What Do You Think Of Recreational Drug Use?

[Sphinx777]

What Do You Think Of Recreational Drug Use?​

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[awitch]

I think it's kind of sad that one would need it to have a good time. The occasional alcoholic drink is OK with me, though.

 

[buzuxi02]

Not my thing. I'LL stick to an occasional drink, a cigar once in a bluemoon, and caffeine.

 

[Wirraway]

and there's this ....

We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like "I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive...." And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas. And a voice was screaming "Holy XXXXX! What are these XXXXX animals?"

Then it was quiet again. My attorney had taken his shirt off and was pouring beer on his chest, to facilitate the tanning process. "What the hell are you yelling about?" he muttered, staring up at the sun with his eyes closed and covered with wraparound Spanish sunglasses. "Never mind," I said. "It's your turn to drive." I hit the brakes and aimed the Great Red Shark toward the shoulder of the highway. No point mentioning those bats, I thought. The poor bastard will see them soon enough.

 

[dewaddict84]

occasional drink, a cigar once in a bluemoon, and caffeine.

Hate to burst your bubble, but those ARE recreational drug uses.

Caffeine's a drug, man. It alters your cognitive state. It peps you up. Not much, but then again, there's a big difference between heroin and weed.

I'm an absolute addict when it comes to caffeine. But withdraw is really only a headache. I really can't stand to down that much alcohol, but it's does a good job to break the ice. Chemically forced relaxation.

So that's me, others have really serious problems with this sort of thing.

 

[buzuxi02]

I like my daily iced coffee, alcoholic beverage maybe once a week tops. Cigar 3 or 4 times a year.

 

[SithDoughnut]

Nothing wrong with them. Pretty much everyone is one.

 

[scraparcs]

A few days ago I would have been all in favor of it. My opinions changed about 24 hours ago. Never knew one could feel like death for a whole day afterward.

 

[Arthra]

I can't tell you how much pain there was when my own brother died from an overdose of methamphetamine in the seventies.. It was likely from associations he had on a High School football team. He was a star athlete and his team won the championship.

Just speculating though had my brother lived what kind of life would he have had.. ?


For Baha'is recreational drug use is forbidden and actually this standard helped my brother in law as he used many drugs over several years from his youth. When he became a Baha'i and understood the law he stopped usage and after this he went on to get his degree in history and archival work. He also went on to marriage and has a lovely daughter.

 

[durangodawood]

I fully enjoy several recreational drugs.
.
Drinking alcohol can be really enjoyable. Good wine with dinner. A beer after a bike ride. But getting drunk is usually stupid.
.
And I'm pretty much addicted to coffee, even though I only have one cup a day.
.

 

[Sphinx777]

A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.

In pharmacology, a drug is "a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being." Drugs may be prescribed for a limited duration, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders.

Recreational drugs are chemical substances that affect the central nervous system, such as opioids or hallucinogens. They may be used for perceived beneficial effects on perception, consciousness, personality, and behavior. Some drugs can cause addiction and habituation.

Drugs are usually distinguished from endogenous biochemicals by being introduced from outside the organism. For example, insulin is a hormone that is synthesized in the body; it is called a hormone when it is synthesized by the pancreas inside the body, but if it is introduced into the body from outside, it is called a drug.

Many natural substances such as beers, wines, and some mushrooms, blur the line between food and drugs, as when ingested they affect the functioning of both mind and body.

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[Arthra]

You've already received several different responses to your question

"What do you think of recreational drug use?"

So based on where people are coming from and their experiences from extremely negative to mild or accepting you have the gamut.

 

[Witchy Bee]

It's fine in moderation. There are some particular drugs I would advise staying away from however.

 

[Booko]

I never had much use for recreational drugs even before I joined a religion that doesn't allow them. They all tended to put me to sleep and I figured reading Physical Chemistry would do that for free with less wear and tear on the body.

