America is suffering an opioid crisis. So is Afghanistan. It also seems Asia is struggling with amphetamine abuse.
The scourge of hardcore drugs has affected millions around the world. Has it had an impact on you, your loved ones, or someone you know?
Tell us your stories about illegal drugs.
There are a number of unconventional treatments for opioid addiction that seem to work very well.
1) There is a Shamanic drug that apparently causes the addict to see their addiction as the anti-life self-destructive behavior that it is (others have worded it better, but I don’t yet have total recall), and to quit and turn their lives around. Apparently the biggest stumbling block is that there are “ethical concerns” in the medical establishment about using a consciousness altering substance to treat an addiction to a consciousness altering substance.
2) I’ve known one ex heroin addict who broke her physical addiction by having a treatment of high dose intravenous vitamin C (sodium ascorbate). From what I know of these treatments it probably also included other vitamins and minerals, either orally or intravenously. She said that it felt like she was getting the same high as from the heroin, although by then a heroin high was just what would have been normal before she became addicted.
3) I’ve also known an ex heroin addict before and after she did a Vipassana Meditation course, and it was clear that she’s undone most of the residual psychological effects of the addiction. The most obvious sign was that she had lost the furtive-like mannerism she’d had before.
While the Vipassana Meditation, and the Shamanic drug used appropriately, should work for other drug addictions, I do not know to what extent the IV ascorbate treatment would work for non-narcotic addictions, although it should at least make it easier for the body to reset.
Cause and Effect.
While the effect troubles me, its cause breaks my heart for current American society. I empathize with many of the responses to the following video, including this one from contributor, Gareth Thomas:
“Perhaps the reason more men listen to Jordan is because a) men feel
disenfranchised by today’s society as men are often portrayed negatively,
and, b) Jordan speaks positively conveying understanding and therefore
is a positive influence which, also, can be lacking on-the-whole in
society today. Jordan is levelheaded and besides having a laugh, men
like levelheadedness. Without going off into deeper caveman-type
explanations of mans role in society.
(Edit) And Jordan is dead right about the opiate epidemic too. No point
going into it here though except to say drugs have largely replaced jobs.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX2ep5fCJZ8
There is a significant population of people suffering from drug addiction living on the streets of San Francisco. The statistics on heroin use is that 80% of heroin addicts started out with prescription opioids. There was a campaign to expand the prescription of opioids with a variety of tactics including misinformation about their safety and the promotion of pain self-evaluations. There was even a case of a surgeon who was brought up on ethics charges for failing to prescribe opioids to a surgery patient.
Rip Syd Barrett… and my mom, I guess. She may have been a b*tch who didn’t care about me and only drugs, but she gave birth to me, so…
Here’s an interesting movie on the topic:
The Fall (2006)
https://youtu.be/rEi-v6aJD7Q
Drugs are the biggest test of character. We scare our kids straight. We DIRECTLY shown them to what drug abuse does.
We show them the homeless. The drunks. Even friends who got thrown off the path of life by pot. We discuss how pop culture glamorizes drugs, hedonism, materialism, and entitlement.
I instinctively feared drugs. All I saw was toxic chemicals. Lines of cocaine at a party? Losers smirked at my fear, sniffing deeply, cool and confident.
Trust me, a lot of them are in trouble many years in the future. Like I said, drugs throw you off in life. I drink moderately, but have been totally wasted in my youth. Nothing cool or illuminating about being totally out of your mind like that.
I shared once before how I drove crazy drunk when I was about 20. Can’t believe I didn’t kill somebody. Could have so easily happened and changed my life too.
I tell my kids this too.
We are all one traumatic event/mental snap away from being homeless or a drug addict. People escape through drugs. Teach your children compassion and that EVERYONE has a story. Teach them coping skills so they won’t ever need to turn to drugs to escape life’s obstacles that never end.
We do our best. But I fall back on what scared me straight. My parents always told me to avoid drugs and not be a bum. To be responsible, dignified, and make something of myself.
That’s what I tell my kids. Indeed have compassion. But try not to become a compassion case yourself.
People almost always start drugs as a recreational activity prompted by a “friend”. It is not need based. I won’t try to change anybody’s mind, but the misinformation on the subject is appalling. It is as if all the information and data gleaned about drug policy from 60 to ’85 never existed. .
