• LeylaLove [she/her, love/loves]@hexbear.netM
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        2 hours ago

        I don’t know what people know about addiction stereotypes, but pawning/trading goods off is a big one other addicts recognize. I totally sold my PC graphics card to buy liquor, but that was a much different process. I had to sell it over the course of days without alcohol then got it with said money. That is not how it works with hard drugs.

        Imagine you’re a drug dealer, someone comes to you with no money, but they have a Playstation 5. You can pawn the PS5 for cash, or you can just keep it and play it. It’s a good deal for you, either way you’re saving a lot of money doing it. No matter how addicted that customer is, they’re not gonna let go of that PS5 for a gram or two of meth that’s only worth like $40 on a really good day (usually more like $20). But you’re dealing and probably also addicted, you don’t have a PS5’s worth of any drugs because you sold or did all your drugs. Setting up an installment plan makes sense, because buying meth is cheaper than making real payments on the PS5.

        From what I’ve seen, this is a lot more common among stimulant users, bartering for downers is a lot more rare it seems but that could just be personal experience. There’s a reason there’s a stereotype of addicted parents stealing their children’s game consoles.

        • GalaxyBrain [they/them]@hexbear.net
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          2 hours ago

          People using downers generally settle into a routine and after a while are just using to not withdraw. Uppers users are chasing the high and the drugs themselves tend to lead to irrational choices where with downers it’s the desperation due to the lack of a fix that leads to desperate measures, someone addicted to uppers has for sure not been sleeping right for a long time and a constant stream of stimulants fucks your mental state up.pretty good anyway. Uppers also don’t have physical withdrawals so they’re chasing a high and not running from sickness, different mentality there.

          • LeylaLove [she/her, love/loves]@hexbear.netM
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            1 hour ago

            Yeah, much different headspace for sure. I also know from my personal experience that I didn’t have a single downer dealer that would have taken a barter, they were all hard cash only. I’d assume that it was because another downer addict doesn’t have the energy to sell shit even if it’s a good deal.

            • GalaxyBrain [they/them]@hexbear.net
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              1 hour ago

              My dealers were always pretty close friends/roommates so transactions and loans were handled pretty friendly and within the confines of the honor system. Fuck, the place I used to live at my roommates and I would get stupid amounts of free cradk just because none of us were addicted to it so a dealer could use our house to chop and weigh without a risk of fiends and theft, all 3 of us could blast a boulder or 2, tweak out for a few hours and call it a night which I know isn’t common but the first hit is the only good one, I never saw the point in going out for another bag.