Drugs: A problem or not?

So, I’m starting this thread with the hope that people who—let’s call them "enthusiasts," if we want to be academic about it—can share their experiences here. I also want to open the floor to anyone dealing with physical or mental addiction; maybe I can offer some insight based on what I've been through, or perhaps we can all just talk openly without any sugarcoating.

To me, drug use is a chronic issue rooted in our current society and the era we’re living in. Honestly, I think it’s a really positive thing when people actually discuss it—even though, from my own experience, I know there will definitely be folks who don't see it as a problem at all, mostly because they feel like they're walking on the moon with a serial killer, or for a whole host of other reasons.

I assume you're referring to illicit substances. However, the true scale of the issue only becomes apparent when you factor in legal ones: alcohol and tobacco.

You should probably be more specific about what you mean, given the spectrum from mild to severe. We can easily agree that heroin or crack is among the absolute worst out there. But where do marijuana, ecstasy, or cocaine fall in your estimation?

stormylynx14 said:But what about weed? Or ecstasy? Or cocaine?

Oh, sure, those are just perfectly healthy, right? No addiction issues at all, zero side effects, and basically doctors recommend them for daily use. Yeah, right.

Drug addiction is a massive issue. It doesn't just destroy the users; it tears apart everyone in their orbit.
In short, drug abuse is a problem that affects us all.

loneangler82, those specific drugs are actually what I find most fascinating—mostly because I’m pretty convinced that anyone currently on a legal permit for them is either caught up in some serious drama or totally out of commission, so I highly doubt they'd even bother logging online.

To be honest, loneangler82, I’m curious where you actually heard that... are you personally using those substances? If you are, then I’d definitely view your take through a different lens, but if not, then please, give me some actual arguments from someone with real experience to back up what you just said.

Alright, looks like you're looking to dive into the whole drug conversation. Honestly, drugs—just like anything else—can be a massive issue, or they don't have to be. Does that answer your question? Just so you know, I'm speaking from personal experience here.

That’s really the crux of it—distinguishing between when drugs are an actual problem and when they aren't.
My colleague—well, his take was a little cynical, which actually surprised me—claims he's studying philosophy but apparently doesn't grasp the fundamental core of philosophical history. Still, I honestly believe that one day he'll sit down with Hegel and realize that with him, the whole history of European metaphysics and the concept of identity—running from Plato all the way to Hegel—reaches its turning point.

Now, pharmacological drugs are always a problem when they're being used illegally, but what I mean is that most people looking for a fix view hospitals, community clinics, pharmacies, or addiction prevention centers as nothing more than a "meat bank"—because let's be real, there is so much damn drug supply available there for anyone desperate enough to look. Of course, if you're just looking for cocaine, or ecstasy, or smoke and visuals, you won't find them there. No, you'll mostly run into opiates and analgesics—things like morphine, various pills, and all that other junk. We're primarily talking about opioid addicts, those hooked on heroin, where everyone is sharing needles and dealing with Hepatitis B and C. In that specific case, drugs are absolutely a massive problem because the substance eats them alive, and they become a burden on society and their families in the process.

However, I’d argue we should focus more on the danger of the drugs that most people think are harmless—you know, the ones where people say, "Oh, it doesn't cause addiction, it's totally fine, it's normal."

Why am I rambling about this? It's because whenever the media talks about drug addiction as a social issue, they always fall back on the same old tired tropes. They've been doing this job too long; they only ever talk about the specific type of addict I mentioned earlier. Back in the eighties, that was pretty much how it was—maybe a kid would smoke some weed or hit some glue at fourteen, then move on to heroin, and that was that. But things have shifted completely. Today, there’s a totally new trend happening globally, and it's hitting us here in the States just as hard.

Back in the early nineties, the US saw some of the highest import rates in the world—mostly due to the war, obviously, so weapons were coming in that we actually needed—but along with all that, some strange drugs started trickling in too. It’s almost funny trying to remember all the different names they had back then.

In my crowd back in '95 or '96, right around the time the party scene started taking off, everyone felt so lucky. We thought we were part of this "golden generation" compared to the old-school junkies, because for us, it seemed to stop at ecstasy and speed. Later on, of course, the dealing started, and girls would gravitate toward whoever had the cash and the gear.

