Let's talk about drug addiction(very serious discussion)

[FLCLrules]

Haveing 2 parents that were raised in the same neighborhood in Baltimore i was alaways told no matter how much pressure is put on me don't smoke drink or do drugs now i don't know how you feel about this but it grinds my gears cause i have seen the effects on people:animeangr i would like to know your opinion on this problem and if you wish to discuss this more PM me at my site

[Aberinkula]

[quote name='FLCLrules']Haveing 2 parents that were raised in the same neighborhood in Baltimore i was alaways told no matter how much pressure is put on me don't smoke drink or do drugs now i don't know how you feel about this but it [B]grinds my gears[/B] cause i have seen the effects on people:animeangr i would like to know your opinion on this problem and if you wish to discuss this more PM me at my site[/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Navy"]OMG! I loved making that thread. Ahem, anyways.

I think it's wrong. Drugs are for losers. And drugs make popular people losers. Also it makes dogs talk. Watch your TV. I know someone who thought that he was a pot head and he only did pot once. Im like, huh? Once doesn't make you a pot head.

As for OTC drug addiction, it's just plain weird. But I have grown a dependence for nasal spray, my allergies make it so I can't even breate right.[/COLOR]

[Retribution]

[quote name='FLCLrules']Haveing 2 parents that were raised in the same neighborhood in Baltimore[/QUOTE]
[size=1]Baltimore's no joke. Damn.

In any event, most people will agree that drug addition is a terrible thing, and that experimenting with addictive drugs is a bad idea. If you know someone who is addicted, consider contacting a help hotline. Trying to deal with it alone could lead to their financial ruin and dissolution of family life, to say nothing of their health.[/size]

[Guest EvaBlood]

I never Done Them Never Will I Find It Pathedic That People Have To Escape There Fillthy Little Lifes And Mess Them Up Even More By Doing Drugs Or any other of there little scapegaots

[Metalcore501]

Drug addiction is obviously bad, now my curiosity got the better of me for I have tried numorus drugs but have thankfully never been addicted. But most but not all drugs that are perscribed have a dependance that can manafest inside your body, I know my anti-depressents have a high dependance level.

[desertphoenix]

[quote name='EvaBlood']I never Done Them Never Will I Find It Pathedic That People Have To Escape There Fillthy Little Lifes And Mess Them Up Even More By Doing Drugs Or any other of there little scapegaots[/QUOTE]
[COLOR="DarkRed"][FONT="Verdana"]
So cruel to people making bad decisions aren't ya. I never cared much for people who do/did drugs or drugs itself, and understand the horrible things it can do.

I met a guy the same age as me at a hotel who became a friend for a short while. He did drugs for four years, and was at the hotel for a rehab group thingy. He saw me at the front desk area and started to talk to me. The first punk-rocker looking guy to ever randomly wanted to talk to me, I come off as a normal looking black guy by the way. Well I understand I was the only person his age, and he was just looking for people to talk to. Really cool guy though. I found out he likes almost every kind of music I like from[I] Outkast, Incubus to Mars Volta[/I]. I said [I]Mars Volta[/I], then he started getting into Sitars:animeswea. He told me why he was there and how he deeply regrets doing drugs. All the times I talked to this guy, I couldn't help but notice a weird state of mind he seems to be in. Kind of empty, like a part of him missing. It reminded me too much of [I]A Scanner Darkly[/I], so I felt just guilty just letting our paths part ways.

I don't really think these people are pathetic, just people who made bad decisions and dealing with the consequences.

[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"][quote name='desertphoenix'][COLOR="DarkRed"][FONT="Verdana"]I don't really think these people are pathetic, just people who made bad decisions and dealing with the consequences. [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]True, and even then, a certain level of drugs/drinking/smoking or whatever isn't something to get upset over. And being 'clean' doesn't make someone any better than someone who has tried stuff.

