[07] Are You Hardcore? by Anonymous

great text, really inspiering and clever. quite insightfull, the thing about the three questions to figure out if a habit is destructive or not.

just some stuff i cant figure out. like why you had to draw lines between your very reasonable arguments concerning ´heavy drugconsumption´ and the conflict drugs might have in western society.
this for ex:

Catch-22 said:
Hardcore lifestyles will never find a place in this complex society, and with that, drugs never will either. We can drop out of our spoon fed reality and socially conditioned culture, but are drugs really worth giving up an education? A satisfying occupation ?[/i].

it is quite obvious that druguse in itself quite seldom leads to ´psycological, physical, spiritual or what have you´ deconstructions. cause in most cases the downsides we are talking about is results of druguse clashing with social norms and laws.

what i see in the above quote is an exuse to let society interfere with private life, what is it that says society is right and drugculture wrong?
i dont want to compromise my hobby/stimuli/life for theire budget causes. cause thats what its all about. and if the "complex society" in wich we obviously live is not able to cope with me, then what is it that say i should be willing to cope with it?

and the one who has tried; "finding a satisfying life without our society" can without a doubt tell you it aint quite that easy anylonger, since our "complex society" tends to interfere more every day with my basal needs.

(please feel free to correct me if i did not get the point or misunderstood any of this, also if you disagree with me.)
 
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Amen.

"I can take 3 grams!" "Well I can take FOUR grams!" "Well, I can take 5!" I actually have friends who have these conversations. It's so stupid. Are they 6 years old?
 
Great post Jaxon :D

While living the "hardcore" speed addict lifestyle, I'm always thinking/saying "bloody hell, leave me alone". I don't believe there's anything wrong with the lifestyle, it's just reality (normal society) makes it so much harder.

Why should I have to adhere to there lifestyle? That's like forcing a straight person to live with/like junkies.
 
First let me preface this rebuttal by stating that I enjoyed reading this piece. ALthough i have opinions that may not be convergent with your own.

I, personally am a hardcore drug user. My neural chemistry is such that drugs do not effect me in the manner of most drug users. In the past i have labeled myself hardcore, in the past others have as well. In life there were certain things i was good at, one of them being the ability to handle drugs in an easier manner than most. Many of us who have had good experiences with illicit substances have gained this ability.

Getting back to the topic, I am a hardcore drug user. Now this may not mean what you want it to mean. to me it means i have found no limits after 8 years of searching. I am not irresponsible with my drug use. I use in a controlled methodical manner. These statements do not intend to endorse intensive drug use on the contrary i endorse safe effective drug use, drug use which is knowledgable.

I am constantly searching trying to find that limit trying to understand. Trying, sometimes i feel, in vain to answer the question: "So that the universal cosmic truth will be whole, instead of a shattered jigsaw puzzle of personal insight". Unfortunately this also leads me into the: "just one more dose, just a little more this time and the truth will reveal itself". But i think that this is more a matter of endurance both physically and mentally.

When i was younger i grew up on a native american reservation in Oklahoma and through my training and very personal drug experiences i have learned that my right of passage is that of endurance. In the past i have worn my ability to endure, for that is what some drug experiences have felt like, as a badge. I think socially, this unacceptable, i can do more than you mentality eventually finds you in rehab or dead. But my ability to endure is not unacceptable given the right circumstances moral conditioning and respect for the ritual of it all. It has allowed me to walk from this dimension unto the 11th and every fractal in between.

It is my ability to endure that has strengthened my psyche my heart and my purpose. It has given me insight which in turn has given me goals, some good and some bad. It has allowed me to act as shaman to my tribe. This is how i see my friends: as my family as a tribe of people to care for nurture, to help in anyway i can. I am in no way claiming to be a spiritual leader. I am just one man who has seen it before. Not all of it mind you that would be pompous to say but i have seen a great many number of things.

Based on my past experience, I have guided them through difficult emotions, thought process they wouldn't normally have been privy to. I have seen them fall and picked them up again dusted them off. Shared in their pain helped them to process and eventually channel their understanding of the experiences they have gained into positive goals. I have been friend confidant and counselor. All of this i have achieved based on my ability to endurance. After all what is endurance if not the ability to grow. evolution endures because it constantly adapts learning from experience and thus survive.

