Has bluelight desensitized you to drug use

[psyly]

Do not get me wrong, I love this site.
...but think about it for a bit.
is it really "harm reduction" all of the time?

I think an aspect of harm reduction here that is important and not easily found elsewhere, is the acceptance that people are going to make their own choices. If BL were to be to moralistic or propagandistic about things, no one would be here to get the information or sample the philosophy of harm reduction. Of coarse then BL would probably have grants galore.

 

[nukka]

nah. drug use desensitized me to drug use.

Its this. Nothing like trying a drug first hand to instantly dispel all the myths, rumors, stigmas and propaganda once and for all.

 

[mushi mushi 88]

This site has increased my safety use with drugs like what you can put your body through and what not to mix together... I find it has offered great advise it has taught me about a lot of other drugs as well which I had never heard of.

Also what plants certain drugs come from which have been great to grow hehehe

 

[tambourine-man]

Bluelight is like any educational resource. In educating a person on one form of harm reduction, you are likely to open up other avenues of knowledge that would have otherwise remained hidden.

The hope is that lessons learned from one substance will be transferable to another - certainly not in detail, but perhaps in spirit. The greater hope (for me) is that the social aspect of the site keeps people within arms-reach of the information they need to reduce risk in any diversification of drug using repertoire.

 

[EarlGrayUK]

Bluelight and other forums haven't desensitized me, they have informed me and given me knowledge about potentially dangerous substances. The choice to try them was made long before I came to Bluelight, so actually the information here has made me more aware of a lot of risks. Being uninformed is the biggest danger related to drugs. If you are informed and still do stupid things, then... your fault, not the fault of any website or board.

 

[Mariposa]

I will also comment from my own experience, that were it not for this site, I would not have tried several things in my past (some I continued to use, some I said once was more than enough). I actually relish the fact that this site DOES expose me (and others) to things we might not otherwise know of, whether that's drugs or simply other people with varying backgrounds and experiences. Were it not for those 'friends' I wouldn't have been given a chance to make my own decisions and shape who I wish to be. I would have been who my parents told me to be, who the gov't regulated me to be, and who I naively remained. Now, I'm much more comfortable in who I am, who I have been, and who I can be - not just with drugs but in a lot of things where you have to choose for yourself, and have self-control or discipline. I wouldn't have tried some of the things I've tried, but I'd be much less of the person I am if I hadn't explored myself in those ways (for me, it wasn't about exploring the drugs so much as learning about myself).

I could not have said it better (or more succinctly ).

I don't consider myself a "druggie" or "drug user" as all of my current use of substances is legal for me, and I set limits very early on in the exploration of my mind through substances. As one example, I will not IV a drug, ever.

I've grown a lot through the people I have met from Bluelight and am lucky to consider many of you friends. I think it was Psychokitten that said "I came for the drugs and stayed for the people" -- I found Bluelight through Erowid when I was curious about Ecstasy several years ago and I didn't join the board as soon as I found it; I did utilize the information about staying hydrated and not overdoing it to my benefit and that of those who shared experiences with me. I am glad that I found Bluelight when I did. I'm not someone who would have ended up dead in a gutter if I hadn't, but certainly I am healthier, happier, and have found many true friends through this board, including my own partner... stop in the Lounge to wish him a happy birthday. I found a few assholes along the way, but, well, that's life. Bluelight enabled me to find who I am as a leader, a friend, and confidante. I am lucky to have found Bluelight and glad that I have the opportunity to help and be helped.

 

[fastandbulbous]

If BL is desensitising people to hard drugs, that isn't the fault of the site. I think people should be encouraged to talk about the negative aspects as well as the positive of drug use. If we're failing in regards to highlighting the dangers, then perhaps certain sections of the site need to be reminded to present a more balanced perspective.

The choice to try them was made long before I came to Bluelight, so actually the information here has made me more aware of a lot of risks. Being uninformed is the biggest danger related to drugs. If you are informed and still do stupid things, then... your fault, not the fault of any website or board.

People look for something that in their mind justifies/allows them to try what they wanted to try in the first place. If information is seen as facilitating dangerous behaviour then by that reasoning,'ignorance is bliss' - who thinks that would be an improvement...

 

[Naptown Wicked]

I can honestly say my interest in trying heroin has definitely increased greatly since I joined (although just smoking).

But it's easy to come on here and see all these people talking about hard drugs so casually like it's nothing. A part of everyday life for more or less everyone on here. And being a website, we don't see how anyone here actually lives and how these drugs have effected their lives.

The drugs, in a totally unintentional way, become somewhat glamorized.

 

[Al_S_Dee]

Knowledge is power. Bluelight provides the knowledge. What one does with the power of this knowledge is up to the individual.

 

[double ewe]

But it's easy to come on here and see all these people talking about hard drugs so casually like it's nothing. A part of everyday life for more or less everyone on here. And being a website, we don't see how anyone here actually lives and how these drugs have effected their lives.

I feel the same way. It may or may not reflect reality, but an opiate addiction/meth habit certainly seems a lot more normal to me since I started talking to people for whom they are normal. Of course, the same thing happened with me and cocaine without the internet (college normalized that one for me), so it's not like it's unique to bluelight.

And I also spend time at The Dark Side, so it's provided a really good balance to any interest the other boards may have sparked.