Hard Drugs Ruining Society

[Drip Curl Magic]

Originally Posted by Loricybin

yeah man. i've dealt with some idiots that use that stuff. but, even worse, i've met some awesome people who do too.

I've read studies that suggest that most of the people who get addicted to hard drugs, started out with brilliant minds. For some reason, lots of intelligent people need an escape. I think it might be because when an intelligent mind realizes how insignificant human beings are... they are more likely to be the ones to give up, realizing that anything we do is futile.

[Tarantism]

Originally Posted by Drip Curl Magic

I've read studies that suggest that most of the people who get addicted to hard drugs, started out with brilliant minds. For some reason, lots of intelligent people need an escape. I think it might be because when an intelligent mind realizes how insignificant human beings are... they are more likely to be the ones to give up, realizing that anything we do is futile.

sean, you have just hit the nail on the head i would say. human beings are frustrating to view and observe sometimes, simply becuase their existance is so phallic that its almost disgusting how they dont realize it.

but yeah, you put it better of course.

[bpjg2fat]

Originally Posted by Drip Curl Magic

I've read studies that suggest that most of the people who get addicted to hard drugs, started out with brilliant minds. For some reason, lots of intelligent people need an escape. I think it might be because when an intelligent mind realizes how insignificant human beings are... they are more likely to be the ones to give up, realizing that anything we do is futile.

Isn't that why the mind of a genius pothead is just the greatest thing ever?

[Loricybin]

well, it is sad how futile we are in the long run, but look at the things we've come up with.

our species have had a SERIOUS impact on our environment,
good OR bad.

it's as if we are temporarily signifigant.

HILARIOUS

[GAHD]

@BPJ : Everything is the greatest thing in the world when you're high.

Continuing my previous rant...Meth and Crack are two of the worst chemical scourges to hit north america.

The only 'cure' I can think of is in iself quite nasty: find the crack/meth heads, and inject them with some other chemical(s) that makes them VERY allargic to meth or crack. All of a sudden every fix is just as bad as, if not worse than, the withdrawl.Of course, that's a human rights violation so it'll never happenbut it's an idea anyways.

As long as the Jibbernaughts and Crack heads keep their habits to themselves there isn't much the rest can or should do. The only other thing you can do is leave the drug users alone, and target the real criminals: theifs and abusive people.

Yes sometimes the drugs motivate people to those paths, and that is the only time anybody should step in and deal with it.

[CraigD]

Methamphetamine is not a new drug - it was first synthesized in 1920. It's not always been illicit - in the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely prescribed as a weight-loss aid and for the treatment of depression, narcolepsy, etc. While its clinical usage is much less than a half century ago, it is still prescribed – for some severe narcoleptics, it remains among the few effective treatments, and may be the only effective treatment.

Pharmacologically, it's a fairly safe drug for a healthy person. As with any strong stimulant, people with compromised hearts should not use it, as it increases heart rate, and pregnant women should not, as it can induce premature labor, and is strongly linked to low full-term birth weight.

The major limitation of methamphetamine as a therapeutic drug is how very quickly one develops a tolerance to it. Like most drugs effective in the treatment of depression, meth works by increasing synaptic serotonin levels. Unlike newer and more successful classes of antidepressants, such as the SSRIs (Prozac, Welbutrin, etc.), the synapses respond almost immediately to these increased levels by reducing the amount of serotonin they excrete, so by just the 2nd dose, much more meth is required to get the same stimulant effect. Fortunately, this tolerance is short-term, so after a brief (as little as 24 hours) time without the drug, it can again be used with full effect. Thus, effective long-term use of meth requires one to follow a careful on-off use schedule.

Note that in the above, I’m referring to pharmaceutical methamphetamine. Illicit meth – “crank”, etc. – which is commonly derived from the over-the-counter antihistamine pseudoephedrine (Sudafed, Sinutab, Pediacare, etc.) – may contain all sorts of intentional or accidental contaminants. Since on-demand access to pharmaceutical methamphetamine is currently limited, for all intents, to MDs, pharmacists, and soldiers, nearly all recreational users are at the mercy of these black market versions of the drug. Without the supervision of an MD or other capable clinician, many, possibly most people don’t understand the importance of a careful dosage schedule, nor the drug’s potentially deadly health side-effects - principally malnutrition due to its strong appetite-suppressing effect. That, like many stimulants, meth produces a feeling of super-human endurance, invulnerability, and high self-esteem, makes it even more dangerous, as an out-of-control user may ignore these side-effects, literally to the point of death.

I fear that efforts to help meth addicts are hurt by hyperbole-filled language describing it as “instantly addictive poison”, etc. A user’s experience makes an immediate lie of these claims – initial use feels clean and invigorating, effectively treats depression, and enhances performance at work or school. The greatest danger comes from the user’s likely near total lack of understanding of the drug’s steep tolerance curve, their common, impulsive belief that it reduces their need for food, possible contaminants in black market supplies of the drug, and physical and emotional danger from dealers and fellow users.