Probably true, although in a lot of cases the curiousity is already there.
The need/self-medication factor kicks in when they find that the drug seemingly helps them cope with their problems, or gives them temporary relief. There are plenty of people who have tried drugs and not become addicted, although this would vary considerably depending on the drug.
Scared straight reliably doesn’t work. DARE programs reliably increase drug use in the graduates. Drug use is a function of peer group, far more powerful than individual choice.
I’m talking about families teaching and educating their kids to scare them straight. This encompasses total education, not leaving it to teachers and programs. But I agree peers are one the biggest challenges.
I nor anybody I know took a formal DARE program. But through family, extended family, school, and community, we’ve did a good job overall here. Some kids of course make an individual choice nevertheless to go down that path.
There’s no silver bullet. But I believe showing kids the consequences of drug abuse is crucial. As they say, knowledge is power.
Just another reason that we need to change the way that we relate to kids, so that they will be more self-confident and self-directed. If the wiser kids are able to influence the peer group then peer pressure becomes less of a problem.
@imperatormachinarum:disqus’s version of scared straight can then play it’s part by informing rather than scaring. Scared unfortunately allows for dares and challenge, whereas knowing the consequences can steer people in the right direction by making the wrong direction look stupid rather than scary.
EPIC
On an entirely selfish note, the opioid crisis has affected me in a frustrating and often painful way.
Opioids are much more effective than, say, Tylenol, at treating some pain – particularly post-surgical pain and such pain as I get from Crohn’s disease. But, because of the potential for abuse, my doctors are VERY reluctant to prescribe them. This is maddening.
Hey, I admit that it’s a selfish thing! But I really am tired of having pain that could be dealt with – but isn’t – just because other people abuse the stuff.
I had spinal surgery and was prescribed opiates. They made me hallucinate and I feared addiction, so I stopped after a 1 week trial. 2 years of crippling chronic pain, but I made a full recovery.
Some didn’t recover. They cannot live without the drugs. Addiction is the lesser evil vs suicidal chronic pain. I was in that pain and understand.
I also am upset that irresponsible people abuse our litigation culture to hurt these people. The majority don’t abuse opiates. Finally, I totally disagree companies like JNJ be held liable, as I’m an investor.
Sorry to sound cold. But a lot of excuses are made for the range of drug users. It’s why I strongly teach my kids it’s their choice and responsibility in the matter.
You don’t sound cold to me. You sound quite reasonable.
They ae reluctant to prescribe them because they get in trouble with the insurance co and the HMO. It is not concern about abuse, it is CYA. Even when they are needed they won’t give them out. The deaths from OD are largely due to fentanyl contamination of heroin and most could be prevented if Narcan was not so overpriced. People who need it for pain do not often get addicted, and if they do, big deal. There are only about 200,000 actual heroin addicts in the country, and many millions use opiates off-label for pain or recreation every year. The most inflated number of opioid “related” deaths is about 20% of deaths from medical error. So stay safe America, don’t buy cheap heroin and stay out of hospitals.
If the government/medical authorities took a proper approach to opioid addiction treatment and got out of their own way then opioid addiction would not be such a major problem.
I smoke weed,but would NEVER do meth,crack or any opiods that could kill me! Wish they would stop calling cannabis a drug,it sure as hell shouldn’t be classified a 1A drug next to heroin, that’s insane!
CBD oil has helped me ween off xanax!
Benzos can be quite difficult to withdraw from.
Yay
It’s pretty bad where I am. 14 people died last weekend from my city.
What city?
Columbus, Oh.
I’m in Mississippi, don’t hear much ods here
They speculate that there was a bad batch of heroin. I don’t know what a good batch looks like. My son’s friends have all been turned into junkies.
That’s pretty damn sad!
It really is. I think this is worse than the crack epidemic in the 80s. Speaking of which, I just kicked a crack pipe off my lawn this morning.
Damn,must be a pandemic in Ohio!
Something is going on. I just keep my head down and stay out of the way.
What choice do you have? Take care!
Thanks! Take a toke for me…
🙂
Heroin deaths generally fall into three categories:
1) the most common AFAIK, Overdose, often due to a sudden jump in purity. People get a higher dose than they expect, because their past hits were more heavily cut. So in reality, it is the good batch that kills more people.