So someone tries pot, so what? It's not the end of the world. Personally I don't care for illegal drugs, nor have I tried them. I don't care for drinking or smoking either, but if others do, that's fine by me. So long as they don't drive drunk that is.

But to think they are pathetic? That's just lame really. Everyone makes stupid choices. [/COLOR]

[Hybrid Ninja]

Oh how I usually avoid serious discussions :animesigh

..but..I thought I'd put a little in here.

Usually these people aren't exactly pathetic; they [I]are[/I] people who have made bad decisions who have been caught up in peer pressure, wanting atttention, wanting to fit in, experimentation, or it's just that they have been so surrounded by these kinds of things, like within their family..or anywhere that hits close to home.

This much I'll say: I have seen people near to me try out drugs and drinking [etc] who became so caught up in them that their whole lives and personalities changed for the worse.
Personally, I see people who do drugs as selfish. Usually, they aren't thinking of any consequences, how their actions touch all aspects of their lives. They don't know how it [I]will[/I] affect their family, friends, and futures; It will cause problems socially and emotionally;...and some people don't realize how much even the smallest amount of drugs can damage their bodies.

I do respect those who have totally thrown away drugs and alcohol or are in some kind of rehab in hopes of bettering their lives.
The people who I do see as pathetic are those who never do get past experimentation and remain in a bad state of getting worse and blaming everyone else for their own problems.


I myself can honestly say I have never tried drugs and I do not drink and do not smoke. By witnessing things myself, I have learned from other's mistakes and vow to myself that I will not make the same bad decisions.
Another way to avoid bad situations...I don't really get close to those who currently do drugs or drink. I actually encourage others to keep away from those typical highschool temptations. The people closest to me also actually stay away from drugs and drinking...They say I'm a pretty good influence ;)

Sure some bad choices are understandable..no one's perfect; but making better decisions for yourself and learning from mistakes that have been made will make a stronger person.

[Juu]

[size=1]I had a year-long addiction to cocaine at age 14.

Yep. $10,000+ down the drain. I was to be a contestant in a pageant in two weeks for a scholarship award of $20,000.

Hah. Imagine what else I could've done with that. The amount of books I could've bought, CDs, concert tickets, musical instruments/gear, countries I could've visited, ... people that could've been fed!

At the same time, it killed my family when they found out around my 15th birthday after my third overdose. The first time, I agreed to attend outpatient rehab sessions if they kept to confidentiality. The second time, I stayed in bed unable to move, bearly breathe. Enough days passed for the substance to clear out of my system for me to pass it off as heart issues contributed by anorexia.

Yeah. My life was a mess and I made it even more chaotic by choosing to get involved with a drug. Yes, certain drugs are both physically and mentally addicting, but people fail to realise exactly how strong their minds are. The capacity for the mind to make choices is far greater than we give it credit for. It's not just a downward spiral. I didn't believe it at the time. I felt so emotionally weak I didn't believe in myself at all. I was counting on the drug to kill me.

After a few years' experience toying with drugs, I like to think I've 'grown out' of drugs. I think of them as a phase. They're just not that fun anymore. Like, 'been there, done that'. There's so much beauty to a sober world. When I was drowning in depression, the world seemed a really ugly place. I relied on drugs to make it seem more interesting, or to run away from reality because reality was so hard to face. But running away from problems doesn't solve them. Eventually those problems catch up, and you're stuck in the very same situation. Like procrastination.

Bottom line, don't do drugs. It's a waste of time and money. Have fun that you'll actually remember having.[/size]

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]Depending on your friends and where you live you'll probably end up watching a minority of the people you're with now completely screw up their life. It could be someone really close to you, someone you know in your grade slightly. It could end up being you.

Hard drugs, cocaine is the one that comes to mind the most for me, can seriously do all the things those advertisements on TV and the propaganda they throw at you in school say they can. Destroy lives. Destroy relationships. Destroy finances. Destroy futures. It can get to that point and it does happen to people, especially with drugs like cocaine. They'll be a guy you know doing harder drugs and you'll ask every few weeks "How's X doing?" and it just never seems to be good news. One of those speedballs will be the last one.

