what does a transient (bum) need with two bottles of rubbing alchohol?

mikeofaustin · Oct 17, 2009

At the store the other day, and one of 'them' bought two bottles of rubbing alcohol and one bottle of Mad Dog 20/20. I couldn't understand what for... (you can't drink the stuff). Maybe stove fuel?

treasurefiend · Oct 17, 2009

Maybe he needs to get liquored up before he preforms some sort of hobo surgery on himself or a buddy

Like stitches or something or clean out a painful wound. And yes you cannot drink it, you will go blind.

mikeofaustin · Oct 17, 2009

Yep, I asked this question becuase I recently read an article where jail houses put alcohol sanitizors in the cell blocks. They said they turned it into liquor. Which doesnt' make since... (news stations).

SteveDodds · Oct 19, 2009

Isn't rubbing alcohol one of the ingredients when people make meth?

cedarratt · Oct 19, 2009

Rubbing alcohol is Isopropyl alcohol which your liver metabolizes into acetone and makes you go blind, then you die... I hope he wasn't going to drink it.

SteveDodds · Oct 19, 2009

Common Chemicals Used to Make Methamphetamine:

Alcohol (Isopropyl or rubbing alcohol), Toluene (brake cleaner), Ether (engine starter), Sulfuric Acid (drain cleaner), Red Phosphorus (matches/road flares), Salt (table/rock), Iodine (teat dip or flakes/crystal), Lithium (batteries), Trichloroethane (gun scrubber), MSM (cutting agent), Sodium Metal, Methanol/Alcohol (gasoline additives), Muriatic Acid, Anhydrous Ammonia (farm fertilizer), Sodium Hydroxide (lye), Pseudoephedrine (cold tablets), Ephedrine (cold tablets), Acetone, Cat Litter

This info was taken from: http://www.streetdrugs.org/methlabs2.htm

OmegaMan · Oct 20, 2009

They use cotton balls soaked in Alcohol on a wire to heat the glass crack pipe.
A hot and clean burning flame with no smoke taste.

I detect in a lot of bad Parks.

pygmy · Oct 20, 2009

Rubbing alcohol can also be ethyl alcohol with a denaturing agent(something to dissuade you from drinking it)
which is methyl(wood) alcohol. This does cause blindness over time but this is no deterrent to an alcoholic
in need of cheap nirvana.
It's common to drink this with a normal alcoholic drink or juice to moderate the taste.
His purchase is unrelated to making meth as a bum would have no facilities or brain left to do this.

mrs.oroblanco · Oct 20, 2009

They use it to "cut" real alcohol (the drinkable type), so that there is a greater quantity. Its nasty and can kill you, but then again, so can Sterno canned heat, which they also use to get drunk. Also, cold medicines, perfumes, cologne, (Aqua Velva used to be a good one to use).

It can do terrible things to your organs.

B

pygmy · Oct 20, 2009

mrs.oroblanco said:
They use it to "cut" real alcohol (the drinkable type), so that there is a greater quantity. Its nasty and can kill you, but then again, so can Sterno canned heat, which they also use to get drunk. Also, cold medicines, perfumes, cologne, (Aqua Velva used to be a good one to use).

It can do terrible things to your organs.

B

Vanilla essence ,80%ethanol, was a favourite of a (now retired) supermarket manager.

GunFarce · Oct 20, 2009

TreasureFiend said:
Maybe he needs to get liquored up before he preforms some sort of hobo surgery on himself or a buddy Like stitches or something or clean out a painful wound. And yes you cannot drink it, you will go blind.

So THAT'S what makes you go blind?.. Hmmmm you ain't gonna believe it, but my mom told me it was something entirely different.. :angel7:

ivan salis · Oct 20, 2009

some hard core guys filter it thru bread or other filtering agents before drinking it -- a true hard core aliki doesn't give a hoot just get em high --so what if he dies from it.

rginn · Oct 20, 2009

I've had experience with what we called winos. At that time, the liquor stores opened at 10 am and closed at 10 pm. In between those times, they would be hurtin. To ward off the DT's, they will drink anything that remotely has an alcohol content. Food flavoring. Aftershave. Rubbing Alcohol. Brake fluid even. The story goin around was filter something through five slices of bread, and you could drink it. Anything that would get that buzz. Sometimes we laugh at that, but it's really pretty sad. And I found out through experience that no one in the world can help someone until they want to help themselves.

Old Fart in TN · Oct 21, 2009

My uncle was in the juke box/pinball business in Austin during the 70's and I ran several of his routes for him, I remember several times while in Smithfield and a bar/bbq joint that four or five of the patrons were drinking or mixing their rubbing alchohol. I questioned them and all agreed it was good and offered me a sip that I declined. Jeff

Monty · Oct 21, 2009

There's two types of rubbing alcohol. Ethyl alcohol that you can drink without dieing or going blind and Isoprophyl (spelling?) that is the poisonous kind. Ethyl alcohol has a substance in it that makes it taste really terrible to try to keep people from drinking it. I worked a lot with alcoholics and one of their favorite stop gap drinks is big bottles of artificial Vanilla Extract. It's about 80% alcohol or over a hundred proof compared to liquor. Sterno is also a last ditch got the shakes and DTs drink of choice but it is a little pricey for a Wino. The most favorite drink of all is Gallo White Port Wine. About 89cents a liter when on sale. And on a drunks breath it smells like something died in their mouth! Monty

mrs.oroblanco · Oct 21, 2009

I've seen the "Gallo" first hand!!! My ex-brother-in-law, drug addict turned alcoholic, drank that so much that for Christmas, we bought him a bottle, and fashioned a baby bottle nipple on it.

I know, too, that, when I worked in the Emergency Room, in NYC, that many a drunk came in suffering from all different kinds of poisonings, all from drinking things they figured would have alcohol of some type in them. It was terrible, and the long term side effects were terrible, too.

B

21stTNCav · Oct 21, 2009

I have empathy, but no understanding of the desire to drink that badly. I guess the Lord has blessed me. Did I say "I guess"? You should meet my wife for 5 minutes. The Lord "HAS" blessed me. ( And she tolerates me and my zany hobbies too. Whats not to love.)

pygmy · Oct 21, 2009

21stTNCav said:
I have empathy, but no understanding of the desire to drink that badly. I guess the Lord has blessed me. Did I say "I guess"? You should meet my wife for 5 minutes. The Lord "HAS" blessed me. ( And she tolerates me and my zany hobbies too. Whats not to love.)

A lack of understanding is common. Alcoholism is an incurable disease once afflicted.
A reformed alcoholic is still an alcoholic and must forever abstain from a single drop.
Even contact through the skin can trigger a relapse such as ethyl alcohol in certain toothpaste and mouthwash.

mrs.oroblanco · Oct 21, 2009

Pigiron,

I agree with you there. I have a very good friend who is a non-drinking alcoholic. He has been sober since 1990. He will not even eat anything beer-battered (like shrimp, beer-battered). He knows the alcohol is gone, but he refuses to take the chance.

He had a hard fight to be clean and sober.

B

pygmy · Oct 21, 2009

It's a pity the word "sober" is used in this context of "clean and sober" when the strict meaning of sober means
not drunk or intoxicated , meaning that a number of drinks can be consumed before reaching the "not sober" condition.

In a reformed alcoholics case being not drunk is meaningless as they have to have absolutely zero
ethyl alcohol content at all times. Even the absorbing of ethyl alcohol molecules through the skin or mucous membranes of the
nose or mouth has to be completely avoided to prevent a relapse.