....to think the term 'junkie' is hugely offensive and ignorant....

[InFlames]

...following on from the Amy Winehouse thread...this will either take off or I'll be slammed for bad nettiquette won't I?


I think the term 'junkies' is really offensive. Would you refer to people experiencing psychosis or schizophrenia as 'psychos'?

AIBU?

[catgirl1976]

Cunt is in the Oxford Dictionary. I still find it offensive.

[LostMyIdentityAlongTheWay]

Aw, I just LOVE it when the 'c' word crops up in a discussion.

I am SO sure I'm a closet lezzer.

Um. Did I just offend anybody?

(Cat, I'd do you anytime, ESPECIALLY after reading about your sanitary habits, earlier today. Still laughing helplessly at that one )
(and !!)

[scottishmummy]

being in print dictionary isnt indicative of taste

[floosiemcwoosie]

Catgirl...ahem...were you thinking of anyone in particular when you came up with that one?

[Wallissimpson]

at Rotary Club - I tend to agree!

[DogsBestFriend]

Take illegal drugs and you lose the right to be spoken of/described in considerate or PC terms AFAIAC so yes, in my opinion you're being unreasonable.

[InFlames]

Depends on how you define 'choice' too - I've worked with numerous people who have a variety of mental illnesses and who self-medicate with drugs and alcohol, and as such become dependant and / or addicted to these substances. Add in the complexity of childhood experiences and 'socially acceptable' drug use and the range of 'choice', and thus 'blame' becomes much harder to pin down.

It's too simplistic to say 'drug addicts chooce their problems, people with mental illness don't'.

[scottishmummy]

you may deny someone human rights,isnt same as they lose them
casual use of derisory terms speaks volumes about the observer

[GollyHolightly]

I think it can take just one shot of heroin to become addicted, IF you have a predisposition to addiction in the first place.

I have taken many drugs in the past and did not become addicted, unlike some of my acquaintances from back then.

I did, however, become an alcoholic (now an alcoholic who no longer drinks). My reaction to alcohol was not normal and once I had one drink I found it near on impossible to stop until I was sozzled.

I hadn't thought of the word junkie being particularly offensive until today but I'm happy to be educated by those in the know. I've also described myself as a 'cake junkie' and a 'gadget junkie' in the past, should I not do that?

[cookcleanerchaufferetc]

If you choose to do something, there is always a consequence, good or bad. It could be piling on the pounds when eating dozens of cakes (cake junkie, as someone else said), getting drunk when consuming alcohol, killing someone whilst texting on the fast lane.

I choose not to do drugs, therefore I do not run the risk of being a drug addict. If I were to do drugs, I could become an addict, for whatever reason or circumstances, but also for the reason that I initially chose to do drugs.

[catgirl1976]

Well I am free tonight lost AND I've washed my hair....so drop in

[FabbyChic]

I have a mental illness and don't mind being called a nut case. She was a drug user. Junkie refers to heroin users not those who abuse recreational drugs

[catgirl1976]

no floosie not at all

[thisisyesterday]

k.

if you drive a car there is a possibility you will be in a high speed crash and die

do people who drive cars choose to die?

[DogsBestFriend]

Okay, ScottishMummy, a person loses my respect when they take illegal drugs and I have no regard for what they are called as a result, neither do I care what that says about me.

[squeakytoy]

Junkie in my view and in the area I live would refer to anyone who is addicted to class A drugs.. be it heroin, coke, crack..

If you choose to take illegal drugs, your choice, it isnt a disease, it is a lifestyle choice.. if you become addicted, it was your own doing.

I have lost relatives and friends through drugs, some because they were the users, and others at the hands of users and I have very little sympathy for junkies, especially those who have been given help time and time again, but go back to it.

[scottishmummy]

well thats self evident dogfriend

[InFlames]

Fabbychic in my experience (which accept isn't universal!) 'junkie' is used frequently within a range of circles to describe anyone with an addiction to drugs - any drugs.

And you raise an interesting point about 'nutter' - again, not a word I would use to describe ANY of the people I work with, but people define themselves how they see fit.

Having thought a bit about this (a brief bit) my gut feeling self-labelling can increase stigma against those who are desperately fighting such labels. Calre Allen (author of 'Poppy Shakespeare') wrote eloquently on this in relation to 'Mad Pride' - will see if I can find article. This is my gut feeling though, aware that lots won't share it.

[catgirl1976]

I agree with holly that if the word has been used like "gadget junkie" it has never really registered with me as offensive (although perhaps it should have done). I did find it highly offensive when used towards a 27 year old girl who had tragically died today after struggling with various addictions.


Again - I think context has a large part to play.

[InFlames]

Do you accept that there are complex reasons why people take drugs though, and why they continue to do so - including issues of concommitant mental illness - which muddy the waters somewhat dogsbestfriend and squeaky?

[squeakytoy]

Did the mental illness come before or after the taking of illegal drugs though?

[GypsyMoth]

what mental illness?

[InFlames]

I've seen it both ways, far too many times.

Cannabis use in teens leading to long-term schizophrenia

People with unremitting and / or untreated psychotic symptoms using drugs to self-medicate in desperate attempts to ease their difficult expereinces - also people using alcohol when hypomanic/

People who have depression who use alcohol and harder drugs to escape their unrelenting pain.

Similarly, I've seen drug and alcohol abuse be concommitant with self harm.

[DogsBestFriend]

They may do InFlames but I'm also bloody sure that for a huge number (the majority?) of people that it's nothing but choice and I don't favour the "had a hard childhood/came from a deprived area" type of excuses either. Like many who are strongly anti-drug, I've seen close up what it does for a family and so perhaps understandably my views are coloured by that.

We'll never agree, I don't seek to change your opinion and there's no point in arguing all evening. I merely came along to give an answer to your AIBU particularly as I suspected that mine might be a POV which is different to the majority, on MN at least.

[thisisyesterday]

the thing is, your average well-educated person who has no other issues is well aware that taking drugs is a pretty silly thing to do and can lead to addiction

i would suspect that the vast majority of people who start using things like heroin are NOT your average well-educated person.
there are so many issues that may lead them into a situation where they start taking drugs, none of them simple, most of them not the fault of that person. that includes mental illness (which may or may not then become worse due to drug usage)

I would wager that most people who start taking drugs are not doing so in a sensible frame of mind and aware of the potential long-term effects