Why are drugs popular/cool?

[BlueStar]

Drugs (including the likes of alcohol, nicotine and caffine) are popular for the same reason they've always been popular, because they're enjoyable in varying degrees to people. There's little mystery about it.

Whats the point of doing illegal drugs? It will only cause you health problems and more than likely kill you. Not to mention it ruins families by the user losing their job, committing crimes such as stealing from family to buy more drugs, and sometimes even worse.

Are you lumping people who enjoy the odd drink or spliff in along with habitual heroin addicts?

 

[Styles420]

A few weeks ago a guy few streets down killed himself and his wife over drugs. If the drug was not prescribed to you then you should not be taking it.

And how do you know the guy down the street killed himself and his wife "over drugs" ? Could have been anything really.

QUOTEbut if you're not the type to jump someone for their shoes when you're sober, pot won't suddenly turn you into a violent thief.

Damn right...... when I used to do pot I wasn't jumping for anything or anyone. If I needed a new pair of shoes the owner would have had to walk over to me, unlace them themselves, hand them to me and then beat themselves up for me.

And you still may not have realized that you just got a new pair of shoes for at least 5 minutes... lol

Everyone I've ever met, that I've seen do meth, coke, prescription drugs (recreationally) or alcohol, always changes while on their substance of choice - they're different people regardless of tolerance to the drug.

On the other hand, I have known many potheads that seemed exactly the same when they were high (I used to live in an area where literally about 80% of the population smoked at least occasionally, and at least 40% smoked all the time - it's basically legal there now)

 

[Filter]

Drugs (including the likes of alcohol, nicotine and caffine) are popular for the same reason they've always been popular, because they're enjoyable in varying degrees to people. There's little mystery about it.

Whats the point of doing illegal drugs? It will only cause you health problems and more than likely kill you. Not to mention it ruins families by the user losing their job, committing crimes such as stealing from family to buy more drugs, and sometimes even worse.

Are you lumping people who enjoy the odd drink or spliff in along with habitual heroin addicts?

I don't get what your asking? But doing heroin is foolish and dumb. Everyone defending pot but I am talking about all illegal drugs not just pot. I know people I have been around who do drugs are not my ideal people to hang out with even if they are not under the influence right at that time. Their attitude about life is horrible and are annoying to be around.

 

[BlueStar]

Drugs (including the likes of alcohol, nicotine and caffine) are popular for the same reason they've always been popular, because they're enjoyable in varying degrees to people. There's little mystery about it.

Whats the point of doing illegal drugs? It will only cause you health problems and more than likely kill you. Not to mention it ruins families by the user losing their job, committing crimes such as stealing from family to buy more drugs, and sometimes even worse.

Are you lumping people who enjoy the odd drink or spliff in along with habitual heroin addicts?

I don't get what your asking? But doing heroin is foolish and dumb. Everyone defending pot but I am talking about all illegal drugs not just pot. I know people I have been around who do drugs are not my ideal people to hang out with even if they are not under the influence right at that time. Their attitude about life is horrible and are annoying to be around.

You're lumping all drugs and drug users together (or more specifically, you're lumping all users of drugs that happen to be illegal in America together) which is exactly the kind of unhelpful attitude which has been responsible for the drug problem in the western world - ie, education that implies that if you smoke a bit of weed you're starting on an irreversable spiral into a life of crime, madness and death. This kind of absurd hyperbole, which anyone with even a passing real-life experience of drugs can see is not true is the reason that people don't listen to drugs education with a genuine message that needs to be told. Lumping all illegal drugs together also implies that the legal drugs that the government want to you consume are in some way harmless, when many of them are far more dangerous than the ones they want you not to take (Usually the ones which are most difficult for them to tax).

There are countries where the drug alcohol is illegal, and it's certainly illegal for a reason - alchol can cause illness, death violence, can ruin families and have a very harmful efect on society. Is a person who drinks in that coutnry a drug user who just does it ebcause it's "cool" and is going to end up ruining his family and stealing from his mother? there are many different drugs and many different drug users, I think the extremely broad brush you are using and the kind of absurd exagerations are a sign of your ignorance on the subject.

 

[Maktub]

all it is doing is artificially altering your state of mind.

My question then is what is the problem with doing this?

Right.

Like, isn't eating bread artificially altering the state of things? Thinking is also an artificial way to alter your mind.

In fact, all drugs do (at least psychotropic drugs and anyone correct me if I'm wrong - drugs like alcohol take effect almost entirely by destroying brain cells) is boosting the brain's capacity to inject substances already present in the human body. Those proccesses have been reported to happen in highly skilled Yogi during their trances, thus having nearly no effect on them when "artificially" doing so (http://www.miqel.com/entheogens/neem-karoli-baba-lsd-alpert.html).

