Drug use?

[Foxy Methoxy]

One of the largest taboos in contemporary society is drug use. Narcotics were made illegal in America starting in 1925 with the "Dangerous Narcotic Act" largely due to pressure from the religious right. Alcohol was also prohibited around this time but the ban was later repealed. Since then, the US government has continued banning substances they view as dangerous and, during the Nixon administration, created the DEA: a federal drug czar / police force. Obviously, there is no denying that overconsumption of drugs is a strain on any community and it is doubtful hardcore drug addicts are a welcome addition in your neighborhood or mine. However, every drug user is not a dangerous addict.

 

My question is, without the influence of Christian morals, what is your viewpoint on occasional drug use? I'm not asking if you use any substances, or if you feel they should be legalized. I'm just asking if you feel (on a social level) concerned at all about drug use and if your perspective has changed on this matter since de-converting.

[Megistias]

Once the kids are tucked in, check the Tivo and grab the opium pipe, er ... beer.

 

I see no reason to not imbibe in any mood enhancing/altering drug when it's appropriate - like your "down time".

 

Smoke some wiskey soaked tobacco in a pipe and watch the stars in the evening.

Perhaps a little opium or a hot cider with brandy before sex or bed.

A double mocha espresso in the morning

Maybe chew a coca leaf while mowing the lawn.

[DanInPA]

I have had the opinion for many years that marijuana should be legal.

 

Though I don't smoke anymore, I've alway maintained that there is much less violence done by pot smokers than, say, alcohol drinkers. Even with a major buzz, one can generally perform coherently. OTOH, when one's smashed one can do things that they'ed never do when sober.

 

As for it being a "gateway drug", I think there would be less chance of that if it were legal.

 

Dan

[Amethyst]

I prefer not to burn out my brain cells with drugs or anything else. I use them way too much.

 

OTOH, I am not against medical marijuana, provided it is being used to treat an actual disease and not an excuse to smoke it. Sick people shouldn't be imprisoned for trying to find something to take away the pain.

[Foxy Methoxy]

But on a social level, are you at all concerned about what other people are using? Has this perspective changed over the years?

[Megistias]

I think the appropriate concern is over where and when drugs are used rather than if they are used.

 

Construction workers huffing gold paint in aisle 3 where I'm trying to get to the Bisquick and breadding is socially disconcerting. They should take it to some freeway underpass.

[BlueGiant]

As long as the use is not harming anyone else directly (e.g. no drunk/stoned driving), I don't generally see a problem with it.

[pandora]

I agree that the issue is when and where drugs are used. If society had drug use as a part of its culture and social mores, then people would be less likely to use at inappropriate times. It would become part of etiquette. At least I think it would, however the more addicting drugs like cocaine and heroin would be harder to control.

 

That said, I smoke marijuana and use the occasional psychotropic substance. Sometimes for fun, sometimes for deep contemplation. I didn't even really have a problem with drug use as a Christian (although I didn't use) because I figured it was a person's choice to do what they want in their own home or while partying.

[♦ nivek ♦]

Actually Foxy you are a few years off. Check out the "Harrison Act" with a websearch.

 

Since 1789 and the War on Whiskey the uS has had some kind of temperance battle going on based on the supposed values of the various religionists.

 

kL

[Foxy Methoxy]

True. We could debate where prohibition began all the way back to the pilgrims. I was making a historic generalization.

 

My point is that those of us who were once members of the religious right were by default obligated to denounce drug use not only in our own private lives, but also intrude and support the government's intrusion into other people's drug use. Now that you are not a member of the religious right, has the notion that other people should not use drugs changed? Again, this is not so much a question of whether or not you support legislation as it is a question of whether or not you concern yourself with other people's drug use. In theory, if a person is trying to be a good fundamentalist Christian, they must oppose all recreational drug use. I'm curious to see if once a person no longer considers themself to be a Christian if they continue to oppose recreational drug use.

[GiantBear]

Hey Y'all,

 

I want every crack dealer to have to get a real job instead of terrorizing their fellow man. So I'm in favor of across-the-board legalization.

 

I don't want to see any punk wearing a 'Stop Snitching' tee-shirt, because there wouldn't be anything to snitch about.

 

I want cops to be less crooked. I want cops to not die on the job so much. I want innocent bystanders to not die so much. I want us to stop paying $30,000/year to jail somebody who is in on a drug charge.

 

I want them all legal with various restrictions. Then "The Man" would be the one directly peddling the drugs. Drug-selling would stop being "coolified" I think.

 

Legalize prostitution as well to eliminate further "peer pressure" to become hooked on something that will destroy your life.

 

Let tax revenue from these dangerous things pay to undo the damage they have caused.

 

And it would be an opportunity to make something else in the United States instead of enabling a bunch of foreign murdering sleazes to live the Caeser life-style.

 

Peace,

GB

 

Edit: This adds up to a terrific case IMHO for calling "anti-American" those who want to keep the War on Drugs going.

