[10] Face the Facts by Anonymous

Catch-22

Bluelighter
Joined
Mar 16, 2001
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Let's face the facts. Drugs are dangerous. People take them and sometimes they die. Sometimes they end up addicted or brain damaged, or pass up dreams they once had or give away lives and loved ones. These are facts.

Responsible drug use is not safe drug use. There is no such thing as safe drug use. Responsible use increases your chances of surviving, but it certainly does not make you invincible. You can very responsibly test every pill you put in your body, know for certain it's MDMA and only MDMA, drink your water, take your 5-htp and still have some weird reaction that puts you in the hospital and ends your life. It's a fact.

Some drugs are more dangerous than others. Opiates, cocaine and amphetamines are much more likely to hurt or kill you than ecstasy, psychedelics and cannabis. All drugs were not created equally. They have different properties and effects, and some of them are more addicting, or more neurotoxic, or more dangerous than others. This isn't a misconception, or propaganda, or an unfair stigma. It's a cold, hard fact.

Getting addicted to drugs happens subtly, and even strong-willed people have caved in. Those looking to drugs for an escape from their problems are at worse risk, but it can happen to anyone. There are warning signs. Learn them. Watch for them. And when you notice them, stop taking the drugs. If you don't, they will catch you and hold you and you'll have a monkey on your back nearly impossible to get rid of. Even happy, strong-willed people with non-addictive personalities have ended up hooked on drugs. It's a fact.

Addicts are more likely to use drugs irresponsibly, and thus, to die, than
non-addicts. An addict may very well know everything there is to know about using drugs responsibly. But let me ask, when your covered in a cold sweat, your entire body groans with pain, you can't stop fucking shaking and every single thought is about getting that drug in your body, will you take time to find a clean needle? Will you test a small amount first, to determine how strong it is? Will you stop at the dose you need to maintain, or load up everything you have? And, when your world is crashing down because of your addiction, will you even care? An addict wouldn't, and that's a fact.

Responsible drug use does not make it safe, but it may save your life. It's like condoms though; you've got to do it right every single time. One screwup, one momentary lapse of reason, and you could die. And when you're dead, none of that knowledge you held matters, and that's a fact.
 
Reminder: I am posting this essay on behalf of someone else. These comments are not an official policy statement. Whether you want to agree or disagree, please put your thoughts in this thread. Do not send me PM's or emails unless you are contributing a new essay of your own. Thanks!
 
Actually living and existing in the world isn't safe (your life could be snuffed out at any moment by an unforeseen tragedy). But we still do it. We cross the street, drive cars in heavy traffic, and forget to close the cover before striking). And yet, many of us do it safely enough to survive into old age.

Safety is a relative thing. Intelligent safety tends to raise the bar. That is what Bluelight is about, safer use of recreational pharmaceuticals.

Essentially, what it boils down to, is a variance between safety and exploration. A completely safe life lacks any adventure, and adventure provides us with meaningful life experiences. Ergo, a totally safe life is a life without meaning.


You can very responsibly test every pill you put in your body, know for certain it's MDMA and only MDMA, drink your water, take your 5-htp and still have some weird reaction that puts you in the hospital and ends your life.

Indecently, I personally feel that recommending water to someone taking MDMA is bad advice. It can be done safely, but only as safe as the judgment of the user (who is in an ecstatic state) accurately regulating their water intake. It is far better to advise them to drink beverages which are designed to maintain an electrolyte balance. It is "safer" because they completely avoid the problems associated with high water volume intake and electrolyte lost.

.
 
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^^...I thought that was a really good post. Many, many ADULTS and teens alike could benefit from reading this and taking it to heart. I know quite a few people who are simply ignorant about how they use. I also liked the part that talked about how even the strongest willed people can and do fall to addiction. Good post!
 
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That is what Bluelight is about, safer use of recreational pharmaceuticals.

Is it really?

I'm going to have to unfairly take the role of an elitist here and openly state that i simply haven't done various drugs due to safety factors (drugs including meth, cocaine, opiates, benzos ect), and say that i haven't done these things for that exact reason stated here, that they are just more dangerous, and that nothing is going to change it.

But, to address the quote that i brought up. I don't think bluelight's main focus really is on safety, i think it's more about support and sympathy among users. Speaking as a memeber, i've seen many threads about potentionally dangerous subjects, including but not limited to injecting pills, using home-made pipes out of materials that are known to give off dangerous biproducts (plastics, metals).

Another idea to back up my argument is the bluelight no sources rule. I don't argue with the logic behind it, however, there are many shady internet dealers out there who have potentionally hurt (or even killed) bluelighters through selling dangerous substances that could have been avoided if it had been publically addressed on the fourms.

So, where does this bring me? Ultimately, in agreement with the author of this wonderful piece. Nothing in the world of drugs is safe, even with safer drugs like marrijuana and MDMA, due to the nature of the market, it is easy to buy drugs laced with more harmful substances. We all need to take credit for the fact that our time in the world of psychoactives comes at a price, and whether or not that price is worth paying for us. And for me, that's something i'm willing to do.
 
