Do you look down upon drug users?

[betasp]

statistics may prove me wrong, but i bet most people who go down the pub also drink alcohol where as you can also go to the pub and have a nice glass of coke... If drugs are illegal, people have to go to a specific place/be in a specific group to find drugs, in which case it brings them closer to other drugs, as they are all illegal... This, however, does not mean that just because they smoke weed it makes them want harder drugs...

I agree on your premise. My thesis was objective, but was originally designed to show advantages of legalization. The data I found showed no advantages whatsoever. Even the "tax the hell out of it" does not hold water when factoring in the costs of treatment of addication and other health related factors that come from long-term use. It is similar to alchohol, which I do find hipocritical that one is illegal and the other is not.

[ScottKin]

PUH-LEEEZ!!

Why do you think that pot-smokers are always looking for "better weed" or "strong stuff"?

TO GET A BETTER BUZZ!!!!

Hence, the body gets used to the TCP introduced into the body, the receptors that deal with TCP get over-used and stop reacting as well as they had previously - hence the body's physiological need/demand for...guess what?

SOMETHING STRONGER!!!

Your comment is just a self-serving justification and nothing more. Facts and statistics - when done properly, of course ;) - don't lie, but people will twist the facts and statistics to fit their own agenda.

--ScottKin

Edited January 25, 2008 by kinetix63

[christracy]

PUH-LEEEZ!!

Why do you think that pot-smokers are always looking for "better weed" or "strong stuff"?

TO GET A BETTER BUZZ!!!!

Hence, the body gets used to the TCP introduced into the body, the receptors that deal with TCP get over-used and stop reacting as well as they had previously - hence the body's physiological need/demand for...guess what?

SOMETHING STRONGER!!!

Your comment is just a self-serving justification and nothing more. Facts and statistics - when done properly, of course ;) - don't lie, but people will twist the facts and statistics to fit their own agenda.

--ScottKin

TCP.. IP?? or do you mean THC? :|

[Raum]

Who I'd like to meet:

Anyone interesting. Some specific things I like? Have dreams and aspirations that go beyond getting laid and / or drunk.

-Taken from my myspace profile.

Meh, I could go through and refute all your points, but it just doesn't matter. You're not going to be convinced that anyone other than you is right, so I won't even try.

For instance, your last post was simple idiocy. Of course the body gets used to the effects of THC. you know what? If you dine at an amazing restaraunt every night and order your favorite dish each time you go, given enough time it won't be your favorite dish anymore. OMFG RSTARAUNTS ARE A BLIGHT ON SOSIETEE LOLZ!!!! At the time of its release, the SNES had amazing graphics capabilities....now the graphics are laughed at. This isn't a drug related problem, its human nature!

Oh, and thanks for assuming I need pot to get by. You picked a good time, considering I'm currently on a voluntary break from it for no other reason than to enjoy the state of a sober mind. You just won yourself plenty of points in my book.

I think I'm done with this topic. I'll stop by here and there and read what's been said...but just do yourself a favour and read through what I've said on the past few pages.

Oh, and Scott, you might be interested in reading this thread. Note that I turned to Marijuana my Junior year of highschool, and the problems I had with my family happened primarily in middleschool and somewhat in my freshman year. My Sophmore year things calmed down and I dealt with things myself. I never once thought of using drugs as an escape from my problems, I dealt with them myself, then sometime after these events I decided to use marijuana. My actions completely negate your line of thinking, mainly due to it's inherit flaws. Go pat yourself on the back, you've done your government proud.

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=406137&st=60

^Drugs have offered me 0 comfort from such problems, and again, I dealt with them before I ever considered using marijuana. At the time of these problems and the year following them where I dealt with them and changed as a person, I was utterly straight-edge (Save for sex, which I feel has no reason to be grouped into straight-edge).

The last time I smoked pot I was reading through all those mentioned reports crying about my past. I discovered I still had much underlying pain to deal with and that is osmething I am currently exploring and working on. Now if you think that's me escaping my problems with a drug then you sir are simply not worth talking to IMO.

Edited January 2, 2006 by Raum

[j0se]

up with hope down with dope.

