In retrospect when should a person start using drugs?

[M!$TER-ED]

I assume everyone here has experienced in some way or another with using drugs? On that note, what advice would you give to your younger self about drug use?

Personally, I would encourage experimentation with the concept that little is sometimes better than being totally fucked up. Back in the age of Stone, we didn't have the internet, everything was based on word of mouth, nor did anyone in my social considered taking a smaller amount to see how we reacted to a newly acquired drug. You were either all-in or nothing at all.

 

[NiftyWuChile88]

I was actually thinking of this the other day...I would have told my younger self to abstain til early to mid 20's. I have read that your frontal brain isnt done developing til then and you are not emotionally mature/experienced yet that you leave yourself vulnerable to being emotionally stunted, just my opinion...

 

[NiftyWuChile88]

just wanted to add, that I think I turned out fine. Just things would have went a lot smoother and would have had deeper and better drug experiences if I would have waited. But try telling an eager youth to wait.

 

[M!$TER-ED]

I was actually thinking of this the other day...I would have told my younger self to abstain til early to mid 20's. I have read that your frontal brain isnt done developing til then and you are not emotionally mature/experienced yet that you leave yourself vulnerable to being emotionally stunted, just my opinion...

I completely agree, I don’t know if would have taken heed, I was in such a hurry to grow up and experience the world.

 

[helpingout]

I think general advice should be to wait until you’re twenty five to begin experimenting with drugs. That said, I don’t think anyone could have convinced me of that. I only took the advice of other kids who were using drugs as well. If adults were less prohibitive about substance use I might have been open to their perspectives but given that they only ever preached prohibitive abstinence with consequences for partaking, I endeavored to hide my drug use from adults and took advice on drug use only from other young adults.

 

[foodcrisis]

i'm glad i heard the audio hallucinations from my schizophrenia before using drugs. i wouldn't want to not know if my symptoms were entirely drug related.


drugs really fuck some people with schizophrenia up... not really sure what happened to myself. i had a really good time making art and music with drugs and schizophrenia. haven't really had an overall negative experience with my mental health state. idk. drugs and schizophrenia really hurt some people sometimes. i'm a bit confused with reality, but it gives me some positive emotional feeling being confused. i don't think what worked for me would work out for other people, which makes it hard for me to write on the internet cause my experience might not be what's going to happen for other people.

sucks people get late on set schizophrenia too, so saying younger people should wait to use drugs is kind of stupid to me. idk about how the brain develops and what not though. i wonder about younger people starting with psychedelics and how the neuroplasticity would occur. i think a lot of younger drug users are using all drugs like alcohol and what not too, so who knows what's really going on in the brain... drugs really fuck some younger people up, but waiting till you get older, you could still lose it later on in life... idk if it's really right for me to be making this comment. i don't know if it's really right for teenagers to use drugs. i'm just glad i did what i did in my life though..

i don't know, what's going on with me with schizophrenia and heavy drug use. the thing is that i don't really know what's going on, but i'm making objectively good art and music, i tend to be full of myself, so maybe my mind that produces the hallucinations reflect that i am really proud of myself and my delusions become a good time or i also ponder if schizophrenia is a spiritual thing. i really don't know. i just know that when i tune a guitar by ear, and then go back with a guitar tuner, i'm getting objectively better results when i'm high. i've had doctors tell me i shouldn't care about my art and music, but that's entirely where my well being comes from. not all doctors tell me not to concentrate on art and music. some of the doctors say it's positive. the dude that didn't get how making music was making me feel was a total ass hole though. people don't get that being a psychedelic artist is actually a spiritual thing.


using drugs and having schizophrenia, from what i read my experience is better and more enjoyable than what a lot of people get. i would say really that recreational drugs are not for all schizophrenics, but they are actually for the small percentage of people that have schizophrenia and can utilize the drugs as tools for making art. lol. there are probably going to be more casualties than people that actually have a good time and do positive stuff if encouraging schizophrenics to do drugs, but people definitely have different experiences.

