Drugs: Good or Bad??

R

RaveL

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 26, 1999
Messages
54
Location
Tampa Bay Area, FL
I've been giving this topic a lot of thought lately. I've recently had run-ins with people who are under the mindset that just because someone does drugs it makes them a bad person. I took much offense to that, but, it got me thinking. I used to be in that same mindset! This was excluding weed, of course, because it "isn't a drug". I've also recently come to the realization that marijuana is actually a gateway drug. I mean, I don't think I ever would've tried x, cid, k, or anything else I've experimented with if I hadn't smoked weed. On this note, I would like to say that I don't think drugs make people bad. To be totally honest, I think some of the coolest and most genuine people I've ever met are users of drugs. There is one thing about the drug scene that gets to me a little (just a teency weency bit
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). That is the fact (it is a fact) that most of the time (80+%) the topic of conversation is or has to do with drugs. "Whoa, I was at this party this one time...." You know how it goes
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Don't get me wrong, it's great to reminisce on times of discombobulation in the past, and quite frankly, very entertaining. But that seems to be all anyone talks about. Hmm. Just food for thought. On the flip side of the coin, I feel like I have a richer and fuller life due to drug use, both by the drugs and the people who have been integrated into my universe, if you will. Especially those of you bluelighters that I have met. God you all rock!!! Never did I think that I would find a group of people with whom I would be such at ease.
Back to the topic at hand. Does drug use make you a bad person? No. The way the media and govt. distorts the facts on drugs and the like is what causes people to be in the mindset of "drugs are the debil!!!" (ever seen waterboy? hehe). The one thing that I hope for though, is that I can have meaningful friendships/relationships with the people I have met through drug use on a non-drug basis. So far it is looking good
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Please feel free (and I encourage you to do so) to reply with comments, thoughts, etc..
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"To err is human...to really f*ck thing up requires a computer" :)
PLUR and HUGz all!! :)
 
well drugs are drugs, and alcohol is a drug, caffeine is a drug, nicotine is a drug, even nasal spray is a drug the only problem with those is that more people are addicted to it than know it, also once people get addicted to these things they seldom care
also one of the main reasons of marijuana's gateway drug stature (even the former head of the DEA said this) is because its illegal, gets you into the whole illegal drug scene and into the mindset that just because somethign is illegal doesnt make it bad
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AleX
"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense"
- Buddha -
 
just a question- do you think there are other gateways? i skipped right over the weed but have ofen wondered what got me started at 14 (on acid of all things) i then cleaned up at 16 and didnt touch anything until i was 23...hell im even minoring in substance abuse (great way to learn how to do things most effectivly..lol).wanted others opinions from the bluelight because everyone else i know is on one side or the other none in the middle
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~special k~
"you will remain the same till the pain of staying that way is greater then the pain of change"
 
great topic RaveL
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Well my take on this is somewhat along the lines of what special k said. I think weed is NOT a gateway drug it just happens to be the first drug people try. I mean if I started taking xtc at age 15 I would have gatewayed into pot maybe the next year. marijuana just gives you a taste of the drug world.....I don't know maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better
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PLUR
 
