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Why is addiction so discriminated against by society?

Because real drug addiction, for the most part, is a miserable experience for both the addict and the other victims it affects. It's ok at first; the drugs still do what you want them to do, you still have your youth, your health, and (in most cases) the admiration and respect of your family and peers. Before long it turns into a daily grind that is at best irksome, and at it's worst utter hell.

Hexagram, I'm not a regular poster, and i can't say i know you at all, so forgive me if this seems forward, but you appear to be just at a major crossroads in your life. Don't get me wrong, I think generally, as a society, we should be more compassionate towards drug addicts than we are, but ultimately it's your own choice and yours alone, so if you choose the path of hard drugs, which will - imo inevitably, going by your current state of mind - turn into addiction of some sort, then don't expect an ounce of sympathy from society - rightly or wrongly.
 
Raasyvibe said:
Because the addiction is seen as an absolute waste of your life - a total abuse of the body and mind. It is looked down upon because the addiction is taking the place of what could have been a far more productive use of your energy - Doing good, helping the community, getting a career, saving lives, getting educated, earning money, providing for family etc etc
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Because no addict ever got a career, made money, did good, helped anyone yada yada... :|
 
∆ addiction certainly hinders the potentiality of all of the above.

That is why I imagine society looks down upon junkies..
 
ScotchMist said:
Because no addict ever got a career, made money, did good, helped anyone yada yada... :|
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Well the OP has lost his girlfriend and attempted suicide several times in the past few months. I'm guessing addiction may be somewhat of a contributing factor. If not, it sure as hell isn't helping.
 
I suppose the question is whether the addictin is the cause of all your problems or something you turn to to help you cope with the problems in the first place.
 
Um, the PC platitude is "addiction is not a moral failing," but most addicts happen to be moral failures, so you can kind of forgive the general public for getting the impression ...
 
People in groups always like to have a certain set of people deemed as 'other' - it helps social cohesion amongst those included in the 'in' group. Who this 'other' lot are has changed throughout the time we've been around and at the moment drug users are more than capable of occupying that definition.

I used to be a heroin addict myself so I've certainly felt what it's like to be in that position. Also, as mentioned, the stuff that addicts have to do to afford their addictions makes them an easy target. It people start to question the reason why they are pushed into such behaviours then we'd come to some understanding and realise they're not so different from all the 'normals' (ha!) out there and have to find someone else to exclude from the accepted group. Hard work and generally, people don't like to have to make the effort to go through that process - or to realise that the whole notion of 'us' and 'them' isn't needed and in the main, does us no good whatsoever.

It's true what's been said about the assumed criminality amongst users though. A lot of the hard core crims who fund there addiction in this way were acting outide the law before they had an addiction (or so is my experience). Those, like myself, who find the idea of stealing from loved ones or other people in general, won't always go on to do it when addicted and hard up.

The fact is that if this country allowed diamorphine to be prescribed by a Dr we'd see a pretty sharp decline in acquisitive crime. Whether or not other types of crime would then go up - as the hard core criminals suddenly had more time to live their lives without running around for gear - is yet to be seen. Having worked in injectable opiate scheme I saw the good it did the average user and couldn't argue against it. Higher rates of employment, study and overall health as a positive more is pretty much a given.
 
Only some addictions ate discriminated against by society. Lie their is the War on some drugs. We manage quite well with people's addictions to consumerism, the need to buy the latest fashion, the latest food, while we struggle a bit more with addictions against gambling (though not much more, gambling has been heavily tolerated since its legality in 1964) but most of all against addictions with alcohol and supremely with addictions against drugs.

Anyone who thinks there is no religious influenced morality against this is kidding themselves beyond belief.

For the last 100 years AT LEAST, our rulers have ruled by installing fear in the population. This fear comes in many forms. At its very weakest in concentrates on the fear of skiving, of playing off one workers against another. The next fears up start to play on morality more, the weaker failings of the gambling addict. It's why gambling wasn't banned until the 1960's. Next is the moral turpitude of letting your country down by too much enjoyment of alcohol. The loss of inhibitions where the user often lets fly at supposed injustices and the looking down upon of fun.

But the big bugbear of them all is the instant spirituality they fear we may gain through drugs, psychedelics and the like and all the things these drugs may show us. "I didn't go to work today and I think I may not go again tomorrow. Let's take control of our lives and live for pleasure not pain"

What could be more frightening, more threatening, to a capitalist sooiety? This is why drugs are demonised. They haven't pulled is out of their arse. With the onset of traditional capitalism, drugs become more and more of a problem. Don't think for a second this is about to change any time soon.
 
