Why are drugs popular/cool?

[FAST6191]

@Sstew - as has been said repeatedly on this forum, pot and heroin do not compare. Some would use the cliche "apples to oranges," but I think a more appropriate version would be "apples to racoons."

Okay, I was just meaning them in the same sense which is they are both "Drugs" either way you look at it.

So are aspirins, would you consider them to be the same as crack?

No, I meant them under the fact that they are not "Drugs" that are helpful to the human body, "Bad Drugs" so to speak. Where as Tylenol, Asprins, Ect. are there to help your body ** Yes, I know you can OD on Prescription Meds** but they are meant to do good to your body. "Drugs" have many sub catagories, I know that, Hell I take 62 pills a day, I just meant that Heroin/Pot/Crack are all Drugs that are not helpful to your body is all. Quit flaming me.

Cocaine: local anaesthetic.
Marijuana: glaucoma, cancer side effects treatment (stops nausea), some palsy reduction, (I will leave it to the others to continue on this one, suffice it to say there are quite a few well documented uses and is used medically).
Nicotine: acts in a similar way to Ritalin ( http://www.docguide.com/news/content.nsf/n...5256DDD004D95F8 ), a fairly good treatment for irritable bowel depending on who you speak to.
Alcohol: ignoring the red wine thing plenty of studies have shown beneficial effects.
Ecstasy (MDMA): started as a psychological drug as I recall, not sure if it is still used.
Heroin: also goes by the name diamorphine which is a legally available drug (although controlled).
Several of the drugs on that list that cropped up a few pages back are actually beneficial drugs.


It is not just prescription drugs: ODing on iron (as in dietary supplement) was one of the favoured methods of doctors to off themselves in a study I read (I will have to dig it up, something in the meantime though: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002659.htm ).

Also if that was a flame by your standards then I suggest you retreat from internet message boards for a while.

edit: @geedub I did not mean to imply alcohol has no effect, I was looking at the "rapists, murderers..." part and wondering what sort of effect they are actually having other than scaring people who read the daily mail.

 

[testicles]

Heroin fun fact: Heroin was actually created by the US gov't as a replacement for morphine. They hoped it would be roughly 3 times as potent, but only one third as addictive. They screwed up.

Heroin (diamorphine) was "invented" by the germans (bayer) - just as most drugs are/were discovered in europe (germany, switzerland etc).

 

[WildWon]

Grr... stupid debate i can't really get into due to being at work...

Here's a quicky that i typed up in another window as to not stick around here too much >_>
--

There are two main reasons why marijuana is illegal in the USA. And they are both due to the government.

1. Weed was made illegal during prohibition, at the same time as alcohol. They destroy families. They make people do stupid things. They are unsafe. Yadda yadda. For some reason, alcohol was talked about and used enough behind the government’s back that they had to turn tail and say “Oh, whoops, we’re wrong.” They couldn’t do that with weed because then they’d be 100% wrong, and pride won’t allow that. (also, being 100% wrong would look VERY bad to the people in the nation, so they did it to prevent anarchy as well, but that’s another story.) So, they can’t re-legalize both, for fear of losing the peoples’ understanding that they know what’s best for their country. While it’s not cool, i can’t fault them, because they do need to keep some order, and turning tail on everything... well, they’d lose control.

2. look at the two organizations that are taxed to hell and back, that are BAD for people, but fund the government? Big Tobacco and Big Alcohol. So much of the US gov’t is funded by the taxation of these two HUGE businesses that any other possible threat to their livelihood (i.e. the almighty dollar) THEY will stop at nothing to stop the true understanding of a natural drug. Hell, if the US would legalize it, sell it under its watchful eye, and legalize it, we’d be out of our deficit so fast....... but then Big Tobacco and Big Alcohol would go under, and with the money they have coming in, they’ll stop it. Which is where a lot of money for anti-weed propaganda comes from as well.

I know this all sounds very “conspiracy” in my writing, but its a lot closer to the truth than you’d like to think.
I mean, if weed was such a bad thing... why is there an entire country that’s pretty much thriving on this horrid drug? And where’s the stories from Amsterdam of the weed binges of people dying and killing for their fix?

