CRIME

THE ADDICTION

The Medicine can also be used as a (party) drug as it will give the user a boost in confidence and a feeling of euphoria in the right doses. Though, no doctor is willing to tell what the exact dosage of substance that would be as it comes dangerously close to overdosing. It is usually a symptom that lets the user know that the body can’t take much more anymore. During an overdose, the body goes into arrest. Body temperature drops rapidly and the heartbeat goes up. The overdosed victim will grow limp and unresponsive if the body doesn’t manage to hurl the substance out soon enough. Emptying the stomach through medical attention, or by making the overdosed vomit is the best direct solution.

Luckily overdosing on The Medicine isn’t very likely as many stop once that peak of euphoria is reached. However, as mentioned before the substance can be addictive.

It first starts with dependency. The user has a need for The Medicine in order to function properly. Without the medicine the first mild symptoms show which are vertigo and migraine-like headaches. In the strictest sense of the word one could label all Floaters as beginning addicts; as they need The Medicine in order to live properly on the floating grounds. The biggest difference between a true addict and the Floater is, however that the first category will experience the same symptoms without The Medicine even when on The Land, while Floaters will experience no problems or differences.

Those who abuse The Medicine consistently and take it in on a higher dose than prescribed will find themselves with heightened health risks over time. An irregular heartbeat is one such example, which brings them at risk for cardiac arrest or a stroke. Organs such as the kidneys, liver and the stomach get affected in the long term as well. Medicine abusers have reported to experience heartburns, or a failing kidney, or a dysfunctioning liver that refuses to break down the toxins in their body. There are a plethora of other issues depending on the person, but these are the most common.

As the dependency grows out of hands, the withdrawal symptoms start to worsen. The addict needs more dosage in order to gain the same results. Their behaviour becomes erratic and they are in a constant state of alertness. Slowly, this will chip at their mental health and quality of sleep. The addict becomes increasingly more distrustful and paranoid while claiming to see flashes and shadows surrounding them. At worst, the addict will be unable to sleep for longer than a few hours a day, their mind constantly commanding them to be awake to look out for whatever danger there is. In the end they inevitably have to overdose themselves in order to calm down.

Treatment is possible, however. When in the early stages of dependency simply switching out the substance for a placebo, or another substance can help. Some old lady tales also suggest that binding the addicted to their bed helps cleansing their body, or by drinking activated carbonated coal water, but these are rumours and non medically proven.

It is the heavily addicted that are the hardest to treat, as their mental state is usually so far gone as well in which it is impossible to reason. Without the proper medical attention of the doctor and a slow build off from The Medicine, the addicted aren’t usually expected to stay calm, obedient, or silent. With the plethora of symptoms that will show itself and their own uncontrollable behaviour, it will be sooner rather than later before the addict will break themselves out to do all they can for their ‘needed’ dose.