Dating A Meth Addict

DO NOT FALL IN LOVE with a crystal meth addict, particularly one who manufactures it in the comfort of her own home. It may sound great at first, dating someone who is always cheerful to a fault, full of energy and confidence, someone who seems to be on top of the world, self assured, brilliant. Meth users feel like god; the initial euphoric rush, followed by hours of godliness, powerful, in control, brilliant. That's why they become addicted; they are addicted to being euphoric and godlike. The problem is, this lasts for about three days non stop, then comes the crash, the horrible mood swings, and the twenty four hour sleeping it off. Then, the cycle begins again. They do a great job of hiding their addiction. They often have so much energy that they keep their homes spotless. The only evidence is a small package of white powder, conveniently kept in any purse, along with a compact mirror and a razor blade. When high on meth, one can be excessively industrious. Problem is, the person you love will end up in either the hospital, prison, or the mortuary. You learn not to mind the constant sniffing, and the curvy slender body that comes when appetite goes is very, very sexy, but internal organs eventually shut down. The life of a meth addict becomes chaos, eventually, as risky choices create strained relationships, sexually transmitted diseases, and financial chaos, leading to a life of petty crime and constant deception, a double life in which the addiction is carefully concealed against a background of lifestyle normalcy. My lady friend would go to work four days in a row, bust butt, then miss on the fifth day, like clockwork. The pattern was too predictable. Her sick days came only one day at a time, as if every illness was the same twenty four hour bug, every fourth day, right on schedule. No, sickness does not work like that. When I helped her remove the stove from her rental house my suspicions were heightened. Stoves, like toilets, never leave the house. Rather, they convey, as realtors like to say. To remove a stove is to destroy evidence. When your sweetheart is locked in her bathroom at midnight, after a long day of work, with a "friend", the only thing that can happen is oral sex, snorting powder, or both. Meth users hang out together, because non users are buzz kills, and birds of a feather flock together. A razor blade found on the floor is a sure sign of powder cutting: who uses razor blades for anything else these days? One and a half million Americans, it is estimated. A world wide phenomenon, worse in many other countries than even southwest Missouri or northeast Oklahoma. It can be tempting to date a meth addict, with all her libido, but, again, don't do it, because there is only a train wreck waiting to happen.