While i agree with other drugs being bad (yes, i’ve experimented with others, and even though i occasionally dabble with coke, i don’t recommend trying it... ever. Its not worth it.), marijuana has been thrown into the WRONG category.
--

That is all... dunno if i'll be able to post anymore today

 

[geedub]

edit: @geedub I did not mean to imply alcohol has no effect, I was looking at the "rapists, murderers..." part and wondering what sort of effect they are actually having other than scaring people who read the daily mail.

right gotcha !

you know aswell as me the government would never release any stats like this ! but obviously a lot of time and money that is getting wasted elsewhere has to have a serious and major impact ! yeah but i see where your coming from

but just my opinion !

 

[Hop2089]

The problem isn't the natural drugs such as weed and cocaine which have health benefits and could be legalized for medical use, it's the problem with meth and crack cocaine (manmade) that gives drugs a bad name since they have no benefits and kill faster than the natural varieties. Alcohol is good especially wine which can aid various functions including the heart if used in moderation.

 

[coolmos]

Filter,

It seems you are not asking a genuine question. You're just here to preach about the dangers of drugs.

Some drugs are not dangerous, despite your slanted view.

People will try things because they can. Do you think it shouldn't be possible?
Why not ban swimming? It's very dangerous! You could drown!
What about driving a car? Electricity? Guns?

As long as you only have an effect on yourself, i don't care what you do. Marijuana or mushrooms are relative harmless. Visit us in the Netherlands and see for yourself.

 

[Trolly]

Personally, I'm with you OP, I can't for the life of me understand why people do drugs. Even smoking, and to a certain extent getting drunk I cannot understand.
All are temporary thrills that, even if they're not hugely harmful, are certainly anti-productive.

From as young as possible in the UK, teenagers will get drunk as much as they can, many will smoke, and over time a fair few can turn to drugs. It's escapism really, in all cases, and it annoys me. People just aren't satisfied with life, they want more, and sometimes it doesn't matter what happens to those around them as long as they get their little fix.
Of course, apart from the health effects, anything can be damaging to at least a certain extent when consumed to a large amount. For example, many of us are addicted to gaming, and usually make a small sacrifice in other areas of life when playing obsessively, such as work, social, hygiene, health or whatever.

It's a difficult one to generalise, the topic of drugs, as the effects on people, their uses and so on can be so varied. All are anti-productive anyway, and really a complete waste of time (though a lot of things in life are). The real reason I don't particularly like drunkards, smokers and drug-users is it's a sure-fire sign of weakness when you have to resort to abusing substances in order to have fun in life, it's a skill to be able to appreciate and be happy with what you have, no matter how bad things are. People bending to peer pressure is another pet hate too, which is another reason I don't particularly like the stuff.

 

[Styles420]

Heroin fun fact: Heroin was actually created by the US gov't as a replacement for morphine. They hoped it would be roughly 3 times as potent, but only one third as addictive. They screwed up.

Erm, no.

Erm, yes. My empty rebuttal supersedes your empty rebuttal now. Next?

(And yes, other countries may have been involved. But the intention was still there, and they still got it backwards. Crack, on the other hand, is rumored to have been created - by the CIA, was it? - in order to bring down black people in the ghetto back in the day, when racism was slightly stronger than it is today)

 

[TrolleyDave]

Heroin fun fact: Heroin was actually created by the US gov't as a replacement for morphine. They hoped it would be roughly 3 times as potent, but only one third as addictive. They screwed up.

Erm, no.

Erm, yes. My empty rebuttal supersedes your empty rebuttal now. Next?

(And yes, other countries may have been involved. But the intention was still there, and they still got it backwards. Crack, on the other hand, is rumored to have been created - by the CIA, was it? - in order to bring down black people in the ghetto back in the day, when racism was slightly stronger than it is today)

Heroin was created by drug companies hoping to stretch out their morphine a little more and make more profits. During Volstead you couldn't buy beer but you could get heroin in the form of cough mixture off the shelf in a chemist. It had nothing to do with the US Government. Even going by conspiracy theories the CIA involvement in the durg trade didn't begin until the 60's, heroin was already big business for Italian-American organized crime by then.

I'm pretty sure crack started in Jamaica where the Yardies were looking to make cocaine affordable and increase their cash flow. It was around in Jamaica for a good while before the crack explosion in the states as far as I know.

 

[Ace Gunman]

Escapism. Every recreational drug, activity, or interest has come out of humanity's need for escapism. When you play a video game you're getting pulled into a distant world that is different from your own. I could go on and on, but it always comes back to escapism.