 

[Filter]

All I am saying you don't want some random druggie that just got high to start shooting random people or maybe someone in your family because he can't get his fix.

There is no point of doing drugs other than to cure or help a sickness or disease which a doctor has prescribed to you. And if you are doing drugs other than that then you need help because you have a problem because you are using the drugs to fill some void or think it makes life easier.

 

[Styles420]

Usually the ones which are most difficult for them to tax

Exactly. There are proven medicinal uses for pot - it lowers ocular pressure, which is the cause of pain and vision problems for glaucoma patients. It also reduces (sometimes eliminates) nausea, and stimulates appetite - both of which are great for cancer patients (and hangovers, coincidentally). But it would be difficult for the gov't to tax a plant - they don't collect anything for our tomatoes and corn from our garden, because it would probably cause riots if they tried.

Yet they allow us to drink alcohol - it's just illegal for us to make our own. We can brew our own beer in small quantities, but try to distill hard liquor, and they'll throw your ass in prison and lose the key.

This is leading to a discussion about natural cures... the gov't won't allow a product to claim that it cures anything, even if labratory tests around the world have proven it, unless they approve it - and they won't ever approve anything natural because we could produce it ourselves. Instead, they want to force pills down our throats, because pills are a lot more difficult to make - you need a lab and extensive knowledge in chemistry. Oh yeah, and even with the knowledge and the equipment, they still won't let a guy make his own aspirin - that's a federal offense.

 

[Styles420]

All I am saying you don't want some random druggie that just got high to start shooting random people or maybe someone in your family because he can't get his fix.

There is no point of doing drugs other than to cure or help a sickness or disease which a doctor has prescribed to you. And if you are doing drugs other than that then you need help because you have a problem because you are using the drugs to fill some void or think it makes life easier.

Those druggies wouldn't have trouble getting their fix if the drugs weren't illegal. Then they could kill themselves in peace, and the problem would die out on it's own.

And not everyone that uses a substance is troubled - why are you on this forum? Because you play video games, right? Aren't video games just filling a void? Before kids had video games and all the fancy toys they have these days, they used to entertain themselves with simple things like tops, yo yos, and pushing wagon wheels down the street with sticks. Everything we do that isn't productive is just to fill a void. So you're a video game addict, and you need an intervention, because you're troubled.

My name is Styles, and I'm an entertainment-aholic

 

[Filter]

All I am saying you don't want some random druggie that just got high to start shooting random people or maybe someone in your family because he can't get his fix.

There is no point of doing drugs other than to cure or help a sickness or disease which a doctor has prescribed to you. And if you are doing drugs other than that then you need help because you have a problem because you are using the drugs to fill some void or think it makes life easier.

Those druggies wouldn't have trouble getting their fix if the drugs weren't illegal. Then they could kill themselves in peace, and the problem would die out on it's own.

And not everyone that uses a substance is troubled - why are you on this forum? Because you play video games, right? Aren't video games just filling a void? Before kids had video games and all the fancy toys they have these days, they used to entertain themselves with simple things like tops, yo yos, and pushing wagon wheels down the street with sticks. Everything we do that isn't productive is just to fill a void. So you're a video game addict, and you need an intervention, because you're troubled.

My name is Styles, and I'm an entertainment-aholic

Drugs =/= Video games

Two whole different things completely. You don't shoot video games in your veins or drink video games you play them so I have no clue how you are even comparing the two. Funny how video games are legal and drugs are not.

You don't see people shooting random people because they cant afford to buy themselves a Nintendo Wii.

You don't play video games because you think it will make life easier but people who do drugs do they take them and they think that all their personal problems will go away when they get high.

 

[ConJ]

I know from personal experience, and people i know, that some drugs can be bad. ie heroin, cocaine, crack, and crystal meth to name the worse four. Ive met some pretty messed up heroin/crack addicts over the years, and theres no denying that drugs can seriously f**k you up.
However, i smoke a bit a cannabis, and i dont see anything wrong with that. It doesnt turn me into a homicidle manic. Far from it in fact. I have really bad anxiety problems, and cannabis and computer games really help to alleviate my symptoms.

 

[BlueStar]

I've known people who wasted their education and dropped out of uni because they did nothing but play games, and there have been people who've shot their parents dead in order to get back a game that was confiscated from them, there have been Koreans who played games non stop in a multi-day session literally until they died. I don't think you can lump all gamers in with that guy any more than you can compare someone who has the odd spliff or pill with someone who steals to fund their meth habit, or a violent habitual drunkard with someone having a can of lager at a barbeque.

