Doped Up America

All the rage around these parts: Ohio; is the epidemic of overdose deaths. The spike in death really is a problem, but drugs are not really a new problem. In fact, when it comes to the USA, drugs are us.

Think about it.

How many people do you know that are 100% drug and alcohol free? Personally, I can count on one hand those who are not on some kind of prescription mood modifying drug or pain killer, people who do not drink at least 3 drinks more than 5 times a week or more than 5 drinks at least 3 times a week, pot heads, coke heads, pot and coke heads, etc. It seems to me almost everyone in the US has a drug problem.

Why is that? Is life that crappy? I would think the opposite. Life is good. But, the stats seem to suggest that maybe it is too good. After all, why else would everyone want to dope themselves up, or drink away their life?

calamity said:

All the rage around these parts: Ohio; is the epidemic of overdose deaths. The spike in death really is a problem, but drugs are not really a new problem. In fact, when it comes to the USA, drugs are us.

Think about it.

How many people do you know that are 100% drug and alcohol free? Personally, I can count on one hand those who are not on some kind of prescription mood modifying drug or pain killer, people who do not drink at least 3 drinks more than 5 times a week or more than 5 drinks at least 3 times a week, pot heads, coke heads, pot and coke heads, etc. It seems to me almost everyone in the US has a drug problem.

Why is that? Is life that crappy? I would think the opposite. Life is good. But, the stats seem to suggest that maybe it is too good. After all, why else would everyone want to dope themselves up, or drink away their life?

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Because "good" is not measured in "stuff," or "easy," the way most Westerners seem to think it is. Sure, not being worried about your survival too much makes it easier to not be UNhappy, but it doesn't make you... happy.

What makes humans happy consistently? A few things.

A good diet, high in fatty oils especially. Most Westerners -- apart from the famously jolly Mediterraneans -- don't have this.

A strong local community. Again, something most of us lack. Many of us have no local connections at all, let alone a community we feel we can depend on.

A feeling of accomplishment or productivity, often met by contributing to our own community in tangible ways (making stuff, helping someone directly, etc). Again, something most of us lack, both because we lack community and because our labor is mostly intangible make-believe where we push papers around to no visible affect, leaving us feeling like we've gotten nothing done.

A stable, relatively long sleep cycle -- again, something most of us lack.

Sunlight. Something most of us lack, what with our increasingly indoorsy lives where the only light we see is artificial (further disrupting our sleep cycle).

Oh, and exercise. Another thing most of us don't get enough of, and some of us so little that we literally die from it.

This is why people from places like Peru routinely report being much happier than we are, despite being poor and undeveloped.

Government and healthcare and high-paying work certainly makes it easier to not die, but it isn't going to make us happy. We are social creatures, first and foremost. Apart from taking care of our bodies (food, sleep, sun, exercise), what is going to make us happy is always going to revolve around our relationships with each other. And Westerners have the weakest relationships of anyone in the world, along with having terrible lifestyles. It's no surprise we're so miserable.

Basically, many of us don't have the things that make humans happy. We just have things that make us not-dead. That isn't enough to have a sense of fulfillment, and our society doesn't teach us what WILL give us fulfillment, so we fill the hole with drugs because we don't know where else to turn.

calamity said:

All the rage around these parts: Ohio; is the epidemic of overdose deaths. The spike in death really is a problem, but drugs are not really a new problem. In fact, when it comes to the USA, drugs are us.

Think about it.

How many people do you know that are 100% drug and alcohol free? Personally, I can count on one hand those who are not on some kind of prescription mood modifying drug or pain killer, people who do not drink at least 3 drinks more than 5 times a week or more than 5 drinks at least 3 times a week, pot heads, coke heads, pot and coke heads, etc. It seems to me almost everyone in the US has a drug problem.

Why is that? Is life that crappy? I would think the opposite. Life is good. But, the stats seem to suggest that maybe it is too good. After all, why else would everyone want to dope themselves up, or drink away their life?

Click to expand...

The problem with opiods is that you can be prescribed 30 pills for something that you only need 5 pills for. And it is too easy to get hooked, and when you run out, your body needs the drug, so people turn to heroin. I have a family member that got caught in that, thankfully she is clean, but its scary as hell.

Stick to marijuana, impossible to overdose, safer than alcohol.

calamity said:

All the rage around these parts: Ohio; is the epidemic of overdose deaths. The spike in death really is a problem, but drugs are not really a new problem. In fact, when it comes to the USA, drugs are us.

Think about it.

How many people do you know that are 100% drug and alcohol free? Personally, I can count on one hand those who are not on some kind of prescription mood modifying drug or pain killer, people who do not drink at least 3 drinks more than 5 times a week or more than 5 drinks at least 3 times a week, pot heads, coke heads, pot and coke heads, etc. It seems to me almost everyone in the US has a drug problem.

Why is that? Is life that crappy? I would think the opposite. Life is good. But, the stats seem to suggest that maybe it is too good. After all, why else would everyone want to dope themselves up, or drink away their life?

Click to expand...

Well, our brains are drug pushers, giving us pleasure rewards for behaviors they believe are pro-survival.

So seeking chemical pleasure is literally hardwired into us.

calamity said:

All the rage around these parts: Ohio; is the epidemic of overdose deaths. The spike in death really is a problem, but drugs are not really a new problem. In fact, when it comes to the USA, drugs are us.

Think about it.

