Ha verso come on now man dont be a downer. Maturity and the willingness to experiment are not related at all. If you go about experimenting in an immature way (gimme anything that will get me high because i want to try it all ahhhh!) then sure thats immature but if you take harm reduction steps, research the drug and dose properly then thats mature correct?
I don't mean to be a downer, but I believe that engaging in certain experimental behavior is inherently irresponsible; and I also believe that one's willingness to experiment and one's level of maturity
are related... to some extent, at least... and has all but conclusively been proven by adolescent psychologists.
I say this because we
know that the frontal lobe is still developing in young adults and that the frontal lobe is responsible for risk assessment, or, in other words, one's ability to weigh the potential, future consequences of an action and then make the rational decision. If you're a parent and you've ever wondered why your children do such stupid things, well, this is why...
So, I wouldn't say that all individuals interested in experimenting with substances are immature, but I believe that the
I'll-try-anything-once attitude is a bit immature and reminiscent of a more young-minded individual's thoughts and feelings. Does that make sense? Because the idea is that trying something
one time cannot possibly cause any real harm, and a child or more young-minded individual might actually believe this to be true, but of course we, as adults, know better and know that this is not true.
Let me give you an example: I am twenty-three years old and the other day I picked up two bags of dope from a friend; this friend has recently started banging her dope, and she tried convincing me to give it a shot. I actually considered it, but then decided against it. In that moment, I considered all the possible outcomes, and it just wasn't a risk worth taking. But I'm not convinced that I would have made the same decision eight years ago. I wasn't a stupid kid, but I lacked that bit of foresight as most kids do. I might have thought, "sure, why not try it?
one time can't hurt!"
EDIT: And this is a good thread, so kudos!