My question is, are there any drugs that are injected intravenously through the wrist or lower arm? So if someone wore elbow-length sleeves, another person who was looking closely at their wrist or lower arm would see some sort of evidence?

Also, forgive my ignorance because I'm not into this scene at all, when injecting drugs, do you /have/ to inject into the inside of your elbow? Stereotypically, that's where everyone says there would be "track marks", but could you theoretically inject them /anywhere/ and get a similar effect? The character in question would want to hide his drug use as much as possible, so he'd choose to inject elsewhere if possible, but I'm not sure whether it's realistic.

Another question... what about oral versus injections? Is one more potent than the other? Do the effects of one method one last longer or not?

And I hope you're not sick of questions, because I could keep asking them all day. xD Any visible effects -- I assume that they would look very similar for both males and females, but just confirming that.

Sorry for my ignorance, and thanks for any help you could provide. Also, if anyone has any links to sites that provide information on what effects drugs have on your thinking (particularly with example trains of thought!) or activities, or pictures of what the effects would look like, I'd greatly appreciate it. I've done my Googling, before you link there.

Thanks!

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As I lay back, looking at the stars, I began to wonder...
Where the heck did my roof go?

Yes, I did recently ask about "penis smashing", as you so succinctly put it. If you're curious, it is the same story and character. Yes, I put him through a lot. xD

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As I lay back, looking at the stars, I began to wonder...
Where the heck did my roof go?

I think a site that'd really help you is Erowid (google it). Got plenty of details on what you want!

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You can fool some people sometime
But you can't fool all the people all the time... (good luck govt!)

Edit: xroses are redx, thank you for the clarification. :) So it wouldn't be as easy to get to a vein in the hand, wrist or leg, right? Would it leave more or less visible marks? I didn't even think of that method, I'll have to look into it more -- thanks.

Post edited at 4:57 pm on Jan. 8, 2009 by bagheera 101

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As I lay back, looking at the stars, I began to wonder...
Where the heck did my roof go?

http://www.dannychoo.com/adp/eng/1248/Drugs+in+Japan.html

http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/amp04.htm

this is about injecting drugs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_injection

this is about street names on drugs, [scroll down]

http://www.addictionca.com/street-drug-names.htm

this may help you if your describing drugs or affects of it;
[i have to put a few breaks in it, take them out]

http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/04/05/
illegal_drugs_identification_chart_what_they_look_like__
amp_how_to_recognize_their_effects.htm

hope this helped!! [:

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Pretty. Odd. :D :D :D

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Thanks for your reply, Berend. I think I've stumbled on the site before but never bookmarked it. Very helpful!

Edit: xroses are redx, thank you for the clarification. :) So it wouldn't be as easy to get to a vein in the hand, wrist or leg, right? Would it leave more or less visible marks? I didn't even think of that method, I'll have to look into it more -- thanks.

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When at the hispital, and you get an IV in the vein on the top of your hand, is a vein some injectors use. It's closer to the surface of the skin, so it doesn't leave as much of a mark as say injecting in your arm vein, which is deeper. The deeper the vein, the more noticable the marks/scars. And yes, it is harder to get the needle in these veins though, the veins in the elbow/forearm are most popular. =]

xroses are redx, ahh, I see! Thanks for the clarification.

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As I lay back, looking at the stars, I began to wonder...
Where the heck did my roof go?

Intravenously injected drugs can be shot up in many different locations in the body. People use the upper arm most often because it's easiest; the veins are large, come to the surface easily (when you first start shooting up...), and are easily accessed. People can shoot up in all sorts of other places though, and heavy users essentially have to--they need to rotate injection sites so as to give their veins time to sort-of heal. People trying to hide injections often shoot up in their feet or legs, for example.

As for oral vs. IV, intravenous use is much more potent, faster-hitting, and dangerous than oral use. Generally people start by eating/ smoking/ snorting a given drug before they eventually move up to shooting it for the more potent effects. Someone injecting speed, for example, most likely started out eating it, gradually developed an addition, and then eventually got to the point of willingness to shoot it up so as to use less material for a stronger high.

Ahh, thanks for the clarification re: injection sites. How long would it take an injection site to "heal" -- ie, how often could they inject before having to move to another site, and then go back to the first one again? I imagine this would leave some sort of permanent scarring, but could a guy get away with it for a short period of time? How long would he have before it would be visibly noticeable?

I know it's probably a very individual thing, but is there any kind of "average" for how long it would take to progress through the stages? I haven't decided yet if I want him to have been "using" for about a year, or four years (or somewhere in between). Is there a point where breaking the addiction becomes much harder, or is that fairly constant once you're addicted?

Sorry for all the questions. xD I always end up with more questions than answers.

(Edit because I'm lame and can't tell : and ? apart, apparently. )

Post edited at 5:28 pm on Jan. 8, 2009 by bagheera 101

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As I lay back, looking at the stars, I began to wonder...
Where the heck did my roof go?