All I am saying you don't want some random druggie that just got high to start shooting random people or maybe someone in your family because he can't get his fix.

Yeah, and I don't want a guy who's drunk off his face mowing me down in his car or beating the life out of me because I looked at him the wrong way, but I'm not going to slap a glass of wine out of someone's hand and call them a loser.

 

[FAST6191]

all it is doing is artificially altering your state of mind.

My question then is what is the problem with doing this?


It leads to murders, theft, and other crimes. If the drugs alters your state of mind then you will do things you normally don't do.

A few weeks ago a guy few streets down killed himself and his wife over drugs. If the drug was not prescribed to you then you should not be taking it.

I already did the whole "arguing from personal experience bit" but as I already mentioned caffeine and a slew of legal stuff. Also "altering your state of mind" need not entail extremes; how many people enjoy a beer with dinner or when they have some downtime. Mind is altered but not in a negative way.

You mention prescription, in which case I ask what is necessary to gain one and who does what?
I have never been officially trained in many things (for instance I have never been taught to use a computer yet few would question my ability to use them), granted I may be the exception so I will have to withdraw from that pending further research.

I sense your issue is you have it in your mind that drugs are either bad or acceptable with nothing in between. Secondly you also seem to be labouring under the assumption that the law is infallible; I assume by being at this site you have at least some issue with intellectual property law and I already gave evidence as to how logic does not always factor into the making of laws. Moreover I already pointed out that a few of the negatives are caused by improper preparation, controlled preparation (which ideally requires a legal climate) should eliminate this.
I posit that such things are a sliding scale with many modifying factors (some of which I and other contributors to this thread discussed already).

Also while we are critically analysing things that small list of drugs is interesting. It list many negatives but there is a serious downplay on the negatives that are not present in a given example. For example if a substance is not seen as being chemically addictive (I will leave psychological addiction for a moment) there no mention of it in the description.

Finally while things may be exacerbated by drugs and would not like to try to argue otherwise can you show that such things are the sole cause. Killing someone is an inherently hard thing to do from a psychological standpoint and many have tried to find drugs (the US military did a fair bit post world war 2) that make it easier, so far I know of no killing drug which is why people in such professions are either chosen for a predisposition or trained via psychological methods (takes a serious bit of time and effort; why bother when you can pop a pill).

QUOTE(Styles420 @ Jan 23 2009, 12:26 PM)

Everyone I've ever met, that I've seen do meth, coke, prescription drugs (recreationally) or alcohol, always changes while on their substance of choice - they're different people regardless of tolerance to the drug.

Is that not the point?

Case in point "Have a beer and loosen up".

Finally is prohibition was effective would it have not already worked?

 

[Styles420]

All I am saying you don't want some random druggie that just got high to start shooting random people or maybe someone in your family because he can't get his fix.

There is no point of doing drugs other than to cure or help a sickness or disease which a doctor has prescribed to you. And if you are doing drugs other than that then you need help because you have a problem because you are using the drugs to fill some void or think it makes life easier.

Those druggies wouldn't have trouble getting their fix if the drugs weren't illegal. Then they could kill themselves in peace, and the problem would die out on it's own.

And not everyone that uses a substance is troubled - why are you on this forum? Because you play video games, right? Aren't video games just filling a void? Before kids had video games and all the fancy toys they have these days, they used to entertain themselves with simple things like tops, yo yos, and pushing wagon wheels down the street with sticks. Everything we do that isn't productive is just to fill a void. So you're a video game addict, and you need an intervention, because you're troubled.

My name is Styles, and I'm an entertainment-aholic

Drugs =/= Video games

Two whole different things completely. You don't shoot video games in your veins or drink video games you play them so I have no clue how you are even comparing the two. Funny how video games are legal and drugs are not.

You don't see people shooting random people because they can afford to buy themselves a Nintendo Wii.

You don't play video games because you think it will make life easier but people who do drugs do they take them and they think that all their personal problems will go away when they get high.

And plenty of people play video games to get their minds off of life's troubles temporarily - and I have known plenty of people who let other parts of their lives fall apart because they only want to play video games. There's an epidemic right now with people who give up the real world to live their lives out on games like World of Warcraft. I know, drugs and video games aren't as similar as, say milk and orange juice - but you don't have to take the comparison so literally, there's a deeper concept in the metaphor that takes a higher level of thinking to understand. Maybe it's true what they say, about video games rotting your brain...

The point is not what each does to your body, but what they do to your life in general. Just like some people play video games without troubles, many people do drugs without letting them screw up their lives. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who let video games get in the way of things like school and work, just like people who do the same with drugs.

