To think some people take drugs because it is fun?

[crunchymint]

There is the assumption that people take drugs because of mental health problems, or other problems. But plenty of people take drugs because it is fun. I am not advocating taking drugs. But sometimes it is as simple as that.

Opioids are devastating, and highly addictive.

You'd have to be crazy to take synthetic drugs.

And cocaine - well, they it may be fun and non-addictive and what have you, but its comes at such a horrendous human cost in the countries where it's grown and transported, that I really, really despise anyone who says that they just do a line at parties because it's so fun!

All depends what you class as drugs

A family member of mine has a very adverse reaction to alcohol, not sure what it's called as can't remember. Basically alcohol does some weird conversion in his system, jacks with his insulin & sparks him out unconscious requiring stomach pumping. And we're talking a few units, not the typical OTT binge you associate with stomach pumping.

Nobody really knows how their body will react when they stick coke, speed, weed, alcohol into their system. I'm not for legalising drugs, but i think it does make me a bit of a hypocrite because i drink legally 🙈🙈

I mean I once took heroin in my late teens... never took it again, thought it was horrendous... but some people give up their entire lives for that. Its not about strength or weakness, sometimes its just about how that individual responds to that drug. So I think everyone should bare that in mind.... being a 'strong' person with hardly any issues in your life is no protector from addiction.

And people do sometimes react badly to a drug they have taken before. Probably because with no quality control, every batch of drugs is different to the last one, but possibly also a sensitivity develops. So every time you take a drug you take a risk. Maybe a very small one, but it's a risk nevertheless. The fact that a person hasn't run into problems is probably more to do with luck than inherent character strength.

borninthe80s the fact that drugs were responsible for the deaths of those young people doesn't negate the fact that drugs are fun. It's a bit of a silly remark.

Obviously its totally horrific that they have died.

But saying that the fact that people die means drugs are not fun is like saying sky diving isn't fun or sex isn't fun. A lot of activities which stimulate adrenalin are risky. In the case of "daredevil" things these are usually highly regulated because they are legal, and therefore people are able to manage them carefully.

Its precisely because drugs are illegal and not discussed properly and people aren't given adequate information to manage them that they are additionally risky.

Actually if you look at statistics around recreational drug deaths they are incredibly rare -- strikingly so if you take into account that they are taken under uncontrolled circumstances.

I'm not advocating recreational drug use for kids - I would go a long way out of my way to stop my daughter taking drugs. But your reaction is typical of the kind of well-meaning hysteria which makes it so difficult for people to have a rational conversation about the risks attached to drugs which ultimately does more harm than good.

Yes this is why I left London my friends and colleagues were taking them for fun and I couldn't cope with the overwhelming pressure that I just wasn't 'fun enough' so I packed up and left. It wasn't constant it was fridays after works basically the weekends were time for drugs and during the week they all seemed to have a glass of wine after work then go home or to the gym.

There is a drug culture which has been normalised in offices and really needs to be dealt with. Companies would end up having whole departments lost if drug testing was compulsory and resulted in instant dismissal.

Some of my old friends and colleagues now have serious dependency on coke just to get through a week at work, so they have developed addictions, from what started as just a bit of fun.

So I agree OP people do just do it for fun but it does result in addiction for some of them.

I agree that there needs to be better education and quite probably decriminalisation or legalisation.
Because drugs are fun. Not everyone wants to take them, and some people do suffer some negative consequences, but most of the people who smoke a few joints or drop a few Es in their teens and twenties enjoy the experience and, later, move on from drug use with no ill effects. The current social (and individual) problems associated with recreational drug use are nearly all down to the fact that drugs are illegal and unregulated (so you don't know what you're getting and there are all the risks associated with dabbling in crime).

I don't think lack of information is a problem. Seriously, this is the Internet age and campaigns like 'Frank' are heavily promoted. But if you want to take drugs because you've been told it's fun, and that's what cool, fun people do, then you aren't going to go searching for information.

I don't even know what information people would be looking for. Many people take drugs, have fun. No drama. Some people die. Quickly or slowly. Take your chances.

I used to do lots of "uppy" drugs when I was younger. I don't do anything now, but I don't regret it at all. I can't stand alcohol or alcoholics. Alcohol has ripped my family apart & yet it's legal.
Too many people judge when they haven't ever taken anything, yet drinking a bottle of wine most nights is ok.

Plenty of people get given drugs after surgery that they take for a few days, and never touch again. The issue is the psychological addiction.

There was a study done on addiction in rats. Water was laced with opiates, and I believe another one was just water. The rat that was in the box/minimal/horrible/socially isolated room kept going back for more of the laced water, whereas the rat that was kept in "Ratopia" (lots of friends, toys, room , stimulation etc) did not.

