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.

Yes, that is why most people I know took drugs (most of them have stopped or cut down). I didn't have many drug experiences, certainly compared to a lot of my mates, but they were fun and there was 0 risk of dependency for me.

If we want to educate our kids about drugs, it helps to acknowledge this. No kid starts taking drugs because a dodgy character outside school says 'Hey kid, want to try and special sweetie', and I don't think even because their friends say 'Oh, you're a loser if you won't try some'. When kids are curious, they will find out how to get them and try them.

Without doubt there are dangers - drugs have killed friends of mine. Yet none of them would have wanted anyone to be told to stay away from drugs because of that, but in their memory I will always advise to be cautious, to be moderate and never to mix drugs with one another and not to mix them with too much alcohol either, which I think were key factors in the deaths of my friends,

The only arrogance here is telling someone that their opinion, gained from their own lived experience, is wrong. As is taking a post on a public forum as some kind of manifesto on behalf of the entire species.

You are entitled to your opinion. I did say in my first post that I get the attraction, it is understandable, and of course many people think that fun is their only motivation in taking drugs. That is their truth, and they are entitled to it.

BUT IN MY OPINION taking drugs is a way of medicating issues, whether that individual knows they have them or not, and that elements of society reinforce that drugs are fun, harmless, a rite of passage, and something that the cool kids are at. So no, IN MY OPINION drugs are not fun, and we are half way to ruin because of them. You think the issues are bad now, we will look back in twenty years time and say what drugs problem? in comparison to what is ahead.

The certainty in which you tell me I am wrong indicates denial. Attaching emotions and behaviours to a forum post written by a stranger has become pretty common on here, but that doesn't make it any less crazy. Calling me stupid because my experience has led me to beliefs that differ from yours...and then calling yourself an adult...well I'm not sure what to say about that really.

I did a fuckton of drugs throughout my teens and twenties and have barely touched them since having kids in my thirties.

I wouldn't be the person I am without having done a lot of hallucinogens and MDMA.

I can't face the comedown anymore, nor the uncertainty about what's in it.

*The only arrogance here is telling someone that their opinion, gained from their own lived experience, is wrong
*
I agree. But that's exactly what you did.

I shall leave you to your childish strop, I think.

Yanbu.

I enjoyed taking drugs on nights out throughout my twenties, maybe once every few months or so. Really enjoyable, great fun, felt fantastic.

Also very much enjoyed evenings out without taking anything and never had any dependencies etc.

Haven’t taken anything at all in about a decade, I’m just not interested anymore, but it was fun and I have great memories of that time in my life.

I get that you think that is what my words said, because that is what you wanted my dissenting opinion to read like.

It just wasn't there. I made it clear that it was my opinion. Although, in the absence of the phrase "on behalf of" or valid links I generally do regard posts on mumsnet as a posters personal opinion.

Nothing childish in not wanting one's words to be misrepresented. Misrepresenting words as a debate tactic however...

Hmm this is such a tricky subject as yes of course they are fun. As late teens-20ish we did speed from Thurs to Sun pretty much every week. Not addicted but we didn't really drink at all so just did that instead, much cheaper also. We loved it as we had so much fun and could stay up all night. No hangover but the come down could be awful but only because we were so exhausted really, nothing in comparison to a hangover IMO. I only took drugs with a specific group of friends, it is no fun taking drugs when everyone else is drinking or the other way round.

We have recently had a drugs talk from speakers from that field at our DCs school and they absolutely stand by the fact that alcohol and abuse of prescription drugs is the major issue not actual illegal drugs. It was a real eye opener. That said I still feel like I would prefer my DCs to drink alcohol rather than take drugs, I guess it is for the same reasons mentioned by a pp, the fact there is little testing and no regulations around them.

This is particularly on my mind this weekend as I was at Mutiny Festival this weekend. There were 2 deaths and 15 people in hospital from what I understand, potentially due to a bad batch of drugs. A friend of mine witness one of the people who died collapsing, it was pretty horrific from what I know so far.

