Getting Off Right
Lately, I have been noticing that there seems to be an increased amount of chatter regarding injection as the preferred means of administering drugs. While I would in no way attempt to promote or even encourage users to use this method, I do think that it is essential that, if used, it is done safely. For the few additional minutes that it takes one to ensure that proper procedure is followed, these few minutes may end up saving your life in the future, or at the very least, ensuring your continued good health.
For better or worse, my method of choice in administering my drugs was almost always via injection. By doing my best to ensure that I always followed proper protocol, I've managed to come through reasonably unscathed with my health more or less intact. While during that all important moment when you finally get your hands on what you've anxiously been waiting for, I know just how easy it can be to just dismiss how important it is to use a new needle or to ensure that your injection site is rotated regularly or to never share your works with anyone else, etc. Too many users allow themselves to be careless or really just plain reckless in their haste and impatience. I understand how easy this is to do, especially because any adverse affects on your health are not immediately apparent.
While it may take years for any negative side effects to rear themselves, short term gratification is not worth it in the end. If you have not yet tried this method, why bother? In the end, it's not really worth it. If there is absolutely no convincing you otherwise, if you must, then at the very least, make sure that you follow proper protocol religiously, without exception. If you've already started, it's still not too late to change for the better.
As a means to this end, I found a fantastic manual on line that absolutely must be read before continuing further. It covers everything that one could possibly need to know. It's entitled Getting Off Right - A Safety Manual For Injection Drug Users. You can download it HERE. It was put out by the Reduction Coalition. You can get to their site by clicking HERE. The site itself has loads of important and interesting information as well as other literature for downloading. There is also some excellent information at Safer Injecting.
Make sure you check these sites out if this is your preferred method. You may save yourself from unnecessary damage.