Life can be a difficult and terrible experience, just getting through a day at work at a job you dislike, just working 5 days a week only to have a couple to yourself and go back to the daily grind, having to deal with the restrictions of bills and taxes every day... life can be severely limiting to some. So they want a few moments to live outside of themselves, that's where drugs come in (or again, really anything).

And that goes for people who aren't in despair as well. Looking at the fictional character of Tony Stark/Iron Man and his wealth... When you've done everything money can do; when you've slept with the most beautiful women, climbed the highest mountains, conquered the most difficult markets... when you've done it all, and that all becomes "routine", the escapism of alcohol (in Stark's case) was all that was really left (and then superheroing, but that came later

).

Now personally I don't do drugs, and I rarely drink. Not because I have any particular moral stance against them, but because I've seen how my friends/etc live. It occurs to me that smoking marijuana (substitute with what you will) isn't really escapism when it becomes a part of your daily routine. At that point it's just another step in the daily grind, another moment of monotony.

Monday: Work 9 to 5, come home, slump on the couch, do some recreational drugs, eat, sleep > Tuesday: Repeat > Wednesday: Repeat > etc.

It always comes down to escapism, people attempting (and sometimes failing) to leave who they are, what they are, where they are, when they are, why they are and how they are behind.

And to those who disagree, to those who think "It's just because they're fun". If you're not having enough fun without drugs, enough fun on your own, then you are by definition using drugs to escape that lack of fun. Escapism.

 

[Styles420]

Heroin fun fact: Heroin was actually created by the US gov't as a replacement for morphine. They hoped it would be roughly 3 times as potent, but only one third as addictive. They screwed up.

Erm, no.

Erm, yes. My empty rebuttal supersedes your empty rebuttal now. Next?

(And yes, other countries may have been involved. But the intention was still there, and they still got it backwards. Crack, on the other hand, is rumored to have been created - by the CIA, was it? - in order to bring down black people in the ghetto back in the day, when racism was slightly stronger than it is today)

Heroin was created by drug companies hoping to stretch out their morphine a little more and make more profits. During Volstead you couldn't buy beer but you could get heroin in the form of cough mixture off the shelf in a chemist. It had nothing to do with the US Government. Even going by conspiracy theories the CIA involvement in the durg trade didn't begin until the 60's, heroin was already big business for Italian-American organized crime by then.

I'm pretty sure crack started in Jamaica where the Yardies were looking to make cocaine affordable and increase their cash flow. It was around in Jamaica for a good while before the crack explosion in the states as far as I know.

You may be right. I would have to try to find my source of information again, and it has been a while... so maybe I got the details wrong. As for the reason why, it sounds like we almost agree - same basic underlying principal (official organizations mistakenly thinking they were doing a good thing), and since I can't remember where I got my info, I can accept your version of things until I can verify my version... Thanks for clarifying - your first response only lacked an explanation, but this sounds reasonable, and close enough for me to believe that my memory is likely incorrect.

 

[p1ngpong]

Well its obvious this debate will rage for a while yet, I pretty much knew this topic would be an epic back and forth between people who condone the use of drugs and those who dont. Hence my inconclusive first post lol

Basically nobody can deny the war on drugs has been a massive failure. Personally I am convinced it is a fraud, it has solved nothing and made no positive impact since it begun several decades ago.

For those who are interested check out this documentary, American Drug War: The Last White Hope, its really excellent and eye opening.

More info on it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_drug_war

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1033467/

 

[SkankyYankee]

The war against pot has been a one sided war. the first laws on the books in the us were a guise meant to solve the Chinese and Mexican Immigrant problem that the federal gov't started. Federal opium laws for the Chinese immigrants on the west coast, and pot for the mexicans in the southwest.

The mexican immigrant issue has yet to be solved!

Fact: The banks of the potomac were once filled with wild hemp.

 

[Goshogun1]

I wouldn't ever do a drug to look cool. I used to smoke pot, but I only did it because it was fun, and made me feel good. I could care less what people though about it though.

I 100% believe it should be legal though, because the majority of pot smokers only smoke pot. Imagine how much money the USA could make if we grew and sold it with a high tax. But the lawmakers say, "Well, if we make pot legal we will have people nagging to make the others legal too." Such BS! I do think drugs like meth and heroin should be highly criminalized though, as they are truly destroy lives.