I have friends that smoke pot every once in awhile, do some Salvia or shrooms. Artsy, hippie kind of people that are just happy as can be. In college, good grades. They just do some drugs once in awhile.

So, I mean, it's a risk. There are some drugs riskier than others. It depends on your personality, depends on what you do, depends on how you respond, depends on your friends/family.

I know people who do some drugs and have normal, boring lives. I know others who do them and are just self destructing.

It's more complicated than "drugs are for losers lol".[/color]

[SunfallE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][COLOR="goldenrod"]You know, putting aside the fact that a lot of illegal drugs are bad for you, which is worse I wonder. Making a mistake and admitting it and moving on? Or never making one and assuming you're better than someone because of it? No one is perfect and honestly to go around labeling others as 'losers' for being human is beyond lame.

I won't argue that for some it has destroyed their live as well as negatively hurt others around them, but there is a lot of substance use out there that even if I would never do it, has little to no effect on anyone else. I have friends who do pot, drink and other stuff. And out of all of them only a few have let it ruin their lives. The rest never became addicted to it. Aside from occasionally getting drunk on the weekends. And even then they are responsible enough to take turns being a designated driver. Though usually that ends up being me since I don't drink. lol

Seriously though, avoiding drugs, in my opinion, should be more about caring about your own health, not a measuring device for comparing yourself to someone else. So yeah, they can be bad, but making stupid assumptions about others is worse.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[TherapySessions]

[quote name='Premonition'][COLOR="Navy"]
I think it's wrong. Drugs are for losers. And drugs make popular people losers.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[quote name='EvaBlood'][COLOR="Navy"]
I never Done Them Never Will I Find It Pathedic That People Have To Escape There Fillthy Little Lifes And Mess Them Up Even More By Doing Drugs Or any other of there little scapegaots[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

What an ill-conceived and apathetic generalisation of what are most often normal people.

To make a generalisation myself, I'd say that these are very naive attitudes and that yous probably don't have much actual life experience.

Also, to assume that all drug users do it to escape any "filthy lives" would be completely wrong.

[Mr. Maul]

[SIZE=1]I agree with [B]TherapySessions[/B].

Everyone I know who does drugs does so simply for the fun of it, not because they're living horrible or filthy lives.



[/SIZE]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"]Well... In the interest of being fair to those who think only losers do drugs... It is how a lot of schools and parents portray it. So it is understandable that they would think that. Though one would hope that once people get a little older they'll decide for themselves just what they really think. And I'm not saying you guys don't think for yourselves, I'm just saying I can see how kids get that idea in the first place. lol

That and some of them just might have seen someone self destruct from using drugs so it just might not be as naive as you're thinking TherapySessions, that too is an assumption.[/COLOR]

[Gavin]

[SIZE="1"]I agree with everyone who's said drug addiction isn't something that can be generalised as being "for losers", or anything else as blasé and ignorant as that. If we're talking about hard addiction, then it's a horrible thing to have happen to anyone, as Juu has already outlined in her own post, it can completely destroy lives, so it's not something that can be just dismissed off-handedly.

There's an unbelievable ignorance around addiction and it's effects on people, it's not surprising really, as Crystia said parents and schools portray it as being evil without offering any real education. In the end I think you need to know someone with an addiction to really see how it affects people.[/SIZE]

[TherapySessions]

[quote name='indifference'][COLOR="Indigo"]
That and some of them just might have seen someone self destruct from using drugs so it just might not be as naive as you're thinking TherapySessions, that too is an assumption.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[quote name='TherapySessions']
[b]To make a generalisation myself[/b], I'd say that these are very naive attitudes and that yous probably don't have much actual life experience.
[/QUOTE]

Either way, it is naive to automatically assume that just because you have experienced something first hand that it is prevailant within a WHOLE majority.