[struct]

I'm not a drug user (apart from caffeine and ocassionally alcohol), but I'm of the opinion that anyone should be able to do anything as long as that doesn't affect anyone else.

e.g.,

• You should be allowed to drink yourself stupid -- as long as you don't go driving afterwards
  
• You should be allowed to smoke whatever you want, whenever you want -- as long as you don't go nuts and attack someone afterwards
  
• You should be allowed to smoke cigarettes -- as long as you're not bothering anyone with the second-hand smoke
  
• So on and so forth...
  

Some of the close-minded attitudes and opinions I've seen in this thread are sickening. I think prejudice and hateful attitudes (such as in this thread) cause more problems than drugs ever will.

100% agreed. Of course the effects this would have on society as a whole might not be so good, but then again people are going to do it anyway so would it be much different?

TCP.. IP?? or do you mean THC? :|

No I'm sure he means TCP, cause I love shooting up some control protocols. ;)

Personally I tend to look down on the hardcore users that can't function without their drug of choice. Now I've never been addicted to any drug, but I still believe in a person's ability to just stop something if they really feel that strongly about it.

[karmakillernz]

100% agreed. Of course the effects this would have on society as a whole might not be so good, but then again people are going to do it anyway so would it be much different?

People need to exercise self-control with anything though, otherwise it will have detrimental effects. For example, many people love chocolate but you're not supposed to have it at every meal or else you'll end up very unhealthy.

[soothsayer]

No I'm sure he means TCP, cause I love shooting up some control protocols. ;)

Only the 7 layered OSI model gives me that true high that I crave. :)

[n30w1n]

The whole stigma attached to Drug Use/Abuse is definitely a social one - society, in general, looks down on those that use and/or abuse Drugs & Controlled Substances for several reasons:

1) Lack of self-control - you gain a physiological and psychological demand and addiction to the substance.

2) Deaths attributed to overdose - showing an even stronger demand and addiction to the substance and lack of self-control.

3) Drug Use/Abuse (including Alcohol) affects judgement and has a direct effect on a person's psychological state, and has been proven to do direct damage to vital organs.

4) Drug Culture - seedy-looking, glazed expressions, lack of care and personal hygeine are the most common denominator of Drug Users

5) Rebellion & Anarchy - most people who are regular Drug Users espouse such views as Governmental Overthrow, Anarchy and tossing away all laws except the humanist "Do No Harm" anthem - all so they can get their "high"

6) Putting their drug habit above all other things - this is, sadly, the most socially prevalent problem with Drug Use/Abuse - people putting "the score" above everything else in their lives, including their loved-ones, themsevles, and anyone who gets in their way of making "the score".

7) Apathy - The majority of Drug Users/Abusers are generally apathetic to everything not associated with obtaining and using their crutch-of-choice.

The hard facts: Drug Use/Abuse is a crutch. It's an escape. It's a way of covering up and numbing yourself to the real problems that exist in your life. Drugs do not solve "the problem", they are not the answer to "the problem", and in many cases make "the problem" infinitely worse because "the problem" isn't being dealt with.

Now, specifically to "weed", "pot" or whatever you wish to call it: you can go on denying the fact that your smoking pot *does* affect you because you're not seeing any immediate effects - what you're not seeing is that the effects of Marijuana are cumulative. You are killing brain-cells on a daily basis every time you "toke-up". Clinical studies have unequivically shown that the use of Canibas in all of it's forms has a definite and directly observable negative impact on the user. For example:

Cannabis and Legalization Issues in the United Kingdom:

Effects of Marijuana - from Narconon

Health On The Net - Marijuana Linked to Schizophrenia, Depression

If you think that smoking pot isn't harmfull, then you're delusional and in total denial just to feed your habit. The propaganda spewed by NorML is self-serving, and the studies they cite concerning the safety of Canibas use are extremely outdated and inaccurate in comparison to the more recent clinical studies.

There are many solid, socialogical reason why Controlled Substances are not legal unless presribed by your doctor - such as people using drugs while driving, operating heavy machinery and being generally careless because they're stoned or hallucinating.