[HuaiDan]

The most dangerous drugs in our society are the legal ones, by a far, far margin. This is not to say on a percentage basis, but what drugs are responsible for more accidents, medical injury or fatality, and violent crime. Without quoting any sources because this is not a formal debate and I'm lazy, tobacco (legal drug) related illnesses kill up to 500,00 Americans (USA) alone every year, alcohol related fatalies due to violent crime, disease, and accidents top 100,000. Prescription drug interactions kill in the neighborhood of 140,000 Americans every year (mostly elderly for obvious reasons). ** Illegal drug fatality statistics are a bit more difficult to collect and tabulate accurately, no one wants to give up that information voluntarily and who knows how the statistics are inflated. However, stats and professional experience have shown me alcohol-related f-ed up sh*t happens quite a bit more frequently than coke, meth, crack, pot or E f-d up sh*t, unless the authorities go out looking for it.

Have any of you been to a pharmaceutical company sales presentation? I have, the free lobster and champagne was wonderful. America is already the most medicated society on the planet. Some antidepressants work in the brain strikingly similar to MDMA, blocking the same sites and utilizing the same neurotransmitter synaptic pathways.**Prescription drugs are valued on the street.

Before I left the states some guy tried to sell me a handfull of viagra in a bar.

I'm all for safe, legal, regulated drug use, , but then American prisons would be terribly underpopulated.

 

**I'm trying to remember these from a source I read last year while doing some research for a presentation, so they're not exact but fairly accurate as far as the source is considered. If anyone cares for me to look them up I'll be glad to do so.

[Foxy Methoxy]

So has anyone changed their stance on drugs since departing the religious right?

[Godless Dave]

Pot use doesn't bother me at all. I think it should be legal for anyone of legal drinking age to possess, buy, grow, and smoke marijuana. I will be smoking it later today.

 

The first time a friend of mine snorted a line of coke it kind of freaked me out. Now I do it a few times a year.

 

Acid and mushrooms are fun in the right setting, if you're not clinically depressed.

 

I think people who use heroin are dumbasses but I try not to be too judgemental. Of all drugs, opium derivatives (including prescription pain pills) strike me as the most scary, although realistically I don't think they're any more addictive than cocaine (which is a lot), for some reason the sedative effect makes them seem scarier to me.

 

I suspect Ecstasy might be pretty harmful if used chronically, but it's hard to sort out the facts from the drug war bullshit. Occasional use doesn't seem to mess too many people up, as long as you know you will be depressed after it wears off (serotonin dump). My personal theory is that women tend to like Ecstasy more than they like pot, acid, or shrooms and that's why there are a lot more women in the jam band and drug scenes now. Glowing, scantily-clad women who like to get high and have sex. So, with some caveats, I approve of this drug. But I've never used it myself.

[Vixentrox]

I don't think that drug usage is outlawed strictly for religious reasons. Even in the Soviet Union drug usages carried hefty penalties and no one would claim religion was a driving force in Soviet era policies.

 

A lot of the drugs are harmfull, but then so is ciggies and junk food and lots of other things. I do belive that a lot of things should be illegal where you can potentially cause harm...driving, performing surgery, directing air traffic, ect. But if your stoned at home or the night club? Doesn't bother me so much. Not that I would use myself.

[Foxy Methoxy]

I suspect Ecstasy might be pretty harmful if used chronically

 

Have you ever heard of it being used chronically? At $20 a bean, that would make it an extremely expensive habit.

 

I don't think that drug usage is outlawed strictly for religious reasons.

 

Certainly not, but the religious right is staunchly opposed to recreational drug use and therefore, it's members are pretty much obligated to be staunchly opposed to it as well. They also played a key role in the prohibition of narcotics.

[nightflight]

I'm all for the legalization of pot. However, I take a hard line against meth and crack.

[HadouKen24]

So has anyone changed their stance on drugs since departing the religious right?

101664[/snapback]

 

 

* raises his hand *

 

I seem to pretty much agree with the consensus here that the drug war is pointless and harmful.

 

I don't think I have much to say that hasn't already been said.

[Lizard]

My stance has not changed having seen the devastation wrought by both legal and illegal drug use.

 

On a general level, what others do is their business. I don't go out of my way to tell people what they should or shouldn't do.

 

Personally, I use almost no drugs of any sort. Tylenol and and acid reducer are about it. On my last vacation, I took some Tavist for allergies..and slept all day the first day..

 

I saw my parents self destruct due to over consumption of alcohol.

 

I saw my sister throw her life away, first with prescription pills, which landed her in prison for forging scripts she stole from a doctor's office, then after prison, continue her downward spiral in illegal drug abuse, namely heroin and crack.

 

I've seen bright young men toss their future in trash bin..all to "smoke a little weed"..

 

Those are their lives and their choices. The only one that effected me would be my parents..they are dead now though. My sister, I haven't spoken to since the space shuttle crashed across Texas.