2) Effects of impurities. AFAIK, much less common than 1), although it is these cut batches that make people take the larger doses that will kill them by overdose when they get a good batch.
3) Behavioral effects. Anything from getting shot stealing money for the next hit to walking in front of a truck because they’re too high to care. Probably less common than 2), but I don’t know.
1. I don’t believe that is true, hasn’t been for years, unless fentanyl contamination is confused with “purity”. cite?
As I said, AFAIK.
If the drug is being mixed with another opiod such as fentanyl, then obviously the situation is different.
The increase in addiction has two main prongs, first is increase in “diseases of despair”. Second is increased availability of cheap heroin produced largely in Afghanistan under American occupation. Oddly, when the US was in SE Asia it was the source of heroin. Can’t imagine why. . The problem could be reduced a lot by proper drug policy instead of enforcement.
I agree. It’s also the availability of drugs like oxy.
For years, a long time ago, I was around it constantly. Was around friends who were doing it, strangers, had it offered to me regularly. Saw people ruin themselves and one friend ended up committing suicide. Never was my thing tho. I hate them, have no tolerance for them, and was never enticed to even experiment. I was pretty goal driven and allowed no distractions. Except beer. Plenty of that ..lol.
So your drug of choice was ethanol. Those choices are genetically linked. Nice that you avoided addiction, but it was probably less a choice than a contingent fact of your genetic makeup.
I avoided more than addiction. I avoided experimenting altogether.
The beer thing became a job for me. Sort of.
I am glad you avoided problems, and I don’t denigrate your will power in avoiding dangerous behavior. But you were in a situation where the choice was presented, saw the effects on others and found those effects resistible, found being around those friends attractive, have a goal driven personality. All of those things, those “choices”, are genetically linked behaviors. 99% of the time the body acts, the mind rationalizes why those acts hapened. The interesting thing is that we cannot see that, and we imagine that other people have the same predispositions as we, and that our unconscious rationalizations of past behavior, are their conscious decisions they made about a future outcome. The ability to ascribe proper sequence and identifying the cause that precedes effect is a core of scientific thinking, and hard to visualize, and very hard to teach or learn. .
One thing tho, I didn’t find being around those people attractive. I dropped a lot of friends along the way. If they were involved with such things, I lost contact with them. I wanted no part of that lifestyle. The only reason I was around it, was because of my job.
I spent a decade with a needle in my arm. Meth. Horrible stuff. Gets its hooks in you and won’t let go. The only thing to make you quit is you. Rehab has a 98% failure rate. Hell, dealers sit at the bus station waiting for you to be released from rehab. I was 5’11 and 96 lbs when I last went to jail. I laid in that cell screaming as blood pushed out of my pores from the crystals built up by the drugs. My sheets would be pink sweating the poison out. It’s been almost 20 years I’ve been clean, yet I still dream about it and if I see certain things on tv I start itching and my track marks raise.
On that note, addiction is not a disease, it’s a bad choice. One that will kill you undoubtedly, but still a choice.
I have some childhood friends from a gritty neighborhood that became heroin addicts. I met one 30 years through Facebook. He went through the same hell, but left a trail of destruction: illegitimate kids, crime, jail, but, fortunately, he is clean and doing his best to live a stable life.
He and I communicate occasionally. I take him to dinner when our paths cross. I listen. Every day is a new day he tells me…where he too must deal with pangs and temptations.
He’s also honest about it. Fully takes personal responsibility and blame. He told me straight how it started. He took it in exchange for a girl sleeping with him. Slippery slope.
I wish you all the best in your continued recovery. Stay strong. Enjoy life to the fullest. You know what it’s about.
My God, what a hell you have been through,I think my niece is a meth head,saw recently where Hitler had his troops on crystal meth,also Hitler had a private doctor shooting him up with crystal meth and cocaine!
If she is, she has a hard road ahead of her. You can’t coddle or help her. The faster she hits bottom the better.
I believe her husband od’d on meth,called it a heart attack, but creamated him soon after death,I know I can’t stop her from doing the poison!
Meth will blow your heart up. I’ve made mine flutter with to big of a shot. Had it put me out and down for a week.
