need less when you snort.

Some complaints after using drugs can last longer, A medical explanation or even treatment may then be necessary. The Brijder has set up a national consultancy for party drugs related medical complaints. If you have medical complaints after the use of party drugs, you can call the consultancy: 088 – 358 29 40. This service is only available in the Netherlands.