 

[Calafas]

Well, I smoke, and I think i could fairly say I'm addicted to it. It was my choice to start smoking, I had a down point in my life, and smoking just helped me get through it, calming me down. Now I have friends that dont like me smoking, and i'm cool with that, they dont keep telling me I should stop, or anything like that, and im fine not smoking around them. What annoys me is people telling me I should stop smoking, and actively trying to stop me. I'm not a heavy drinker, I like the odd one now and again, and sure sometimes i'll go out and get smashed (ie, birthdays, christmas, new year).

Now I have friends who do weed too, they say it makes them feel better when they're down or whatever. Now im fine with them doing weed, even doing weed around me (when we're outside), but none of them try to pressure me into trying it, as they know I dont want to (for personal reasons, explained later), and yeah, they are different when they're high. One of my friends is overweight, and quite geeky, but when he's had a bit of weed, he's no longer a shy geek, he's still down to earth, but he's much more confident, and even more of a laugh to be around!

Now on the subject of drugs being dangerous, something related to drugs has affected someone close to me. One of my friends, her older brother did weed for a LONG time. He was totally cool when he was on weed, he didnt get violent (or try and steal my shoes, thanks). But eventually he started getting problems, a big one being schizophrenia (cause by smoking excessive weed i guess). Anyway, the time he had schizophrenia was a real strain on the whole family, and eventually, he died from it. My friend and her whole family were completely torn up, and it was that friend that has convinced me never to try weed. Now before you guys say anything, I know this isnt a common case, but it still happened to someone i know (probably by no-ones fault but himself, but still). So I know how bad drugs can tear family apart, but also can alcohol, and video games (think boy who shot his parents over Halo3). So although personally I dont take them, more the power to people who do, as long as they dont get carried away and can keep it (even a bit) under their control. :]

 

[Nocturnius]

“Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction.” “When you smoke the herb, it reveals you to yourself.” - bob marley - nuff said fools lol j.k i personally only have done weed. and i do not get addicted. Last time i ever smoked was a few years ago. I can't say what is so popular about drugs but. many not all but many do it either of peer pressure or wanting to fit in with "friends" and such. Others, like my friend does it because of depression and to feel better about himself and let the worries be washed away. He doesn't over do it though.

 

[Chopders]

I still don't know why people are trying drugs.
I mean, I wouldn't waste my time on those things. I don't drink... No illegal drug, I don't take aspirins when I have a hardhack... And no caffeine.

By the way, those stuff are too expensive, I have way more saving my money for a better car or doing renovation on my house. Take a sheet of paper and do some math to estimate how much you spend per year on alcohol. And now other people said that I'm lucking to have money. ROFL.

Like almost everyone who respond to this thread (I hope), have finished their high school. This is not a secret for anyone. A lot of people are taking drugs and they have this entire cool atmosphere around this. But why? Wake up society, you are just smoking.

Whatever, if people can feel better whit this, go for it.

 

[TrolleyDave]

I just realized I meant to post why I thought most people think drugs are cool. Here goes my explanation.

Drugs were stigmatized as being bad in either the 20's or the 30's (there was a large world meeting, if I remember right Africa called for the worldwide criminalization of pot). Also snce the 20's the west has had this need to romanticize the bad guy. Because people are taught that the bad guy is "cool" and because we're taught from an early age to "fit in" we want to be like the bad guy. There's alot of things the geezer in the street just couldn't do that a real bad guy does but pretty much anyone can do drugs. So the fringes who like to be a bit "shady" do drugs because it gives them an excuse to hang around with a "bad guy". Then they can brag to their friends that they know a "bad guy" and give off the air that they themselves are a little "bad".

More and more people are becoming victims of the follower disease. So therefore it's becoming more and more acceptable in a sligtly underground kind of way. Plus, and as much of an old cunt it makes me sound to say it but you know it's true, Gangsta Rap is hugely popular amongst the single celled amoebas. Gangsta Rap talks about how cool it is to smoke so therefore easily influenced sheep do it because they want to be just like their "hero".

There's one good thing about weed becoming more acceptable these days though. At one point your only choice of supplier was a drug pusher. They would do their best to convince you to try other stuff, and due to people being weak or just wanting to get the hell away from a drug pusher they'd give in. Now you get people who deal only in weed, so people aren't having harder drugs pushed onto them.

 

[Isaiah]

Drugs+Person+EPIC FAIL

 

[sdnoob]

Students smoke pot in the stairs of the school's hallway... not cool.

personally i think people usually just choose to themselves or perhaps peer pressure is involved. no one can actually tell them to stop, so it will continue, but they really should choose better places to smoke.