Being a recreational drug user, is it hypocritical to look down at other drug users?

[kij]

depends on how they use them and how it effects them personally. i generally disapprove of stimulants because to me they seem to have a profoundly negative effect on peoples mentality. heroin is different, people can be junkies and go about their daily lives while people who are addicted to meth are often delusional and paranoid. i dont know, im not judging, thats just what ive seen.

 

[fatstep]

Not necessarily. Now Im not stealing from everybody, I have friends and am on my way to legal success I do hope after school and I love my drugs, but I keep them in check. A diehard junkie who'd rob you I definitely look down on, but I understand at the same time in a way the general public cannot

 

[TheAzo]

It is inappropriate to judge people based on their drug of choice.

Judging based on their intensity of use, and how large a part of their life it is, is much more reasonable. Someone who enjoys a few lines on occasion is just as right to look down on someone who smokes pot 24/7 and as a result can't hold down any job other than weed dealer as an occasional potsmoker is to look down on a coke head.

 

[OpiYum]

I think that people should be judged on their behavior towards others and not what they put into their bodies.

 

[kij]

Not necessarily. Now Im not stealing from everybody, I have friends and am on my way to legal success I do hope after school and I love my drugs, but I keep them in check. A diehard junkie who'd rob you I definitely look down on, but I understand at the same time in a way the general public cannot

yeah you got to have sympathy for the person who needs a fix and cant afford it, i definitly wouldnt be nearly as mad at a person who stole from me for no reason as compared to if they couldnt help it almost. i find it weird . i mean i think most people would say that they would rather feel horrible than steal from somebody, but somehow its like you almost dont have a choice when you are addicted to something (even though you clearly do). Thats what a lot of people who dislike druggies dont get, that its almost like you dont have a choice sometimes, its like hypnosis.

 

[Naggers]

Day after day I read threads on BL about heroin, speed, meth, whatever users and you know what kind of people they are? Everyday people who go to work/school/college, do what they're supposed to do, get home and want to enjoy themselves. Who are we to judge what people do in their own time as long as they are safe, responsible and not hurting anyone? I look down on people who turn to crime to feed their habit; not because they have a habit, but because the point is you enjoy your life without ruining anyone else's.

That being said, I think people who smoke cigarettes are idiots. But we're all a little hypocritical sometimes aren't we?

 

[psyly]

A drug user or a non-drug user who is judgmental about some other person's drug of choice is usually not judging the narrow aspect of the drug taken, but rather the real or imagined effects of the drug on a person's life and the lives around the drug user.

A right of a person to take a drug or not take a drug can't depend on if anyone has ever become an asshole on a particular drug. An individuals personal history with a given drug is more important.

OP or anyone can decide to associate or disengage from anyone for any reason. The decision to take drugs is not a decision to accept every drug or every drug taker, but if one is asking not to be judged by their drugs taken but by their individual behavior, extending that courtesy to others seems fair and logical.

As far as hypocrisy, no one is 100% consistent regarding their values- especially while living an active life in the real world. The most any of us can do is to make an attempt at being fair within the social matrix we find ourselves. I make short cut judgments about people because of brand preferences, profession, their politics, music , favorite books and movies, etc. It makes sense that people's drug use or non-drug use plays into the thumb-nail profiles we all end up making about other people.Short answer it is not hypocrisy to make differential determinations about people by the drugs they use, but the drugs people are using are not any sort of super reliable benchmark in my experience. Taking each person and their whole life situation in to consideration is the way to go in my opinion, when we have the time to do so anyways.

 

[lovethoseopiates]

ahhh i unfortunately am! thus is why i made this thread, my friend has gone from oxy's every once in a while to getting out of rehab for the 5th time the other day for heroin, and it makes me hate heroin and i guess look down at people who bang that shit

I really understand your view, but you have to understand that certain substances (for me opiates) can absolutely physically addict your body so much that once you get used to that "hey what a wonderful feeling" thing that happens and you are on them a while, and then one day you don't have anymore, that withdrawal feeling from an opiate can make you do some stupid things to get more. Even after the opiate high isn't as good anymore, you have to take some form of it just to not be sick. I understand pharmaceutical opiates are basically drugstore heroin so I can see why your friend may have turned to heroin.

I have personally never gone that far, but I have done some really stupid shit to get script opiates. I've been through detox and rehab so many times I lost count. The methadone clinic saved me for a while but it still isn't the answer but it helps a lot of people.

I smoked pot for 8 years when I was younger, did coke and crank recreationally as well. None of that stuff ever grabbed me and "addicted" me. I never liked it enough to do it a whole lot. I never liked to especially drink much either. When I was ready to quit any of that stuff I did and it was no big deal.

Just know that your friend is having a battle like no other, and although she/he will do what they want and it is ultimately their choice when they want to get off of it. Any person who succeeds in rehab usually has a good support system.

 

[JoshuaV]

Lotta good opinions in this thread.