They found him dead on the floor with his arm pointing straight up,sounds weird!
I’m so sorry.
Hotshots are a problem also. Mixing heroin or cocaine with the meth.
I’ve only done cocaine twice,only smoke weed!,stopped drinking alcohol and smoking nicotine,I’ve heard that one drop of nicotine can kill a man!
I’ve heard that too. Congratulations on quitting. It isn’t easy.
Congratulations on that.
Next health step would be to switch to vaping the weed, so you don’t get the smoke. If you’re not overdoing the weed though, the smoke effects wouldn’t be all that bad. Just be wary of commercial cannabis vaping devices using cannabis oil, as there is evidence that vitamin E acetate contamination is causing significant health issues – https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/cannabis-vaping-not-nicotine-is-primary-cause-of-lung-illness-cdc-finally-says/Content?oid=22770256 – I’m guessing that the heat changes it into something more toxic.
Cannabis Cookies are probably even safer, although I’d guess that they take longer to kick in.
P.S.: If you’re using cannabis in any form, I strongly suggest making sure that you take a good strong multivitamin and mineral supplement, plus zinc.
The only thing that marijuana makes me do is eat more Blue Bell ice cream 😁
Congratulations on that.
Next health step would be to switch to vaping the weed, so you don’t get the smoke. If you’re not overdoing the weed though, the smoke effects wouldn’t be all that bad. Just be wary of commercial cannabis vaping devices using cannabis oil, as there is evidence that vitamin E acetate contamination is causing significant health issues – https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/cannabis-vaping-not-nicotine-is-primary-cause-of-lung-illness-cdc-finally-says/Content?oid=22770256 – I’m guessing that the heat changes it into something more toxic.
Cannabis Cookies are probably even safer, although I’d guess that they take longer to kick in.
P.S.: If you’re using cannabis in any form, I strongly suggest making sure that you take a good strong multivitamin and mineral supplement, plus zinc.
While you can’t stop her, it wouldn’t hurt to suggest that switching to other amphetamines might be a good idea, as meth kills off brain cells in ways that the others don’t.
Other than that, all you can do is to not enable her habit (I know you wouldn’t anyway), and to be there for her psychologically/emotionally if and when she is ready to start facing reality.
“Side effects were so serious that the (German) army sharply cut back its usage in 1940”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine#History,_society,_and_culture
So while Hitler did have his troops on crystal meth, that’s not the whole story.
Also, the USA has a history of giving it’s pilots in particular amphetamines etc. I don’t know whether this started in WWII, or afterwards.
Governments don’t always practice what they preach, even in so-called democracies.
J.f.k was a meth head.
The world was one movement, and a hare’s breath away from total destruction between a meth head, and the leader of The Soviet Union.
Good Gawd,….I’m retroactively scared all over again!!
For the youngins’, that refers to The missiles of October, 1962. I was 5 but remember how my mom was that week
Your name! Do you do that yearly race up something like 80 floors of a building?
God no. I climb 200 to 2000 foot towers most everyday. Got no intrest in running up stairs lol
Like electric towers?
Cellular and broadcast https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ef9863e8a0fa76e25aeb063dcd477671e626fc6a58bacecda694404ac705c029.jpg
OhhHHHHHhhhhh…….It takes a special kind of constitution to do that. Most people would probably freeze up, or worse.
I love it. 1 in 40 make it to 90 days. Most last a week.
Hi my dear friends!!! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/eaf39de530c181c595018deaa3c5e2ebaccfa429aa87c0e22379d09120b21152.jpg
Hey there, Dear George,
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ee82aaaedde7ce1ae79d243884c4bf05952e9879a8bd9a72c77986ae82779ad4.jpg
Hi dear Murn!! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/186ee361e8a8c51aaaac049cade7ef508240cb23479261f5280e6c2d22c537f9.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/aa183908a2406b104f2bee89a760d5cfaa14290908bedc09fac1b96f809208ac.jpg
Happy Sunday George.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fabaf3dda1fe4b47a31da788d923c37854d1bac2f72f42f15f16129c0aea94d0.jpg
IMO drugs are for people that can’t handle reality. I would rather party with someone sober than someone on drugs. Think about it, what good can come out of anyone who isn’t in their right mind?
