Your Drug Friend

Anonymous 

CW: Drug use 

Drugs can be fun, but they can also be a real bad time if you’re not careful. 

I grew up naïve to drugs, my early impressions shaped by the anti-drug propaganda of the DARE programme. My first boyfriend was into them, which, by proximity, meant I was too. I trusted him to tell me what we were taking and what it would feel like. I never thought to ask him where he got his information—or the drugs themselves. This was fine, nothing went wrong. Until it did. 

At the time, I was on SSRI anti-depressants. One day, I took DXM (dextromethorphan), a cough suppressant. I felt sick physically and mentally; I wanted to throw up, I had cold sweats, I couldn’t balance properly, and on top of that, I was floating five metres above my own body, watching myself endure this in between consciousness blackouts. I didn’t realise that I was probably experiencing serotonin syndrome, a potentially life-threatening reaction to high levels of serotonin in the body. 

This was the beginning of my journey to becoming “the drug friend”. I wanted to know why this had happened and how to make sure it didn’t happen again.

My interest in drugs expanded from trying them to researching them. Before trying anything new, I started looking into effects, dosage, and risks. This wasn’t easy to find. Google doesn’t like providing links to the sort of websites that have this information, and local services weren’t accessible to me at the time. 

Over time, I became the person people asked. Either I knew the answer, or I knew where to find it.

It was fun to have these conversations openly, sharing info like I was some esoteric wizard searching the tomes for ancient knowledge. We had more frank and open discussions about drugs, not glorifying or demonising them, creating a culture of more intentional drug use among my friends. 

Later, I formalised the role—if that’s the word—by working with KnowYourStuffNZ, an organisation that provides drug checking and harm-reduction services at festivals and community clinics.

Every substance-curious friend group should have a drug friend. If you’re considering taking on this prestigious title, here is some info to get you started—without all the propaganda that comes along with doing your own research in a drug prohibition world.

Drug checking

This is a service where trained volunteers will take a small sample of your substance and test them with reagents, a spectrometer, or both, to figure out what is in them. It’s free, legal, and anonymous. 

We are so lucky to have this available and legal in New Zealand, so take advantage of it! 

In Wellington, it is run by Know Your Stuff and DISC. Schedules change, so it’s worth checking their websites, but regular hours are:

DISC — 223a Willis Street (next to Cumberland House)Tues-Fri: 12.00 - 2.00 p.m. and 2.30 - 7.00 p.m.Sat: 1.15-4.45 p.m.

Know Your Stuff — Newtown Community CentreFirst Saturday of every month 11.00 a.m. - 2.00 p.m.

Harm reduction concepts

Harm reduction: This is the idea that people are going to do potentially dangerous stuff anyway, like taking drugs, so we should reduce the risk involved rather than just telling them not to do it.

Dosage: Dosage is so important, and so often I see people just take a vibes-based attitude to dosing. Getting your dose right is your first line of defence against having a bad time or a hospital visit. Get a milligram scale, know what the right dose is for the substance and your body size, and prepare your dose in advance so you don’t decide to do more when you’re not sober. When in doubt, go low and slow; you can always take more, but you can’t untake what you’ve already had.

Set and setting: Getting your set and setting right is one of the best ways to minimise the risk of having a Bad Time once you’ve got the actual drug stuff sorted. 

Set refers to where you are at in yourself; are you in the right mindset, has something bad happened recently that you’ll get stuck thinking about, are you sick, tired, or on your period, are you excited or nervous? 

Setting refers to where you are in your environment; are you going to be at home, a party, an event, out at town, out in nature? Is it raining, is it gonna be loud, are you gonna run into someone from work or a family member? Does the environment match the vibes of the drug, will it be over or under stimulating for you, will you feel safe? 

The 6 Ps: Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Partying: This is all about sober-you taking responsibility for making sure not-sober you has the best time possible. Have your food and water organised beforehand, know how you’re going to get home or where you can retreat to, know how long the effects of your substance will last (it can help to write the time you took them on your hand). 

Tripsitter: Drugs can be mentally or emotionally intense. A tripsitter is someone you’re comfortable with who is either sober or very experienced with the drug who can help when you start stressing out. They’re there to reassure you, provide fun activities, and de-escalate when you get overwhelmed. If you’re someone who doesn’t do drugs, taking the role of tripsitter can be a great way to support your friends who do.

Combination considerations: If you are taking multiple substances, things can get tricky quickly. This includes illegal drugs, medicines, and legal drugs like caffeine and alcohol. A lot of common medications, like antidepressants or ADHD medication, can have negative interactions with some drugs. Alcohol also has dangerous interactions with a lot of different drugs. Refer to the Tripsit combination chart for a quick reference, or hit up someone at KnowYourStuffNZ for a more detailed chat.

Aftercare: Some drugs can have “hangovers”, often referred to as a comedown. This should be something you check as part of your planning. If your substance is known to have a comedown, make sure you’ll have time to look after yourself afterwards, stay hydrated, and give yourself some extra love. 

If something goes wrong: Learn the signs of an overdose from your substance—including alcohol! Keep an eye on your friends; if you’re concerned, do not hesitate to call an ambulance, or approach staff for help if you are at a venue or event. Be honest with medical professionals—they are there to help and any extra information could help get the right treatment faster. Medical professionals are bound to confidentiality and will not report you to the police. The exceptions to this are if you are at risk of death and refusing care, or if they think you are going to drive impaired despite being told not to; in these cases, police may be called to keep you and others safe. 

Online resources

New Zealand specific

• Knowyourstuff.nz: info on drug safety, harm reduction, and drug checking.

• Drugfoundation.org.nz: advocates for drug policy change and research, directory of resources for New Zealand based drug info and support services.

• Thelevel.org.nz: info on drug safety and harm reduction.

• Highalert.org.nz: early warning for dangerous substances found through drug checking.

• Silver Linings to Long White Clouds Facebook page: mushroom identification and community info on magic mushrooms.

International

• Tripsit.me: detailed info on combinations between any two substances. Also offer online tripsitters.

• Psychonautwiki.org: Detailed info on individual drugs, including dosage and effects. Also has a lot of the nerdy pharmacology info.

• Erowid.org: One of the OGs. Info on drugs, including community experience reports as well as the nerdy stuff. This one is blocked on uni wifi and can be a bit difficult to navigate, so save this for when you’re ready to go deeper.

• Bluelight.org: Community forum on all things drugs, ranging from academic studies and drug policy to personal trip reports and peer support.

Search engines and social media

Google will block most drug and harm reduction information and a lot of drug harm organisations are shadow-banned or deleted on social media. If you need more information, you should search using the DuckDuckGo search engine. DuckDuckGo doesn’t track your data, take any identifying info, or suffer from the same kind of censorship as most search engines. Or just come talk to us at KnowYourStuffNZ! You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, or Bluesky, otherwise ping us through our website.

XOXO, ur drug friend <3