I think the best solution to the meth problem is increased access to qualified health care. Although I can’t support the speculation with statistical data – data about illegal drug use is notoriously unreliable and difficult to obtain – I wonder if the recent US “epidemic” of meth use correlates with the trend of decreasing availability of affordable state and employer-provide health insurance, and the increase in “cost sharing” – deductibles and high co-payments - for those who do have insurance. Another trend I’ve noted, anecdotally, it that young MDs and other medical clinicians entering the healthcare workplace seem increasingly “conservative” in their lack of compassion toward people seeking help with weight management and depression, an effect I believe is due to the message promoted by state and industry sponsored advertising campaigns such as “the Antidrug”, which demonize potential drug users. Patients are more reluctant to discuss their needs and illicit drug use with clinicians, and clinicians to respond supportively.

All of these factors, I believe, are a recipe for growth of an out-of-control and health-threatening black market.

[ldsoftwaresteve]

CraigD. 100% agreement from me, nice job.
I've never taken the stuff knowingly, but I don't like it when I'm told I can't. The problem with drugs is that society has treated people under the influence as people that aren't responsible for their actions.
I never have understood that. A person who is impaired by drugs should be responsible for their actions if they knowingly took the drug. If anything, penalties should be greater to emphasize that doing things that alter our awareness is dangerous and should not excuse one from responsibility for their actions. Just double the penalties.
Let us have access to drugs with no restrictions. Just hold us accountable for any actions taken under the influence.

[ldsoftwaresteve]

Originally Posted by Drip Curl Magic

I've read studies that suggest that most of the people who get addicted to hard drugs, started out with brilliant minds. For some reason, lots of intelligent people need an escape. I think it might be because when an intelligent mind realizes how insignificant human beings are... they are more likely to be the ones to give up, realizing that anything we do is futile.

I'm sorry Drip, but I emphatically disagree with 'realizes how insignificant human beings are' part. We are anything but insignificant. We're all we've got so that's hardly insignificant. I love what it means to be 'human' and have every expectation that we can straighten things out.
Brilliant minds are more aware of the fallacies that we live by and can't understand why people are so blind to them. And so they watch the people they love wander aimlessly behind belief systems that make no sense constantly shooting themselves in the foot. It's painful to watch. It's painful to know that they can then limp to the poles and vote according to those belief systems. That is the definition of terrifying. I understand why they blow their minds.
The solution entails understanding that 'Brilliance' is a learned behavior. As long as we believe that it's genetic, we're screwed.

[sanctus]

Originally Posted by Drip Curl Magic

Tweekers are definately easy to spot... I think we should just take them all out into the woods and shoot them all.

Sounds a bit Nazi-like to me. The typival idea that by elminitating the people there won't be others doing. Almost like in Bali (where you get 2 years just for smoking weed), China/Singapore (you get death penalty) or Sweden (where there is pure repression).

Originally Posted by Gahd

Is there a cure? It's certainly not my government's 'free crack pipes and needles' program.

I don't think the aim of this handing out is to cure. The aim is more to improve the hygiene of the people taking drugs, not to have infected needles and so on. It's only human because with clean needles the maybe live long enough to find the force to stop, instead of dying from a disease which could have been
easily not taken.

[Cedars]

Craig, your post was interesting to read and has alot of facts. One piece I think was omitted was about the purity of the street meth vs pharmacuticals. I think the street meth now has a higher concentration of the methamphetime than what you seem to be familiar with as a "normal" dose. Back when the meth trade was primarily the realm of the biker gangs, they tended to cut the stuff alot. The stuff being brewed in these various places now seems to have not been cut much, as with any competitive business (and the people doing this are usually users) the purity level has increased. So it seems the everyday user is getting a much higher dose then when doctors were prescribing this for weight loss. Much like the cocaine purity in the 70s vs the 80s had changed alot.

Another point that has not been discussed it the evidence of neurological damage that the users are inflicting on themselves. Now this seems to be mainly in long term use (if I remember right 5+ years). But I do not know if there is enough study done with the various processes and ingredients to know if one type causes this damage faster or more often than another type.

Its one of the worst drugs I have seen. In my state, we have seen its use jump dramatically in the last 10-15 years though there has always been a element of users.

I have known people, either personally or close friends whos own family/friends are users, users have quit doing speed/crank/crystal 20 + years ago, lose their homes/jobs/family, end up in prison or even dead, within a few years (or less) of begining to use this stuff again. I feel really bad for those who are around 20 and find themselves really enjoying this crap now, getting off it, and the potential for their relapse sometime in the future. I have never seen so many fall so far, after having so much time between their youthful indulgences and their rediscovery of this particular high. And they dont care at all.

As far as a solution, I dont have one. All I can do is avoid it myself and discourage others from trying it. There are a few drugs I am absolutely against. Street meth is one.