RaveL, I have had almost the exact same train of thought as you've had. Actually you sound a lot like me, its a bit eerie. Anyway, here are some more thoughts on the subject.
I think pot is the gateway drug because it gets you over the psychological hump that doing drugs is bad. Once you've done one drug, that barrier in your mind is gone and it's so much easier to try anything else. This is kind of ironic though, because in reality pot should not be in the same category as schrooms or acid or e etc. I think everyone who's done both realizes this (that's why we say that pot's not a drug) but I know I didn't understand how much different other drugs were before I did them myself. For example, before doing schrooms, I think I thought it was like pot with hallucinations. I was totally unprepared for the kinds of things it did to my thought patterns.
E, shrooms, acid etc. were all so much more than I had expected. I didn't think that they would change the way I saw the world. I didn't expect that they would actually produce thoughts that I'd never had before and open doors in my mind that had been closed.
As far as drugs being good or bad I think they're both. There's a trade off with everything. Drugs have opened doors in my mind that would have otherwise remained closed. They've completely changed the way I see the world and look at things. E particularly has improved many of my relationships and made me really look at myself. I think it has made me a more understanding and accepting person. But on the other hand, I don't think I'm as mentally stable as I used to be and that's definetly party because of the drugs. The shit that goes on in my head is absolutely crazy. I never used to think like this. Lately I've begun to think that I am only the sum of the chemical reactions in my brain, which is a very sad way to look at things. I also think I'm pretty psychologically adicted to e, which kinda sucks. Sometimes I get sick of thinking and talking about it all the time. I have to consciously make an effort to not talk about drugs. I have a tendancy to forget that not everyone thinks drug use is as great a hobby as I think it is. It's funny cuz I always thought I'd notice and stop before things got like this. But I don't remember how I got in so deep and I also have no intention of getting out anytime soon. It's still much too interesting.
Anyway, I don't know if anyone else feels quite like this. I think I sound a bit neurotic or something. I was spewing about this once at a rave and some girl told me that maybe I shouldn't do drugs. I guess she thought I didn't handle them very well cuz I was experiencing an emotion other than happiness. But I'm okay with not being happy all the time, to me it's just part of the experience. I take something away from every trip with me, good or bad. Ok, I'm starting to ramble now, so I'll end here since I could go on about this forever....
 
Butterfly (and everyone else) thank you for your reply(s).
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I totally know what you mean about preconceptions going into cid/shrooms and the like. When I finally tripped, it was like a whole other universe was laid before me, alluring me into it's grasp with the lavish nature the trip took on. As for e, heh, nothing in the world can compare
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I truly feel that I have seen the world in a way that someone who doesn't use drugs has never and probably never will see it. Yay for drugs [insert giggle here]
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I just wish that society wouldn't fit into that "We the sheeple..." mindset.
Oh well. One mans dream, is anothers sorrow.
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"To err is human...to really f*ck thing up requires a computer" :)
PLUR and HUGz all!! :)
 
on the subject of gateway drugs...
Prepare to be amazed... I, psychonaut, have never been drunk, and have never smoken marijuana. This friday I will be taking mdma for the third time.
I think that E is a definite gateway drug. If a person takes the time to learn about it, it seems like the perfect starter kit. Before ecstasy, I was very uptight and would never even consider using drugs. The inhibition factor of ecstasy is what makes it a gateway drug. By using a drug you realize that it is not as bad as you previously concieved. Therefore, it is easier to believe that other chemicals may fall under similar circumstances. My US$0.02.
[email protected]
 
I remember when I only smoked a bit of pot and had done acid once, me and some freinds were sitting around talking about doing X, the person who had done it was saying how great it was etc etc, and I remember myself saying "Ecstacy is one drug I will NEVER do, its far to dangerous and easy to OD on, you can die even if you drink water!"
I always laugh when I think of that night because its how the rest of the anti-drug general public think .IE. DRUGS KILL!
If only they knew what they were talking about.
PLUR
Chalk
 
I think alcohol is a gateway drug also.. We used to go clubbing, a lot like we do now. (me and my friends.) When we went, we'd get sloshed, blah blah blah.
I'm not much of a drinker, I can't stand the taste of alcohol. In fact, even the thought of the taste makes me shudder.
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So looking for an alternative we stumbled upon E. Then it was GHB, Acid, then shrooms(I'm sure there were a few in between there, I just can't think of 'em).
I had always sworn to myself that I'd never use acid, but, after trying it... Numerous times. I found out that acid kicks A LOT of ASS!
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I think we would have done shrooms long before acid, but they're so damn hard to get a hold of here. We have to grow our own for hell sakes.
Now I'm very open to the drug scene, its kinda like anything goes.. Well, not anything. But, I'm always looking for that new and improved ways to see life at a different angle. Any ideas?
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Hope that made sense.. I just got done testing out a new batch of GHB. but thats irrelevent(sp).
-DR-
 