Ultimately what it all boils down to is being able to enjoy your life however you see fit as long as it doesn't interfere with others being able to enjoy their lives. I don't think it's right to look down on someone for their behaviors if their behaviors aren't harming anyone (other than maybe themselves).

 

[laetoile]

i have no reason to look down on anyone for using a particular drug. however, when it comes to those who are close to me, i have definitely frowned upon their actions. for example, my friend, who already signed over custody of her daughter once, decided to sign custody back over to her aunt and uncle because she and her husband couldn't afford to put her in daycare while they were at work... yet, my friend blew over $1000 on pills and bullshit shortly after signing custody back over, and they buy pain pills on a weekly basis, sometimes several times a week.

 

[Coolio]

hey there, i personally love smoking weed casually taking ecstacy, and like my prescriptions.
Now, due to some personal issues i cant stand people (i know) using drugs like heroin, meth or crack
am i being a hypocrite in this situation?? btw if you use the above drugs i have no problem talking to you on BL this is just something that effects me IRL

Of course it's hypocritical. Methamphetamine and MDMA do somewhat the same thing in the human brain, one is just more addictive and the other more intense. I don't know what your prescriptions are, but chances are they're worse for you or more dangerous than heroin. The problem with heroin users are that their habits are usually unaffordable, so they must resort to crime. This is only because heroin is illegal; back when it was legal, junkies had no problem affording heroin with meager funds.

Likewise, if cocaine was legal and you could import coca paste (freebase cocaine dirty with coca leaf plant material) from Bolivia for $5/gram with free shipping... crack wouldn't be a problem anymore.

 

[Coolio]

Yes it's hypocritical but I also have many opinions that may be, yet you are entitled to have them.

That's fucking absurd. If you have hypocritical opinions and can realize it, why wouldn't you work on resolving that conflict and evolving your opinion into something more enlightened?

 

[weekend addiction]

Its hypocritical to look down on anybody. We have all done wrong and we all make mistakes. No one person is better than the other.

 

[JoshuaV]

That's fucking absurd. If you have hypocritical opinions and can realize it, why wouldn't you work on resolving that conflict and evolving your opinion into something more enlightened?

Agreed - I think we should all work towards eliminating any hypocritical beliefs or thoughts. It's ridiculous to just say "hey I'm being hypocritical. Oh well".

People should be constantly trying to improve themselves. It's one of the best things about being human - the ability to realize your faults and fix them.

 

[Psychedelic Jay]

Word. Try to read your own fallacies.

 

[Levvytation]

It bemuses (& pisses me off) when friends who'll do more lines than a fucking hoover, take every stim going. even dangerously unresesarched RC's like mephedrone (I sometimes do a few of the above myself btw). then look down on me because I like to take a weekend or two off now & again and get completely shitfaced on pods & benzo's. I don't do it all the time, and when I do it I make sure I have the house to myself & no responsibilities.

I'm probably having a safer night than the guy on mephedrone is anyway...

 

[John_Burrows]

I think this is more about class than anything else; like an upper middle class average white man who goes home after work and might have some fun with opiates looking down on junkies wandering the streets looking for a score.

Maybe it comes down to having a prejudice against people who can't handle their high or their habit. Maybe those of us who still have a job and a house look down on sidewalk-sleeping junkies because we see our future and it scares the hell out of us

 

[monstanoodle]

hey there, i personally love smoking weed casually taking ecstacy, and like my prescriptions.
Now, due to some personal issues i cant stand people (i know) using drugs like heroin, meth or crack
am i being a hypocrite in this situation?? btw if you use the above drugs i have no problem talking to you on BL this is just something that effects me IRL

Well, I guess this a difficult and ultimately subjective, personal question.
If you've had family or friends that have ended up suffering from their use of Heroin, Meth and / or Crack, then I guess you're going to have a natural "hatred" (for want of a better word) for those who do use these drugs.

To be honest though, I knew someone who used to smoke weed and take E's like there was no tomorrow. He ended up developing a Psychotic illness and died due to Hypothermia. He was found in an abandoned warehouse by some kids.
So people can ruin their lives by using any drug.

Personally, I cannot look down at anyone who uses any drug. They're all chemical substances that effect brain chemistry and all have the power to mess people up and ruin their lives.

 

[JoshuaV]

Yeah see, to me, we're all in this together. I don't care what your substance of choice is, if you're into exploring altered states of consciousness, I can respect that - it's something we have in common.

The people who rob others to get money to feed their addiction... Their substance of choice has very little to do with it. While on the one hand I understand how drugs can overtake someone's life, I don't think it's right to rob someone and then say "It's not my fault, it's the heroin".

I dislike people who infringe on the rights of others, and plenty of people do that. Whether they're addicted to heroin is irrelevant.

 

[monstanoodle]

Sometimes, yes, it is just the person acting alone when they steal for their habit, though sometimes addiction can change you so, so much that before this happened you wouldn't think about stealing at all but now you're in the pit of despair that your addiction creates that it can be put down to your addiction.
Addiction to a substance really changes a person, no matter how strong their character