PODCAST 25: Thomas Morton and I discuss addiction

As a person who has used opiates since my early teens, I really appreciated this one. Thank you, Thomas and Hamilton.

Peter Thomas

Great convo! I have consumed much of Thomas’s content, always wonderful.

Dangus Rangus

@DevaAngelwater I believe you, I just don’t see that as proof that dealers are intentionally doing it, rather than someone at some point in the supply chain who sells both using contaminated paraphernalia. Also, would fentanyl adulterants precipitate in an obvious if someone tried to ‘cook’ it into crack, or does it homogeneously ‘rock up’ in the same way? Ironically, this would make conversion to crack a harm reduction strategy if significant fentanyl adulteration is suspected.

SeattleTransAndNonbinary ChoralEnsemble

There are waaaaaay too many incidents now of fent overdose after doing a bag of cocaine. The right mixture is barely detectable, the fent just adds a little more euphoria and a stronger craving the next day. It is being done at a large scale...bottom line

DevaAngelwater

Thankyou for uploading this one even with the obvious difficulty of the situation surrounding it.

TheFapEngine

In the intro you mention that you don't think dealers are purposefully mixing fentanyl into their cocaine at a large scale to make it more habit-forming, which I would tend to agree with that suspicion, but don't know if it has been scientifically tested or how we would go about distinguishing those, especially if the dealers themselves are unaware that their other powders contain fentanyl. Is there any evidence that the fentanyl adulteration in cocaine has been intentional in any case, as opposed to an artifact of incompetence/sloppiness (e.g. cocaine dealers reusing a baggie they found in a drawer with white powdery residue assuming it is cocaine rather than fentanyl)? I recall a case a few years ago where two college age women 'ground scored' a bag of white mystery powder at a local night club, racked up cocaine-sized rails of it, and both sadly perished when it turned out to be a 'china white' mixture of fentanyl mixed with mannitol to a heterogeneous mixture with the rough average potency of heroin. I also suspect that the case where a LEO needed narcan from contacting a sample that has reached urban legend status after he claimed to have consumed only trace amounts from touching a surface, may have been to cover up his dipping into the evidence to help himself to what was assumed to have been a cocaine bump (if not completely fabricated story after having a panic attack or other medical event). Obviously from a harm reduction standpoint, bags of unknown origin containing white or offwhite powder should be flushed immediately, or if someone insists on using it, reagent tested followed by a TINY sized bump as a bioassay (or vaporizing that amount in a bubble to see if it melts clearly like meth vs turns black from adulterants) before consuming any 20+mg dosage, but I wonder how many accidental fentanyl overdoses were the result of end users mistaking it for cocaine, ketamine or molly. I am a harm reduction volunteer as well as a PsyD candidate still deciding what I want to do for my dissertation, so if anyone has ideas for how this might be set up as an empirical study, reach out to me via private message or at mvega2@antioch.edu.

SeattleTransAndNonbinary ChoralEnsemble

Agreed. I find the delusional quality (partculaly in phencyclidine family) extremely theraputic but I can imagine how its a double edged sword.

Really appreciate the mention of MOUD! I research MATs and it was very exciting for me to encounter a discussion about them in the wild.

Just wanted to applaud you for opening up about job-related burnout (especially involving traveling, which has been the case for me almost constantly since 2019). I also appreciated the discussion of psychotic breaks manifesting as annoyance to those around the person—that’s the perfect way to describe it!

Andee Nero

Something you mentioned about ketamine that I noticed is strangely common, not just for it, but really all arylcyclohexylamines is that they all seem to have a very down played safety profile to most common drug users I’ve talked to (be it online and offline). Obviously like you said I don’t think one should blame the compound (or even the person), but it is weird how in many psychoactive circles people paint harder nmda antagonists as very matter a fact, safe drugs. Similar to classical serotonergic psychedelics, when I feel (especially recreationally and in a non clinical setting) them being used in frequent and or large amounts. Dissociatives hold a similar amount of risk as any other drug. I would be very interested in hearing more about your take on them, as that interview you did a while back with the PCE chemist is an all time favourite. And as personally I have seen both the great things and horrors they can do for people.

Ninjoj

Great conversation. Your work lives sound mental. I agree for the most part that people should refrain from opioid use but it can still be a great intervention to disrupt any form of intense pain including psychological and emotional pain, such as what you might experience with when loosing a loved one.

Agree with this

imo The five dollars a month is totally worth it. For those of your friends who can afford that, spread the word!

Rasta304

First of all, thank you for what you do. I just wanted to say that I am a newer subscriber and this particular podcast comes right on the heels of me losing a close friend to addiction. Although I don’t currently live there, both myself and the person who OD’d are from Appalachia/West Virginia... so you already know how that goes in terms of opiate addiction… anyways/ Thank you for addressing this topic.

Rasta304

Hamilton-

Rasta304

Is this available to listen if you aren't a Patreon member? I would love to share this with friends who might need to hear it.

Would love listening to a regular podcast with the two of you.

Such a great conversation. I completely identify with Thomas’ description of a jet being at maximum fuel efficiency when it’s red lining. For me to enter that “flow state” I need to have a million tasks to do or else I’m just not as productive and it can definitely lead to burn out. And feelings of euphoria 🤷🏼‍♀️ Also, it sucks to love someone in the throes of addiction who isn’t seeking help. Love to all of you who’ve lost someone to it.