Drugs are neither good or bad, because nothing is inherently good or bad. However, as most of us here know, certain drugs can affect some people in ways which tend to enable them to behave regrettably, and do things they would perhaps not do *normally*. It's not the substance or the person that's bad, but the combination of certain substances with certain people that can lead to unfortunate behaviours and consequences - and that's about as far as you can go with it.
But what about something that's not a drug but certainly leads many people into behaving monstrously? - MONEY. It's a pretty similar argument: most people wouldn't consider money as bad, and it doesn't lead everybody to commit major theft, fraud, embezzlement and even murder, but most of us can probably think of somnething we've done because of money (or the lack of it!) that we probably wish we hadn't, and most crimes are committed for financial gain in one way or another. That doesn't make you or me bad, and it doesn’t mean that money is bad in itself - but for certain people, then yes, money can be a very bad thing.
The whole morality thing surrounding drugs is ridiculous and often sickening. The media portrayal of drugs and drugs users as bad or *evil* gives those who choose not to use them a facile off-the-shelf means of seeing themselves as somehow morally superior - when really all it is is a different lifestyle choice.
(And by the way, my name here at the board was chosen partially as a comment on this.)
 
Well, I definitely have an opinion on this one, considering I've been on both sides of the argument. I used to be a poster child for government brainwashing.
I think that the main reason why the government and the media have such a problem with us is because we're just so much happier and well off than they are. They resent us for having the intestinal fortitude to take the step and take a pill. Also, I think it'ss human nature to fear and ridicule that which you have no knowledge and understanding of. I think people have such a hard time realizing there's a whole new world and it's in our minds and hearts, they just can't believe it.
But now, I regret the time I missed to rollign and tripping. But all I can do is make up for lost time. The joy I feel, the journey's I've taken, shew!
I think because we're in the minority, we're hated and feared for that reason. Human nature comign into play again! But people see so many drug user's lives fall apart due to drugs, and generalize the same things happening with everybody. Using drugs, now, I believe is a good thing, but drugs emphasize what ever is already in a person. Good or bad. So if you've got some problems, and you go too far with them, then you become a cracked out junkie. not a good thing.
As far as pot being a gateway drug, it is partially. The original one is alcohol. though there are certainly exceptions, the natural order is alcohol-> pot -> acid ->e/speed/crystal, etc -> crack, heroin, etc (I pray that you all neevr reach this stage, I think that's just a sign you have no control).
I didn't have my first drink til lgraduation. Then I had e, then acid, ruphies, then g, n20, and k. I've smoked up once, and have no desire to do ti again.
Booze and pot are gateway drugs, because they present a low starting palteua to the world of drugs. They are "bad" (According to the govt), but aren't as severe as other drugs. They have less risks.
Bravo, Ravel, nice topic. Really gets you thinking!
 
I've got friends who've only done e too, so I obviously pot's not the gateway drug for everyone. My friends who only do e though seem to me to be more likely to stick to only e. I think we fit a different profile of drug user. I know I got into the rave scene because of the drugs, whereas my friends who only do e, did e because of the rave scene. (I do now however appreciate the rave scene beyond drugs, but the idea of dancing all night was not immediatly appealing to me and I didn't understand the music at first without the benefits of e). My only e doing friends seem to still have those lines in place in their minds that they won't cross.Me, on the other hand, I know I am capable of anything given the circumstances. Maybe we're all like that though, only I'm just more aware of it because of all the things I've done that I said I wouldn't. Anyway, everything's reletive...
 