Its summarised... Parts may not be correct but I'll see if I can find it

I am not promoting drug use by the way. Just get irritated at those who assume someone using drugs is doing so because they have issues in their life. They may have. But sometimes it is just for fun. And yes sometimes that goes very wrong.

Most people take drugs because they’re fun. Very few people who take party drugs like Es will become dependent on drugs.
I took loads of drugs in my 20s and grew out of it at the same time as I grew out of going out and getting pissed every weekend. There comes a tipping point where the fun is no longer worth the hangover or you have more responsibilities and blowing your money on drink and drugs no longer feels worth it.
That’s not to say drugs are without risk or that they do no damage to your body. They do damage in the same way as alcohol does. Obviously it’s better for you not to take drugs or drink but most people come out the other end unscathed,

IMO labelling drugs as fun is just kidding yourselves.

Same with alcohol.

I get the attraction, I really do, but any "fun" associated with drugs and alcohol is a purely social construction. They appear to be fun because society tells us they are.

My experience of people drinking heavily and/or taking drugs is that they either become unbelievably tedious, a danger to others, or so vulnerable that they need looking after, ruining the enjoyment of those around them. It is ultimately selfish behaviour.

I have yet to spend time with someone on drink/drugs that has made my night more fun, or who has reported actually having more fun themselves.

Your view on drugs will be coloured by your experience. Friends and I took drugs at uni, had a lot of fun and it never got out of control. A few of my friends still do it at the odd get together/festival maybe a couple of times a year and then go back to their nice, normal lives.

I personally found that my behaviour was better on a night out taking drugs than drinking. If I get slightly too drunk I’m a bit of a nightmare tbh, but will pills etc I still feel in control and generally don’t make so much of a tit out of myself.

There is immense ignorance amongst the general population regarding drugs. It's a shame because if people were interested in the truth of the matter and did a bit of research we might be able to have an adult discussion about possibly legalising them...which would eliminate most of the problems we currently have with them.

@rockshandy
No.
They are literally just fun.
For a few hours your brain is making connections it doesnt normally make and your senses feel completely different.
Its a bit like arriving in a country you've never visited before.

rockshandy sorry but drugs are fun. I have always had loads of fun on them. I can’t imagine not doing drugs and hanging out with people on drugs is super fun though due to all the twaddle they talk but I personally, 100% found drugs incredibly fun.

I have been with other people while they are on drugs and I am not. They were boring and annoying as hell. But they were having fun.

or who has reported actually having more fun themselves.

I always have more fun on a night-out when I drink. But then me and my friends don't get completely wasted, which seems to be the issue with your drinkers. It makes me more relaxed, less shy... People always say they thought I was very reserved and uptight until they met me another time after a drink and said my confidence made such a difference. It allows me to enjoy dancing (I won't dance if I am sober, I worry too much what others are thinking). I make friends easier and I'm just more easy to be around.

I drink rarely though. Only socially a few times a year at a get together/clubbing.

I don't know many people who don't take cocaine when having a drink. None of them are addicted. They only take it in social drinking situations.

However, I think pills are very risky.

That doesn't sound pleasant to me Vogue.

rockshandy society doesn't tell us they are fun. Society shouts that they are not fun when they are. That's exactly the problem.

Throughout history, people have used substances of various kinds to alter their mental state at various points in their lives. Sometimes this has been for quasi-religious purposes, sometimes just to blow off steam, sometimes to impart wisdom not available in normal consciousness. Whether its alcohol or herbs as part of shamanic rituals. This is fun, if you go into it with your eyes open, manage it safely, don't do it too often and don't start to rely on it as the only form of fun.

The problem is when you can't have fun or relax without this kind of release. And that applies to any kind of altered state, including alcohol and nicotine, or even caffeine.

Telling people it isn't fun is not going to help. It palpably is fun to a lot of people or they wouldn't be doing it every weekend. Helping people recognise that its fun in manageable amounts and with proper guidance would be much more sensible.

rockshandy i disagree. I spent most of my Uni days on drunken nights out because it was immense fun. Sober nights out just didn't cut it for me!
Same when i used to take speed...a drunken night out was great, but coupled with speed and the fact we knew the dealer so got it stupidly cheap it became a massive buzz. The only thing that stopped it being fun was the night i almost got a hammering from half a paratroop unit outside a nightclub...the sober me was kicking the high me for being such a twat!!

@charlestonchaplin
Then drugs arent for you!

"any "fun" associated with drugs and alcohol is a purely social construction. They appear to be fun because society tells us they are."

With all due respect, you don't know what you're talking about. You're like someone who has never tasted candy saying it's not really sweet, but we think it's sweet because society tells us it is.

Drugs are not just fun they are pleasurable. It's not society telling you anything, but actual physical pleasure.

People really should try not to comment on subjects they obviously know nothing about.