long term recreational heroin users

[speedygonzales]

how addictive is heroin realy I use to be a recreational heroin user taking it about once, twice a month for a year for about a year. as heroin was the second drug I tryed after pot. I never got addicted but i never touched it again after I discovered meth, acid, pills, coke. anway are ther alot of people who have been using heroin for a long peopod of time but just recreationaly not an addiction

 

[ladymonster]

well...

of course, it's quite addictive when you have access to it. i've done a good job at keeping my use purely recreational, and have heavily used hints from the heroin bible itself, The Heroin Handbook. it's a wonderful book full of information, and it's a crucial read for all dope chippers.

here's how i do it, though:

...i never use more than two days in a row.
...i always wait double the time i was using to use again. if i used for 2 nights, i won't use for at least 4 days. the hours count, too. make it right.
...and that's only on occasions. i definitely don't use every week or anything. i won't do it more than twice a month, and hardly even that much these days now that i have another Big Girl Job.
...moving from the east coast to the west coast certainly curbed my use. black tar is nothing compared to china white and as much as i miss it, i know it's good for me right now to be away from it. i just like china white too damn much.

 

[fastandbulbous]

one slip

I used it recreationally for about 3 months (about 3-4 times a month, generally on a weekend), but it only took a 5 day period when my wife was away (to do with her work), for me to end up in the hell that is being a slave to the drug. I had a couple of months of dependant use before, quite frankly, I became disgusted with myself as I could see the quality of my life nosediving. I cut any connections with the sources of heroin that I knew of (I have friends that sell cannabis and occasionally hallucinogens, but heroin dealers were always "business acquaintences"), and one of my friends helped me out with dihydrocodeine tablets that he had an excess of (he gets a repeat prescription for an injured lower back).

I now know that I like heroin too much for my own good, and haven't gone near it since, but I did recognize that I was going down that route with ketamine, and did something about it before ketamine ended up on my "not to go near again" list

That was my first encounter with drugs that produce a physical addiction, and I know that if I really like a drug with that sort of potential, I have to be very careful in my dealings with it.

 

[rachamim18]

recreational russian roulette...

I used recreationally for the first few years but the term is misleading with a substance as seductive as heroin. The psychological component is too easily underestimated. Physically it varies from person to person but in my case all it takes is 3 days of moderate use and I have a "chippy."Most supposedly need a week of daily use before they become habituated. Just try to educate yourself as much as possible and whatever you do just respect the substance because it is very underhanded, it will creep up on you before you even realize you have the slightest problem.

 

[HellOnEarth]

ill fuck heroin up. jk, id imagine herion addiction would be pretty bad..ive heard of junkies shooting water just to have something to shoot up.
Probably has some good times in it but i doubt its worth the risk even snorting it..

 

[paradoxcycle]

Re: well...

i just like china white too damn much.

What do you mean by china white? Powder heroin? The term china white is a little misleading, some people use it to refer to fentanyl.

 

[davesoviet]

I used heavily for over two years. It pretty much led to my life falling apart. I quit for several months. Now I use maybe once a week and seem to be okay. Although, that could change any minute. So I'm very cautious about it.

I would still never recommend heroin to anyone if they have some sort of regular access to it. It really is playing with fire. Sure, it's easy to say 'yeah, I don't like it that much and I just won't use it regularly' for now, however, that attitude can easily change overnight. If you really enjoy it and stop caring for just a minute, you're likely to end up getting hooked.

 

[mrcontin]

you have an 8 hour window to use every 72 hours, that is the closest you can come and most likely get away without w/d's

 

[ItchySkratchy]

It seems that when I first started using, I could go constant for a solid week and get minimal withdrawals.....I was particularly suprised when this didn't change for like a year.......then, after I started getting more severe withdrawals and starting the whole cycle of kicking and using again, it seems that my immunity to ward off dopesickness had diminished.......
If I am totally opiate free (which, by some miracle has been the case lately) and do 1 quarter-gram blast, I will be sick as a dog for 2-3 days.....after one use.....this never used to happen....
it's almost like my body has built up permanent "memory" of what it's like to be dopesick, and therefore I get thrown into it quicker than I used to...

