It’s a topic that’s come up on a couple of journal’s of late. In a discussion of standards for boyfriends on virtualexile‘s journal, someone else said they would never associate with anyone who did drugs, and kidkero just posted an intense, in depth, blow by blow of his first, and perhaps last, circuit party weekend. It’s brought up alot of thoughts, and I’m going to ramble on this for a bit.
As a doctor’s kid, I grew up around chemicals that mess with your physiology. Most of them were intended to cure you of what ails you, and thus make you happier. The drugs that skip, or at least try to skip, the middle step are the ones that disturb me.
I’m all for letting people damage themselves in whatever way they see fit. If someone really and truly wanted to commit suicide, I would try to talk them out of it, but I don’t know whether or not I could bring myself to do more. Fortunately, it’s not something that’s come up very often in my life. So, I’m not about to make a blanket statement that other people shouldn’t do drugs. That’s their decision, and, on a case by case basis, I will provide my input, where welcome.
It’s not for me to decide whether someone gets more out of their high than they pay for later. And yet when it comes to me, I (usually) opt to avoid mind altering substances. Aspirin makes me uncomfortable. Let alone prozac, let alone, etc. Now, I’m sure as hell not going under the knife without anaesthetic, so clearly this has some tighter boundary than “anything which mucks with my state of consciousness”.
A category of drugs that really bothers me is antidepressants. I’ve seen some of the wonders it works, but at the same time to think that emotion is so easily and directly manipulated disturbs me. So someone with a depressive personality has a disease, and I can and have seen it. But it still squicks me out.
Ecstasy was originally an anti-depressant. It plays with your seratonin levels, and gives you happiness for a little while. Where’s the dividing line? Ignoring the question of legality, what separates “good” drugs from “bad” drugs?
There is no difference between good {foo} and bad {foo}, only the manner in which is it used determines what it is.
I’ve heard that many many times and it is true – drugs that help in small concentrations can hurt in large ones, vice versa, side effects can be desirable sometimes, etc. I once got really sick from some food, and was constantly throwing up every 20 minutes. The drug they gave me was not only an anti-nausea drug, but also a commonly prescibed mental health drug. My mental health certainly didn’t need adjusting, but the anti-nausea bit worked.
I play video games for amusement. How different is that from taking drugs? I get cramped hands, my head aches if I overdo it, my eyes get tired – it’s all the same, just a variation on an addiction.
drugs …
Kidzero’s post was amazing, thank you for pointing me toward it. It has left me virtually speechless …
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OK, I can talk now.
I did my first complete “weekend pass” circuit party last year. I drank alcohol each night, but only moderately. I didn’t do any of the alphabet drugs. I didn’t go to the “after” parties. I didn’t have sexual relations on the dance floor. I enjoyed myself, but ended up thinking that three nights in a row is too much. I did meet a nice fella there, but we are no longer in touch.
I’ve used illegal drugs from time to time, sporadically, and in moderation. Some of them aren’t any more exciting or dangerous than alcohol. Of course they can be dangerous and addictive, but making them illegal seems to have no effect other than placing one-third of our country’s young black males in jail or on probation.
I do think it is hypocritical for people who use caffeine to condemn people who use crystal meth or cocaine. I also think it is hypocritical for people who drink alcohol or smoke tobacco to condemn people who smoke pot or swallow ecstasy. All these drugs work in pretty much the same ways, by stimulating various pleasure centers in the brain. Of course, the illegal varieties are more potent and unpredictable because they are not regulated. I still remember the first time I ever got drunk — that story would rival quite a few people’s tales of “the first time I did ecstasy”. The key is “the first time” — because your brain isn’t ready for it. After the first time, you adapt, regardless of the type of drug.
For many people drug use is a right of passage through which they learn more about themselves. For others, it is a perilous journey through which they destroy themselves. That’s just the way things are, the dangers of living as a human in society. I don’t think that a war on drugs can ever be won — it is better to educate people about the facts and let them experiment with their own bodies, for better or worse.
Re: drugs …
Apologies for popping in here, but recommended this post to me and I couldn’t agree more. May I please quote your last paragraph in my own journal? I couldn’t have summed it up better myself!
Re: drugs …
Sure, if you correct my misspelling(s) 😉