To be fair there has been a massive increase in social welfare over the past 100 years too. You can't point the finger at capitalism because communism isn't exactly a big fan of drug users either. Society has expectations that everyone pulls their own weight, unless severely imcompacitated. It's human nature to be pissed off when you feel someone is taking advantage of your generosity
 
I speak of capitalism because capitalism 'won the war' and was generally the forerunner in morality about drug use.

I'm under no illusion state capitalism, aka communism, follows a very close line.

And when someone takes advantage of my generosity I don't go making prison term serving laws against it.
 
blue_cheese said:
Because real drug addiction, for the most part, is a miserable experience for both the addict and the other victims it affects. It's ok at first; the drugs still do what you want them to do, you still have your youth, your health, and (in most cases) the admiration and respect of your family and peers. Before long it turns into a daily grind that is at best irksome, and at it's worst utter hell.

Hexagram, I'm not a regular poster, and i can't say i know you at all, so forgive me if this seems forward, but you appear to be just at a major crossroads in your life. Don't get me wrong, I think generally, as a society, we should be more compassionate towards drug addicts than we are, but ultimately it's your own choice and yours alone, so if you choose the path of hard drugs, which will - imo inevitably, going by your current state of mind - turn into addiction of some sort, then don't expect an ounce of sympathy from society - rightly or wrongly.
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QFT. Great post.
 
mydrugbuddy said:
QFT. Great post.
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I disagree. The lack of will power of the individual can make it great hell. More often than not it is the criminal justice system that provides the experience of one of great hell.

make coffee £100 an ounce and illegal and see how many coffee drinkers go through great hell.
 
hexagram said:
The word 'junkie' (often accompanied by 'scum') is common and perfectably acceptable in society, and if someone is a user (particuarly if homeless) they are seen as having less worth than non-addicts.

But it is completely counter productive. Lots if people struggle with addiction problems, from all walks of life and backgrounds. Many can overcome it. Most just need help and support. And most are not bad people, and want to get better. Many also have other mental health issues that they struggle with. So why is there this stigma of addiction in society?
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I think how addiction is portrayed in the media has got a lot to do with it, the media feeds on people's ignorance and small-mindedness. People are scared of addicts - the stereotypical junkie, unwashed, no teeth, bulging eyes, would rob his own granny - although, people don't associate this image with just heroin, ignorant people think 'all drugs are bad', they think whatever the drug (as they smoke their 10th fag and drink their 4th cup of coffee) turns you into a raving lunatic. The amount of times I've heard from folk in the office or the person at the bus stop, my own mother, when something horrific happens on the news like a murder, they'll say 'he must have been on drugs' or something equally as ludicrous.

People think addicts are 'scum' because they think all addicts do scummy things and they think all addicts look like the stereotypical junky as described above, it's ridiculous really. Of course some addicts will go to great lengths to feed their habit, but it's like saying all alcoholics are wife-beating, unkempt, losers, which simply isn't the case.

Therefore, addicts get pushed aside to the margins of society, it doesn't matter how these folk got there, they are SCUM because they turned to evil drugs and because they are on evil drugs they MUST be bad people, not quite right in the head, they don't deserve help or sympathy.

It's like a viscous circle, the media scaremonger and tell lies, the government do the same, people believe this guff and feed their ignorance and buy the papers and vote the parties, and so, the media scaremonger and tell lies, the government do the same, people believe this guff and feed their ignorance and buy the papers and vote the parties... this keeps going round and round ad infinitum.
 
the bottom line, we are all just worms writhing around in the dirt in humble fear of our masters.
 
Ismene said:
I suppose the question is whether the addictin is the cause of all your problems or something you turn to to help you cope with the problems in the first place.
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Ding-DIng!!!

We have a winner <3

SKL said:
Um, the PC platitude is "addiction is not a moral failing," but most addicts happen to be moral failures, so you can kind of forgive the general public for getting the impression ...
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And that would be a wrong answer. For further info on why you iz wrong I suggest you consider...

StoneHappyMonday said:
make coffee £100 an ounce and illegal and see how many coffee drinkers go through great hell.
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... Or an oz of baccy. Or a bottle of whisky. Or an SSRI script. Etc, etc.

This is an interesting question actually. I would say that some small fraction of those people would actually go on to indulge in 'addict' behaviours. I suspect most would not but that a thriving black market would spring up selling at a price the relevant market was willing to pay. Anybody indulging in that market would be a criminal by definition and - according to some - be morally deficient. Wonder how many would be capable of understanding that in the absence of it happening though...?
 
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