 

[Filter]

All I am saying you don't want some random druggie that just got high to start shooting random people or maybe someone in your family because he can't get his fix.

There is no point of doing drugs other than to cure or help a sickness or disease which a doctor has prescribed to you. And if you are doing drugs other than that then you need help because you have a problem because you are using the drugs to fill some void or think it makes life easier.

Those druggies wouldn't have trouble getting their fix if the drugs weren't illegal. Then they could kill themselves in peace, and the problem would die out on it's own.

And not everyone that uses a substance is troubled - why are you on this forum? Because you play video games, right? Aren't video games just filling a void? Before kids had video games and all the fancy toys they have these days, they used to entertain themselves with simple things like tops, yo yos, and pushing wagon wheels down the street with sticks. Everything we do that isn't productive is just to fill a void. So you're a video game addict, and you need an intervention, because you're troubled.

My name is Styles, and I'm an entertainment-aholic

Drugs =/= Video games

Two whole different things completely. You don't shoot video games in your veins or drink video games you play them so I have no clue how you are even comparing the two. Funny how video games are legal and drugs are not.

You don't see people shooting random people because they can afford to buy themselves a Nintendo Wii.

You don't play video games because you think it will make life easier but people who do drugs do they take them and they think that all their personal problems will go away when they get high.

And plenty of people play video games to get their minds off of life's troubles temporarily - and I have known plenty of people who let other parts of their lives fall apart because they only want to play video games. There's an epidemic right now with people who give up the real world to live their lives out on games like World of Warcraft. I know, drugs and video games aren't as similar as, say milk and orange juice - but you don't have to take the comparison so literally, there's a deeper concept in the metaphor that takes a higher level of thinking to understand. Maybe it's true what they say, about video games rotting your brain...

The point is not what each does to your body, but what they do to your life in general. Just like some people play video games without troubles, many people do drugs without letting them screw up their lives. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who let video games get in the way of things like school and work, just like people who do the same with drugs.

Playing 1 video game has no risk what so ever of killing you. Doing crack 1 time might kill you.
Little kids can go to the store and buy video games. Can little kids go buy drugs at the store?
Letting video games ruin your life is completly different than drugs. Drugs kill other Innocent people, ruining your life on WoW only screws up that person.

 

[Sonicslasher]

I will say few words as I have never used drugs. You say that drugs (video games) can cause you to: steal, shoot up schools, do bad things, etc. I truly think you are very wrong. And oh my god, dejavu! I think I just heard Jack Thompson

You don't play video games because you think it will make life easier but people who do drugs do they take them and they think that all their personal problems will go away when they get high.

You do play video games to make your life easier and you do want all of you problems to just go away. Books, video games, movies and drugs have one thing in common: it's called escapism.

 

[FAST6191]

And plenty of people play video games to get their minds off of life's troubles temporarily - and I have known plenty of people who let other parts of their lives fall apart because they only want to play video games. There's an epidemic right now with people who give up the real world to live their lives out on games like World of Warcraft. I know, drugs and video games aren't as similar as, say milk and orange juice - but you don't have to take the comparison so literally, there's a deeper concept in the metaphor that takes a higher level of thinking to understand. Maybe it's true what they say, about video games rotting your brain...

The point is not what each does to your body, but what they do to your life in general. Just like some people play video games without troubles, many people do drugs without letting them screw up their lives. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who let video games get in the way of things like school and work, just like people who do the same with drugs.

Who has not met someone who having gone right in for a career and neglected other parts of their lives (the bank manager thing of high stress and kicking the bucket early makes for a great example).

Also assuming we have the hunter gatherer thing down how are work and/or education more important than playing games?

I first saw the argument in a Billy Connolly sketch but it rings true for me: many say things about the "takes years off your life" and he then posits that it is the 20 extra years when you are 70, who cares when you can do more at 30.

Edit: found it.

 

[BlueStar]

Playing 1 video game has no risk what so ever of killing you.

Tell that to the Korean guys who've died during marathon sessions of a new game.

Little kids can go to the store and buy video games. Can little kids go buy drugs at the store?

Depending on the country they can buy certain games. Other games may have age limits or be banned altogether. And little kids can buy certain drugs at certain ages.

QUOTE

Letting video games ruin your life is completly different than drugs. Drugs kill other Innocent people

The biggest threat to the lives of other people caused by drugs is soley due to their illegality and the crime it causes.

 

[TrolleyDave]

All I am saying you don't want some random druggie that just got high to start shooting random people or maybe someone in your family because he can't get his fix.

There is no point of doing drugs other than to cure or help a sickness or disease which a doctor has prescribed to you. And if you are doing drugs other than that then you need help because you have a problem because you are using the drugs to fill some void or think it makes life easier.