Don't generalise entire groups of people, who you have had no interactions with, and you will always come across as being slightly more respectable.

[SunfallE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][COLOR="goldenrod"]lol Isn't that an oxymoron to say [I]What an[B] ill-conceived and apathetic[/B][/i] [[SIZE="1"]take note that's a *gasp* generalization![/SIZE]] [i]generalisation of what are most often [B]normal people[/B]. [/I] [[SIZE="1"]there's another one![/SIZE]] Followed up by: [I]To make a generalisation myself[/I] and then turnaround and say [I]Don't generalise entire groups of people[/I] Uh... [B]o_O [/B]

You missed the whole point. ^_~ You started off by making more than one generalization to counter a previous generalization by presenting another one. And so on. lol I think its safe to say that making assumptions doesn't get one anywhere, and yet at the same time, remember, plenty of people have destroyed their lives, have done drugs because their lives were a mess. So there is some truth to that generalization whether people want to see it or not. If there wasn't any problems and people didn't do all those things there wouldn't be any push to keep them off the streets or to help people get over that addiction.

And no offense, but I'm not likely to take your word for it that people who use drugs are mostly normal, since that too is an assumption. Something drives them to do it, whether it's peer pressure, stress or other stuff. Something that isn't necessarily normal. [/COLOR][/FONT]

[Aberinkula]

[quote name='TherapySessions']

To make a generalisation myself, I'd say that these are very naive attitudes and that yous probably don't have much actual life experience.

[/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Navy"]Now what do you all think about drugs in Hollywood? Lyndsay Lohan got busted again and I've heard she's in rehab... again. whether she's in rehab or not, she still has to fix this. and tell me Therapysessions, are people in Hollywood really considered normal? Normal people are like you and me, we probably don't live in some big mansion and bugged by paparazzi nor do we star in movies and TV shows. So don't generalize addicts as normal people, because not all drug addicts are/were normal people. People in middle class or are poor usually are considered normal. Now people with money/fame/fortune are called famous/rich, not normal.

Don't tell me what I haven't had. I've been asked and tempted to do drugs before, and even if your not a loser getting addicted can make you one. And dying from drug abuse/addiction does in fact make someone a loser, because they [B]lost[/B] to addiction. I've seen what happens to people that are addicted to Meth and have died, the symptoms are not pretty. Now if someone does pot or something once and never again, I have nothing against them and that does not make them 'losers'. [/COLOR]

[Rachmaninoff]

Heh, didn't we have this discussion not to long ago? Well I'm too lazy to hunt up my previous response but it hasn't changed all that much. Sure I think doing illegal drugs is pretty stupid, but at the same time it's not the end of the world. Maybe for those who get into the more dangerous stuff, but there's plenty of drug use out there that though not very bright, it doesn't really affect others in a bad way.

I'd be willing to bet that drunk driving, kills more than some of the milder drugs like pot do. And alcohol is legal. XP So as much as I'd love to go on a rant of how stupid doing illegal drugs is, I'd rather tackle something that has a proven track record of killing people, especially since many of those victims were not the one drinking.

But still, for the most part I think it's better to steer clear of illegal drugs, if only for your own health and well being. That and I've yet to see one of my friends who does pot occasionally have some miraculous improvement in their life. All they do is sound like a complete idiot when they are high. Though that in it's own way can be entertaining. My absolute most favorite random conversation that occurred from an instance of this was when one guy couldn't seem to get off the tangent on how we should add plant fertilizer to our water to make us smarter. It was one of the dumbest and yet funniest conversations I've ever heard. lol

[eleanor]

[font="trebuchet ms"] My opinion on people who drink/smoke/do drugs always goes through ups and downs. Sometimes I have no problem if people I know do it, and sometimes I want to punch their faces in when they tell me they drive around drunk or high.*

For the majority of my life I looked down upon them. They irritated me in class, when they blocked the streets walking to the back of department stores to smoke, and whenever they advocated their "I don't give a crap about anything except getting high" attitude. Some of my best friends are incredibly anti-drugs/alcohol and basically view them as failures who don't have a future.

