OT: Drugs....

[Renegade 13]

Ok, so here's a poll for all you forum readers. This one is completely OT, so feel free to disregard it. However, here's the poll. Have you ever done drugs for a non-medicinal purpose (for example, any "recreational" drug). This is a very personal poll, so I guess it's a good thing that polls are anonymous

[Atrocities]

I never felt the need to take drugs in my life. I like some pain killers, but find even those effect me in ways that I do not like. I think it best to say that I like to be able to think for myself and not have drugs do it for me.

However I have seen many good friends and realatives destroyed by a drug habit. I lost my GF a few years ago to it as well.

[Will]

If alcohol counts, then yes, I have done recreational drugs, yes, I still take, and I only regretted once (when I drank vodka with a few Russians, and we all proceeded to vomit afterwards).

If not, then the only time I took a drug for non-medicinal purposes was some codine after a particularly rough night staying up with a friend of mine. After that, I was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained, but I couldn't sleep. I knew another one of my friends had some perscription narcotics from... I don't even remember what. I asked if I could have some, and took about one and a half doses of codeine. When I woke up (sixteen hours later), I felt a little better, and I was back to "normal" a few more hours after that.

Other than that, haven't touched the stuff.

[Atrocities]

I guess food would be my drug. Just as deadly when abused and far more costly in the long long run.

[Aiken]

See my sig for the drug I'm addicted to.

[David E. Gervais]

I only answered Question 1.. No (Question 2 is a trick question kind of like "Have you stoped beating your wife?" if you andwer yes it implies you 'did' and if you anwser no it implies you are 'still'. A no win situation)

Anyway, I never felt the need or curiosity to try drugs. As for addictions, can't seem to stay away from my computer and I often feel 'compelled' to eat.

Cheers!

[dogscoff]

My thoughts/ opinions/ experiences spewed out below in random order.

I've answered yes to all three questions, but only because I drink and have known hangovers.

I think the use of chemical substances to enhance/altar our perception and/or enjoyment is a fundamental part of human nature, and like anything else that can be bad for your health, is fine as long as you can keep it under control.

Unfortunately our society has no idea of moderation: The accepted reasoning is that if something is good, then more of it must be better. This isn't always true: A glass of wine a day is a good thing. Two bottles a day will get you involved in a traffic accident/ beaten up in a gutter/ liver failure. A burger every now and then is OK, but eating twenty burgers a week will kill you as sure as smoking forty cigarettes a day. The odd bit of puff isn't a bad thing, but excessive pot will turn you into a vegetable. This attitude of excess is mostly a by-product of the rampant capitalism that dominates our culture and that turns many positive or neutral things in our society into negative things. Added to that a culture which celebrates ignorance and irresponsible behaviour and you've got a recipe for disaster. If we could break our culture of excess then many of the world's problems (not just substance-related ones) would be vastly improved overnight.

Another part of the problem is the addictive nature of many drugs (cigarettes, heroin etc) which is quite often an artificial property introduced by the people who profit from addiction (ie the people selling the stuff.)

Personally I've never tried pot, but I'm interested to give it a go. The one opportunity I had I happened to be the designated driver, so had to reluctantly decline for safety reasons. I could probably be persuaded to try ecstasy (I don't dance, but I've heard it's worth taking some before sex) but I wouldn't ever try LSD, cocaine, heroin or anything else along those lines. As for more exotic things like toad-licking and whatnot, I'd have to inform myself more of the risks and effects before deciding. I'm always very wary of taking things like painkillers, even if there's a valid medical reason.

Pot should definitely be legal. In fact I'd go further and say that all drugs should be legal. Why? Several reasons:
1- It's none of the government's business what i choose to put into my body
2- Of course, it is the government's business if I get messed up on speed and then run over a little old lady. however, bringing such substances into the mainstream would make it easier to prevent and control such antisocial behaviour.
3- It's hypocritical to allow fags and booze but prohibit other substances.
4- Much of the medical harm and addiction from hard drugs comes from dealers mixing it up with brick dust/ rat poison/ whatever else they can get their hands on. If the industry was legalised and regulated this kind of crap wouldn't happen. (When was the Last time you bought a bottle of wine that had been padded out with bleach by an unscrupulous supplier?)
5- Another of the main dangers of drug use is that safe dosages aren't very well understood. This problem is compounded by number 4 above. If the substances were controlled and regulated and forced to compply to certain standards of content and labelling, drug use would be much safer.
6- If legalised and regulated, the long-term effects of drugs and the best treatments for them would be much easier to study and understand. This information could be used to inform and educate people about the risks they are taking, safe dosages, and maybe to produce less addictive/ harmful types of the substances.
7- Bringing drugs into the mainstream would kill off all the organised crime associated with it. Just look at alcohol prohibition in the US in the twenties.
8- People with addictions and other problems linked to drugs would be more likely to seek and find help if they weren't branded as criminals by their drug use.
9- The money saved in hunting, arresting and detaining drug criminals could be used to help the people suffering from their effects, with cash left over for a tax cut or improvement in other public services. Not to mention the money the government could make from taxing drugs.

That's what I think, annyway. It's not a perfect system, but neither is the system we have now and at least the one above is consistent and fair. I firmly believe that legalising drugs wouldn't increase their usage. People who want drugs now have no trouble finding them. Making them legitimate might even reduce some of their appeal to rebellious types, and encourage moderate (rather than excessive) usage. Legalising drug use doesn't necessarily mean encouraging it- I would hope for the exact opposite: If legalised, education as to the negative effects of substances should be used to discourage their use (just as kids are now warned off smoking) and there should be laws and social pressure about times and places where drug use is innappropriate. For people who consistently abuse their freedoms (ie driving under the influence or otherwise endangering ppl, or seriously jeopardising their own health through excessive use) the courts could make them go into rehab and get any psychiatric help/ counselling to deal with the causes of their addictions.

That's my 0.02 anyway, but it'll never happen.

[Kamog]

I have never used drugs. I have never smoked or drank alcohol, and I never will.

When I was in elementary school, some police officers came to the school to do a presentation about the evils of drug addiction. They completely convinced me back then to never use drugs. I was very fortunate of that, because my high school had a big drug problem. When we left the building when school finished, it was normal to see fellow students trying to sell drugs to us on the street in front of the school. One of my best friends started using drugs and consequently, he and I drifted apart and I lost a friend.

[Fyron]

Kamog said:
When I was in elementary school, some police officers came to the school to do a presentation about the evils of drug addiction.

The D.A.R.E. program is one of the greatest atrocities of our time...

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Bah. The C.A.R.E program is. Never seen the D.A.R.E program.

'Yes, little Narfy, just cry and the bullies will be so sorry the'll stop punching you.'

No, little Narfy, the'll laugh and punch you some more. Learn how to fight and beat the crap out of them.

But, alas, I was a pacifist.