I have a 12 year old and at present he can't understand why anyone would take drugs but I know that his attitude is likely to change in a few years although I have ensured I discussed the tragedies of this weekend with him. I was about 15 when Leah Betts died so a really influential time and those images are still very clear in my mind and it really did have an affect on me but all that did was meant we didn't really do E's, it didn't stop us doing drugs though.

Yanbu. That being said, I think it’s different for each person though. In my late teens/early twenties I did a lot of MDMA- because it was fun! However one of my best friends was desperately unhappy (looking back on it she probably had depression but this wasn’t as well recognised then as it is now) and she used it as a form of escapism. Another friend started off doing cocaine for fun, but it turned into total dependency.

I think it depends on the type of person you are and also on the type of drug. I hate the generalisation that all drug takers have mental health problems

GorgonLondon - unfortunately I think the only reason I don't take drugs anymore is for the same reasons as you have said, I haven't touched speed, E's or LSD since having kids. Very very occasionally weed but really rarely as it was never my favourite thing to do anyway. I feel sad that I feel like that, I wish I had a different reason for not doing them anyore.

Opiates, on the other hand, are very physically addictive, hence the withdrawal people go through when they stop taking them. Anyone can and will become physically addicted to opiates if they take enough of them over a certain period of time it doesn't matter how mentally strong you are, your body habituates and your brain chemistry adapts so you don't feel right without them

I've been on long term opioid therapy under the care of a pain consultant for 17 years, due to a spinal injury

The thing about prescribed opioids is that there is a difference between

1. Tolerance. You need more of the drug to have the same physical effect. This is unavoidable with opioids over the med to long term. This is not addiction

1. Dependence. Your body becomes physically dependent on the drug and you will go into withdrawal if you don't taper off it. This is common with med to long term opioid usage but isn't necessarily always the case (eg I had horrible withdrawal with fentanyl patches but fine with oral oxycodone). This will go hand in hand with tolerance. This is not addiction.

1. Addiction. This is the psychological craving whereby you take the medication for more than the pain relief and you take it for a euphoric high or for the fuzzy feeling of a warm emotional blanket. You don't take them purely for physical pain, but for the psychological effect. This will go hand in hand with tolerance and physical dependence and IS addiction

I have tolerance and some physical dependence but I am not addicted.

Sadly the opioid epidemic in the US shows this isn't always the case, but it's not the case that long term opioid therapy necessarily results in addiction. Though an illicit opioid drug habit very possibly will (and certainly will if it's heroin)

Used to use socially quite a lot before having DC then it just wasn’t something I wanted to do any more.
Still love a vino like!

araiwa Don’t agree most people take drugs because their sad

I wouldn’t imagine crack is a hoot or meth shooting into your foot vain what a giggle

I have known my fair share - 20 at least - London professionals/ recreational "fun" coke users.
From my experience, there was no fun. Unless fun is getting into huge debts via weekend drug use, cheating on your spouse with fellow drug takers as they are more "exciting", cheating on your wife with prostitutes (because they also deliver drugs, most of the time), women engaging in sexually risky behaviour while high, parents "doing lines" while at childrens' party on Bonfire Night, starting to slack in their job duties because of recovery time after wild weekends, unexpected health complications, couple of suicides.
I know that it feels good to be on a high, but that is the thing - it feels - there is no real life manifestation to this good. Only tangible things left behind are all negative.
I don't know of a single person who has led a balanced ( morally and physically ) life whilst taking coke at weekends. I think it is all rather pathetic.

I think the denial of the fun in drugs is part of what makes so much drugs education so unbearably shite and goes against the message intended.

The message is: say no to drugs, they'll fuck you up, when the kids look around and see the evidence that most of the time it's a larf. Why then should they listen to the perfectly well-founded warnings given by adults? Those adults would also be the ones who often take legal drugs, e.g. alcohol.

There needs to be more honesty, good information makes for better decisions.

araiwa Don’t agree most people take drugs because their sadI wouldn’t imagine crack is a hoot or meth confused shooting into your foot vain what a giggle

The clue is in the word "most". You're conflating drug use with drug addiction, which, by the way, cannot be divorced from its illegal status. Would you be saying the same if araiwa had said the same about "most" people who drink alcohol?

