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What Are Our Reasons That We Choose Not To Use Illegal Drugs

Why have you decided not to use illegal drugs?

  • Because I hear horror stories about addiction to them

    Votes: 12 23.5%

  • Because I know people personally who have suffered from addiction.

    Votes: 17 33.3%

  • Because I am perfectly happy and serene without them (If it ain't broke...)

    Votes: 26 51.0%

  • Because the consequences of their being illegal make life miserable for addicts

    Votes: 8 15.7%

  • Simply because they are illegal

    Votes: 10 19.6%

  • Other (specify in the thread if you would like)

    Votes: 19 37.3%
  • Total voters
    51
shiznit770 said:
Lots of trippy sites, a couple with lists of effects

Psilocybin Mushrooms - Effects - by Erowid


Brown University - Psilocybin

Basically it sounds as if the long-term effects can be taken as positive or in rare cases, extremely bad. The effects are very random and it is suggested that you take them under supervision.
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Which is why my first suggestion to anyone considering psychedelics is to research the hell out of them. They may show you things that you do not want to see. People with bottled up emotions usually have bad trips, reliving bad moments of their life. One must respect the consequences that come with taking psychedelic, entheogenic or psychomimetic substances.
 
Dezaad said:
I was reading another thread where someone was claiming that drug use would increase dramatically if they were made legal. I wanted to get a handle on whether people commonly even consider the legal issue at all.

I personally certainly never considered it when evaluating whether to start to use illegal drugs. Or, at least, it was only a fleeting consideration for me... I just kind of felt like no one had the right to tell me what to do. However, I did consider it when I decided to stop, because I saw that the fact that they were illegal was doing terrible things to the lives of the people who were sinking faster than I was.

Perhaps I was saved by their being illegal, but I am wondering how common this is.
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I think there is a certain supression caused by having drugs illegal; but I agree that hordes aren't going to start sniffing coke or injecting herion because it was made legal to do so.

There are lots of legal drugs I choose not to take because of potential adverse affects.
 
EgoffTib said:
Which is why my first suggestion to anyone considering psychedelics is to research the hell out of them. They may show you things that you do not want to see. People with bottled up emotions usually have bad trips, reliving bad moments of their life. One must respect the consequences that come with taking psychedelic, entheogenic or psychomimetic substances.
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Something about severely altering my psyche is more disturbing to me than getting lung cancer from smoking 5 packs a day.
 
Iriemon said:
I think there is a certain supression caused by having drugs illegal; but I agree that hordes aren't going to start sniffing coke or injecting herion because it was made legal to do so.

There are lots of legal drugs I choose not to take because of potential adverse affects.
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What would be the consequences of legalizing drugs?

-more public use
-commercialization reduces price, significantly
-addiction fueled by advertising

Result: integration with society promotes early and more widespread use.
 
shiznit770 said:
Something about severely altering my psyche is more disturbing to me than getting lung cancer from smoking 5 packs a day.
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The problem is that you view the alteration of the psyche as an inherently negative thing. It can be both, depending on the intent and mental fortitude of the user.
 
shiznit770 said:
What would be the consequences of legalizing drugs?

-more public use
-commercialization reduces price, significantly
-addiction fueled by advertising

Result: integration with society promotes early and more widespread use.
Click to expand...

Prohibition increased crime and alcohol usage, which would seem to contradict your hypothesis.
 
EgoffTib said:
The problem is that you view the alteration of the psyche as an inherently negative thing. It can be both, depending on the intent and mental fortitude of the user.
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As I understand, mental fortitude has nothing to do with it. Every use has effects and most agree they vary widely due to many factors.
 
Lachean said:
And alcohol and prescription drugs aren't a problem?
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I certainly think they are, too. However, to be fair, I did just ask about the illegal ones in the poll.
 
shiznit770 said:
What would be the consequences of legalizing drugs?

-more public use
-commercialization reduces price, significantly
-addiction fueled by advertising

Result: integration with society promotes early and more widespread use.
Click to expand...

That is true to an extent. On the other hand, as I mentioned, I don't think its likely that there will be hordes of people who will start shooting herion just because it is legalized. I won't. Would you?

Predicting the degree that use will rise is pretty speculative. We can say that if you want drugs to use, you can get them now and it's not an all or nothing thing.

