Scariest Documentary - HBO's America Undercover - Crank: Made in America

[LynneSin]

http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/crank/

Man, I was flipping through TV last night to find something to help me fall asleep and instead I found this documentary about the growing problem of Crank (methamphetamine). Of course the other scary part was the fact that they interviewed Asa Hutchinson (US Drug Czar), but even still - this documentary just freaked me out.

You know there is a 6% recovery rate for folks addicted to crank. Anyone else see this documentary. You have to admit, HBO's "America Undercover" shows some of the most interesting documentaries out there!

[hadrons]

1. Can't say if these people ever tried crank, but ......

This is a series of mug shots taken from a young girl in New York City.

The images visually document the effects of drugs over a time span of 15 years.



This is another series of mug shots taken from a women in Toronto Canada.

The images llustrate the effects of drugs and prostitution of the same women over the course of 10 years.



from http://www.ebaumsworld.com/downward.html

[rppper]

9. we have both of those images on the wall....

...at the detox/rehab i work at....it is stunning to watch the younger, 20ish girls who are hooked on heroin or coke stare at these women for 10 or 15 mins. at a time, then see them cry afterwards. the woman on the top died 9 months after the last shot was taken, looking many years older than 33.....

[XNASA]

2. I once had a friend, who was a co-worker....

.....who fell prey to crank. I met him in '90, he started using around 92, he lost everything he had by 97. In 2000, at 48, he moved back to rural Illinois, where he grew up. He was trying to staighten out. He hung himself last year.

Crank will eat you up. It's not a pretty thing to see someone go through.

[Loonman]

3. Can't stand 'em

I can't stand cocaine or meth users. That stuff steals your soul.

[LynneSin]

4. Well these folks they showed on the Documentary had no souls left

One family was a mom who was doing crank with her kids (adults) and some folks who moved into the home. I felt bad for the grandmother, who was not a drug user, because it was her home that was being destroyed by all these people. One of the sons was in jail

Second family was a couple who were hard-core users that basically sat around all day and shotup with crank. They were both crying because they wanted to clean up so badly but nothing seemed to work. The wife had me crying because she said "You're suppose to take drugs to make you feel good and enjoy life, I'm not doing either".

The final one was a young couple expecting a baby. She was not a crank user (although she was six months pregnant and chain smoking) but her husband was. He promised to get off the drug but after they showed the birth of her baby, they had a afternote saying he used 36 hours later.

I guess this freaked me out because I grew up in a rural part of Pennsylvania and I could see this happening where I lived. It's a sad drug that just eats away at you. When I was reading about the documentary at HBO's website, it said that the drug will literally destroy your brain cells.

[northernsoul]

5. this Sh!t is spreading rapidly in the rural midwest

over the past 6 or 7 years

It is completely destroying a whole generation of young people growing up in rural areas... surrounded by closing factories, failing family farms and increasinly unabtainable educational opportunities.

[mitchum]

6. Bad drug- I helped someone shoot up a huge trust fund...

20 years ago (yeah, yeah...way ahead of the stupidity curve) You can feel yourself slipping into amphetamine psychosis as you stay awake for 6-7 days at a stretch. I weighed 116lbs (and I'm 6') Even after kicking (I will never again have to undertake anything so difficult), I still did not feel "normal" for a couple of years. Even though I normally hate cautionary tales...STAY AWAY FROM METH!

[Cheswick2.0]

11. I don't know you, but I am proud of you

Watching someone you love suffer from drug addiction is like living in hell. I am glad for you and all the people who love you.

[mitchum]

12. Thank you , Cheswick

[Nevernose]

7. The new studies say it's more addictive than crack

I guess as one of the 6% I'm pretty goddamned lucky. I'd rather be dead than touch that shit again. Someone else said that it "steals your soul." They couldn't have been more right. I tried to watch that show last night -- it was way too familiar, and way too depressing.

I work at the juvenile court now, and I see kids as young as 9 or 10 using meth. Their parents and grandparents use, their friends and other people at (elementary) school -- and they've got no fucking chance in life whatsoever.

[rppper]

10. i couldn't watch it either...been there, done that...

...lost good jobs, a house, nearly a marraige(that came later though)...i stopped using in '88, but to this day i still grind my teeth when i think about it...graduated from week-end snorting to main-lining it in 2 1/2 years...went from 210 lbs to 155...i am 6-2...it has been big in texas since the early 80's...i remind myself every day where i could be...i help recovering addicts...best therapy you can get, and i get paid.....

[oustemnow]

8. Well, meth can be something of a wonder drug

it's pretty cheap, and incredibly potent. Still, though, yeah, it's nothing to get hooked on, as apparently it is hell to kick the addiction. Personally, after a night of doing it, I NEVER felt like starting up again the next day, as it does leave you incredible jangled.