Those druggies wouldn't have trouble getting their fix if the drugs weren't illegal. Then they could kill themselves in peace, and the problem would die out on it's own.

And not everyone that uses a substance is troubled - why are you on this forum? Because you play video games, right? Aren't video games just filling a void? Before kids had video games and all the fancy toys they have these days, they used to entertain themselves with simple things like tops, yo yos, and pushing wagon wheels down the street with sticks. Everything we do that isn't productive is just to fill a void. So you're a video game addict, and you need an intervention, because you're troubled.

My name is Styles, and I'm an entertainment-aholic


Drugs =/= Video games

Two whole different things completely. You don't shoot video games in your veins or drink video games you play them so I have no clue how you are even comparing the two. Funny how video games are legal and drugs are not.

You don't see people shooting random people because they cant afford to buy themselves a Nintendo Wii.

You don't play video games because you think it will make life easier but people who do drugs do they take them and they think that all their personal problems will go away when they get high.

Dude, you have a seriously fucked outlook. I'll hold my hands up to being a recreational drug user for the last 20 years. I've enjoyed weed, hash, coke, speed, acid, mushrooms and ecstacy. I've never once robbed anyone, killed anyone or attacked anyone over drugs. You've been watching way too much of the 30s version of Reefer Madness.

Sure there are drugs that will turn your life upside down, the simplest solution is to not do them. The people you're describing will behave exactly the same if they're drugged up or not. And yes, you can compare drugs to video games. Have you not heard of World of Warcraft? I've seen just as many people fuck up their lives cos of their need to spend all their time in the game world as I have drugs.

As far as I'm aware the kids who shot up Columbine weren't on drugs. Nor was the bloke who shot up that university last year. Some people are just broken.

I've been around, and I'll even confess to the fact that I was a drug dealer for many years. There are people who use drugs to fill a void in themselves, I've met them, but those same people though would be obsessed by whatever they think makes them acceptable. Usually drugs aren't the problem, the people taking the drugs are the problem. Video games are probably more addictive then most drugs because they are made to be addictive. They are made to make you want to spend all your free time and money on them. The only drugs that are specifically made to be addictive are crack and heroin, they both have physical withdrawels. Most people are psychologically addicted to drugs, but it's because they allow the drugs to define them rather than them defining the drugs they use. Usually you'll see it in people who have inferiority complexes and other confidence issues.

There's lots of reasons that people take drugs, it's not really something you can define so simply. At the same time though you should be asking yourself why people are addicted to fashion, MMORPGs, MySpace, Facebook, eBay and other things. And before you return with "People don't do the same thing for computer games" look into the matter a little more. You've never heard of someone shoplifting the latest game, cd, movie, t-shirt etc. etc. cos they "have to have them"? Hell, plenty of kids have been killed over their sneakers. The sneakers weren't stolen to be sold for drugs, they were stolen because the thief wanted them.

Stop being taken in by propoganda and learn to think for yourself.

QUOTE

Playing 1 video game has no risk what so ever of killing you. Doing crack 1 time might kill you.
Little kids can go to the store and buy video games. Can little kids go buy drugs at the store?
Letting video games ruin your life is completly different than drugs. Drugs kill other Innocent people, ruining your life on WoW only screws up that person.

Where the hell do you get the doing crack 1 time might kill you thing? Hell, crack isn't even the 1 smoke and your hooked drug that it's made out to be. People have died from it for sure, but people have also died from eating peanuts.

As for the WoW comment, what happens if the guy who becomes addicted is the breadwinner of the family. That's a whole family fucked simply because some bloke prefers to live in a fantasy world. It's happened several times already.

edit : Also as far as your "People are always different when they're on drugs" statement, I've been on here in various states of soberness. Ranging from smoked up (weed) to pilled up (ecstacy) and as far as I'm aware I'm always pretty much the same.

 

[BlueStar]

The perpetuated myth of "If you do XXXX once you're hooked!!!" results in people taking the drug again because they wrongly belive they're addicted to it. These kinds of exagerations are one of the reasons the war on drugs has been such an epic failure.

 

[laminaatplaat]

All I am saying you don't want some random druggie that just got high to start shooting random people or maybe someone in your family because he can't get his fix.

There is no point of doing drugs other than to cure or help a sickness or disease which a doctor has prescribed to you. And if you are doing drugs other than that then you need help because you have a problem because you are using the drugs to fill some void or think it makes life easier.

Soft drugs like alcohol and weed can be consumed within your social group without any problems for the society. The void you would be filling in such an occasion is having a good time with friends.