I quit drinking, sober is good, but I still like cannabis while watching movies and sports😁
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f60c3d556e53608d5147377e6b141c4421cf06503d23cb19a41f0925a2a249f1.jpg
Lake Kastoria Greece
You live in Greece George. That pic is lovely.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c3253cb9745a80b9447db406dadc9d27916be783f654ae77c7e892ad74f5a145.jpg
Beautiful, I save it, Jae…:))
Lovely!
Heaven…
I was a little kid, but I remember how everything in society changed between 1964, and 1968.
The social movements were needed.
The drugs did a lot of harm.
EDIT “The younger one is when they start taking drugs”
The younger one is when they start, the more they are a part of your constitution.
I watched what seemed like almost everyone my age, and a bit older was trying something at some point.
Its not like that now,….40-50 years later, however this new thing is more of a silent killer.
I remember a long time ago a doctor gave me something (Morphine, or similar), for pain when I got a thick nail halfway through my palm.
The first night, everything felt really happy and comfortable. (Pain worse at night)
The second day, I was looking forward to the medicine
The third day, I realized I needed more to get the same effect, and had a micro-panic about getting more.
“Oh my God, I like this too much!”
I was already craving, and needing the drug to feel good again.
I looked at the bottle….not quite enough!!
I tossed the bottle away without taking anymore, felt grumpy and restless, and in a bad mood, but terrific in the morning
Those narcotic pain pills, such as hydrocodone, can be very tempting.
Interesting. That hasn’t been my experience with narcotic painkillers, but I of course take your word for it. Different people, different experiences.
Knowledge and attitude can make a big difference!
Your dose was clearly above your body’s adaptation threshold, whereas @Amygdalae:disqus ‘s doses apparently haven’t been above hers, so while she could become habituated to the relief they gave her she wouldn’t be needing ever higher doses.
While you could probably have safely used the remainder of the bottle to taper off with less grumpiness and restlessness, you managed okay anyway. Since you don’t mention sore as part of the consequences of stopping, it seems that the painkillers did their intended job for long enough.
Well, I “liked it too much”.
i have a vision in mind from a disturbing thing I saw on TV a long time ago.
Someone accidently held onto a hot air balloon too long as it was lifting off.
He should have let go at 6-8 feet, but was afraid to,….then 12 feet,…”:et go!!”
20 feet? no way,. Somewhere before 100 feet he lost his grip.
That’s my vision A few years later, some friends of mine started,. oh,….lets say a powdery white substance. A summer of weekends, and suddenly “Just drinking” wasn’t good enough, and a craving had wormed its way in.
I think I have both physiology that is addictive, and a mindset that’s fortunately a bit stronger that says, No way in hell are you going down this path.
I actually have to say the same thing to amy. You say you didn’t crave it, so I’ll just have to take your word for it : ), cuz i can’t understand not craving it after trying it.
I’m no expert, but it may be that the dose @amygdalae:disqus was taking wasn’t high enough for her to experience the emotional high.
It may also be that the craving depends in part on how much happiness you get to experience in life normally.
These are good hypotheses, but, I did experience a high, actually. (A mild high from the pills, and a much higher high from the IV.)
But…I didn’t crave more. The drugs had a job to do: to kill the pain. The high was a pleasant side effect, nothing more.
Your hypothesis regarding general emotional health also sounds plausible, but wasn’t my experience. That is, I have been given these drugs while in good emotional health, and while suicidally depressed. In neither instance did I crave more once the pain was resolved.
Well I know that you have an unusually rational psychology which probably helped, but you might also have an opioid addiction resistant physiology.
Just curious as to whether you’ve ever noticed any tendency to addiction to anything, even caffeine or chocolate. I know that I’m virtually alcoholism proof, but vulnerable to chocolate and caffeine.
My drugs of choice are caffeine, nicotine, and sugar. I assume that the addictions have a physical root, but I think that there must be a psychological component as well.
Regarding the “opioid resistant physiology”, I don’t know…I mean, the opioids do work, kind of, to kill pain.
I haven’t been entirely honest about how opioids effect me – not from an intent to deceive, but because the explanation is tedious. I’ve found that narcotics do work, but only in an unsatisfactory, roundabout way. That is, it would take a dangerously high dose to ACTUALLY kill the pain. Lower doses are still helpful, though, BECAUSE of the “buzz” I get from them. This buzz distracts me from the pain. I am dimly aware that the pain is still there, lurking on the edges of my awareness.