In native american lore and practice a shaman cannot lead a people through hell, heaven and back again if he has not been there himself. A shaman is one who was sick and has cured himself, whom now is whole again. I feel that is an insight i understand fully. for those who know me know of my life they will understand. For those who do not, know that i do not endorse "my dick is bigger than yours" drug contests i endorse insight, personal growth and sharing within a group of friends. I believe in experiences that will strengthen the bonds of family so in turn each including myself can grow and from that growth stem off and teach other. replenishing the circuitous energy flow needed to endure.

I am unsure how to end this reply. I understand some will think I have gone off topic while others will think I am a nutter. The truth lies somewhere in between. The path, as much as i would prefer it to be black and white, is mostly made of grey areas. This is where youll find me walking the spectral path in between this reality and the next.


-phil-
sorry about the spelling i have ADHD dyslexia and an oklahoma education ;)
 
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one point that this article sort of glazes over that most people diddnt point out, is how a real experienced user shows his 'experience.' Most people think doing half a ball, or IVing 2-3 bags at once, or popping 9 pills, or eating 10 hits etc, etc, is a symbol of experience. This is a very simple psychology: people think that the ability to wontonly intake hard drugs makes them appear stronger in willpower and endurance, and therefore they should be given respect. Its a very childish mentality - trying to outdo others to gain respect and attention.

Unfortunately, drugs are very prevelant in counter-culture subcultures. Even more unfortunate, many of those subcultures form their backbone around rebelling against the orthodox rules and limitations of the norms of society, proving that one can exist outside the laws of mainstream culture, and being an all-around hardass. Throw the modern moral majority's view on drugs, how that view is dictated by the malignant entity known as "The Man," and the carefree, rebellious, wild, and adventerous lifestyle that drug use provides, and you form the attitude that is our topic of discussion. Everyone (whom uses drugs) is victim to this mentality at some point or another. People accept the ideal that drug use = freedom from conformity. People then accept the ideal that excessive drug use = some wild on the edge lifestyle that mainstream society could never offer. The more 'hardcore' you are, the more respect you have in this unique countercultuer that spans nearly all countercultures.

I believe that people with real experience know not only how to use responsibly in a recreational environment, but also know how to get higher from lower doses. These people dont whore themselves out to a chemical in hopes of achieving some inkling of respect or pride, nor do they depend on drugs to maintain a social image, maintain a stable mood, or maintain their lives. Physical health should preside over all other obligations when it comes to using drugs, especially those labeled as hard drugs. There are many ways to go about lowering physical tolerance, 'mental' tolerance is another world alltogether.

Now, not to mislead anyone without experience, but there is no way to ever lower one's tolerance to the day one first experienced a drug. Not possible. In fact, and especially true when considering hard drugs, physical tolerance will rise with each use, no matter how spread apart or low of a dose. These following suggestions will not cause you to regain your "drug-cherry," not even close. Hopefully, they will help your endurance level rise, and your tolerance level fall. How far that level falls is dictated by such a myriad of influences and relationships that one may wish to persue a degree in modern medicine to fully understand how our bodies react to these 'chemical magics.'

(none of these points have precedence over another)

First off, excersize! Physical excersize will raise your endurance on so many levels. Your body will be able to break down and metabolize your drugs much more efficiently, and remove the byproducts (which cause so many health problems!) faster. Your heart will be stronger, your lungs will renew vitality faster, and your energy levels will rise (aiding in your drug experiences). Your resistance to most physical side effects will also rise. Cardiovascular excersizes as well as weightgaining excersizes are a great way to keep your body strong and your endurance at its maximum. Another great side effect of exersize is your body will detoxify faster. The faster you remove all byproducts of whatever drug you took the night (few nights, days, weeks, etc) before, the faster your tolerance level will drop. Continue to use the same drug without letting your body first detox will send your tolerance level through the roof. Get your blood flowing and your sweat dripping. This may not be news to many people, but there are quite a few drug users out there that believe exersize is a waste of time.