If you feel that you need *any* chemical or substance that is not prescribed by a medical professional to "make me feel better" or to cover-up "a moment in their life where (you've) gotten down in the dumps and looked towards something for comfort" - sorry, Raum, but if your life is that crappy that you need a hit or two a day to get by (or anyone for that matter), then you need to do some SERIOUIS re-examination of your life, your choices and what is actually causing those feelings and what might appear to be a slight bit of depression (IANADOAMP - I am Not A Doctor Or A Medical Professional) instead of just covering it up with an artificial release from your cares.

FYI: I have Degenerative Disc Disease and have 1lbs of Titanium in my back where my L5-S1 disc was removed and fused. I suffer with Radiculopathy in my left leg due to damage to the Sciatic Nerve caused by the severe herniation of that L5-S1 disc. I also have been recently diagnosed with Fibromyalgia - before all of this I was a fairly active & healthy 35-year-old guy - the downward spiral started then and I've made it to 45. I have a newborn son who has Cystic Fibrosis and probably won't live to see his 40th birthday if he's lucky, and probably has 2 full lung transplants in his future. If anyone on this board or anywhere else has a reason to be at "a moment in their life where they've gotten down in the dumps and looked towards something for comfort" it's me...and you don't see me looking for it at the end of a roach-clip or a bottle.

Here's some info: Life is rough. No one is perfect, and nothing in your life will go exactly as you want it to. At times, life will suck, and it will even get worse at times. It will also get better, and finding comfort via a chemical substitute is not the answer. Family, Friends and loved-ones are an infinitely better way of dealing with life.

--ScottKin

Kudos to you for not resorting to that **** :)

[Raum]

If anything, when I smoke pot my mind becomes more active, making it even more difficult for me to "escape" my problems.

When I was having those family problems, I dealt with them by reflection and skateboarding. Skateboarding has been my outlet for my anger and hatred in life rather than killing my parents or myself.

Another person might choose to go run, or talk with friends etc. My point is, people deal with things in different ways. Yes, you sound like you've had a hard life too, but get off your high horse. No two people are the same, and not everyone deals with situations the same way.

When faced by a mugger, person A might choose to try and fight him and escape, person B might choose to throw him his wallet and be cooperative. This doesn't make either better than the other as a person, though one decision might of been better than the other...it means they are different people.

[ScottKin]

I agree that any substance abuse is harmful no matter what. I just can't understand how alcohol and cigarettes are never an issue when weed is. Their justifiable crack and the fact that weed is frowned upon makes me sick. I am personally a weed smoker and will say that smoking as much as I do is not recommended, but I should have that choice. I realize this probably hurts my statement, but you don't see people beating their children when they had a bad day at work after smoking a joint. I would rather have a pot head family who is there for me than an alcoholic one that isn't. What needs to be done is government regulation on weed to elimate all the street level dealing. Then they can stop wasting dollars on nickel and diming and focus on the real problems like cocaine, heroin, ex, and any other hard drug.

Probably because the level of damage to the individual and others around the individual who uses/abuses Controlled Substances is significantly higher than that of people who use/abuse alcohol or cigarettes.

IMHO, Cigarettes, Alcohol and Controlled Substances are all in the same group: things I'll never do or try because of the resepct I have for my body.

You don't see people hitting their kids because they're stoned - because they're out-of-touch. I also find those same people having kids who are out at all hours of the night vandalizing neighborhoods because their parents are either too drunk or too stoned to give a damn - and that's pretty fricking pathetic - or having their kid get involved in harder drugs and having to be brought down to the hospital because their kid OD'ed or being taken to the Coroner's Office to ID their kid's lifeless body because their kid went to a rave and got some "very bad" XTC.

If you don't see the connection here, then I'm sorry for you.

Look at it this way, folks: Let's say that you just bought a Lamborghini Gallardo:

1) Would you put sugar or mothballs in your gas tank?

2) Would you put vegetable oil instead of petrolium oil in it for lubrication?

3) Would you put Mountain Dew in the cooling system instead of a high-grade coolant (I mean, they're both green, right?)

4) Would you intentionally run your tires low, just because it looked cool?