So, you see, I was lying when I said that the high was nothing but a pleasant side effect. It would be more accurate to say that the high is the goal only because the greater goal, of actually killing the pain, seems to be out of reach. Still, though, I do not experience any sort of withdrawal upon cessation of these drugs.
Could be so. I now remember that it was codeine, but I think it has about the same properties as morphine.
It’s an opiate so it would have similar properties although I think it’s supposed to give less of a high.
I found my body seems to pretty much ignore codeine.
And I, also, will just have to take you at your word. 😉
It’s not that I don’t understand addiction – I do! – but my drug of choice is nicotine. Narcotics are more of a “workhorse” drug in my mind, I guess. They have a job to do. Once that job is done, back out to pasture they go.
Yes, I understood it to mean that you were expressing yourself, and not reflecting on my validity : )
The nicotine. i quit differently than how I’ve read the suggested way.
I spent 2-3 months slowly tapering down first.
Once i got it down to just a couple a day, i ended it.
The wild card was having a couple drinks, and a sudden very strong urge to smoke.
Drink is the downfall of many attempted quitters.
Not only does it lower the inhibitions/self-control, but it is often done in a smoking environment, with secondhand smoke, and with other smokers tempting them, often more so because of the effects of alcohol on the other smokers.
Yes, so true,…and when i quit, it was still in style 30 years ago.
I remember reading a while back that drinking depletes some chemical that’s in cigarettes, making the craving even worse.
I quit the weekend drinking about 8 years ago.
As I always say…..
You cant train for the senior Olympics by running up a trail in 90 degree weather…..without much warm up,….while over 50 years old,….and a few cups of coffee,…..AND hung over!!
Something had to go, and its not going to ever be my running, or tango, and swing dancing.
I’ve been around all manner of stupidity and craziness in this regard. However, nothing that required a needle, thankfully. All this was many years ago. I’ve lost friends because they chose dope over me. That’s about the sum of how it may have affected me. I don’t mess around with that crowd.
Although, I have a very close friend deeply affected by this and I do really feel for her and her family.
@disqus_ZHnAbibTCy:disqus
Hey,
Are you still there?
I am now. I was shaving. Thank you for your continued support. I tried to add an image but Tenor stinks.
Great, I’ve been trying to reset your account on the site but it’s requesting new email address. Please check out your email about this. I just sent it out to you.
I see the email and hope I responded accordingly.
Awesome..
Will be checking it out soon.
You must look neat after shaving…LOL
LOLOL!! Well, it is a cleaner look, IMO. I think I look younger sans beard also.
I believe you…:))
Sending the mass tagging now.
Are you ready? =D
Spank you…er…thank you. 😉
Haha.
I am here with you…:))
Yay! It’s a party!
https://media.giphy.com/media/vEmhm9naIo1Jm/giphy.gif
Cheers,
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/87031789217da8c1a0a338a5e288882e0850f47e5f34ed490ae287626443a674.gif
Hahahaha….who’s drinking that wine?
It’s not me. ;P
You really don’t want it, are you sure?
Okay, that’s great, I’ll have it all myself….=D
I’ll get you jinn (not gin)..
OMG! I’m cursed!
You got downvote for that comment…=D
LMAO! Darn it, the jinn got me!
The jinn should get rid of the downvoters…=D
Seemed that what you had was gin instead.
Later, Bro…..:))
LOLOL…You would get me drunk and not even tell me so?!?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d5fccfc98e5f84458fbc70117e3bd2ff081bfb78d24ec29a3a48a20b5fab0fd5.gif
No one EVER od’d on marijuana!
Not OD, but I know LOTS who threw away their opportunities due to being high a lot of the time. The one common denominator here is laziness and apathy.
I’ve seen the smartest and pretty rich people lose it due to pot. Making some awful decisions because of it.
Well I have a college degree and have always worked for a living! I’m lazy but don’t shrug responsible behavior!
It’s okay to be lazy in certain cases. An ideal leader is a bit lazy and smart. Lazy to not mostly do the work, but to ideally plan, organize, delegate, manage, and inspire.
