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.

" anyone who needs to take drugs to help them have fun has issues."

right OK, fair enough, so what percentage of the population would that be then?

let's see you have the 'wine o clock' mob, the fag smokers, the tea and coffee drinkers, the pubbers, the clubbers, the ones that turn to the co-codamol at the first twinge of pain...

oh and then the ones that use illegal drugs...

(just spent Sat nite snorting lines of coke, drinking gin, smoking spliffs and listening to Lee Scratch Perry...with 2 capable, professional friends)

Good for you. And all those people who are maimed, raped, tortured and horribly killed in Latin American countries so you can get your coke? Never mind, it's worth it, just so you can have your fun with your capable, professional friends!!!

...oh and everyone who is on SSRI's which the doctors now hand out like smarties...

In answer to the OP - yes all drugs really. The point is that they make you feel good.

Different substances have different addiction potential and different people have different addictive tendencies as well. I know plenty of weekend racers from my yoof who are super straight now.

But I also know a few who have developed serious habits, and wrecked their lives. Smokers who are very unwell because of it. And far too many people who drink far too much. That last one is interesting - I’ve noticed a real split in our thirties; people seem to either almost stop drinking or really start to drink heavily.

So yes, any drug education program has to acknowledge that drugs initially make you feel good. But that doesn’t always last.

And even if you are totally non addicted to coke and doing it at dinner parties, there’s still a hellish supply chain behind it. There are no ethical coke supply chains. There aren’t many ethical weed supply chains either.

And yes, if you need getting off your head on drugs or alcohol to loosen up or enjoy yourself or have fun, you have a serious problem.

And yes, it may be that a large part of the British population has a serious problem.

Absolutely like many other things we do

We like to seek pleasure

Drug/alcohol/food/gambling and so on addiction is a different matter

ye I know about the cocaine trade, I read up on it when my brother was a coke head.
It is desperate really, and will remain so as long as it is illegal.

Four you seem to be trying to argue against what I said but actually you are just proving my point for me.

Mental health in this country is at crisis point. People have issues. Even people who don't do drugs.

" Four you seem to be trying to argue.."

Please do not try to patronise me. Thank you.
I don't care if you are Mrs Clean, it doesn't mean you get to talk to me like that.

The coke trade is horrendous, and should be legalised.

But until it is, every single time to snort a line, you are actively contributing to the truly gruesome suffering of men, women, and children who have done nothing to deserve it.

...on the other hand , the cocaine trade means that poor people can afford to send their children to school, where they couldn't before. (Yes I watched Stacey Dooley)

But yes , it should be legalized. that would bring down the murder rate in Cuidad Juarez...

right OK, fair enough, so what percentage of the population would that be then?

let's see you have the 'wine o clock' mob, the fag smokers, the tea and coffee drinkers, the pubbers, the clubbers, the ones that turn to the co-codamol at the first twinge of pain...

oh and then the ones that use illegal drugs...

Hmmm... Wikipedia tells me that Karl Marx said, Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.

I think it's fair to say that religion is not an emotional support for the vast majority of struggling people in Britain these days. Wine o'clock, nights out and fag breaks yes. So perhaps we're back on the opium, then?

Patronising is calling me Mrs Clean.

And telling me that I need educated and have made a mistake because my opinion differs.

Pointing out that your attempt at arguing only further adds to my argument is not patronising.

FWIW I think some drugs should be legalised, and I don't judge people who take drugs. I judge people who take drugs and convince themselves that it is just for fun.

Agree with what you just said @distance. This is what I was getting at on page one when I was talking about the supply chain.

Yes, there are unethical, legal products on the market, but cocaine definitely seems to be the worst.

I sympathise with someone who is maybe addicted to coke, but those who have a line or two at the weekend, so aren’t dependent on it and seem to have a choice in the matter; does the way it’s produced and brought here and all the violence and destruction it causes in the countries where it’s produced not put you off?

on the other hand , the cocaine trade means that poor people can afford to send their children to school, where they couldn't before.

And then watch as they are mown down in a gunfight, or kidnapped and tortured if their parents refuse to do the cartel's bidding, or join the cartel and become criminals. Because, however much schooling there is, there is no way out socially. Those children won't go to school and become engineers or doctors.

Don't delude yourself. The drug trade is a scourge, and nothing else.

" And telling me that I need educated and have made a mistake because my opinion differs. "

at no point have I said that...

Actually yes, I don't do it very often , and I am having a good think about it..

Well yes, I'm sure most people take drugs as they think they're fun. And I'm sure for many people that's all it ever remains.

Sadly the consequences aren't always fun for everyone. And you never know if that will be you.

Look at the two teens who have died this weekend from taking a couple of pills each. I bet they were just taking them as they thought it'd be fun at the festival. Sadly for them the consequences weren't fun. Likewise my uncle used drugs for fun initially. Then it became too much and got out of hand leading to him losing his life whilst still a young man. Or dh's cousins's son who started using them for fun but again it got out of hand. He was set alight due to drugs and he subsequently died from drug use. Not fun in the end.

And yes, if you need getting off your head on drugs or alcohol to loosen up or enjoy yourself or have fun, you have a serious problem.

I can enjoy myself sober, I'm just more confident and sociable etc on a night out if I'm drinking etc. Doesn't have to be "off your head".

at no point have I said that...

I know you didn't which I had hoped putting it separately would convey.

Fun is exactly why a lot of people take them. I recall in my early twenties many of my friends took a pill, or some MDMA on a night out. All of whom are now respectable, responsible fully functioning women in their thirties with families and zero drug or addiction problems.

I never did because drugs scared me and I had a good enough time drinking a disgraceful amount of alcopops or vodka lime and lemonade - which to be honest was just as bad for my health as the drugs they took I expect. Not to mention the 20 Marlboro lights we'd get through each on a night out. The cigarettes were probably the most damaging thing any of us did!

I'm not minimising addiction, it's a terrible illness. But not everyone who takes drugs is an addict.

I have had my education, and I think that* anyone who needs to take drugs to help them have fun has issues
*
That's not what you said, is it? You said "They are not fun". Never having taken them, how do you know?

And your attempt to claim moral highground by declaring that anyone making a different choice to you has "issues" is as dumb as your original pronouncement.

" I had hoped putting it separately would convey."

no, it wasn't clear, and you are still doing it.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.vice.com/amp/en_uk/article/gqm489/how-ethical-is-buying-cocaine

“On the consumer side right now, nobody gives a shit. They can be vegan and still blow lines. Human bloodshed is fine for you, but animal bloodshed, no. It's kinda ugly in that sense for sure."

Said a drug dealer in the above Vice article.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/19/dont-bang-on-to-me-about-ethical-food-if-you-still-keep-a-stash-of-very-unfairly-traded-weed

Excuse weird links. I’m on my phone.

I can enjoy myself sober, I'm just more confident and sociable etc on a night out if I'm drinking etc. Doesn't have to be "off your head".

Yes, but for many people it seems to be the case that they cannot enjoy themselves unless they are completely blotto.

I think if you drink because you enjoy drinking and get slightly tipsy now and then, it's not a problem. The problem is if you rely on it to feel better.

And honestly, if you drink to feel more confident and sociable, I would worry a bit.