 

[Dependence03]

Speedy: "recreational users" with the drug of topic being heroin is almost a joke. Heroin use...or should we say addiction...is anything but recreational. I guess there are a few users such as yourself that RARELY use, and never binge or become dependent. Sadly enough, people like you are few and far between. How i wish I could use casually....many people would give their left arm to be able to use heroin without addiction. You are walking on a dangerous ledge, and once you fall into the lifestyle of opiod dependece...you will understand why heroin is not a "recreational drug". You might think you're in control right now, but obviously you enjoy the high of heroin. This is why you continue to use it a few times a month, every month for the past year. Be informed that many addicts start out the same way you are at right now. Control is easy at first, that is why opiates are so seducting. They will lure you in, VERY slowly. Some drugs will grab you right away, for example crack is known to grab people after their first hit. But heroin...oh no...its not that simple. It wont take you right away. Sometimes it might, but often it will slowly toy with you. You think about it a lot, but you're in contorl right? You dont have a problem. WRONG. If you're thinking to yourself that you're in control, you are probably on your way to addiction.

I'm sure there have been people that 'recreationally' use heroin, but its uncommon. I'm not saying that you should not use it, but I just want 'recreational users' to be constantly aware of the seducing nature of heroin. Respect the beautiful gift of a heroin high. Treat it with respect and it will show you heaven. Be foolish....and it will show you hell

 

[PapaverPrisoner]

I used heavily for over two years. It pretty much led to my life falling apart. I quit for several months. Now I use maybe once a week and seem to be okay...

And how long have you been doing this if one may ask? Because I have seen joypoppers who held out years before stopping or getting hooked, but i have never seen anyone physically hooked for years, going back to weekend use only and managing it. And soooooooo many have tried. They cannot do it because if you have been physically hooked for a long time you will be again whether you want it or not. You will be sick during the days you are NOT taking it. Or perhaps you are exaggerating the time you were hooked. Was it 2 years and you were physically hooked - no way you can joypop at weekends. Or perhaps you are different from all the many hundreds of addicts I have met - you may be a super human.

 

[adradmin]

or maybe you just might be jealous that he has some self control and focuses his positive energy on other things during the week. it can and does happen contrary to popular belief.

 

[PapaverPrisoner]

or maybe you just might be jealous that he has some self control and focuses his positive energy on other things during the week. it can and does happen contrary to popular belief.

I am not jealous - I admit that he MAY be some sort of superhuman being. Because thats the only way to go through a thing like that. I have heard that kind of talk many times - but I have never seen it work more than a few weeks. The endorphine system in your body gives a shit about your psychological ability - can you stand being low and sick so fine. But very soon everyone concludes that it's not worth it - feeling like that for a lousy few shots during weekends. During my many many years as an opiate addict, this wish to go back to joypopping at weekends has been an oh-so-usual dream. And not once have I seen it work. NOT ONCE.

 

[rachamim18]

sigh...I beg to differ...

But I have. I do know people that have done just that. Addiction is a brand new field and far from a perfected science. It is basically a theoretical field. what works for you might not work for me and vica versa...

 

[PapaverPrisoner]

Re: sigh...I beg to differ...

But I have. I do know people that have done just that. Addiction is a brand new field and far from a perfected science. It is basically a theoretical field. what works for you might not work for me and vica versa...

Brand new field? Theoretical ? I beg to differ - opiate use is old as hell, and rather than theoretical/philosophical/psychological it is physiological. I admit that we do not have the same endorphin levels or the same body chemistry. And yet, you or anyone else have never come across an opiate user shooting everyday for years, who didn't get violently sick and uncomfortable when suddenly stopping. No willpower in the world can stop them from having a painful withdrawal. That adaptation is basically the same for all persons.

What you are saying is: A)That you know people who have been shooting everyday for 2 years and more B) They have stopped, detoxed, and then started to shoot heroin once or twice or maybe more, but only at weekends C) And you KNOW that they do not take any extra heroin (or methadone or codeine or suboxone or any other opiate) during the resst of the week.

I have heard that too. People I know have assured me that they did just that. But when you looked into it - they sooner or later (mostly sooner) at least started to munch codeine to fight off the unpleasant feelings during the weekdays. Some really strong persons made it with many Xanax, but only for a short while. I have asked others about this too - and all of them say that even if one is speaking of working people with families who have the strongest reasons not to fall back into the everyday trap, they do not know - anymore than I do - of anyone who have shot heroin for years, gone back to weekend shooting, and succeeded.

