Do you know what Freon is? Well, for the un-initiated, Freon, R-22, or chlorodifluoromethane is a halomethane hydrocarbon commonly used a refrigerant for air conditioners and refrigerators. It's also abused as a recreational inhalant for it's euphoric and dissociative/ salvia-like hallucinogenic side-effects. I would know, as I was once an avid user of Freon. As I've been clean for over a decade now, I figured that this board was a good place to share the story, so here we go.
It began in a summer of '95 when I was 14 years old when I started shooting heroin. I had no father and my mother was an abusive wretch who I would rather die then spend a single minute around. After several months of smoking crack, a girl that I knew introduced me to heroin. She got the needle ready and put it my arm, and injected the liquid into my arm, and.... holy shit, it was the best feeling ever. It was like a full-body and mind orgasm times a thousand. I don't know, you really have to experience it your self to comprehend it. Anyway, after several years of shooting dope and working a shitty job at a convenience store, in 2003, a friend of mine, who we'll call B, hit me up telling me that he knew a guy who had this drug that could produce euphoria more powerful than the first time you tried heroin. He told me that this guy was not only the biggest crack-head west of the Mississippi, but he also had ready access to all different types of drugs, from volatile inhalants and stimulants like top-quality meth and coke, all the way to research psychedelics, entactogens, and deliriants. During this time, the only drugs that I had used so far were heroin and oxycodone.
I was interested, so I asked what the drug was. He just chuckled and said "You'll see!", as he beckoned me to his car. I had the day off, so I got into his car and we drive for about an hour until we arrived at an older house wit an old Ford pick-up parked in front of it. We got out and went to the front door and knocked. This guy (C), who looked like a disheveled version of Norman Reedus answered the door. He was obviously hyped up on some kind of stimulant as he began speed-talking about a "hydrocarbon that feels like heaven" while looking up at the sky. I began laughing at his odd behavior as we walk in. I asked him what this drug was and he ran out of the room, and came back later holding a canister with the text "R-22" on it. He said it was called Freon, and said that it was like a "combination of heroin and PCP, minus the psychosis and mania"
He handed me a balloon and told me to connect the balloon to the canister. I did so, and he then said to put the balloon to your mouth and begin exhaling and inhaling like you would with nitrous oxide. I detached the balloon and began huffing. I took a hit, and holy shit, this stuff was like the rush I got from my first heroin injection multiplied one-hundred fold. It was at that point that heroin lost its magic, and I knew that I Freon would be my new drug of choice. Looking back on it, this was probably the biggest mistake I've ever made. Considering how many drugs this guy somehow had access to, I should have asked for some 2-CB or something, not this shit. Anyway, after the rush faded, which probably lasted for about 2 - 4 minutes, I took passed the balloon to my friend, who began huffing.
We then refilled the balloon, and I went first. I took 4 hard hits. Euphoria washed over me once more, even more intense than before, as my vision faded to a greenish-cyan color. My friends were laughing. The pitch of their voice was dipping from high to low, and I immediately saw my self from the third person. I was standing, wobbling like an old person. I then took the perspective of the television, which was right across from the sofa we were at. Everything suddenly turned to a red color as my friend jumped atop the sofa and yelled "IM THE KING OF THE WORLD" and then jumped off, falling on his ass and making a loud ass bang in the process. C began laughing his ass off as B hobbled up and began huffing again. I was then struck with a feeling of paranoia as I was scared that I was doomed to be a TV for rest of my existence, that this was my punishment for hedonism. A few minutes later, I came to. I was still standing, but I was dizzy was hell and I had a slight headache.
