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Synopsis

"'I used to be a surgeon,' he whispers despairingly as he injects himself with crystal." This chilling moment, taken from one of the eight case studies Frank Sanello uses to anchor his uncompromising exploration of crystal addiction, vividly illustrates the inevitable downward spiral associated with habitual methamphetamine use. Sanello examines the burgeoning epidemic of crystal abuse among gay men, and argues convincingly that nearly one third of new HIV cases are linked to a loss of sexual inhibition brought on by the decreased mental capacity associated with crystal. Tweakers get a quick, cheap high, an intoxicating sense of sexual freedom, and increased stamina at the price of unpredictable behavioral changes, varying degrees of brain damage and, often, death. Drawing on conversations with addicts as well as experts in the gay community and at drug treatment centers, Tweakers is a terrifying portrait of both a deadly drug and a population at risk, an invaluable resource designed to offer hope and help to sufferers within and without the spectre of addiction.