Why put any substance in your body that could do so much potental and scientifically-proven damage to it? Do Drug Users/Abusers, Smokers and Drinkers have so little self-respect for themselves that they have to resort to ingesting or injecting something into themselves to make them numb?

A little story: When I was in High School and College, I used to hang-out with a variety of groups of people. I played guitar pretty well (still do), so I hung-out with some people who used to "toke-up" fairly frequently. I also hung-out with the collection of CB'ers (CB Radio - remember that?) in those days, and there were frequent times when they would "light-up"; however, my standards being as they are I did not - nor did I ever have the desire to do so. One of my CB friends at a "GT" (Get-Together) asked me: "Scott - you hang-out with us, but you don't do pot or drink - why?". My answer was simple: "Well, basically for 2 reasons: One, I'm not going to wake-up with a hang-over or feel sick in the morning...and Two, I'm going to be able to remember what I did tonight and I'll bet you that I'll remember alot more than you will"...which was true 90% of the time.

It's all about making wise decisions and choices and not going for the immediate satisfaction & release from cares.

--ScottKin

[insurektion]

I only have issues with people doing illegal things. If pot was legal, then I say go for it!

I do consider alcohol do be dangerous, but, do it smartly. I never drink and drive.

a) because it is stupid.

b) because it is illegal!

That is the most asinine (spelling?) reasoning I have heard.

Pot doesn't change in any special way if the government says something. Why do you need the government to tell you what you can do with your own body. As long as you don't turn into a robbing addict I think there is nothing wrong with usage.

I look down on the crack/coke/meth/speed/heroin type druggies. Those drugs can be so addictive, especially if you aren't fully content (I imagine a majority of those types of drug users areb't). I really dont see the problem with pot,shrooms,lsd, and most other psychotropic drugs. They are fun to do and can be used to expand you mind or at the very least unleash creativity. When drug use has people stealing money/ruining their lives then I look down on those people. I have only smoked pot so far and have yet to try shrooms. Those types of drugs have a much lower chance of turning into an addiction.

I steer clear of cocain and the other synthetic drugs.

On the legal side has anyone every tried salvia it is probably impossible to get addicted to (about as great a chance as getting hooked on phonics) and really expands your mind and how you think.

I can honestly reccommend salvia to anyone who doesnt have a heart condition or preggers :p.

Edit:

There have been some very good posts here. I think everyone needs to take a step back and look at the situation outside of societies contrains and on a level of fairness and personal rights.

[Raum]

I've tried salvia, it was a great experience. Funny that I can trip legally, but not smoke pot legally.

http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/fee...cout528519.html

Marijuana Compound Spurs Brain Cell Growth

A recent study on a much larger population sample (about 1200), however, not only failed to establish a cancer risk, but showed a slight negative correlation between long-term cannabis use and lung cancers, suggesting a possible theraputic effect

Yep, I'm damaging myself so much. That I'm fighting cancer and spurring brain cell growth when I smoke really has me concerned over my health. =/

[soothsayer]

That is the most asinine (spelling?) reasoning I have heard.

Pot doesn't change in any special way if the government says something. Why do you need the government to tell you what you can do with your own body. As long as you don't turn into a robbing addict I think there is nothing wrong with usage.

I look down on the crack/coke/meth/speed/heroin type druggies. Those drugs can be so addictive, especially if you aren't fully content (I imagine a majority of those types of drug users areb't). I really dont see the problem with pot,shrooms,lsd, and most other psychotropic drugs. They are fun to do and can be used to expand you mind or at the very least unleash creativity. When drug use has people stealing money/ruining their lives then I look down on those people. I have only smoked pot so far and have yet to try shrooms. Those types of drugs have a much lower chance of turning into an addiction.

I steer clear of cocain and the other synthetic drugs.

On the legal side has anyone every tried salvia it is probably impossible to get addicted to (about as great a chance as getting hooked on phonics) and really expands your mind and how you think.

I can honestly reccommend salvia to anyone who doesnt have a heart condition or preggers :p.

Edit:

There have been some very good posts here. I think everyone needs to take a step back and look at the situation outside of societies contrains and on a level of fairness and personal rights.