Perhaps you really have met those people and checked on them too, and are absolutely sure that they have done this for years. But they are anyway one in a thousand, so everyone who reads this should be aware that it is utterly unusual. That is my point really - if anyone reads this and say "hey it's possible", I'll say maybe but neither I nor any of my friends have ever met one. And I have known many both street addicts and disciplined ones for decades...

 

[fastandbulbous]

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've had to actively distance myself from anything to do with it because even if I did try to keep it to a couple of times a month, all it would take would be an emotional crisis (brakup of relationship, breakup of parents relationship, partner developing long term illness etc) for to find myself back in a situation I NEVER want to have to be again.

I do beleive that some people can go back to occasional use after having had an addiction, but all it'll take is a couple of weeks of stress and once again, it'll be anything but occasional use

 

[rachamim18]

Papaver Prisoner...

Its going to be one of those days...I said the field of addiction [i.e. science of] is new. While some things are understood well [endorphin depletion,affinity of certain substances for certain receptors,etc],
other parts of the quotient are barely understood at all [the role of genetics,specific issues of heredity, certain metabolic mechanics,etc.]. If you know anything about opiates than you are certainly aware that up until the first part of the 20th century most physicians did not have the slightest clue [or concern] about addictive substances and the complications that came from freely prescribing them. Things like "Cocaine is a cure for morphine addiction" or "Heroin is a cure for morphine addiction" were accepted unquestioningly as fact. Up until very recently addiction itself was not even recognized as a genuine medical condition.

As to your second paragraph...YES. I said it pretty clearly in my first post about it. In my 25 years of shooting dope I have met more than a few who can do just that. Actually, come to think of it, for most of my 25 years [the first 12 certainly] I fit that criteria.

As for Fasts post: It has more to do with patterns of behavior than with an actual physical condition [would be my informed opinion].

 

[PapaverPrisoner]

Re: Papaver Prisoner...

...If you know anything about opiates than you are certainly aware that up until the first part of the 20th century most physicians did not have the slightest clue [or concern] about addictive substances and the complications that came from freely prescribing them...Up until very recently addiction itself was not even recognized as a genuine medical condition.

As to your second paragraph...YES. I said it pretty clearly in my first post about it. In my 25 years of shooting dope I have met more than a few who can do just that. Actually, come to think of it, for most of my 25 years [the first 12 certainly] I fit that criteria.

As for Fasts post: It has more to do with patterns of behavior than with an actual physical condition [would be my informed opinion].

Yes I do know all about that...but I fail to see the importance of it here. I think that perhaps you are talking about those addicts who after shooting everyday for years, give up and only take heroin when someone offers them anything for free - very seldom - or buy when they have money. I know those people. Thats a totally different thing from shooting every weekend and never otherwise. I repeat that you do not know many people who after shooting heroin for years everyday, suddenly are shooting every weekend, but no other times, and not taking other opites either.

This discussion seems fruitless but I answer you because your statements are extremely dangerous - I am for free drugs to grownup people, but when worried joypoppers come in here wondering if they dare to give in to everyday cravings, because they can easily go back to weekend use afterwards, you are fooling them! I repeat that it is almost or totally impossible for anyone who has had a severe physical opiate addiction for years to go back to disciplined weekend-shooting...

 

[rivered1]

.

 

[rachamim18]

Sigh...

I suggest you offer more than your opinion. The "importance" of my statement is to show that as a science, "addiction" is still a new and largely unexplored field. If you offer something more substantial than "I have never seen..." than I will be the first to applaud you. All you are doing is telling us what you have seen. I [and apparently others] have seen something different. If it is not backed by fact than it is inconclusive. For you to even attempt to tell me who or what I know about regular users of heroin is nonsense. I live on Brook Ave. in the South Bronx and have been around heroin just about all of my 37 years and have seen just about every type of user and abuser there is. I have seen more than a few who can easily just imbibe on weekends,etc. even after coming off of years of regular use. As I said earlier, I fit that criteria rather well for a long while.

If you take the time to backtrack and read some of my numerous posts in this forum then you will undoubtedly notice that I do not offer carefree advice. If I feel that something has been proven unsafe then I say so...loudly. If it has not been proven [and sorry but your subjective experience is far from irrefutable fact] then I also say that loudly...