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Crank: The Working Man’s Drug
WHAT IS CRANK?
Crank is the strongest form of amphetamine, a stimulant that has been around for a long time.
Milder forms of amphetamine (benzedrine and dexedrine) have been known over the years by such names as "whites", "diet pills", "cross-tops", "bennies," etc. Crank itself (methedrine of meth-amphetamine) was sometimes called "crystal" or "crystal meth" back in the 1960’s. These names have resurfaced some places.
All forms of amphetamine have sometimes been known as "speed".
Crank is much stronger than the other kinds of amphetamine. Its usual form is a white power which can be eaten, mixed with liquid and drunk, snorted up the nose, injected with a needle ("slamming"), or smoked.
Snorting, injection and smoking are the most popular ways of using crank. Smoking and Injection give (by far) the most powerful effects.
WHAT DOES CRANK DO?
Crank stimulates everything: both body and mind. Physically, the pulse speeds up, blood pressure rises, blood vessels constrict, and the body behaves in much the same way it would if you suddenly got a powerful rush of adrenalin. The effects people actually use crank for, though, are the MENTAL ones.
Someone on crank has energy, stamina, and self-confidence. They can concentrate on what they are doing (even if it is boring or repetitious) for hours and hours. Their mind races and is filled with what seem to be important insights. They are exhilarated. Everything feels possible to them, no matter how difficult. They are on top of the world.
This makes crank very attractive to people who work long hours, or strange hours (graveyard shift, for example), or do boring work (such as assembly). Students have found they can read or study around the clock with scarcely a break.
As one crank user has said: "Crank is cheaper that a motivational seminar and has more kick than a whole pot of coffee."
SO WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? IT SOUNDS LIKE A MIRACLE DRUG!
Most of the pitfalls of crank have to do with DEPENDENCE.
Because it feels so good to "come on to" crank, it is quite a let-down to come off. The crank user who felt energetic, self-confident, and on top of the world now feels exhausted, full of self-doubts and misgivings, and depressed.
Before long he’s in a cycle: Since he feels bad when he’s not using, he uses more frequently.
He also uses more of the drug when he uses. Crank develops a tolerance very fast. That means that the amount that used to be enough no longer does the job. Both amount and frequency increase as time goes on.
The crankster isn’t hungry, so he doesn’t eat. He isn’t tired, so he doesn’t sleep. When he can’t keep up the pace any longer, he may crash and sleep around the clock or stuff himself on junk food. Exhaustion and malnutrition begin to take a toll.
Teeth, hair, and skin start to look bad. The skin sometimes starts to itch and the addict may pick at himself, staring into the mirror while he works over imaginary blemishes. This leads to skin sores characteristic of heavy users.
If he snorts the drug, he starts to have nose problems (crank irritates tender nasal tissue). His nose runs and he may develop sinus and/or respiratory problems.
The original self-confidence about everything develops into a totally unrealistic view of his world. Depending on his mood he may feel very important or have fantasies that people are out to get him.
His moods will begin to swing wildly between euphoria and depression. He may become totally reasonable, do crazy things, or have temper tantrums. He becomes hard to live with, to say the least.
Mostly cranksters hang out with other people who use crank. They think crank, talk crank, and make arrangements to get crank—and may do very little else. A big problem in quitting this drug, then, is that the crankster may eventually not really know anyone except other cranksters. Trying to find a straight crowd of people who will support his attempts to quit the drug can be a major problem.
IF SOMEONE GETS OUT OF CONTROL ON CRANK, CAN THEY TAKE SOMETHING TO CALM THEM DOWN?
A lot of problems associated with crank come from trying to do just that: mellow out the effects of one drug with another.
Cranksters often abuse alcohol and other depressants (such as tranquilizers or sedatives). They may use them to try to calm the more manic parts of a crank run; or they try to counteract drunkenness by picking themselves up with crank. Either way, the result is disastrous. It might seem that crank and alcohol make sense: a stimulant and a depressant ought to cancel each other out.
Actually, it’s more like trying to slow down a speeding car by throwing it into reverse.
Some of the most bizarre actions, odd delusions, and dangerous physical side effects come from mixing crank and downers, especially alcohol. "Over-amping" (getting too stimulated to do anything), hallucinations, and some of the most paranoid delusions reported by cranksters can often be attributed to this mixture.
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
It’s usually very hard to quit crank. The depression that follows quitting this drug, the difficulty in getting away from old using friends, the long task of learning to handle emotions and deal with work on its own terms is enough to send many cranksters back to their drug after a short try at staying straight.
Fortunately, one of the side-effects of so many crank users having problems is that support groups of recovering addicts have many, many more cranksters in them than a few years ago. In such groups you can find people who have been there, who have had all the problems you are having and have been able to lick them.
For information on how to get help for a crank problem call (510) 792-HELP