 

Having been a teen in the 70's, I went through the whole "drug scene." It helped me quit school in the 11th grade and run away from home. My main drug then was weed.

 

Personally, I don't want any of it around me. Not drugs, not alcohol.

 

Just this morning, a young mother and her 19 month old baby were killed by a drunk driver, leaving her husband in the hospital in critical condition.

 

The problem with saying it should be restricted to times when one is not driving, etc..is that doesn't work! When one is drunk or high, they don't have the resources to think logically and rationally. Nothing is impossible to them at that time.

[Dianka]

I suspect Ecstasy might be pretty harmful if used chronically

 

Have you ever heard of it being used chronically? At $20 a bean, that would make it an extremely expensive habit.

 

I don't think that drug usage is outlawed strictly for religious reasons.

 

Certainly not, but the religious right is staunchly opposed to recreational drug use and therefore, it's members are pretty much obligated to be staunchly opposed to it as well. They also played a key role in the prohibition of narcotics.

101701[/snapback]

 

Oh, I have known quite a few people who have ruined themselves because of ecstasy use. They are like zombies. It is creepy talking to someone who has depleted their neurotransmitters because of too much drug use.

 

I stopped doing drugs regularly when the ecstasy fad exploded. SO many of my friends were treading on thin ice before ex ruined them; just hardly functioning. When ex happened, 2 friends killed themselves, and everyone I knew were just gone. I hate ex, never did it, never will. Dangerous shit.

 

So has anyone changed their stance on drugs since departing the religious right?

 

Yeah, since leaving religion, I have really slowed down on my drug use. But then my drug use was more in reaction to my situation back then, and didn't really have anything to do with God.

 

But then I belonged to the most hypocritical and retarded religion Catholicism. Most of the Catholics I know don't even blink when being asked to "partake" in some good old mind expanding fun. If a Catholic doesn't do drugs, it certainly isn't because they made a pact with God. It's most likely just not their style.

 

Personally, from time to time I partake in some mind-expanding activities, but no where near the level I was at in high school. Every six months or so I'll dig in.

[Poonis]

One of the largest taboos in contemporary society is drug use. Narcotics were made illegal in America starting in 1925 with the "Dangerous Narcotic Act" largely due to pressure from the religious right. Alcohol was also prohibited around this time but the ban was later repealed. Since then, the US government has continued banning substances they view as dangerous and, during the Nixon administration, created the DEA: a federal drug czar / police force. Obviously, there is no denying that overconsumption of drugs is a strain on any community and it is doubtful hardcore drug addicts are a welcome addition in your neighborhood or mine. However, every drug user is not a dangerous addict.

 

My question is, without the influence of Christian morals, what is your viewpoint on occasional drug use? I'm not asking if you use any substances, or if you feel they should be legalized. I'm just asking if you feel (on a social level) concerned at all about drug use and if your perspective has changed on this matter since de-converting.

101563[/snapback]

 

I don't want to burst anyone's bubble with this, but....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...I've had a great fucking time on drugs.

 

Sorry.

[Poonis]

So has anyone changed their stance on drugs since departing the religious right?

101664[/snapback]

 

I would say I have. I was brought up to believe that smoking pot would send you to hell.

 

Or maybe the belief of hell brought me to smoke pot.

 

/chiefs the gravity bong

 

I forget.

 

*fwooooooooooooooh*

[Foxy Methoxy]

"Oh, I have known quite a few people who have ruined themselves because of ecstasy use. They are like zombies. It is creepy talking to someone who has depleted their neurotransmitters because of too much drug use"

 

I'm no neurotransmitter depleted zombie and I've been doing E since 1993. In fact, over the last 6 months alone, I've probably taken over $2000 worth of the drug and yet I still hold a position as a senior project manager at a telecommunications and IT engineering firm, make more money than the majority of my peers, and pay all of my bills on time every month just like normal drug free people. Last month, I received my 4th promotion with the company that I've worked for over the last 7 years. I really doubt the drug does any kind of brain damage. As for my physical health, I compete in triathlons and exercise 5-15 hours a week. From my own personel experience, the drug is harmless.

[pandora]

I am guessing those "neurotransmitter depleted zombies" were taking other drugs at the time that caused the brain damage, or perhaps they were on drugs as you spoke to them... DXM is sometimes sneakily passed as X and I know that DXM can cause brain damage if used on a regular basis at high doses.

[Ms. K]

I'm of the opinion that weed should be legalized.

 

However, I take a VERY firm position against meth. Have you ever talked to someone who uses meth on a regular basis? Their teeth rot, and their personality completely changes.

 

Tweekers are unpredictable, and can get violent at the drop of a hat, almost literally.

 

So, I don't support the legalization of meth by ANY stretch of the imagination.

 

But weed? Big frickin' deal. Anything else, I pretty well don't have an opinion on.