the great debate: Is responsible, controlled, "successful" opiate use EVER possible?

[zurichsb]

Responsible use is just having an addiction that doesn't affect your life in a negative manner. Addiction comes in two forms mental and physical. Usually with mental addiction building long before the physical. For the first year or year and a half I never had any physical symptoms and I thought I was being responsible. Now that I look back I did things that were blatant signs of addiction but my addiction was always able to justify it. Once you've been physically addicted I don't see a way too go back to "responsible" use. Addiction causes you to justify things in all different types of ways. What may seem completely normal to you would be nothing to a heavy addict and seem crazy to someone who has never used drugs. I guess its possible to use opiates for a long time without it affecting your life too much. But If you already have the mindset you can only use once a week or every other friday your addiction is already there. You just dont see it. Its a fine line too walk. Maybe some people balance it for years and years and are okay. But honestly dont read their posts and think you can do it too. They are the lucky ones, and a very small percentage of people. Maybe 5% percent or less.

 

[JimLovesOxies]

lol, just wait til you start shooting oxy or heroin, good luck not becoming addicted to that shit. I didnt have a needle fixation either, it was just because the rush is so fucking good. Addiction has alot to do with genes. Many of those in my family posess addictive genes, only they chose alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, easily obtainable fixes. I on the other hand enjoy dope very much :D

Avoid that shit like the plague mate, seriously. You'll thank yourself. Trust me.

 

[Khadijah]

If you got a hole in your soul, dont expect to use responsibly for too long.

 

[woodspiece]

If you got a hole in your soul, dont expect to use responsibly for too long.

One of my pet peeves is white ppl try to sound black via Ebonics. But in this case-this post above is very true. let me try and de-code it from the "Amy Weinhouse" set of critical tools:

Co-morbid condidtion.

What this mean is a number of heath factors that come together to create one larger problem; sometimes named or otherwise. You can read a bit of the DSM V (is it out yet!!) to get a handle on co-morbidity.

Lets say you have a festering depression problem---so you drink a lot to make it feel better. The drinking may help in the very short term but is the long term you have created a co-morbid situation: alcholism and depression.

Now is narco land--and as many of you know-opiates were used until 1951 for depression until it was "dioscovered" that narcs are addictive (give me a break-that info was known since the 19th cent. but the reral truth was to get congress to ban narcoticts for depression as the drug compasnies were just beginning to get a handle on psychotropic meds and getting something dropped and then added for research purps. via the DEA/and other govening regualtory bodies takes forever.)

Now lets go back to Ms. Lacey K's ex. The overwelming number of narcotics addicts have a comorbid condidtion--the depression (or ant combinations of psycho/social DXs) and thge attempt to fix the problem via narcotics which creates a normative condidtion of its own: addiction.

UNfortunately--m,any narcotics addicts have tried the "legit" route first i.e SSRI and other rspective meds for respective DXs. And for a lot of reasons, the respective meds don't work, or worse-stop working.

And further--have you ever tried to w/d off an SSRI after continuous use for over 7 year? Talk about a monkey.

The great inovative jazz musician Charlie Prker used to have a saying, "I see my heart doctor and he gives me pills and they do nothing; I see my liver doctor amd he gives me pills and thewy do nothing; then I see this cat down an ally and he sells me some white powder and all my problems are gone." [sic.]

Yup, Miss Lacy--a "hole in your soul"...it usually comes down to that.

Me? i got a so many holes in my soul; and in less ephemeral parts in my body and co-morbid is entry level when describing me--yeah, a chipper? I tried that--worked for a while-some years actually--but eventially, I needed a needle and thread to start patching up my soul and other parts of me.)

SO I'd have to go with Miss Lacy's complex conceit regarding opiates--and especially heroin.