I must say I'm very much enjoying following this thread...
butterfly, I actually share a lot of ideas that you brought up... I think sometimes it's the people who *just* party and only want to feel good and happy that shouldn't be rolling because it seems to me they are missing a big part of what E is all about. I definitely have noticed a big change in myself and my way of looking at the world since doing E.
yes, it's a fabulously good time, but it's also been a serious trip for me to discover things about myself that I didn't even know were there (or that were just so deeply buried that I didn't want to think about them, but now have been able to deal w/ in an emotionally safe way).
I was having a very interesting discussion about drugs w/ my mother a few weeks ago. I mentioned how scary it is to not know what you're actually getting when you buy drugs, and how things like GHB used to be safe and legal. now that GHB is illegal, the stuff that people are making in chemistry class kitchens to sell is unpredictable and can end up hurting people all because the lack of standardization has created chaos in the chemical balance that once was protected when GHB was legal.
same goes for ecstasy - when it was used for psychotherapy and dispensed in standardized dosages, it was safe, great for making enormous breakthroughs in their therapy, and was not viewed as evil. now, we all know the game of russian roulette we play when we drop that pill...
in one of our "conspiracy theory" moments, my mother and I talked about how it seems that "the forces that be" in fact honestly don't *ever* want to legalize certain drugs because the polluted forms of what was once standardized are doing some of the dirty work for the "moral majority" - that is, the tainted drugs are helping to rid the earth of "bad" people who do drugs that the "normals" find dangerous and threatening to their fragile, closed minds.
in American society, anything that challenges the status quo is dangerous. free thought and free speech are dangerous. anything that takes you outside the "normal" realm of consciousness is dangerous. things that make you question authority or the need for policing are dangerous. so much for being the "land of the free." it's a complete fallacy. yes, we as american citizens are free, but only as long as we adhere very closely to what our laws say we can do. rats in a cage. the worst part of it is that "we the people (sheeple)" have MADE these laws in the first place. yes, that's right, let's just have all these restrictions in place because we can't possibly be trusted to use good judgment in what we do w/ our own bodies and minds...
I do believe that some laws are necessary, but more often I find "law and order" a farce. someone can go to jail for years for having a bag of marijuana or a few pills of E on them, while the rapist/murderer down the block skips jail time or at least gets a very reduced sentence because he's got a good lawyer. I became very disillusioned w/ all of it when I realized that corruption and greed rule, not justice.
so, as an intelligent, highly-functioning member of society who pays taxes and contributes to charitable causes, who is also a free-thinking, liberal, kind, considerate, all-around decent human being who would go out of her way to help someone if they needed it, all it really comes down to is that I am a threat to society and should be thrown behind bars because I do drugs. because after all, you see, doing drugs makes me a *bad* person...
PLUR
vertigo
 
I just wanted to say talking about gateway drugs and all. The first drug, excluding alcohol that is, I ever did was acid. I'm probably an exception though
 
I do feel that Marijuana is currently a gateway drug. But would it still be a gateway drug if it where legal?
The whole argument for Marijuana being illegal is that 1. its illegal (er?) & 2. its a gateway drug... It all sounds like the only reason its illegal is its illegal..
Very odd.
Jason.
 
i think i've changed my mind on the subject of gateway drugs. i used to think that weed wasn't a gateway drug, and that people who started out with weed and moved on to other things would have done other drugs regardless, but weed was more readily available. plus i knew tons of people who only smoked weed, nothing else....but lately, looking at the progression of my own drug use, i may have been wrong. there are many drugs that i do happily (and frequently) that i used to think were "evil." with every new drug i try, there is another drug that i haven't tried that suddenly doesn't sound so hardcore or unappealing. but i don't think it's a gate, more of a domino effect. at least in my case, that is.
 
The first time I did e I was really happy one minute and then profoundly sad the next. My thoughts were just crazy, kinda like on acid or schrooms. This was a pleasant surprise for me, it made e so much better than I expected. I thought e was just supposed to make you happy and dancy, I didn't anticipate schroom-like thoughts at all. Now sometimes I have rolls that are pure euphoria and all I want to do is dance. But most of the time my roll is like the first one happy and sad at the same time. I think about things a lot, but it's also a lot of fun, a pretty good combination. I don't think I would like e nearly as much if it was just brain dead euphoria all the time. I'd probably get bored with it.
On the subject of pot as the gateway drug, I don't think it would be if it were legal. I don't want to repeat what I said in my earlier post completely, so I'll just say that if pot were legal people would think of it in much the same way they would think of alcohol. It's a matter of symbolic distinction people make in their minds. Pot is so much less intense than other drugs but people group it with them because it is labelled as a drug due to its illegality. Making it legal removes this distinction. Smoking up would then not be seen as doing drugs and hence the doing drugs line would not be crossed by pot users. As long as the line is still there, people will be less likely to progress from pot to drugs.
(hmm, don't know if I explained that very well, seems a bit abstract... )
 
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