this is what speed could do to you |
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e's and whizz
In the 1960s teenagers and more specifically mods enjoyed Dexedrine
(dexies / dexy's midnight runners), Durophet (blackbombers) and Drinamyl
(Purple Hearts after their blue and triangular shape) which combined amphetamine
and barbiturate in one handy pill.
Society was not best pleased by these reckless drug-addled teens and by 1964 it
was illegal to possess or import amphetamines. But - doh - manufacturing and prescription
were still okay. The Drinamyl Purple Heart was reshaped and renamed French Blues
and continued to sell.
the seventies
Recreational amphetamine use hit a peak in the seventies, driven
mainly by three disparate subcultures.
First by hippies, then by Northern Soul boys, who first used
it as a dance drug, in the days before clubbing, to keep energised (and fighting)
all night long.
Then punks quickly found its directness, cheapness and hardness perfect for their
needs.
sorted
After bowing out to cocaine
in the 80s, the Ecstasy boom brought speed back into fashion once again.
In the early 90s, the demand for E was high but the quality was low. Many clubbers
switched to Speed. It suited them perfectly. The more you took E, the speedier
it became. A few grams of speed could replace 10 E's for those who craved the
buzz and the energy.
speed garage
Today, amphetamine use is constant across all genres of dance
music. While ecstasy
is rarely a feature of Drum And Bass, House, Garage, or Speed Garage scenes, speed
is a staple of all three, alongside cannabis, cocaine, and champagne.
Speed is also prevalent in ecstasy-dominated scenes like Trance and Techno, as
well as harder forms like Gabba and Industrial where E just isn't hard enough.
While speed is continually rated as more popular than E, users
do not seem to 'love it' in the same way. It is often touted as a 'dirty' drug
(thanks to its impurity) and as 'poorman's cocaine' due to its near-identical
effects.
But a lot of clubbers would prefer a reliable speed hit than a disappointing E
experience.
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