 

[deaf eye]

One of my pet peeves is white ppl try to sound black via Ebonics.

i never understood this, how does one try to sound black or try to dress black? i always thought if you're from the city, thats the way most people talk and dress, so its like you talk like your from the city, or dress like your from the city
~ its the culture, so if you grow up in the hood, and all your friends are from the hood of coarse your going to speak and dress like them ~ no matter what color you are ~
i just see it as you're from the city
sure you got a lot of people fronting, but you have that with everything surfing, skating, writers, b~boys, wherever you look theres fuckers who try to hard to be something they are not

so is ebonics just saying yo nigga wassup ,
or
if you talk like morgan freemon in driving miss daisy

 

[MistaJeff]

I took hydrocodone for the first time when I was 17. I'm 20 now, I've done codeine, opium, poppy pod tea, tramadol, oxycodone, and dextropropoxyphene since then. Opiates are ok but I don't like them all that much. If I'm offered opiates I might get them but its never really been something I seek out. The most opiates I've done at a time is 200mgs of hydrocodone over a few days when I was 17. Since then they've been less and less attractive to me. For the most part opiates just make me too tired and lazy and I hate that. I doubt it's something I could get addicted to because I wouldn't be able to stand taking it daily.

 

[ados]

Honestly, I haven't met someone yet that has had constant access to opiates and successfully chipped. They all get strung out eventually if they have the money and a consistent supply. However, I have known responsible opiate addicts; people that were able to hold down a decent job while being physically dependent.

Addiction really sucks...and I am not encouraging anyone to be an addict, but if you are going to be a regular opiate user, you should at least expect to eventually become addicted so that you can be prepared for it. If you don't ever want to live that addict lifestyle, you should really consider not using opiates anymore.

 

[unsettled]

I think the answer to the question is simple. Yes. Responsible Opiate Users Exist. I know a handful of functional responsible opiate addicts, they usually end up on suboxone or methadone when their addiction gets out of hand. There's also a large number of people prescribed opiates daily for pain conditions who are dependent and use them responsibly. I think things go down hill when opiates are the only thing you have in your life that bring you happiness. I don't think opiate addiction would be such a huge problem if people were able to get them easily without spending a fortune and risking their lives. People on methadone and suboxone are still on opiates or partial opiates and can live responsible healthy happy lives if they choose to do so mainly because it's easy to get and it's affordable and safe if you take it in the prescribed doses.

 

[evilthree]

After usin dope on and off for a year, by far most of the trouble I've had has been a result of the legal system and black market. I'm not sure if I was responsible, but I sure as hell was functional. Never fell out, never nodded out during something I needed to do. Even when I had been using for a steady period, I would only shoot a bag or less at a time. Have tapered off before, and quit for periods when I either ran out of money or didn't have transportation to go pick up. I'm a pretty half assed user. Also, besides ripoffs I never paid more than street price($10 a bag) for dope, and even that is a ripoff when you think about how it travels down the chain from producer to user. My problems only seemed to increase dramatically after my first arrest, most people didn't even know I used up until that point

 

[Oppyandme]

"Responsible Opiate Users - Do they Exist?"

No

Seriously though, it depends what you mean by "responsible". Can one use responsibly without being overcome by addiction, well yes, but it is not easy or the norm.

Inevitability is a bitch...

 

[JahRed24x]

Buprenorphine is fairly easy to use responsibly.

This is more of a drug culture thread. -> DC

lol yeah Buprenorphine is easy to use responsibly because it provides no euphoria or high really to the person that is most likely to use it. It also has a super long half-life so you don't have to dose as often or 'feel the need' to dose as often and therefore making you think your using it responsibly.

 

[Unbreakable]

I know a decent number of people who hate to drink.... and use dope as the drug of choice when they go to the bar/lounge....Helps them loosen up... just like booze....

Some people need liquid courage
others need powder courage...

but the key is not to get dependent on that "courage"

 

[mgrey707]

At this point in time, I think I'm a responsible user. I've been insulfating various prescription opiods for about a year now and my trick is mixing it up. I can rarely get perscriptions for things, so it's just a matter of what I can get around town. I can make 1 percocet 10 last a whole day just by chopping and snorting lines every few hours or so. Some days I don't snort at all, but I usually end up putting at least 5mg of something up my nose every day. If I can get several different pills, I make "sunshine blends." One of my fav mixes is percocet, morphine, and adderol- very nice and gets me through the work day!!!! I crush all 3, put into a vial and I can make that last me 2 or more days.