I did drink alcohol in moderation back when I was an atheist, and that was a little difficult to give up, since I'm a fan of gourmet foods. But there's a certain relief in the realization that I'll never have to discover that I've become an alcoholic either. I'm long past missing alcohol.

 

[vajradhara]

Namaste all,

my thoughts on it are varied depending on the context in which we are discussing it.

as for consumption, i don't have any particular problem with it... even being a Buddhist... and have tried a great variety of the substances listed here:The Vaults of Erowid : Big Chart Index

some drugs are legal and others are not and, by and large, there are only political reasons for that. there is a reason that the United States is known as "prison nation" which has nothing to do with anything but money and power.

It's become a depressingly predictable event. Every few months, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), a branch of the US Department of Justice, releases new figures showing that the US prison and jail population has grown yet again and has reached a new all-time high. The latest statistics, released last week, show that as of June 30, 2008, more than 2.3 million people were behind bars in this country -- an increase of almost 20 percent just since 2000. This gives the United States an incarceration rate of 762 per 100,000 residents -- the highest rate in the world, dwarfing those of other democracies like Great Britain (152 per 100,000), Canada (116), and Japan (63).

Prison Nation | Human Rights Watch


politically, i find it absolutely foolhardy, arrogant and presumptive to criminalize the adult consumption of euphoriants.

metta,

~v

 

[Wirraway]

Namaste all,

....criminalize the adult consumption of euphoriants.

well, they're on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. I know the ivory is illegal to import and I can't imagine that their meat would be all that tasty.

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

I believe that addiction only became a far-spread and persistent problem in the consumerist culture that blossomed in the wake of the industrial age: it's one of the downsides of affluence and a mindset that views everything as a potential commodity.
Virtually every culture had its share of psychoactive substances, but they were usually reserved for religious ceremonies, medical usage, specific holidays or mild recreational usage.
The thought of "getting wasted/high" along the lines of what we witness today was anathema to most cultural contexts.

 

[razeontherock]

And here I thought I'd have a good debate with Jane - it's been so long

some drugs are legal and others are not and, by and large, there are only political reasons for that. there is a reason that the United States is known as "prison nation" which has nothing to do with anything but money and power.

the US prison and jail population has grown yet again and has reached a new all-time high. The latest statistics, released last week, show that as of June 30, 2008, more than 2.3 million people were behind bars in this country -- an increase of almost 20 percent just since 2000.

This is completely derailing the thread, but others have pointed out the OP has run it's course to the extent of a dead horse. It's also a topic that has come up in many, many different threads, is related to SO much, interests me greatly, and I think deserves much more attention from the US public.

Here you've related our nation of prisoners to "money and power," a catch-all I'm quick to see as a root cause throughout politics. Can you explain how this actually has a net gain of either? I am quite aware of possessions being confiscated, but it doesn't even come close to off-setting the cost of our prisoners.

 

[dewaddict84]

Can you explain how this actually has a net gain of either? I am quite aware of possessions being confiscated, but it doesn't even come close to off-setting the cost of our prisoners.

It's not a net gain. It's a lopsided gain of power for the cops in that they can bust more people, employ more people, and have bigger prisons. Politicians get votes because their Think of the Children (tm) quota. It also gives them a bad-guy to fight and blame. Taxpayers have to pay for it and citizens lose the power to get drunk/high/whatnot.

Also, a ludicrous amount of money is forced underground into the gangs, organized crime, and down south to Mexico. The drug cartels are big mean business down there. If everything were legalized, their power structure would disappear. So it's a shift of power and money from us, to the politicians, police, and criminals.

And cops don't sell the confiscated drugs yo. They destroy them. There's no profit there.

 

[Zoness]

Legalizing the whole thing WOULD bring an end to the "war on drugs". Come on even the government can profit off of selling drugs, not like they don't already.

BUT STILL.

Drugs are ok in moderation. I guess it depends on what we are talking about though