 

[M!$TER-ED]

i'm glad i heard the audio hallucinations from my schizophrenia before using drugs. i wouldn't want to not know if my symptoms were entirely drug related.


drugs really fuck some people with schizophrenia up... not really sure what happened to myself. i had a really good time making art and music with drugs and schizophrenia. haven't really had an overall negative experience with my mental health state. idk. drugs and schizophrenia really hurt some people sometimes. i'm a bit confused with reality, but it gives me some positive emotional feeling being confused. i don't think what worked for me would work out for other people, which makes it hard for me to write on the internet cause my experience might not be what's going to happen for other people.

sucks people get late on set schizophrenia too, so saying younger people should wait to use drugs is kind of stupid to me. idk about how the brain develops and what not though. i wonder about younger people starting with psychedelics and how the neuroplasticity would occur. i think a lot of younger drug users are using all drugs like alcohol and what not too, so who knows what's really going on in the brain... drugs really fuck some younger people up, but waiting till you get older, you could still lose it later on in life... idk if it's really right for me to be making this comment. i don't know if it's really right for teenagers to use drugs. i'm just glad i did what i did in my life though..

i don't know, what's going on with me with schizophrenia and heavy drug use. the thing is that i don't really know what's going on, but i'm making objectively good art and music, i tend to be full of myself, so maybe my mind that produces the hallucinations reflect that i am really proud of myself and my delusions become a good time or i also ponder if schizophrenia is a spiritual thing. i really don't know. i just know that when i tune a guitar by ear, and then go back with a guitar tuner, i'm getting objectively better results when i'm high. i've had doctors tell me i shouldn't care about my art and music, but that's entirely where my well being comes from. not all doctors tell me not to concentrate on art and music. some of the doctors say it's positive. the dude that didn't get how making music was making me feel was a total ass hole though. people don't get that being a psychedelic artist is actually a spiritual thing.


using drugs and having schizophrenia, from what i read my experience is better and more enjoyable than what a lot of people get. i would say really that recreational drugs are not for all schizophrenics, but they are actually for the small percentage of people that have schizophrenia and can utilize the drugs as tools for making art. lol. there are probably going to be more casualties than people that actually have a good time and do positive stuff if encouraging schizophrenics to do drugs, but people definitely have different experiences.

Thanks I really appreciate your input. I hope you will continue posting, not many people like us can share this type of information. Good Job! My symptoms came after using psychedelics, but I don't believe psychedelics were the root cause of what would become a lifetime endeavor. I have very fond memories of the 70s in spite of losing my mind, don't worry it comes back eventually. Personally I think mental illness is overrated, but I'm only speaking from personal history, and people are different. With that said I wouldn't trade places with anyone...if I did, I would have to start over again. Been there, done that three times already.

 

[foodcrisis]

Thanks I really appreciate your input. I hope you will continue posting, not many people like us can share this type of information. Good Job! My symptoms came after using psychedelics, but I don't believe psychedelics were the root cause of what would become a lifetime endeavor. I have very fond memories of the 70s in spite of losing my mind, don't worry it comes back eventually. Personally I think mental illness is overrated, but I'm only speaking from personal history, and people are different. With that said I wouldn't trade places with anyone...if I did, I would have to start over again. Been there, done that three times already.

yeah. i've heard you talk about your struggles. i read you have a wife and kids if i remember correctly. having that probably helps... schizophrenia is rough... dunno how i feel about younger people that are at risk to get it taking drugs. drugs can definitely create problems... i feel like i'm probably fine with psychedelics up until a certain point. not too sure what i can handle exactly. i've done a ton of dosing through out the years. it's definitely enjoyable ime... personally i think they should make hospitals where even the mentally ill can take drugs with the support of trained professionals. not sure if that would help people stay grounded. i'm not saying all schizophrenics would do well in this type of situation, but i think in a legal setting where people don't feel like they are getting persecuted, schizophrenic people could have better results with drugs.. not really too sure.

@ the subject of this thread though, it's better to know if a person has schizophrenia or drug induced schizophrenia. that's how i feel anyways... a lot of people say, if a person gets schizophrenia from drugs they would've gotten it anyways. kind of weird. i know people get schiz symptoms from meth use and what not and it's not always a permanent thing as diagnosed schizophrenia... a lot of people make it out to be that drugs will just straight up drive some mentally ill people further out of their minds, or mentally ill people that were stable go off the deep end from drugs. i would think they can make things harder, but they could be beneficial to helping people's emotions. psychedelics do different things to different people.


@ this thread again, i feel like college is probably a good time to try drugs for most people. just a decent environment to explore. it could still ruin a person's life, but that's a risk people take when using. i know there are definitely even younger people that try drugs, and do fine... probably a lot of people that are just getting by with shit lives that are addicted to drugs though. idk. not everyone really has a place in society. trying drugs gets some people addicted and always needing more, where other people become free spirits, just accepting what little life gives them. a lot of people claim psychedelics will help them realize that they don't always need more. personally i found that psychedelic use got me to crave weed all the time. it's actually kind of bad, but i know no other way at this point.

