Drugs

[sureshot]

First off Booze should be damn near the top of that list.This thread is as rude as it gets.I'm sure their are some of us on VC that are going through and dealing with addictions.As adults,we need to set examples for the youngsters on here.Braging about drug use isin't that cool peoples.I will be not returning to VC until this thread is closed.

 

 

i totally agree that alcohol is definitely powerful and addictive if abused.

 

on the other hand, just as there are people who can drink responsibly, there are also people who can use drugs responsibly and not have it ruin their lives. all drugs are not created equal, just as all people are not created equal. some people should never have a beer in their life. others should never try a hard drug. however, "just say no" is far more irresponsible than telling someone to know themselves and their limits, and to act accordingly.

[MrRain422]

First off Booze should be damn near the top of that list.This thread is as rude as it gets.I'm sure their are some of us on VC that are going through and dealing with addictions.As adults,we need to set examples for the youngsters on here.Braging about drug use isin't that cool peoples.I will be not returning to VC until this thread is closed.

 

I really don't think anyone here was suggesting that drug abuse is not a serious problem, or that children should do drugs.

[plasticeyeball]

As someone who's done none of the above, I agree. I kinda suspect that those arguing otherwise are trying to jive their view of themselves (and how they seem themselves in relation to other people) with their actual drug history.

 

I don't think anybody was trying to edit how they are seen by the community. Actually, I think only edie said she thought the order was off and that I think that is generational.

 

I am the same age as her and in college and the immediate years thereafter, (college from 1980 to 84) coke was looked at something rich yuppies did and was looked at as no big deal. It was a social drug. Doing acid and mushrooms and the like was a HUGE deal that only real drug addicts did. It wasn't until later, into the early nineties that it was looked at as what it is which is a real addictive drug. I'm pleased to find the younger folks scared of it.

 

 

First off Booze should be damn near the top of that list.This thread is as rude as it gets.I'm sure their are some of us on VC that are going through and dealing with addictions.As adults,we need to set examples for the youngsters on here.Braging about drug use isin't that cool peoples.I will be not returning to VC until this thread is closed.

 

I didn't read everybodies post that closely but I didn't notice more than one or two people bragging. Alot of what I read was more of "I did this once and it scared me or made me sick" kind of posts which I was suprised at. Like I said, it looks to me that drug use is not as mainstream as it was when I was in my 20's, which is a good thing.

[yermom]

Having tried most of the drugs on the list, I can say with certainty that although I got some really great bonding experiences with friends out of it, I wish I had never tried a single one. That would make me feel more comfortable when I have to insist that my daughter do her very best to avoid drugs ten to fifteen years from now. Granted, there are plenty of folks who manage to live perfectly happy lives that involve drugs and may even benefit from the drugs but I feel like drug use for me was HUGE gamble because I am one of those people who get hooked easily. I can't doubt that my daughter has likely inherited this trait from me, so I dread the thought of her going into adolescence and adulthood where she might take the same gambles I did and not come out as lucky as I.

[mountain bed]

tried acid once - NEVER again!

That's all you have to say about it? Maybe the Southern Hemisphere has something to do with that..like reverse polarity or something!

[Edie]

I posted this on another forum in a thread where the original poster asked about whether or not he should try heroin. Pretty much sums up my feelings.

 

My brother was addicted to heroin for more than 15 years. During that time, he lost his job, stole from everyone he knew, went to jail, contracted hepatitis C at some point along the way, finally quit in late 2002, and died when his liver and kidneys completely shut down and his lungs filled with fluid, essentially drowning, in 2003. Since he hadn't been been proven to be clean for a minimum of 6 months, he was not eligible for a liver transplant.

 

He said started as a lark, thinking he would not get addicted since he had been able to kick cigarettes and other addictive substances pretty easily. He always felt above it all, that dying from it would be impossible, and refused help for a long time. So instead, he made his peace on his death bed with us, his family. He was 46.

 

My feeling is that you can try it, but beware that it is a dead-end and can end for you just like it did for my brother. Is that really a chance you want to take? I have always said no to that question.

[Tweedling]

As someone who's done none of the above, I agree. I kinda suspect that those arguing otherwise are trying to jive their view of themselves (and how they seem themselves in relation to other people) with their actual drug history.

 

Note: This is a not a comment on any specific posters as I have only vaguely paid attention to who's arguing for what. It's more or less a guess.

Uhm...sounds like you should relax and try one of 'em.......

[Chuck Turner]

O.K. I'm gonna skip the poll, and just say I've done em all except heroin. But more importantly, they all stopped working at some point. I've been clean and sober for 11 years and 11 months. Part of why SBS is such a moving album to me is that JT was clean while recording it (i think, correct me if i'm wrong).

 

Most people don't have a problem with social drinking or smoking a joint at a concert. But me, i ended up crashing cars spending a night or two in jail, passing out on stage . . . etc. etc. etc.

 

There is always help out there . . .

[Hi my name is Lee]

I wish we knew a lot more about drug's effects on the body.

 

The strongest drug I've tried...in terms of effects...has been salvia. I have never tripped harder in my life, and I've tried enough (variety and dosage) of the ones listed in the survey.