And where does one go about acquiring salvia?

[golazo]

nah i just rip em off, like when they really need money ill buy something off them thats expensive for like 20 bucks lol

[n30w1n]

You are correct, many people are dangerous with or without the drug, and before they even take it. And I agree that the focus should be on whatever drove these people to drugs, the bad events in their life and how to help them out of it. However, I disagree with your statement that very few people take hard drugs for the hell of it. It starts with weed, you can find teenagers doing it behind school for Christ sakes. Then it escalates to shrooms, simply because they want a different high, they want to test their body, they don't want to look like pansies in front of the rest of their friends who are trying it. Or they just plain old too stoned on the weaker substance to remember they'd never try this stronger one when coherent.

And it just keeps snowballing... In many cases, that "previous problem" which leads to hard drugs IS drugs themselves, only weaker ones that snowballed. Person starts smoking at 12, weed at 13, shrooms at 15, from there on its just ex, crack, coke, speed, etc, from there its a homeless bum, drug dealing himself to satisfy his own addiction, with a gun in his pocket for non-paying buyers, lone cops, or rich looking boards that walk into a dark alley... That is not unheard of, sadly. Now don't think I don't feel for a person like this and wish they just died to get out of the gene pool. But it's not my job to sugar coat it when you've volentarily ****ed your life and now affecting the rest of society because of drugs, whatever your initial reason was for doing it. You're an idiot for trying it, an idiot for keeping on doing it, and and idiot if you're hooked and not trying to get out of it.

Society is as compassionate about these things as they need to be, there are drug rehab centers for people who feel like they want to become human beings again. As far as legalizing drugs, why the hell do that? Voluntary drug use never makes anything better, it only leads to worse situations. Regardless of whether you tried it because you were depressed or because you were dared by your homies. You're ****ed at life? Go tear the **** out of a punching bag... Go listen to some emotional string plucking music... Go jerk your chicken... There are plenty of escapes from reality not involving harming yourself or anyone else.

Edited January 25, 2008 by kinetix63

[ScottKin]

If anything, when I smoke pot my mind becomes more active, making it even more difficult for me to "escape" my problems.

When I was having those family problems, I dealt with them by reflection and skateboarding. Skateboarding has been my outlet for my anger and hatred in life rather than killing my parents or myself.

Another person might choose to go run, or talk with friends etc. My point is, people deal with things in different ways. Yes, you sound like you've had a hard life too, but get off your high horse. No two people are the same, and not everyone deals with situations the same way.

When faced by a mugger, person A might choose to try and fight him and escape, person B might choose to throw him his wallet and be cooperative. This doesn't make either better than the other as a person, though one decision might of been better than the other...it means they are different people.

You're more than welcome to think that, Raum - I would sugges that to make a trip to the Mayo clinic soon so they can identify you as a medical oddity. The reason you feel that way is that THC suppresses most outside sensory input - hence the "fuzzy" feeling know as "the buzz".

Taking drugs to "deal" with anger and hatred, like I posted before, is nothing more thana crutch. If you continue to use a crutch after breaking your leg after the fracture has stitched-together, the fused fracture will not be as strong as the whole bone. Things like Skateboarding are a good outlet for that ole' "Teen Angst", but I seriously doubt that your parents actually HATE you. They may not like or agree with your choices, but I don't know of any parents who actually HATE their children. I am not on a high-horse: I'm just providing my experiences as a contrast and an example of what is possible.

--ScottKin

TCP.. IP?? or do you mean THC? :|

My bad - that's what I get for working on Networking alot of the time. :pinch:

Old age may have something to do with it as well. :rofl:

--ScottKin

[Matrix XII]

Not recreational users no.

[jokeripa]

I went to other.

I look down on those who do it to look 'cool' or 'hard' because that is stupid.

I also look down on poor people who do it, as they will definately have better things to spend their money on.

I do not look down on people who are just trying to have a good time. (weed only) I smoked a joint, by myself, only about half an hour ago. I am not trying to look cool, I am not trying to look hard, I am not spending all my money on it. Its just an enjoyable experience.

