Anti-Meth Ad Sends 360 Into Lengthy Twitter Lesson

27 November 2014 | 6:08 pm | Staff Writer

"You may think you just like partying all the time cos it IS fun, then a year later without you even knowing, you'll have awoken that demon"

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Outspoken Aussie rapper Matt Colwell, aka 360, has unleashed a nearly 40-tweet-long, heartfelt and insightful thought-stream about addiction and the way addicts and their vices are portrayed in the media.

Apparently a result of a television advertisement attempting to dissuade existing and potential users from engaging with methamphetamine — or "ice" — through explicit depiction of the practice, 360's missive highlights what the rapper sees as the primary failures of the campaign and wider public discourse about addiction; namely, that the depiction of meth use could serve as a trigger for those in thrall to the drug.

Throughout the trans-tweet stream-of-consciousness note, 360 expresses sympathy for those suffering from addiction regardless of substance, and especially those who are subject to unhelpful, uneducated diatribes from people who do not understand the complexities of addiction. He points to especially feeling for alcoholics — who combat not only addiction but the blanket social acceptability of their vice that tells them it's OK — and clearly alludes to his own well publicised battles with substance abuse, and pleads with ex— or current addicts to consider emotionally and physically healthier alternatives to continuing or restarting their usage habits.

It's a pretty confronting read, all up; we've collected the tweets into a single edited passage, below, but you can find the whole thing on his Twitter feed.

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"I hate seeing someone who's suffered from addiction being belittled by someone who hasn't been through it themselves. I'ma shed some light," 360 began. "When someone makes the change becoming an addict rather than just an occasional user, it opens up a voice inside your head. It's like another person living inside you, a devil on your shoulder, constantly popping up out of nowhere to try and make you go back to whatever it is you've been addicted to.

"At any moment you can be fine, and suddenly that voice will jump up. Anything can trigger it, from seeing someone you used to party with... it will try and tell you to go get high/get drunk. Some can block it out well, some can't at all... but you will never understand what it's like unless you've been through it yourself. It's a DAILY battle. The voice is evil, manipulative and conniving — and very hard to ignore.

"I've witnessed someone who was addicted to smack — had their life in a really good place, confronted with 2 homeless dudes who were smacked out of their mind, and even something as off-putting as that made them envious of those two people, even though their life was in a good place at the time... that's how fucked up disease is, you can see someone whose life is the darkest hell, when their own is doing well, and they become envious of that person because they remember that feeling.

"I'm sure some people even reading this will probably trigger them to have a little moment where they want to go back. But always know that reality is the best high, being in the present, now. The other shit is FAKE, and is not worth all the good work you've done for yourself. Going to the gym every day is the best way to counteract that 'voice' in my opinion. That natural high wills you to be stronger.

"And those who think 'it won't happen to me' — trust me, it can and it will. You may think you just like partying all the time cos it IS fun, then a year later without you even knowing, you'll have awoken that demon. And will have to live with him forever, so if there's someone in ur life affected by this, even if it's gone as far as you having to cut them out of ur life, that's fair, but show compassion, don't be nasty or mean. Because it's not as easy as 'just saying no'.

"And different drugs have different demons, the worst I've witnessed is crystal meth. That demon is the most badgering and manipulative cunt out of all. The Alcohol demon is terrible as well, because alcohol is EVERYWHERE... you cannot escape it, so you gotta be extra strong to keep that voice at bay.

"I feel for alcoholics... because IMO it's up there with the worst drugs. When people are drunk, a lot become dickheads and do things you would NEVER do on any other drug, but it's so socially acceptable, and the peer pressure to drink is even stronger. Especially in this country, where drinking is almost part of our culture... if you can control yourself and have a strong mind then it's fine. A lot of us think we can control it but then bang, outta nowhere, you'll have crossed over to the dark side, and it gets very, very dark."

"You can be in a good place, then have a dream about going back to your poison, whatever it may be," 360 continued in response to a follower mentioning the continuous dreams they were experiencing after fighting off an addiction.

"And the dream feels so real that it's like you got high/drunk, then you wake up. And your mind is full of thoughts telling you to do it. 'Just one drink'. 'Just one night on the gear'. 'Just one hit' — but there's never just one. If you have just one, it's game over again.

"What spurred on my rant was seeing the latest advertisement about using 'ice'. I think they need new people to write these ads, because people who used to do ice will see that ad and it will make them want to do ice. Seeing a pipe or someone blowing smoke triggers them to go back to it, I've seen it so many times. If they wanna prevent the shit they should get actual ex-addicts involved in the creation. Breaking Bad, as good as a show as it was, is not something ex-ice addicts should watch. And to those reading this who are ex-addicts, current addicts... you are so much better off without it, getting off is hard, it takes a long time for you to start feeling good about life, but once you do, life is better than ever... trust me, hit the gym. It will keep you off it. Surround yourself with like-minded people who understand what you've been through. Don't be afraid to talk about it. Sometimes, as hard as it is, you will have to cut certain people out of your life. You are the most important thing in your life, so take care of yourself first.

"Sorry for the rant. #NOTSORRY"