C passed me the bag and I took 2 more huffs. I didn't trip again, but I was filled confusion. B said something along the lines of "Bro, imagine huffing Freon while tripping on Benadryl!" My Freon riddled mind had no idea what he was talking about, so I responded with "Benadryl? What's Benadryl? Benny Drill? Ben O'Drell? Wait no, I bent a drill!". The rest of the nigh went on like this as I took a bout a dozen or so more hits, but not in succession. I probably would have died if I took 12 hits in succession. A few hours later, B drove me home as a tingly feeling radiated throughout my body. The next day, I craved Freon more than I ever craved heroin. I craved this Freon so much that I would be willing to be flagellated, crucified, then boiled alive 5 times over just to get it. I did some research and found out that Freon was easily accessible through the AC units. I called up B, and told to meet me at the local church. The local church had multiple AC units as it turned out. We went to the church, and we began huffing. I took 5 hits and I felt a euphoric rush accompanied by a feeling of shrinking at an extreme speed. I shrunk down to the size of a quark. Everything around me looked completely alien as I took the size of an elementary particle. It looked absolutely stunning, an I wanted to stay their forever. I wandered around for a few hours, but then, some other quarks came over and began talking to me.
"Holy shit! Where did you come from!?" One of the quarks exclaimed.
"Dude, what the hell are you doing? Why the absolute fuck would you inhale hydrocarbons? What the hell is wrong with you??!!!" another exclaimed.
The quarks were right. They were trying to help me. I knew what they were saying, and I knew they were right, but I didn't care. The euphoria was too much. I then began growing again, and I was horrified, horrified that I would no longer exist in that perfect world I was in. After the trip ended, I found myself lying on the pavement, looking up at the sun. I got up and looked at my watch. I had only been 2 minutes, even though the trip felt like it lasted hours. I hobbled over to the AC and started huffing again. I took 6 hits, and looked behind me. There was an 18-wheeler parked by the church, and it suddenly transformed into a giant robot. The robot began laughing at me, laughing at me for how stupid I was and how I would go nowhere in life, all while bearing the most terrifying grin I had ever seen on any living thing. Then, just like that, the trip ended.
My next experience happened 2 days later. I had bought myself a canister of Freon R-22, and some balloons. As soon as I got home, I unboxed the canister and began huffing. I took 7 hits. Euphoria hit me as usual, and everything took on a 16-bit look. I became confused as I interacted with the things around my house. Every time I touched the wall, there was a pixilated ripple effect on it, same thing with everything else I touched. I walked over to the bedroom and opened the door. The entire room was still 16-bit, but it was in a black and white color. There was a person who sort of resembled Toad from Super Mario sitting on my bed. He told me "You're locked to the cold. Please end this..." I didn't know what he meant. Suddenly, everything began fading, and after ten seconds of blackness, I heard the Toad guy yell "DON'T WAKE UP. DON'T WAKE UP. DON'T WAKE UP. AWAKEN OR CEASE TO BE. DON'T WAKEUP. I BEG OF YOU"
I woke up, and picked up the balloon, refilled it, and started huffing again. After huffs, I heard a knock on the door. It was B. I let him in and gave him a balloon. We then began huffing. I took 6 hits and another trip began. I felt a euphoric rush, and noticed that my PS2 took on a human-shape like the 18-wheeler did, and began dancing. I looked over to my friend and told him that he had to see this. He looked at the dancing PS2. I then began laughing. I was laughing so hard I could have had a stroke. After several minutes of laughing, the trip then ended, as did the euphoria. I started huffing again, and a new trip began. The PS2 was still standing there, talking to me. It said "YOU ARE" and then said "ERA OUY" in a loud, booming voice. I turned around and walked out of the home. I looked up to the sky and saw a shit ton of UFO's and aliens slowly falling to the ground. The aliens pulled out laser blasters and began destroying the cars and homes. I sat there, watching the destruction happen. Suddenly, the trip ended, and I had the worst headache ever accompanied by severe rebound anxiety.
I began huffing again, and this time I actually passed out.
