Poll: Do you use recreational drugs other than alcohol?

As you all are probably tired of hearing me say, I am old. Older than most around here anyway. So as a child of the late 60's/early 70's I did a little herb. But now I don't do much of that sort of thing. But I still might.....

Another (related) topic for discussion: What do you consider a recreational drug? Some would consider TV to be the most pervasive recreational drug. I could make the case that (for some people at least) gambling is a reacreational drug (and addictive too).

Anyway , talk among yourselves.

Btw, first post.

Your even older than me, by almost a year. :-)

weed. cigarrettes. speed. i'm done. meh.

wacky weed, shrooms... does talcott count as a recreational drug? ;-)

"let us burn one from end to end and pass it over to me my friend... burn it long, burn it slow, to light me up before I go. if you don't like my fire then don't come around cause I'm gonna burn one down." -ben harper

"its my girl she gets me high, my girl she gets me high"- paranoid social club

by the way, I'm helping out with getting the word out about the PSC, http://www.paranoidmusic.com/index.html ... I know not many of you are in maine to hear them live, but you could get the CD online... and help get my boys some hype!!

 

 

 

unrelatedly, PSC opened for 2 skinnee j's at toad's place last weekend.  they were cool, i think, but the j's blew me away so fiercely that i can barely remember the opening acts.

www.2skinneejs.net, man.  's where it's at.  too bad they're breaking up.

er, "indefinite hiatus."  we all know what that means.  feh.

Weed, cigarettes, alcohol, acid, heroin, are the only things I've ever used for long periods of time, crank, shrooms, and... other stuff I used a few times.

i've smoked grass like twice... but i wouldn't rule out doing it again...

i don't use television :P

mmmmpeanutbutter.

I could eat that every day.

I actually have

heee! me too! I keep a jar of low-fat peanut butter in my desk and take a fingerful when I need to feel happier. :)

I actually prefer the low-fat peanut butter. An exception go my "the more fat the better it tastes" rule.

Diet Coke. I'm a diet coke addict. The only diet drink I've ever drank... well other than slim fast, but I put ice cream in that so it would taste good. It's disturbing when something low-fat, or 'diet' is better than the full fatty goodness stuff.

I'm such a goody two shoes. Never had a drink, never smoked, never tried any drugs. I'm a caffeine addict and that's about as far as I'll ever go. :)

 

Well...I did have a lot of secondhand pot from concerts back in the day...like Paul McCartney and Pink Floyd and such...but it never really affected me. *shrug*

You'd like to *think* it never affected you. :)

I smoked pot a few times in college, discovered it did nothing for me, and haven't touched it since. Never tried anything harder.

I think it's easier to list the recreational drugs I haven't used:

Opiates
Psychoactives other than 'shrooms
PCP

I've done pretty much everything else.  I was running pretty hard from myself.

About the only one I would consider doing again is mushrooms...just because it was such a neat experience, and didn't carry with it some of the horrible comedown effects that other stuff did.

mm

I tried cigarrettes when I was 15, and after I stopped coughing and hacking, I honestly could not understand why anyone would voluntarily do that to themselves.

Ditto for pot. Although I've had contact buzzes from a couple of concerts (most notably Pink Floyd and Depeche Mode).

While I support another person's right to put whatever substance into their own body (but bear the consequence for their subsequent actions), I have NEVER understood why people use recreational drugs. I mean, cigarettes are just dis-gusting. Pot, while mostly harmless, seems to be an extreme form of a way to relax or reduce stress; haven't pot smokers heard of massage? :)

The rest of the drugs out there alter you in vastly more drastic ways that either booze, nicotine, or pot, and I can't understand why anyone would want to do that to themselves. Is it because they suffer from low self-esteem or don't like themselves? Even at my lowest depths of low self-esteem, while I entertained thoughts of suicide once (couldn't go through with it, just seemed way too pathetic and sad), I never ever once turned to drugs as a way out. I always believed there was some way *I* could fix things.

Luckily, I did and now can't imagine living my life any other way. But people who do drugs, even "recreationally", are bizarre to me.

Well, yeah, but you haven't done any of the really good ones yet!  Like ketamine...or GHB.  Heh.

george herbert-walker bush?

Mmhmm, and WHY would I want to do drugs?

because all the cool kids are doing it, duh! (seriously, to answer your question, i have no idea.)

Since when does using drugs equal looking for a way out?? That's a pretty closed minded statement.

Using drugs recreationally can be a lot of fun, and can be just something to do with friends. As with anything else in life... all things in moderation.

I don't normally see people using the "harder" drugs such as heroin, crack, crystal-meth, because they are looking for "fun".

Perhaps it may be true for other drugs, but the vast majority of the time (with the exception of nicotine, alcohol, and pot) people who use drugs are normally compensating for something.

What other drugs are used recreationally that are done primarly for a source of fun?