 

[M!$TER-ED]

yeah. i've heard you talk about your struggles. i read you have a wife and kids if i remember correctly. having that probably helps... schizophrenia is rough... dunno how i feel about younger people that are at risk to get it taking drugs. drugs can definitely create problems... i feel like i'm probably fine with psychedelics up until a certain point. not too sure what i can handle exactly. i've done a ton of dosing through out the years. it's definitely enjoyable ime... personally i think they should make hospitals where even the mentally ill can take drugs with the support of trained professionals. not sure if that would help people stay grounded. i'm not saying all schizophrenics would do well in this type of situation, but i think in a legal setting where people don't feel like they are getting persecuted, schizophrenic people could have better results with drugs.. not really too sure.

@ the subject of this thread though, it's better to know if a person has schizophrenia or drug induced schizophrenia. that's how i feel anyways... a lot of people say, if a person gets schizophrenia from drugs they would've gotten it anyways. kind of weird. i know people get schiz symptoms from meth use and what not and it's not always a permanent thing as diagnosed schizophrenia... a lot of people make it out to be that drugs will just straight up drive some mentally ill people further out of their minds, or mentally ill people that were stable go off the deep end from drugs. i would think they can make things harder, but they could be beneficial to helping people's emotions. psychedelics do different things to different people.


@ this thread again, i feel like college is probably a good time to try drugs for most people. just a decent environment to explore. it could still ruin a person's life, but that's a risk people take when using. i know there are definitely even younger people that try drugs, and do fine... probably a lot of people that are just getting by with shit lives that are addicted to drugs though. idk. not everyone really has a place in society. trying drugs gets some people addicted and always needing more, where other people become free spirits, just accepting what little life gives them. a lot of people claim psychedelics will help them realize that they don't always need more. personally i found that psychedelic use got me to crave weed all the time. it's actually kind of bad, but i know no other way at this point.

Thank you, I appreciate the members here, to some degree we all have struggles in life, but again that seems to be what humans go through as a part of life. (struggles are not limited to drug users) My take on drugs is they can be extremely helpful, this includes illegal drugs as well. Perhaps the biggest problem about drugs is not the use of drugs but the stigma that drug users. Not only that, but the government really did a number on drug use throughout history with the 1914 Harrison Narcotics Tax Act, The Marihuana Tax Act used taxes to functionally criminalize drugs without saying so directly. However, when The Controlled Substance Act (1970) was passed the CSA created the Five-Schedule System and centralized federal authority over nearly all drug activity.
The 1980s introduced mandatory minimums sentencing and massive funding went to federal law enforcement. Fear fueled the policy engine and moral panic became law.

Consequently today much of society remains stuck in the old mindset of drugs being morality issue rather than thinking for themselves. I guess it is easier for society to live in fear and complacency.

 

[M!$TER-ED]

I heard something disturbing yesterday. Wife & I were at the laundromat, there is bottle redemption store a little ways down the sidewalk. I don't know how the altercation started between the store worker and person who obviously traveled some distance pushing a grocery cart filled with trash bags of cans, plastics and bottles to redeem for money. I heard the customer shouting at the store worker, it seems the customer was turned away by the store worker for some reason and shouting and swearing at each other incurred. The store working called the customer a fucking junkie, a slur I took offense to but it served as a reminder how little society understands drugs and drug users. thanks to our government.
It didn't have to be this way, instead of making drug use moral issue rather than a health issue we, the people have adopted into this propaganda as the gospel truth without reservations of any difference. Somewhere in history, our society stopped questioning authority and passively accepted whatever as fact.
I agree there seasons for everything, and eventually there will be a time when change will come as it always has.

 

[abefourth]

I didn't get into alcohol until about age 19-20. By a few years later I was drinking heavy amounts of Bacardi 151. Personally I wish I had never gotten into alcohol at all.

At a very young age, 14 or so, I got prescribed hydrocodone for peripheral neuropathy. For some reason I've never had a problem with addiction. I love hydrocodone but (mostly due to supply issues) I've never had addiction or withdrawal. I wouldn't give up or take back that gold for anything.

Lamotrigine has always been my first love, recreationally and medicinally.

DXM at times helps greatly with depression and I wish I had discovered that in my early 20s.

I think it's hard to decide when a given person should start taking drugs. There's that whole thing about the mind developing for 18+ years, where I wouldn't feel comfortable helping a youngster to get into drugs. Other than alcohol I don't regret getting into drugs at all. They've been great fun and very helpful at times. If it weren't for lamotrigine I'd still be in pure hell.