I suppose a joint on special occasions may inspire some workers. Much like me with some nice red wine.
😉
I’m not condemning pot. Just communicating my anecdotal experience. I’m not a fan, just like cigarettes, although they’re different.
I quit cigarettes years ago and have finally stopped drinking beer,cannabis is my only pleasure vice 😁👍🇺🇸
Dunno – people have even OD’d on water.
Can one od on Blue Bell ice cream? 😁
I don’t know.
I’m willing to put it to the test, but I need a sponsor to cover the cost.
Living in Australia I’ve never tasted Blue Bell Ice Cream, but it I gather that it is a really nice ice cream, so it seems like it would be a fun experiment.
Blue Bell ice cream is truly a Southern ice cream,as in Dixie
Blue Bell ice cream will fix that😁👍
Moderation is the key.
Although some drugs are worse than others.
Alcohol is a drug.
There’s no such thing as moderation for a drug user Andrew. The more they use them the more their body crave it. If we’re talking about narcotic medications, yes they should be taken in moderation (as prescribed) but that’s not always the case.
Alcohol is a drug?!😳 *falls to knees, oh no, I think I may be a user…lol
I do drink in moderation but sometimes when I moderate my drink I forget to stop…lol. J/K
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bbe6b64d504b3703c337a36b59cd37266a0953ea5c20cd19607c9199ede03950.gif
That depends on whether they are a user or an addict, and what the drug is. Cocaine for example, AFAIK, is not physically addictive.
The problem is that all drugs are lumped in together, except alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco.
Methamphetamine is neurotoxic, and IMO should never be used.
Those who overuse marijuana probably do so because of other problems, and there is considerable evidence that many are self-medicating, often without being aware that that is what they are doing.
Because marijuana is illegal and unregulated it is more dangerous than it otherwise would be, but seems to be safer than alcohol. The US government actually tried to suppress a UN report on the health effects of marijuana because it “sent the wrong message”, reporting marijuana as much safer than the US govt wants people to believe.
MDMA is another drug that may also be safer than alcohol, although being illegal introduces it’s own health risks. With quality control and appropriate risk management at raves the risks would be significantly reduced.
Wow! That was a mouth full…🙂
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSUDH) estimated that more than 21 million Americans (aged 12 and older) battled a substance use disorder in 2014. Substance abuse and addiction cost American society upwards of $600 billion every year in healthcare expenses, criminal justice and legal costs, and lost workplace production, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) publishes.
Some of the most addictive drugs by this definition are as follows:
Cocaine
Heroin
Alcohol
Nicotine
Methamphetamine
Well, I’ve got to live up to my name sometimes. 😀
I definitely agree that there’s a serious problem.
We’ve been saying that drugs are bad for generations and the problem’s been getting worse, in part because the lies told about Marijuana have been shown to be lies, thus seriously denting the credibility of the establishment, in an era where people no longer just accept the what the authorities tell them.
It’s interesting that your list includes the legal drugs Alcohol and Nicotine, but the illegal drugs Cannabis and MDMA are not on the list.
Lol! Andrew you killing me…I didn’t make the list. It says those are the most addictive.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/da2ae1d60888d4d8ccafb0d66654e89510c55275ea6738e060f54de2c6de70b3.jpg
Here’s the website
https://americanaddictioncenters.org/adult-addiction-treatment-programs/most-addictive
I knew you hadn’t made the list – in fact I almost put “your” in quotes, but figured that it was obvious that you hadn’t created it.
And I’m pretty sure that Marijuana is somewhere on the more complete list.
It’s just that the more complete “Drugs are bad” meme seems to go something like this:
Completely ignoring the fact that some legal substances are worse drugs than some of the illegal substances.
Admittedly western society is starting to crack down on tobacco, although not so much for the nicotine as for the total effects of inhaling tobacco smoke. There is even a trend to greater disapproval of excessive drinking, although social alcohol and mild intoxication are still totally accepted, even cool.
I wasn’t disagreeing with you about marijuana Andrew, I posted the two lists to show it’s not one of the most addictive but is one of the most over used!😁 I agree with you. Yes they are cracking down on tobacco use but not so much cracking down on the tobacco companies. 🤬
If they made the tobacco companies pay fair compensation for the damage done by the tobacco products they got people addicted to with false advertising it would drive the companies bankrupt, and create a large pool of funds for stop-smoking programs and addiction treatment.