This next experience was the last Freon trip I had. This time, I was with tome friends of mine, including B, at a house-party near my home. Most of the kids there were in college, but some were still in high-school. Most of them weren't doing any drugs, but the ones that were, they were using more tame drugs, such as beer, MDMA, cocaine or LSD. Meanwhile, B and I, a well as two others were huffing Freon in the backyard near a bonfire. I took 10 hits in succession, and everything went black, and then blue and red about 50 times over and then I found myself in what looked like a hallway. The walls were made out of metal and the floors were black. I turned around and say about a dozen dark-red figures. They began talking, one after another.
The first one said "NO!"
The second, "Cursed."
The third, "You doomed yourself."
The fourth, "Why did you kill us all?"
I was terrified, I thought these beings would kill me. I started running, and I realized that this hallway was actually a maze. I just ran at full speed. I just continued running, for what felt like millions of years, no joke; it literally felt like millions of years passed during this trip. I ran, and the red figures were chasing yelling various insults at me. After another million years of running, the trip apparently ended. I woke up next, and It actually took me about 30 minutes to comprehend that millions of years didn't pass, as it legit felt like millions of years. I asked B how long I was out for, and he said for about a minute and a half. I picked up another balloon and began huffing again, and I was right back into the same maze. I began running again as the same red figures were chasing me, threatening to kill me. A few million years then passed, and then everything went black, and my body went numb.
I then heard a beeping sound, and as soon as the beeping sound started, the message "WARNIG! BODY TEMPERATURE BELOW 95 DEGREES!" in red text with a red triangle warning sign beside it flashed for about 15 times before everything faded to a blood red color as I felt pain that was on par with a cluster headache throughout my entire head. A few seconds later, I began experiencing psychedelic-like visuals as the pain quickly faded into euphoria, this rush being the most powerful one yet. Despite the powerful euphoric rushes I've had prior to this one, there is no adequate word in any known language on the planet to describe how utterly at peace I felt, then it clicked in my head that I was dying. I just laid there, ready to and excited to accept my fate. Then, a moment of clarity hit me; I didn't want to die, I was only 22 years old. I know I was hopelessly addicted to shit, but I still had potential; so much to do, people to meet, jobs to get and money to make, a woman to meet, and kids to have. Faintly, I heard B yell "Shit! He's foaming! Call an ambulance NOW!" I then heard echoed yelling of what sounded like paramedics yelling a bunch of medical jargon. I still couldn't see, but the feeling of relief was un-real.
I woke up in the hospital. The doctor came in a few minutes later and told me that my lungs were nearly destroyed and that my internal body temperature was only 89 degrees, a dangerously low level, and had I gone without treatment for even a few more minutes, I would have died. He then asked me how many times I had huffed Freon, and I told him that I lost count, that it was so addictive that It was impossible to keep track. He then told me that it was nothing short of a miracle that I didn't die from hypothermia, internal frost-bite, or hypoxia, or that I was still able to think and talk coherently. It was also a miracle that I didn't fall and fracture my skull or some shit while under the influence. He then said due to my addictive personality, that I should check into an addiction program as soon as I'm discharged. I met B at the same program, and told him that I was quitting Freon and heroin. He said he was doing the same.
My psychiatrist prescribed low-dose benzodiazepines to deal with the anxiety from withdrawal, and the addiction program went well. I still got cravings, but they aren't as intense as they used to be. I was eventually able to get off of the heroin and the Freon, and got myself a job and a car. I'm doing pretty well for my self now, and me and B are still friends. As deadly as Freon was, it taught me an invaluable lesson; a lesson I should have learned long before I touched it. I've been clean of heroin and Freon for over a decade now. I still enjoy drugs, however. I smoke weed once a week, and pop the occasional acid tab or 2-CB tablet, but I no longer shoot dope or huff dangerous hydrocarbons.
Take this from me; never huff anything. NEVER. EVER. HUFF. ANYTHING. PERIOD. Use literally anything else; sniff some coke, shoot some ketamine, smoke a joint or pop a molly, you're better off doing any other drug than huffing volatile solvents. I learned that the hard way, and it could happen to you.
Again, never huff anything. Your body will thank you. Trust me.
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