Still get high every day, never really built a tolerance. I've also never gotten high just from swallowing pills. It would probably take 20x what I snort to get high from injesting orally. If I had a script or a bunch of scripts, I think it could get out of control. Even when I've had lots of pills around (50 or more) I never did more than 2 a day and I made them last me months.

I am worried about getting "dependent on that courage" though.:/

 

[weekend addiction]

I don't think opiate addiction would be such a huge problem if people were able to get them easily without spending a fortune and risking their lives. People on methadone and suboxone are still on opiates or partial opiates and can live responsible healthy happy lives if they choose to do so mainly because it's easy to get and it's affordable and safe if you take it in the prescribed doses.

For real. I think that's the a big reason pot heads don't really have too many problems. Even a poor high school kid could afford a couple hits everyday (with cheap weed this can be 1 dollar).

 

[SpecialK_]

I used opiates for a year and managed to not get addicted, however I had a constant supply and tapered off without realizing it.

 

[WhoKahSmknKatapila]

"on a long enough timeline everyones survival rate drops to zero" thats from fight club but fits here.

so yeah not in my opinion. all will eventually succumb

 

[Lady Codone]

I consider myself a responsible opiate user. Physically dependent? Yes. Addicted. Hardly.

I have used semi-daily for 2 years now without increasing the dose whatsoever. I might use once in the evenings or every 2 or 3 days as a way to unwind, but do not fixate on opiates or look forward to my next "high". I maintain a full-time job, pay rent on time, have an active social life and use opiates as a way to help overcome social anxiety and depression, which no other substance--prescription or otherwise--has been able to do.

I would never go out and try to score H because I ran out of poppy tea. I haven't spent much time or money on my habit and no one around me has voiced concern about any negative changes in my mood/behavior since starting opiates. I don't go out and get beligerant like so many of the "social drinkers" I know, nor do I engage in high-risk activities like unprotected sex or driving under the influence. As strange as it sounds, I often wonder what my life would've been like had I discovered opiates sooner, as they've given me nothing but positive effects.

I also understand that stories like mine are the exception, not the rule. I feel that different opiates and methods of administration carry different risks and would discourage anyone from thinking they could maintain a habit responsibly. Opiates are a powerful drug that demand the utmost respect and caution from users. Anyone who can't handle moderation should stay far, far away from them...unfortunately, those are usually the people opiates attract.

 

[JahRed24x]

I know a decent number of people who hate to drink.... and use dope as the drug of choice when they go to the bar/lounge....Helps them loosen up... just like booze....

Some people need liquid courage
others need powder courage...

but the key is not to get dependent on that "courage"

what I don't know many people that like to do heroin then go out to a bar. You'd think you would most likely just stay at your house or buddies place or wherever you do the dose at and proceed to drift into the land of nod. lol

 

[Tommyboy]

^^^^ I do heroin and go out to the bar. I wish it was still legal to smoke in bars, because I smoke a lot of cigarettes so have to go outside to do so.

It depends on what my friends are doing though. I'm never at home thinkin "man let me get some H then go out to the bar". But when my friends call me to go out to the bar, Lady H will surely be accompanying me. I like it because I drink a lot less, so I don't black out and make a dick out of myself.

 

[-Guido-]

They do indeed exist. The length of responsible use varies. Might be weeks, might be months, might be years, might be decades, but eventually the responsibility goes out the window. I was a functioning addict for years. I had it all. Money. Entourage of girls. Shredded body. Nice car. I was living the life. But then I lost all my money and people I thought were friend vanished, that was the one little spark I needed to ignite the flames of reckless behavior i began to descend into a madness. Seven years later and I am finally clean but it feel like those seven years never happened, like it was a fucking nod I just finally snapped out of it. Responsible users and functioning addicts exist, but sooner or later something happens or something comes along that pushes them out the golden fields of Elysium that is a opiated bliss of a life into an opiated fucking hell.