I know this question is odd, but unfortunately we have a lot of unhoused addicted people in my city. I often see them sitting on a bench bent at the waist in half like a rag doll, or standing somewhere half bent over, like stooped over nodding out I guess? I don’t really know anything about substance use, but it’s such a strange sight, what substances cause them to bend over like this?
Poor souls. The mayors of big cities here have asked the provincial government to declare a state of emergency due to homelessness and addiction being so rampant, but Doug Ford doesn’t give a shit about them.
It’s the fent fold / bent / drop / lean. Most likely fentanyl or carfentanyl, but almost definitely some kind of opiate (of which they’re the most potent). Some of it might be neuromuscular / specifically opiate related but there’s also just the practicality of it. The drug might be cut / mixed with another sedative for potency such as a benzo or barbiturate, but it also might be mixed with with a stimulant such as methamphetamine or cocaine to counteract the sedation.
You’d want to counteract the sedation either to increase enjoyment (similarly to the relaxed buzz of a caffeinated alcoholic beverage) or because they feel too much distress from being sober / unsedated but also know that they’re in an unsafe area to be sedated. Even if it’s not cut with a stimulant they may still be forcing themselves to stay awake either because they know they’ve taken enough that they might stop breathing, or because, as I said, they know they’ll get mugged or otherwise attacked if they relax into the high.
Being homeless / generally in poverty is often too emotionally stressful to tolerate sober, but too unsafe to be navigated zonked, so they just put themselves into a never sleeping but never really awake haze until they either intentionally or unintentionally die or almost die or experience psychosis, in which case they either go to a morgue or to meet up with me on the psych unit.