 

Most "controversial" drug I've tried is coke, and only once. Not because I was worried about self control, I just thought it the lamest experience.

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

I don't think anybody was trying to edit how they are seen by the community. Actually, I think only edie said she thought the order was off and that I think that is generational. I am the same age as her and in college and the immediate years thereafter, (college from 1980 to 84) coke was looked at something rich yuppies did and was looked at as no big deal. It was a social drug. Doing acid and mushrooms and the like was a HUGE deal that only real drug addicts did. It wasn't until later, into the early nineties that it was looked at as what it is which is a real addictive drug. I'm pleased to find the younger folks scared of it. I didn't read everybodies post that closely but I didn't notice more than one or two people bragging. Alot of what I read was more of "I did this once and it scared me or made me sick" kind of posts which I was suprised at. Like I said, it looks to me that drug use is not as mainstream as it was when I was in my 20's, which is a good thing.

That was the other thing I was going to say...coke is a better heeled drug. That doesn't make it less hard/dangerous/whatever. I wasn't suggesting that people were trying to mitigate how they are seen by others--rather that they were ordering drugs as a reflection of how they ordered themselves amongst the strata of drug users.

Uhm...sounds like you should relax and try one of 'em.......

Well, when I say "none of the above" I mean none of the ones mentioned in the post I originally quoted.

[Guest Speed Racer]

That was the other thing I was going to say...coke is a better healed drug. That doesn't make it less hard/dangerous/whatever. I wasn't suggesting that people were trying to mitigate how they are seen by others--rather that they were ordering drugs as a reflection of how they ordered themselves amongst the strata of drug users.Well, when I say "none of the above" I mean none of the ones mentioned in the post I originally quoted.

 

I don't know if it's really a strata thing for everybody so much as a reflection of how different drugs really do hit everyone differently. People struggling with addiction all came upon their drug of choice (a hilarious phrase to describe a state of being in which you've lost control, by the way) because it did what they wanted it to do, the best.

 

Some folks can smoke pot all day long and be just fine, but they take a sip of alcohol and puke for the next twelve hours. Some folks can do coke daily and stop one day like it's nothing. All bodies are different, so it would make sense that different drugs would affect people differently. Therefore, it would make sense that people would have differing opinions about which drugs are 'hardest.'

[W(TF)]

I'll take another angle. I think pot/hash is pretty damn dangerous; it's very accessible, very conducive to experimentation, it's generally viewed as a mild narcotic, very often viewed as less dangerous than alcohol - which is something I would take with a large grain of salt. It's a drug most kids have done by the time they're 13 or 14, there isn't much fear of it. Pot is also easy to grow in your house. It is carcinogenic, and is known to greatly increase onset of depression later in life, especially if you consume a lot in your youth.

 

I don't know that many people who fucked up their lives with acid or coke, but I know (and knew) a LOT of people who couldn't get through a day without toking, for years and years. (myself included) The problem being that recreational use can gradually become abuse, and *at best* you are killing off brain cells you'll never get back. At worst, there are many other potential consequences most of us don't think about.

 

Same goes for alcohol, obviously.

 

(and yeah I'm definitely for legalizing marijuana, despite all of the above)

[froggie]

That's all you have to say about it? Maybe the Southern Hemisphere has something to do with that..like reverse polarity or something!

 

 

basically, put me to sleep and i felt real crap when i woke up. nothing else happened!

[bjorn_skurj]

 

basically, put me to sleep and i felt real crap when i woke up. nothing else happened!

You got ripped off, then.

[EL the Famous]

I can't take anymore illicit drugs

I can't afford any artificial joy

I'd sure look like a fool dead in a

ditch somewhere

With a mind full of chemicals,

like some cheese-eating high school boy

[quarter23cd]

Put another check mark for me in the "I tried this and that a few times when I was younger" category, but mostly that was all a long time ago. With 3 young kids I can't really afford to be completely zonked out of my mind on anything--about the craziest you'll see me get anymore is about 2 beers. 3 if you catch me on a "wild" night.

 

But regarding the discussion earlier about mental states and acid, yeah, I tripped a couple times as a kid and had an interesting experience with it. Probably would have done it more, but in college I began experiencing bouts of depression and anxiety and I figured it was best to lay off since, as mentioned, if you're not in a good place mentally you're probably going to have a bad experience. (FWIW, some of the shit I ended up taking to treat the anxiety trumps a lot of the stuff on this list--not that I recommend doing it recreationally)

 

Nowadays I don't do much of anything, but that's ok too.

[Sir Stewart]

First off Booze should be damn near the top of that list.This thread is as rude as it gets.I'm sure their are some of us on VC that are going through and dealing with addictions.As adults,we need to set examples for the youngsters on here.Braging about drug use isin't that cool peoples.I will be not returning to VC until this thread is closed.

Although I don't see much bragging, and I wasn't looking for braggers in starting this thread, and there have been many cautionary and informational posts in this thread (as I'd hoped for/ expected), this thread will now close so we don't have to be without oceanman.