Yes, that’s right Andrew, that sounds good to me. It was he££ quitting on my own. I was like a junkie. I ate plenty of peppermints, only to find they inflamed my acid reflux. I had a bad attitude, argued with others a lot even on disqus. I felt angry all the time and empty because my body was missing the nicotine.
For some reason peppermint is claimed to be a stomach settler, but I find that it gives any burps a peppermint flavour, complete with peppermint bite, and as you’ve found, it adds to the bite of any reflux.
I find simethicone good for gas or reflux, but annoyingly the only simethicone I can get here is peppermint flavoured, which IMO is ridiculous because it’s capsules – why flavour a capsule when it’s supposed to be swallowed whole? All it does is make any burps annoyingly pepperminty. They don’t even pretend that the peppermint is there for a purpose, or list it as an ingredient, but , just say “Peppermint flavoured”.
If you know of anyone who is planning to quit, I suggest that they take a strong multivitamin starting the day after they quit. I used to say to take a stress or sugar metabolism multi, but some so-called “stress” multis are p*ss-weak frauds, so now I just say to look for one with at least 20mg of B6 as an indicator, although in a pinch Berocca is better than nothing.
Strong multivitamins can also work for PMB (Pre-Menstrual Bitchiness). When I was working as a Masseur I had one client who would pig out on sweets, and get so cranky that, in her words “I could murder someone”. I got her to take a strong multi, starting well before that part of the cycle, and she later reported that her mood barely changed, and she only had one boiled lolly. Mind you, every body’s different, so it might not work for everyone.
I’m lucky in that although I drink alcoholic drinks socially my system is just not set up to become addicted. I couldn’t even get in the habit of having one drink a day when I learned that this would help my cholesterol.
Mind you, I can become addicted to caffeine or chocolate.
Oh, BTW, caffeine is a drug too – are you a user? 😉
I drink socially and sometimes when I’m relaxed. I usually have a glass or two or three or four…he££ sometimes the whole bottle! Lol
I guess I have to say I could be addicted to caffeine…can’t go one day without at least one cup of coffee…lol
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0b1c3acd733b5d3a2715ead16f9eaa46533b71594151038bdbd9875a69aa4dd3.gif
Hi @jaegirl:disqus 😘,
Unfortunately that message only works for the converted.
Haha…hey there @ausvirgo:disqus.😘
Or more likely as a warning to those that has never used drugs.
Only if it’s backed up with facts.
The trouble is that kids see Adults using alcohol and nicotine while saying that drugs are bad. Mixed messages.
If what’s backed up with facts? The message, “drugs is bad,” isn’t just for those that have converted. It’s also a message for others that may or may not be contemplating using, drinking or smoking it.
Yeah I remember the old saying my parents used which, by the way, isn’t as effective today than yesterday years. Do as I say, not as I do. Worked for me. If not I would have been a stoned hippie…lol
Nope.
I’m a recluse who despises people.
Hey VJ. I despise some of them too!
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I think, drugs trade, gun smuggling, trafficking in animals and people, professional sex, pedophilia, and a lot of human mud; exist because SOMEONE PAYS for the “services.”
It’s the famous DIRT MONEY CIRCULATION, legal or illegal, benefiting some, and hurting others, making the world go round.
Good morning, Carlos.
Yes, but there are always far fewer beneficiaries than disadvantaged people.
Sorry, Murn, i didn’t understand…
HEY MURN!!!!!!
I’m running around for a quick check in as I’ve passed the hardest, and first step toward getting my paperwork, and business straightened out. How are ya?
Hey, M.
Wow… you are back.
I am glad to hear you’ve passed the hardest.
I’ve been fine, thanks. I come here more on Sunday like today and actually I’ve been posting a little bit more lately and been enjoying the interaction with so many nice new friends on here.
Go on with pursuing the goals and come back here when you’ve reached them. Take care, my friend.
Thanks. No road as tough as the roadblocks we put in front of ourselves.
Very true.
I hope you have a resting night, M.
I didn’t see the image in the OP so I put that one.
I hope you like it or let me know if you have other pic you’d like to put up so I change it…hehe