Brian Oblivion said:
Actually living and existing in the world isn't safe (your life could be snuffed out at any moment by an unforeseen tragedy). But we still do it. We cross the street, drive cars in heavy traffic, and forget to close the cover before striking). And yet, many of us do it safely enough to survive into old age.

*starts folding tin foil hat and goes out back to dig a hole in the ground to live the rest of my life* (don't worry, i'll run an ethernet line down there so i'll still be online)
 
Be careful out there. Don't forget to hold your breathe when you go outside. pollution can cause cancer, and premature death.


Seriously though if everyone live a peacefully long exsistence we would still be trying to learn how to make fire.
 
Catch-22 said:
amphetamines are much more likely to hurt or kill you than ecstasy,

Wow, last time I checked MDMA was an amphetamine.

[edited: play nice]
 
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toolazy2think said:
*starts folding tin foil hat and goes out back to dig a hole in the ground to live the rest of my life* (don't worry, i'll run an ethernet line down there so i'll still be online)
I don't know. It still under debate as to the effect of long term cathode ray tube exposure. And what about that rapid screen update that you can't see because it is faster then human perception.

You might be taking a risk with that computer down there... :D
 
Ghettotastic_bong said:
Is it really?

I'm going to have to unfairly take the role of an elitist here and openly state that i simply haven't done various drugs due to safety factors (drugs including meth, cocaine, opiates, benzos ect), and say that i haven't done these things for that exact reason stated here, that they are just more dangerous, and that nothing is going to change it.

Excerpt from the Bluelight mission statement:
The New Bluelight is an international message board that educates the public about responsible drug use (with a focus on MDMA) by promoting free discussion. We advocate harm reduction and attempt to eliminate misinformation. Bluelight is funded by private donations and maintained by a team of volunteers.

Bluelight does not condone or condemn the use of illegal drugs. Bluelight is a place for people to ask questions and educate themselves about drugs so they can make more informed decisions regarding their personal use. Other programs that advocate complete abstinence have had limited success, so Bluelight anticipates that people will continue to use illegal drugs regardless of the potential health or legal consequences. We want to encourage people to take personal responsibility for the choices they make regarding their drug consumption.

Harm reduction is the practice of taking reasonable measures to minimize the risks from drug use. Common harm reduction activities include encouraging people to exercise moderation in their drug consumption and to understand the purity or dose of the drug they are consuming. There is no such thing as safe drug use, but if someone is educated in the general principles of harm reduction, they increase the odds that their drug use will not lead to short-term disasters or long-term negative consequences. more...


Bluelight can not assume responsibility for advise given by non-moderators. But we do [passionately] try to correct flawed advice. All of our moderators are educated in drug harm reduction information, and they are the spirit of this service.

i simply haven't done various drugs due to safety factors (drugs including meth, cocaine, opiates, benzos ect), and say that i haven't done these things for that exact reason stated here, that they are just more dangerous, and that nothing is going to change it.

And I haven't done these same drugs for the exact same reason that you haven't. And, as a moderator, I have never recommended that anyone try them.

So what is your point?
 
I don't say that to blame anyone. I'm simply stating that bluelight often does go outside of the grounds of what is consitered "Less unsafe", and while it should be obivious, readers should use their own discression when reading bluelight, nothing more.
 
I think it's funny that some people think MDMA is "safer" than methamphetamine ;)

The only drugs that I have declined on the basis of safety were certain psychedelics - datura and amanita muscaria in particular. Everything else has an acceptable and manageable risk factor. (Oh, but I would probably say no to inhaling petrol fumes....)

The best thing about the posted essay is the advice to watch for signs of dependence in your own use. This is a hard one - there's not much out there on spotting these signs. I guess you could use clinical measures of dependence but I think we can do better than that.
 
Good article. I don't think it sounds like any propoganda at all. It is true that some people just believe everything is propoganda and that many drugs are safe.

It isn't biased or anything, it's just a reminder that drug use should be considered and that there's risk involved just like there's a risk in the many things in life.
 
Re: Re: [10] Face the Facts by Anonymous

nemesis-a said:
Wow, last time I checked MDMA was an amphetamine. What a lame report/essay.

mdma is not an amphetamine, its an entactogen. it acts on different neurotransmitters than amphetamines (mainly serotonin vs. mainly dopamine).
 
Opiates, as i recall last time, have a high addiction potential but doesn't seem to do lasting damage especially when you've recovered. sure, it does damage, but no where near other drugs, for example.

All and all, this essay seems to go against what bluelight is really about: information, and letting users make the choice. This essay, to me, seems to be more preachy and say 'you should do this, you should not do this' whilst BL stance has always been: these are the facts, take it or leave it.

A reasonably educated Bluelighter would already know that doing drugs is like playing with fire- you always get the chance to be burned, but you'll get warm too.
 
all that essay is saying to me is drugs can be dangerous.... does anyone on the planet not know this, or at the very least has anyone not been told this before? and if they have been told before, and chose not to believe it, would this essay make a difference to them?

i doubt it
 
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