Another great way to lower tolerance is ABSTINENCE. This may sound like the worst idea ever, but it is the most sensible. As mentioned above, continual use will cause your tolerance level to rise much faster. With many hard drugs, even a few days may not be enough (consider your priorities - getting high or taking care of your body). Naturally, each use will cause tolerance to rise somewhat (to a point where it can not be lowered), but the greater the length of time one spends between doses, the less of a dose one will need to achieve the desired effects the next time around. I also believe that takign long breaks in between hard drug use is the only way to reduce mental tolerance. Your psyche's reaction to a drug is always unpredictable, but to keep your mind stuck in utopian bliss and not wandering amidst the dredges of society (or perhaps from traversing into the deepest level of hell), abstaining for periods of time is your best option. Some would argue that experience allows one to control one's psyche and where it goes. This is true to an extent, however time (with constant use) will take a greater hold over one's mind.

A healthy diet also provides for better drug experiences. This ties in with excersize: your body will detox faster, gain more endurance, and handle shaky situations much better. You will feel more clear headed, and enjoy drugs much better than when taking them along with all the toxins present from an unhealthy diet.

Another point to remember is KNOWLEDGE. Information is probably your best weapon against an overdose, avoiding the side effects of long term use, avoiding the transition from recreational use to mental or physical dependencies, and keeping your head above water. Thats why we have this wonderful website. Thats why we have www.erowid.org . Thats why we have a pleanty of other informational references on the world wide web. Knowing your physical limits, your mental limits, know as much as you possible can about what you are putting into your body (and street knowledge will not even come close to being enough), and know as well as you can, who/where it is coming from. Read how tolerance levels rise and fall, know the psychopharmacological relationships between the drug and your nervous system, know how healthy of a body you have and weather or not using a drug is going to hinder your situation, and read up on the drug's current legal situation!

These are really good things to consider before taking drugs. It may sound like motherly nagging, but focusing on your physical health will cause your tolerance levels to drop and your experiences to be more enjoyable. After watching several friends hit rock bottom, throw their lives away, end up in hospitals, or graves, ive often thought is a mere few hours of physical pleasure worth it? Are the long term effects worth it? What is it that causes us to use drugs? Can people use and stay purely on the recreational level? Do our residual self images cause us to push our doses up? Do they cause us to use more frequently? I think this is the path that starts people on dependency, and a self-image that one is a 'hardcore' user may indeed be a mental dependance. This is where the downward spiral starts. Who cares what people think, who cares what other people do - the true rebel doesnt give a fuck. The true rebel thinks they can cram respect up their asses. It aint about how much drugs ya can do kid, its about how ya can stay on top and keep partyin...

So where on the hierarchy of the hardcore are you? Those who indulge at the gluttonous levels are nowhere near the top. Those who respect knowledge will be the ones who wonder how people let their lives get so fucked up from little tiny chemicals. Keep yourself at the recreational level!

Note: this was written free from the use of any mind altering chemical besides ramen noodles.
 
But my ability to endure is not unnecptable it has allowed me to walk from this dimention unto the 11th and every fractal in between.

This does not suggest intent but there are not 11 dimensions, although i'd love to here the history of their formation.
 
^ infinity, my friends...infinity...fractals are but a fraction of this...
 
runaway said:
This does not suggest intent but there are not 11 dimensions, although i'd love to here the history of their formation.


i beg to differ about the 11 dimention. for super string theory to work there has to be 10 mathematical dimentions.... well new reaserch has shown that the formulae for this is of a fraction of a percentage thus leading them to believe in the existence of the 11th dimention. i read in article in popular science about it.


-phil-
 
^^^^^^
the current super string theory of 11 dimensions at this time seems to contain all the available evidence of possible physical events. but remember that classical physics (Isaac Newton) also seemed to explain the mechanics of everything, but later it was shown not that it was wrong, but that its rules were only valid under certain conditions. i can't imagine any theory ever explaining why red looks red; only how we can separate red from green or blue under certain conditions, or how to reproduce them.

just tryin to say there's always more out there, so proving that your hardcore wont mean shit once you've moved far enough from home.
 
I can't imagine any theory ever explaining why red looks red; only how we can separate red from green or blue under certain conditions, or how to reproduce them.