Most people dont do crack or meth

The top 3 illegal drugs in uk are cannabis, ecstacy and cocaine.

I'm sure they are fun but the risk is very high isn't it. My brother took drugs for fun, he wasn't an addict, had a good job etc. But teenagers and young adults aren't good at assessing risk. He's now dead (drug related) and I suspect he would give up those nights of fun in a second to undo the pain it caused my mother and the rest of his friends and family.

Why is cocaine seen as a party drug???? I JUST don’t get it! Maybe that’s because I’ve seen someone throwing up blood down a toilet thinking they are gonna die because of it though. Maybe it’s because it was a fun thing to do but the feeling is addictive. Once you’ve had some you want more- not just the words of one person but of a few “I won’t stop til I’m skint and even then I’ll want more”

I hope all these people that take cocaine have seen where it comes from and know ALL associated risks. Same with ecstasy- I was 15 when a local girl died from taking it, her photos where on the front of papers etc and she was bruised beyond recognition because “it was a bad pill”

I have no sympathy for those who die from an overdose of these drugs whether accidental or purpose or because of a bad pill because it is a decision you made however I feel for the families friends and children involved.

I also find it very sad that to have “fun” you need a substance to do so

Alcohols the worst I think, we should be focusing our efforts on that really. The deaths and illnesses from drug use are miniscule in comparison.
People know the risks unless they are really young like early teens and you make your choice.
All the drinkers I've known sitting round saying things about drug use, its ridiculous.

Well, obviously the deaths are going to be higher related to the drug which is the most readily available.

I’m not minimising the effects of alcohol btw. As I said up thread, I lost a parent (my mother) to alcoholism when she was quite young, so I’m all too aware of what a dreadful drug it is.

But I don’t think saying that we should be mainly focussed on just alcohol is terribly helpful.

I’ve just watched a segment about this on This Morning and their experts were reiterating what I’ve been saying on here; the problem is that because they aren’t legal, they aren’t regulated and there could be literally anything in the pills / powders people buy. This is simply not the case when you buy a bottle of wine from Tesco, so it is less of a Russian roulette situation. It’s very rare to die the first time you try one little glass of wine. One little pill? Not common to die either, but it still happens too much. There are more unknowns around drugs because they are used less and are illegal. That makes them riskier on an individual level. At a societal level, alcohol will have more negative effects because most people, of all ages, do it at some point.

There was an expert on the program I just mentioned who goes round festivals testing drugs as a service to drug users. I think this is a fab idea. The festival goer hands over a teeny sample, which this charity then test in a little mobile lab and they then tell the festival goer what’s in it. Brilliant!

It still could have been smuggled in in in someone’s asshole, but still.

They were also saying that drug use is a lot more common than you might think. Teenagers now have much more easy access to it through social media. It’s something which does need to be tackled; not in an overly simplistic “don’t do drugs way” either. It would be completely foolish to not do this and just “focus on alcohol”.

At age 54 I still like a toot of coke now and then. I've never been addicted to it and never will be. For me it's a bit of fun every now and then.
It's considered a bad message to put out that drugs can be fun, but an honest discussion is needed on drugs.
Not everyone gets addicted. But we tend to only hear the horror stories of addicts.

@queen

I’d ask you the same question I asked the other poster who likes the odd line of coke; doesn’t where it’s come from bother you? In terms of ethics.

Father, yes recently seeing the news on the source of coke, is making me feel I should knock it on the head. I do need to take a stand.

Surely you have mental health problems or at least a serious intellectual deficiency if you find drugs fun? I can understand sati g that they are relaxing or a do of escapism or something like that but I don't see how anyone in their right mind could find them fun. Or maybe they are just boring people with low standards.

to be honest Queen, I think we should probably hit the gin instead...:)Until the cocaine trade is legalised anyway..so at our age, that means we might get to have a little line when we are about 85...:)