Booty Bumping & Plugging Meth | Effects Of Crystal Meth Rectal Use

Taking methamphetamine by way of the rectum has been promoted by harm reduction organizations as a less risky option for recreational drug use. But significant risks, including addiction and overdose, still remain at play.

Why Is Meth Plugged?

Booty bumping, boofing, plugging, butt-chugging, keistering are different terms for the rectal ingestion of “Tina,” which is a slang term for meth within the LGBT community. 

Plugging meth has certain perceived advantages over other methods of use:

• Because crystal meth dissolves freely in water, it’s very easy to prepare solutions. 
• The process requires very little equipment except lube, sterile water, a needleless syringe, and a container.
• Once administered, the crystal methamphetamine is rapidly absorbed through the tissues of the rectum, entering the bloodstream and causing a rapid and potent high. 
• By taking meth rectally you may avoid some of the health risks involved in injection, smoking, and snorting; namely abscesses or other injection site trauma and respiratory dysfunction.

Is Plugging Meth Safe?

No matter how it’s taken, methamphetamine is dangerous and harmful. And each method of ingestion, including plugging, only adds its own particular risks to an already hazardous and compulsive activity.

Dangers Of Plugging Meth

Plugging has been associated with an elevated risk of HIV or other STI transmission, including hepatitis c. Transmission may occur via anal sex or due to equipment sharing (often associated with chemsex encounters).

Other risks of plugging meth include:

• persistent diarrhea
• torn or damaged rectal tissue
• decreased blood circulation
• absorption of toxic ingredients cut into meth batches
• elevated risk of overdose if the drug is more concentrated than normal or prepared improperly

Methamphetamine Overdose

Meth overdoses put the central nervous system in overdrive, stressing the body to the point where organs and bodily functions break down. 

Unless great care is taken, rectal administration may increase the risk of overdose as much larger doses of the drug can be taken this way. 

Overdose signs and symptoms may include:

• breathing difficulty
• chest or stomach pain
• elevated body temperature
• rapid or irregular pulse
• paranoia
• psychosis, including delusions or hallucinations
• sweaty, flushed skin
• seizures

Effects Of Plugging Meth

The effects and side-effects of meth use are largely unchanged whether the drug is absorbed through the veins, the lungs, or the rectum.

Rush & High

The drug is absorbed and enters the bloodstream through the veins of the rectum. Within seconds to minutes it reaches the brain and triggers a surge of dopamine and a rush of pleasure, followed by a high that can last for several hours.

During this period of time, you may feel invincible, heightened, confident, and secure. Your body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure will likely increase, and your appetite and need for sleep will fade.

Crash

Once the drug wears off this high becomes an exhausted and painful low, known as a comedown or crash.

You may feel anxious, fatigued, depressed, and even suicidal. Often, strong drug cravings and the desire to make comedown symptoms stop will prompt repeated methamphetamine uses in short succession, sometimes for days on end.

Binge

Binging on meth and taking repeated doses is an incredibly harmful practice that pushes the body and mind past their proper limits. 

During a binge, you may go without food, water, or sleep for long periods, and each successive dose of the drug will become less and less pleasurable as dopamine activity drops off.

Tweaking

Once the drug loses effect completely, you may be left in a state of complete physical and psychological devastation. 

Malnourished, fatigued, and dehydrated, many meth users in this stage become psychotic or delusional as they lose touch with reality, a condition known as tweaking.

It’s not uncommon to sleep for 1-3 days straight following a binge, with full recovery lasting more than a week.

Methamphetamine Addiction

Meth is harmful and highly addictive no matter how it is taken, and plugging is no exception.

While harm reduction organizations may recommend plugging as a safer alternative to smoking or injection, the speed, potency, and bioavailability of meth via rectal administration are still dangerously high. 

This means that with each use you prime your body to develop physiological dependence and addiction.

Recovery From Methamphetamine Addiction

Even short-term use of crystal meth can lead to dependence and addiction, as well as severe and potentially dangerous withdrawal symptoms if you abruptly stop use.

But while recovery from meth addiction is extremely challenging, it can be accomplished. Addiction treatment centers offer services structured to help people just like you or your loved ones achieve lasting recovery from substance use. 

These services may include:

• medical detox
• inpatient or residential care in a secure medical environment
• outpatient care, allowing you to commute to treatment from home
• contingency planning and management
• cognitive behavioral therapy
• individual counseling
• group therapy
• healthcare for co-occurring mental health disorders

To learn more about treating methamphetamine addiction or other forms of substance abuse, please contact Ark Behavioral Health today.