Red looks red because certain wavelengths of electromagnectic radiation (ie "visible light") stimulate certain cells in your retina, which in turn stimulate the optic nerve in a certain way, which in turn stimulates your visual cortex, which interprets the information as "red"

Compared to some parts of the brain, we actually have a fairly good understanding of the mechanics of sight.
 
^^^
i agree. this is what i meant when i said we have the ability and technology to deternine whether light is red or yellow or white. but no one knows exactly what red looks like to me, only that i can recognize it when i see it.

i made this point because i think that it is this gap in knowledge that will keep any system of knowledge such as physics or a theory of everything from ever completely explaining all possible things. its all just too human, earth centered.
 
I still haven't decided whether I like drugs or not.

Today I'm paying the price for a weekend binge on way too much stuff, all yesterday I was violently sick and couldn't keep anything down, not even water till the evening when I was somewhat better.

I really wonder why we all do it.

All things in moderation, yes I know that one, but if you have a moderate ammount of all things at once you get massively fucked up.

So I was having various things in pill/capsule form, and some green leafy material, and some green fairy infusion. Why not throw some alcohol on top of that to make sure I feel it all the morning after?

Meth junkies I know love their drug so much they always want to be left alone in their lifestyle. It's not always a bad thing but a good fraction of meth addicts are on a downward slope to psychosis especially if they are using pure crystal meth. That's the drug talking, the worst thing is you can't see your own life going downhill because of the way the drug makes you feel, but other people do.

I've seen too many people have their lives fall apart on that shit. In my area there's alot of very pure crystal meth going round. Dealers love it because it's massively addictive.

What I don't understand is how even 'hardcore' drug users still can't put their finger on what the appeal is. I'm still not sure myself.

Why I do drugs now still despite learning my lesson a few times over, is purely for new experiences. I just want insight into everything I don't understand in the world.
 
runaway said:
^^^^^^


just tryin to say there's always more out there, so proving that your hardcore wont mean shit once you've moved far enough from home.

Calm down a bit. I wasnt trying to insult you so please dont go there with me. I was only giving current mathematical information. I never said, wait, lets look to the future and see the eventual flaw in this logic. I was only defending my sentence as accurate. and in a sense it is. Out of everything i wrote the one thing you could jump on was my inability to forsee the future of modern physics. Job well done. sentence negated....moving on.

-phil-
 
^^^^
yeah well... [edited: not here, please]

sorry about that, didnt know the language requirements of the forum.
i was trying to use my defective sense of humor to make a point. i'll try and reword:

don't do psychedelics expecting them to take you to uncharted dimensions. technology will allow new modes of sensation and dimension, but we aren't there yet. its not too far off. but massive doses of psychedelics will possibly fuck with your emotions and psychology. being hardcore with these drugs achieves nothing, no hidden treasures buried in unknown dimensions
 
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THE WOOD said:
I believe that people with real experience know not only how to use responsibly in a recreational environment, but also know how to get higher from lower doses.....Physical health should preside over all other obligations when it comes to using drugs, especially those labeled as hard drugs. .

An excellent post but i strongly disagree with alot of what you say mostly the huge 'binding' value judgements you make in regards to people. You basically say we should look down upon those who don't responsibly use drugs that they are less deserving of respect than those that do use responsibly but this is exactly the same arguement society uses to condemn and prosecute drug users because to certain degree any drug use is taking risks with health and well being so could be called irresponsible even though this 'irresponsibility' only really affects the drugs users themselves so in a free society shouldn't really be anyone elses place to take issue with it.

THE WOOD said:
These people dont whore themselves out to a chemical in hopes of achieving some inkling of respect or pride, nor do they depend on drugs to maintain a social image, maintain a stable mood, or maintain their lives.

What if people do use drugs for these reasons, you think that there are better, less dangerous ways of achieving these things but why do you use drugs, it doesn't matter because the prohibitionists will say there are better less dangerous ways of achieving those things. There are much stronger arguements that can be made in regards to drugs for self-exploration or amazing experiences and closer relationships with others than can be made for drugs to maintain a social image or achieve respect but i guess i just hoped that someone intelligent who suffers so greatly being on the wrong side of societies binding value judgements on drugs even though its really a personal issue wouldn't be so quick to make their own binding value judgements.
 
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