I won't ramble on forever since maybe nobody cares about this, but I could give you a hundred reasons why amphetamine and hallucinogenic drugs might actually be worse than heroin—not necessarily because a user might live longer, but because of the sheer quality of life they lose during those years.

To me, someone can be an addict whether they're using hard stuff or just smoking weed, provided that the altered reality has seeped under their skin and become more appealing than actual existence. That’s the heart of it: when you start altering your perception of reality—consciously or not—you create a root of dissatisfaction that can either spiral out of control or lead you to try and accept reality as it is. With drugs, it's almost always about escaping.

loneangler82 — regarding ecstasy, in 99% of cases, you can't really be "addicted" in the traditional sense, simply because no addict is crazy enough to take ecstasy every single day knowing they'll either be dead in two months or spend the rest of their lives in a psych ward.

loneangler82 said:They are perfectly healthy, non-addictive, have zero side effects, and are recommended for daily use.

Right. Just like alcohol and cigarettes.

A 100% sober society is an illusion. The real question is how a society should handle drugs and addicts.

I find myself wondering how society should actually handle addiction—specifically when we're talking about those people at the end of their rope, like heroin users. It breaks my heart that people react with such disgust when they see them out on the street, though, I guess you can understand it to some extent—people get scared.
And honestly, someone like me often ends up feeling pretty disillusioned.

For instance, maybe two or three months ago, I was walking down Fifth Avenue near a 24-hour pharmacy when this young girl approached me, asking for just a couple of bucks. She looked maybe sixteen. I asked her what kind of "fix" she was looking for, and once she realized I wasn't some high-and-mighty academic type, she told me she needed money for some oxycodone. In that moment, it all clicked for me—she probably had enough morphine in her system to kill a horse. So, I started chatting with her, and she tells me she’s trying to quit the heroin, but let's be real, she's doing it solo, which is basically a death sentence. I told her she should move away from Fifth Avenue so she wouldn't have to face that shame, and suggested we sit down in a nearby alleyway to talk. She spun this whole story about trying to get clean, but man, she was popping a whole box of 10mg Valium a day along with the oxy, because she hasn't hit that withdrawal stage yet and is clearly just desperate to numb the pain. We sat there talking about how life is just one mess after another—we both have our struggles, I'm no saint either—so I gave her a pack of Valium just to take the edge off, rolled a joint, and she declined since she can't smoke while she's out begging—I totally get that tactic. To keep it brief, I walked her back toward my neighborhood, over to Friendship Park, and I took a little bit of liquid Luminal for myself while giving her a few clean needles and my phone number, telling her to call me in a few days once the pain subsides so I could point her toward actual help.

But damn, just a week later, I'm waiting for the bus near Times Square and I see her lying on the ground. I asked her what she needed, and it turns out she'd relapsed on the dope again.
and yeah, the usual stuff...

Those are the tough ones—cases where it feels impossible to help until the person completely hits rock bottom. It’s just tragic that people often only decide to seek treatment when they've reached that point.

Hegel? Isn't that some actor's name?

Honestly, what can I even say to you? You’re just jumping from topic to topic without landing on anything. It’s hard to jump into a conversation when it's all over the place like this. Regarding drug regulation and all that, we really need to distinguish between "soft" and "hard" drugs. Soft drugs include things people tend to play around with—things like weed or even LSD. Hard drugs are the heavy hitters: cocaine, amphetamines, and heroin. It’s not rocket science.

By the way, if we legalize marijuana, what kind of message are we sending to a twelve-year-old kid hanging out with his classmates? If we lump weed in the same category as heroin, the message is that the whole media frenzy is just total BS. And that’s exactly what politics is. We shouldn't be telling kids that weed is just as bad as the heavy stuff. That’s probably the most damaging message the folks in Washington could ever send.

Man, they are so incompetent. It's high time we shake things up and replace these people—just like how 90% of other departments in various government agencies need to swap out their old guard for younger, or at least more sensible, people.

Spot on, man—huge respect! ...five years in federal prison just for a joint? That’s absolutely insane! Like, where on Earth are two people gonna get into a massive fight over a little smoke, let alone a physical brawl...
- though I wouldn't go overboard calling the cops either, because then you just end up numb and lose all your drive...
later!