The real question is whether the costs associated with prohibition outweigh the costs of legalization. We've already tried that experiment with one highly addictive, health damaging drug -- alcohol, and I think most agree that the costs of prohibition are far greater. I don't see a clear reason why it would be different with other drugs.
 
shiznit770 said:
As I understand, mental fortitude has nothing to do with it. Every use has effects and most agree they vary widely due to many factors.
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Mental fortitude and an education on the substance being used can allow you to manipulate the experience in a favorable manner, should something go wrong. Example: A friend of mine had a bad trip on Datura. Through controlled hyperventilation and the application of a moist cloth, he was able to calm himself and transgress beyond the negativity of the trip.
 
shiznit770 said:
Something about severely altering my psyche is more disturbing to me than getting lung cancer from smoking 5 packs a day.
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Forgive me if I find euphoria much less disturbing than agonizing death...
 
EgoffTib said:
Prohibition increased crime and alcohol usage, which would seem to contradict your hypothesis.
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I agree with your statement as to crime, but I'm not sure it is accurate as to alcohol usage. I believe alcohol use did decrease somewhat with prohibition and rise when prohibition was ended.
 
EgoffTib said:
Sure, it was just driven undergrowth where children had access to it. Why would a prohibitionist bartender at a speakeasy card anyone if what they are consuming is illegal?

Did Alcohol Use Decrease During Alcohol Prohibition?
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Not only is the source unreliable, it doesn't say what you think it says.

In truth, nobody really knows exactly how much alcohol consumption increased or decreased during Prohibition.
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It uses the increased arrest rates to conclude that consumption increased.
 
shiznit770 said:
Not only is the source unreliable, it doesn't say what you think it says.

It uses the increased arrest rates to conclude that consumption increased.
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You apparently only read the beginning:

The figures published by the Department of Commerce in the Statistical Abstract of the United States reflect a different picture. The average annual per capita consumption of hard liquor from 1910-1914, inclusive, was 1.46 proof gallons. "This 5-year period was before the rise of abnormal conditions coincident to the World War and may be taken as fairly indicative of the normal rate of drinking that prevailed in the Pre-Prohibition era" (Rosenbloom, 1935: 51).
The per capita rate for the Prohibition years is computed to be 1.63 proof gallons. This is 11.64% higher than the Pre-Prohibition rate (Tillitt, 1932: 35). Based on these figures one observer concluded: "And so the drinking which was, in theory, to have been decreased to the vanishing point by Prohibition has, in fact, increased" (Tillitt, 1932: 36).
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AVERAGE AGE AT FORMATION OF DRINK HABIT

 Period 1914---1920-23-1936-37
Males 21.4----20.6-----23.9
Females 27.9-25.8-----31.7
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"Inability of the prohibition law to enforce prohibition is causing an increase in the number of young boys and girls who become intoxicated," declared Judge H. C. Spicer of the juvenile court at Akron, Ohio, a short time ago when two boys, aged 15 and 16 years, respectively, were arraigned before him. "During the past two years," he added " there have been more intoxicated children brought into court than ever before.""Inability of the prohibition law to enforce prohibition is causing an increase in the number of young boys and girls who become intoxicated," declared Judge H. C. Spicer of the juvenile court at Akron, Ohio, a short time ago when two boys, aged 15 and 16 years, respectively, were arraigned before him. "During the past two years," he added " there have been more intoxicated children brought into court than ever before."
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shiznit770 said:
Not only is the source unreliable, it doesn't say what you think it says.

It uses the increased arrest rates to conclude that consumption increased.
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This statement is probably accurate: In truth, nobody really knows exactly how much alcohol consumption increased or decreased during Prohibition.

However, whether it went down a bit or up a bit, it seems uncontroverted that there was widespread use of alcohol even when it was illegal, just like other legal drugs today.
 
EgoffTib said:
You apparently only read the beginning:
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Basically the site says no one knows for sure, but some guy who wrote a book in 1932 says this. The fact that he is able to pull nation-wide statistics on an illegal activity in the 1930s undercuts his credibility.
 
shiznit770 said:
Basically the site says no one knows for sure, but some guy who wrote a book in 1932 says this. The fact that he is able to pull nation-wide statistics on an illegal activity in the 1930s undercuts his credibility.
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Why? His statistics come from observable events during the time period.
 
Having a job that requires random drug test can really put a damper on ones vices. You left that choice out of the poll.
 
Kali said:
Having a job that requires random drug test can really put a damper on ones vices. You left that choice out of the poll.
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OMG, that is a big oversight! Sorry.
 
EgoffTib said:
DMT
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Is it everything they say it is?

Anyway, I'm about to head to basic training in a month or so, so no weed. Everything else is just so expensive compared to alcohol. They're trying to charge $20/g for shrooms these days. ****ing ridiculous.
 
Because I can't get in contact with my dealer at the time?
 
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