[Raum]

Scott, why do you insist on repeating your point that using a drug to deal with problems is a crutch, when I have made is rather plain that this is not, and has never been, an activity I engage in? I explained very clearly that I deal with my problems myself. I have done this in the past and continue to do this. Marijuana didn't make me feel better after getting down when the girl who agreed to marry me left me, my own self brought me to the realization that life is still wonderful, not a drug.

I have never smoked to escape a feeling or emotion. In fact, there have been times when I've felt particularly angry or sad and I've gone to smoke that evening like a normally do, and I stop myself, telling myself that I would rather deal with my emotions before I smoke, rather than smoke and deal with them later.

I have been sexually, verbally, mentally and physically abused by my parents. I do not doubt for one minute that my parents love me, as I mentioned in that threat, but they have caused me immense suffering due to their choices in raising me. There were times where I'd be seeing more doctors a week than I could count on one hand. I was diagnosed as suicidal, opossitional defiance disorder and depressive, and I personally feel I have overcome the majority of these feelings and tendencies through my own self-perseverance and hard work. Pot has never once let me escape my negative emotions. I was even told my doctors that they suspected me using drugs to deal with my problems and that I very likely would turn to drugs to deal with these problems, and despite these pre-dispositions, I never did. I am honestly the strongest willed person I have ever met. The fact that I had people acusing me of using these substances ot deal with my problems, ignoring the hard work I was putting forth, actually caused me to walk out of many Therapy sessions because that acusation just ****ed me off so much at the time.

I am vehemently against things such as anti-depressants, for the fact that I believe problems such as that should be dealt with internally by the person, not artificially modified by chemicals. I can scan reports saying I would not take my anti-depressants if you would like, because I have them not two feet in front of me. My whole life philosphy complete negates the idea of using pot to escape my problems.

I fail to see how marijuana supresses sensory information. Things have a more distinct taste and smell to me, I can see better at night when I'm high and so forth. Again, I really wonder where you get your information, because as far as I've seen so far it has completely negated my experience with the drug.

Edited January 2, 2006 by Raum

[sacrifist]

Raum, Im not even going to read this whole thread because I have seen it too many times. Im assuming that you created this thread because you have some need to feel like that your pot smoking habit is not a bad thing and that by trying to contradict everyone's reasons for not liking people that do drugs. Its old. I did drugs for a couple of years just for kicks. Then there is a time to grow up and take responsibility. Ya ya, pot isnt a terrible drug, but its still illegal and you get caught, you pay. So, ya its still a bad thing, regardless the drug. I only look down on the drug users that happen to cause my life any grief, such as bugging me while they are stoned and being stupid, other then that, I could care less.

[AOXOMOXOA]

Drugs = (N).

People who do drugs = (N)+(N).

The only good drugs are the ones that are prescriptioned for medical needs. :p

thats a stupid thing to say. people get strung out and addicted to pharmacutical drugs all the time. its really no differance.

and no i dont look down at drug users. i used to be one my self.. if anything i feel sorry for them and want to help.

[User6060]

let people do what they want to do. if it becomes their life then help them get on back on track. just because you've smoked pot, dropped e at a party, have done drugs or regularly do drugs you're not a bad person as long as it doesn't take over your life.

[Raum]

Raum, Im not even going to read this whole thread because I have seen it too many times. Im assuming that you created this thread because you have some need to feel like that your pot smoking habit is not a bad thing and that by trying to contradict everyone's reasons for not liking people that do drugs. Its old. I did drugs for a couple of years just for kicks. Then there is a time to grow up and take responsibility. Ya ya, pot isnt a terrible drug, but its still illegal and you get caught, you pay. So, ya its still a bad thing, regardless the drug. I only look down on the drug users that happen to cause my life any grief, such as bugging me while they are stoned and being stupid, other then that, I could care less.

On the contrary, I've agreed with many people against drug users, such as those that complain about the types that value getting a buzz more than their friendships. You would do well to not assume...though even those that do read my posts assume far too much anyways.

[ZiUL]

As a christian, I don't discriminate people or take them as inferior.

People who use drugs to run away from their problem or to fill the empty space inside them must be loved as God loved us and must be helped.

I do hate drugs.