Of course not, which I why I said I wasn't disagreeing with your point.
Most people who try drugs - any drug - are initiated into using it by other people who use it themselves.
I dunno, I figure that would fall under "hear about meth and decide it sounds fun." Although I think it's probably an outdated view, or one which is becoming less of a factor than it used to be, other than when it applies to the individual's first engagement in the drug scene and the concept of using (illegal) drugs to get high in the first place.
Although while "most" isn't a word that can be used either way unless we have stats, I've (and maybe this is just, or at least in part, because of the circles I move in, but I think it's at least partially a wider, growing trend based on the globalization and digitization of the drug scene) seen a substantial number of people who intentionally put effort into seeking out a drug which they would never otherwise come across even now, let alone 10, or 20 or 30 years ago - either because they have some romanticized image of it from movies/books/celebrities/etc. (who do you think created more heroin addicts - Burroughs or Cobain? And I'm pretty sure the almost cartoonishly disgusting depiction of meth use and users in Breaking Bad was a conscious attempt to avoid this effect), because they read trip reports online and decide it sounds fun, because they have some specific issue they're trying to address (they want a stim so they can study, they want an opiate because they're in pain) or because they're just plain curious about trying as many different psychoactive chemicals as possible. These are the people who make posts like "I want to try heroin/[addictive drug] and see what it's like, (how) can I do it without becoming addicted?" (which, seriously, is like every third thread on a board I used to post on for opiate users, and I'm sure it'd be the same on a board for meth users). Yes, people use heroin and meth without becoming addicted, but I think the fact that you're making a premeditated decision to use it throws you further along the "risk of ending up addicted" spectrum. The fact that someone can already see the appeal and is planning on becoming a regular user and planning out how they'll use and not become addicted and they have only tried it once, or not at all, says a lot I think.
And now of course it's easier than ever - you can hear about pretty much any drug, decide it sounds fun, install TOR (which everyone knows about, courtesy of the media), make a run to the bank, go to a deep net market and have that drug in your mail box the next day. That's not even touching the RC issue.
What I'm talking about is people who make an firm, premeditated decision to use a drug because they see the appeal and because they obviously think (or want to think) they can handle it without becoming addicted v. people who just use it once or twice or whatever because they came across, they don't like it, at least not enough to seek it out, or they never have a chance to try it again (which isn't as much of a factor nowdays), and for the rest of their life they qualify as one of the people who tried it and never became addicted. That bloats the number of people in that category significantly, giving a warped perception of the addictiveness of the drug to people who are already, or who are considering, using it.
What's it boils down to is that what I think is far more revealing and relevant than taking everyone who's ever touched a drug ever and dividing them into those who became addicted and those who didn't, is tracking those who used it once or twice and never again, or very rarely, those who went through an extended period in which they intentionally sought it out because they enjoyed it's effects but didn't end up addicted (which is what people are hoping to be, recreational users), and those who used it and did end up addicted. While I'm not saying every recreational user ends up addicted, I do believe that the first category bloats the "non-addicted" numbers significantly. And of course as I said earlier, it's hard to track recreational user because a lot of people are recreational users for a long time, until suddenly they aren't recreational users.
...anyway, that got a bit more ranty than I intended. It's just something that's been on my mind lately