But recently I've just grown to believe that others doing that kind of stuff shouldn't concern me, and that most of time it's to have fun with your friends. So mostly I don't care about them anymore, and not judge them. I used to a huge 'anyone who does drugs is a loser', but recently I've decided to change my view.

*One thing I'll never change my mind about is people who drunk drive. 'Vehicular manslaughter' due to driving under the influence is crap to me. People shouldn't die because of the stupidity of others. [/font]

[Juu]

[size=1]Of course everything affects everyone in different ways, but the word 'addiction' isn't a positive one. There are plenty of people out there who meddle with drugs occasionally and recreationally without developing a problem. Nevertheless, an addiction to anything certainly does mess up a life, regardless of class. To call something an addiction, is to mean that something gets in the way of a person living a productive, content life. It interferes with relationships, jobs, all sorts of priorities. There's no room for anything else.

It's true, there are people who do drugs for years here and there without becoming addicted. However, it's much wiser to stay away from drugs, especially if it becomes very accessible. Developing an addiction to any drug is really expensive, which is why we hear of meth being common in the working class and cocaine or heroin among the more financially privilleged. The only reason I could upkeep such an expensive habit was because I had a career as a model while my parents paid for housing and food. Had I been on my own, the effects over time would've been much more tragic and chaotic.

When it comes to experimentation, I have mixed feelings. Certainly, I discourage my friends from trying this and that in case they like it so much they decide to find a way to get it themselves and eventually develop a habit. On the other hand, I know plenty of kids who've tried several drugs and disliked the feeling. I'm a control freak, so naturally I've never been fond of depressants.

Then again, one can say there are risks to everything and compare a recreational drug to jet-skiing or even driving. It's true, the mortality rate of car accidents are higher than drug overdoses. Also, one can burn away one's life just as much on Warcraft as someone who's fiending for coke. Bottom line being, Warcraft is legal, cocaine is not.

It's wrong to generalise, yes, but I don't want anybody I care about to have to go through what I've been through or what we hear stories of other people going through, so I do my best to convince them to stay away from it.

P.S. - [url=http://youtube.com/watch?v=UlkzgI_jNUg]this is what people are like when they're high[/url][/size]

[Red]

[quote name='Premonition'][COLOR="Navy"]And dying from drug abuse/addiction does in fact make someone a loser, because they [B]lost[/B] to addiction. [/COLOR][/QUOTE]

You complain about generalisations yet make a massive one yourself.

How about kids with ADHD? They have a tendency to abuse substances due to their condition and can end up dead as a result - does that make them losers?

If that's your opinion, fine, but don't make it out to be some sort of factual statement. There are many reasons why people get addicted in the first place, and just as many for why they end up dead.

[GANTZ]

[quote name='EvaBlood']I never Done Them Never Will I Find It Pathedic That People Have To Escape There Fillthy Little Lifes And Mess Them Up Even More By Doing Drugs Or any other of there little scapegaots[/QUOTE]

My cousin once said the same thing in a paper he was writing for school. He did drugs
and went to jail.

[Mr. Maul]

[SIZE=1]Can we drop the argument about generalizations and turn the discussion back to the original topic, please?

Thank you.


[/SIZE]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"][quote name='Mr. Maul'][SIZE=1]Can we drop the argument about generalizations and turn the discussion back to the original topic, please?

Thank you.


[/SIZE][/QUOTE]As well as not backseat modding either.

Thank you.

Also, generalizations are part and parcel of the misunderstanding about drugs in the first place, so to ask people to drop part of the whole argument around them is a bit unrealistic. Especially when people's opinion about them stem from those generalizations running around. [/COLOR]