Ecstacy....? Or however you spell it.

heroin, crack, meth... yeah... those ones are a different thing altogether.

But I'm thinking more along the lines of coke, speed, acid, shrooms, prescription stuff.... All those can be taken just for fun. :)

Yah, until your heart explodes in the case of coke and speed.

Acid and shrooms can seriously fuck up your brain chemistry.

I just don't see how seriously damaging your physiology in exchange for a few moments of altered state consciousness can be considered fun. But hey, everyone can get their fix wherever they like.

See, again, you're talking about overuse or habitual use. I'm not.

I'm speaking in terms of recreational use... .and in that context, none of those (with the possible exception of lsd, which CAN fuck with your brain chemistry) are any more dangerous than pot. (I personally wouldn't use acid, but that's me...)

Ah, but those ones don't start out as a different thing altogether.  I definitely have seen people use meth recreationally.  I'm here to tell you it can be a hell of a lot of fun. 

Luckily, I never became addicted to it.

Very very true. I *have* known some people who did truly use heroin recreationally and occasionally... but, it's just far too much of an addiction risk for me to have tried it.

My friend with the really bad drug problem got started with one time using meth, that was enough to hook her.

Psst.  You know that as far as your body is concerned, oxycodone, vicodin, and heroin are the same thing, right?

Ahh, except that you always know the dosage you're getting with the prescription stuff. :)

Besides, those were never my bag.

This is a fool's errand, I know, but could you please prove that "the vast majority of the time (with the exception of nicotine, alcohol, and pot) people who use drugs are normally compensating for something"?

I find it endlessly amusing that the professed libertarian here is going on about how drugs are bad, m'kay.  Having opinions about what others do in private is the first step on the slippery slope of using force.

> I find it endlessly amusing that the professed libertarian here is > going on about how drugs are bad, m'kay.

Why? I'm fairly certain he believes that these things should be decriminalized, he's just saying that he doesn't think they're a good idea to use. Libertarianism is about having the right to live our lives without interference from the government. It means agreeing that people should be able to do things, not that they should do them.

Sorry, I just have personal experience and my own observations of society. Most everyone I know that use drugs recreationally are using it as a form of escapism. Most psychologists also happen to agree (read any paper from the American Journal of Psychology on the subject or any study in the American Journal of Medicine on exactly what effect some of those so-called "recreational" drugs have on the human body).

And Michael, you just prove your utter ignorance at exactly what it means to be libertarian. Being libertarian doesn't mean that I can't have opinions of what other people do in private. And I totally disagree that it is the first step on a slippery slope to using force. Yes, I think drugs are bad, and contrary to maintaining the health of the human body. There's a big difference in having that opinion and enforcing that opinion on everyone else.

Being libertarian and believing that people should be free to make their own choices and bear the consequences for those choice does not mean I have to condone or accept everything someone else chooses to do. I think anyone who puts a cigarette to their lips is a moron, however I would never interfere with that person's right to do so. I'm not enforcing my opinion on them. You asking or expecting me to be accepting of that person's choice is enforcing YOUR opinion/view on ME however.

I actrually am not ignorant of what Libertarianism is all about.  I was just trying to draw an analogy that apparently fell flat, and wasn't very apt to begin with.  For that, I apologize.

I can't ask you to change your opinion?  Then why on earth do we bother typing here at all?!

Usually to hear ourselves type I think.

Change my opinion about what? That drug use is not a smart idea? Sorry, but I prefer to try to keep my body pure. Hell, I won't even take tylenol or asprin for a headache unless it is really bad. I'm just adverse to putting drugs into my body unless it is absolutely necessary. And I have better sources of fun than recreational drug use.

Rest assured though I would fight for your right to use drugs recreationally, even though I disagree with you.

That's cool.. but it sure sounds like you're preaching and being holier-than-thou to me.

Just a thought/observation.

I'm definitely not preaching. I could care less whether someone does drugs or not. I have my opinions on the matter and they also serve for the reasons why I don't do drugs. I'm not trying to come off as holier-than-thou, just explaining my own views. But that's what freedom is all about, the freedom to make our own choices based on our own values and opinions.

Fair enough, and I agree.

I wasn't initially going to bring up my drug use seeing as how I didn't feel appropriate anywhere on FHDC, but after reading what you said "Pot, while mostly harmless, seems to be an extreme form of a way to relax or reduce stress" as someone diagnosed with ADHD, Bipolar/Manic, and Clinical Depression, it's come to my opinionated attention that any medicine prescribed for someone with these mental issues are nowhere as effective as pot.  I could go so far as to say that pot is unhealthy only in the sense of the smoke inhalation, but I've had horrible experiences with medications, so pot seems to be where it's at.  It seems weird, but I find pot to be a thousand times better/relaxing then say Prozac or Ritalin.  Of course, it might just be me, but if it works...  As a result of finding pot's relaxing qualities, I find myself more calm of a person, and even possibly more rational.  (insert scene from Revenge of the Nerds 2: "So..infinite bigness....is infinite smallness?!? :-)

I've read several studies on the medical effectiveness of pot, and agree with you that, in a prescribed form, it does have several beneficial qualities (especially at alleviating pain). However, absent a medical condition, I can think of several better ways to relax than smoking a cigarette or smoking pot. *shrug* That was also made half tongue-in-cheek too.

I'd like to try marijuana sometime. 

I don't smoke cigarettes/cigars/pipes.  I think the reason I never got into that is because my dad used to smoke a pipe and, occasionally, cigars.  Errrghh...they stink.  I remember it was very irritating when I would get out of the shower only to find my towel smelled like smoke, because that stuff permeates clothing, towels, and the like.  Also, one of my ex-boyfriends smoked.  Cigarette smoke-breath is icky, even if the person tries to cover it up with chewing gum (as my ex did). 

I don't drink a lot of alcohol, because I don't like alcoholic drinks that taste like alcohol.  (I know, I know, what's the point of getting an alcoholic drink if it doesn't taste like alcohol?)  However, I'd gladly drink a strawberry daiquiri or two every day if I could.  Mmmmmmmmmm....

I think sex is my recreational drug.

I think sex is my recreational drug.

Amen! :D

preach it!

*is going through withdrawal*

"I think sex is my recreational drug."

Mine too, at least in the sense that sex is something I feel inclined to experiment with, whereas chemicals are not.

Even if I wanted to. I couldn't. When your town (you don't even live in) is 600 ppl, you don't have much of a chance.

You people are making it sound good though...

don't you dare..EVER start taking drugs. i will come and kick your butt. sex..well..wait a few years. hee. you're the same age as my brother..and it weirds me out to think that i was..*doing stuff* at that age. damn..why do i feel like i'm a hundred years old?

Wow, i'm offended, or something.  Notice that option two and five tend to be in the same neighborhood.  Not that I'm complaining, I'm complying with this poll as we speak, or...something.  If this post doesn't make any sense to anyone but myself, you'll know why.

nope.

not ever.

come on, ya'll know me.  do i LOOK like i need drugs? (:

 -= george =-

I don't know you, but I know people.. some people, and I think everyone needs drugs. It's all about finding the right drug for the person. Wired people should smoke weed, or use heroin. Lazy people should use coke, or crank. Boring people should use acid or shrooms.  Umm... non-sexual people should use xtc. Sober people should use alcohol....  If you need help finding your drug of choice frum me!

(I'm joking by the way, don't use drugs!!! Drugs are bad... m'kay?)

What are you trying to say, Anni?!  That I'm a wired, lazy, boring, non-sexual person?!

*gasp* That was exactly what I was trying to say!!  :^p

"Umm... non-sexual people should use xtc"

Yep. Nothing like a little Apple Venus Vol. 1 to get me in the mood ;-)

(I've actually known a number of people to ask me why the band named them selves after the drug. Of course, the band is older than the drug itself...)

 

I have no idea what you're talking about. I've been trying to figure it out... but I'm lost.

XTC

They're a band. A great band. Ask Andrea. :)

Boo-yah! One of the best bands on the planet! Clever, wonderful, full of social commentary...mmmm. And British, which kicks all kinds of ass. :)

It sucks when trying to find XTC merch on Ebay because half the links are fetish wear or drug-related.

Agreed. XTC is far better than Adam Ant.

... and zilpha people should use Talcotty drugs. ;-)

hmmm...arbie brought up a good point...would gambling be considered a rec. drug? how about compulsive shopping? it makes many people feel good just to purchase stuff.

if yes...then buying far too many books on impulse is probably my only drug...although i'm not shy of a drink or two at the pub....if my mother ever caught me smoking ANYTHING she were seriously had disowned me...no joke...when i left for college at age 17 she told me "I don't care if or what you drink...just don't EVER start smoking anything!"

a c

I think the general term "drug" means some form of chemical substance. I think gambling/shopping would be better describes as a "vice".

You are probably right Andy, at least from the dictionary definition. But in the broad sense of things that we do to enhance/alter our mood, whether by direct chemical action or by stimulating /supressing natural brain chemicals, and hence can be addicting to some people I think a case could be made that vice and drug are close cousins at least. Of course by that definition a exhilarating hike could be someone's drug, and so could overeating. And if we limit the definition to things that are detrimental to our health it would make it more difficult to make a case for tv as the most pervasive mind-numbing drug available. The "opiate of the masses" so to speak.

Or maybe the whole concept works better as an analogy. Whatever.

Good point. Despite a narrow interpretation of "drugs" many people use a wide variety of non - chemical devices or activities to achieve the effect a chemical drug has. Also, I made a comment regarding the "opiate of the masses" in its original sense a few days ago, but someone pointed out to me, my style was offensive and I deleted it.