How many people do you know that are 100% drug and alcohol free? Personally, I can count on one hand those who are not on some kind of prescription mood modifying drug or pain killer, people who do not drink at least 3 drinks more than 5 times a week or more than 5 drinks at least 3 times a week, pot heads, coke heads, pot and coke heads, etc. It seems to me almost everyone in the US has a drug problem.

Why is that? Is life that crappy? I would think the opposite. Life is good. But, the stats seem to suggest that maybe it is too good. After all, why else would everyone want to dope themselves up, or drink away their life?

Click to expand...

How can recreational drug (ab)use not be considered a sign of consumer choice? Folks simply have more money than good sense. Could it be that more prescription drug (ab)use is due to more "access to" medical care?

calamity said:

After all, why else would everyone want to dope themselves up, or drink away their life?

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Haven't you openly admitted to being an alcoholic for a good portion of your adult life?

So maybe you can answer part of your own question. Why is that?

beefheart said:

The problem with opiods is that you can be prescribed 30 pills for something that you only need 5 pills for. And it is too easy to get hooked, and when you run out, your body needs the drug, so people turn to heroin. I have a family member that got caught in that, thankfully she is clean, but its scary as hell.

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I do not understand that either, on both sides of the equation.

Sure, oxy was way over prescribed, and it was way under-warned. Doctors handed them out like candy and told patients it was just as safe. Obviously that was either an intentional lie or one of the worst medical mistakes in US history. We'll let the courts decide which it was. But, I vote for "A."

On the patient side, I never understood taking 30 pills when you only need 5. Due to my lifestyle choices, I've been seriously hurt more often than most. I've probably been prescribed enough drugs to kill a herd of elephants. I never took one pill more than I absolutely needed though. Maybe I was just lucky. Who knows?

Stick to marijuana, impossible to overdose, safer than alcohol.

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It's still a drug. And, it's not quite as harmless as people may wish to believe. There's a reason potheads are called burnouts.

Dragonfly said:

Haven't you openly admitted to being an alcoholic for a good portion of your adult life?

So maybe you can answer part of your own question. Why is that?

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Not an alcoholic. But, I have had my phases of being a heavy binge drinker, dope smoker, coke user, and, before all that, a huge fan of LSD, mescaline and mushrooms.

Eventually, I just came to realize that being impaired sucks.

We're an unhappy people. We're a rich country, plenty of food and toys,etc. but in polls and surveys it shows we're unhappy.

Lots of reason. Turn on the TV, go to the movies, listen to AM radio and it's nothing but negativity. 24/7 of showing human beings worse traits. Lie, cheat, do anything to get a head, etc., it's the American way now. Add in the constant pressures of our society, most Americans live to work instead of working to live.

We don't know how to enjoy life anymore. We're an unhappy bunch.

calamity said:

Not an alcoholic. But, I have had my phases of being a heavy binge drinker, dope smoker, coke user, and, before all that, a huge fan of LSD, mescaline and mushrooms.

Eventually, I just came to realize that being impaired sucks.

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So why'd you do it?

What if...? said:

Well, our brains are drug pushers, giving us pleasure rewards for behaviors they believe are pro-survival.

So seeking chemical pleasure is literally hardwired into us.

Click to expand...

Yeah. That's why I made the life is too good quip. Back in the day, we got our thrills just finding something to eat without first being eaten. Huge buzz right there.

In fact, I have learned to satisfy my desire for such thrills through hard cycling. It works incredibly well. Do enough of it and all you want is food and a nap.

ttwtt78640 said:

How can recreational drug (ab)use not be considered a sign of consumer choice? Folks simply have more money than good sense. Could it be that more prescription drug (ab)use is due to more "access to" medical care?

Click to expand...

Good grief. There is another nascent argument for "less" health care in the US....people might "abuse" medications.

Brilliant.

Dragonfly said:

So why'd you do it?

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"Why have humans used substances to seek an inebriated/altered state of consciousness since the beginning of existence?"

calamity said:

I do not understand that either, on both sides of the equation.

Sure, oxy was way over prescribed, and it was way under-warned. Doctors handed them out like candy and told patients it was just as safe. Obviously that was either an intentional lie or one of the worst medical mistakes in US history. We'll let the courts decide which it was. But, I vote for "A."

On the patient side, I never understood taking 30 pills when you only need 5. Due to my lifestyle choices, I've been seriously hurt more often than most. I've probably been prescribed enough drugs to kill a herd of elephants. I never took one pill more than I absolutely needed though. Maybe I was just lucky. Who knows?


It's still a drug. And, it's not quite as harmless as people may wish to believe. There's a reason potheads are called burnouts.

Click to expand...

I take dextro-amphetimine every day, but only 1/3rd of my script. It is a pain in the ass to refill, I have to get a new script every time, but I have a lot of them. It isn't addictive for me, in fact, I'm not to happy about the side effects, but I need it to be able to focus on work. Hell, I don't even take it on weekends. I guess my body doesn't crave it as a drug, for which I am thankful! I've only taken pain killers a few times, never anything stronger than codine, even then, I wasn't too happy with the nausea and being completely muddled.

Now...as for beer, yeah, I can drink a lot of it! Wine as well, but I don't care for spirits, very rarely will I drink any mixed drinks.

I smoke pot about once a month, when I have some, usually its just for a good 3 hour chillout at home, no harm, no foul, just the munchies...

Dragonfly said:

So why'd you do it?

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Because I was young and dumb. Ten foot tall and bullet proof. In fact, I totally enjoyed every minute of it. But, eventually grew out of it.

The pot made time fly by too fast. All good when you are in college and want the semester to end. Not so good when you are 35 and 40 is coming at you like a freight train.

The coke was wonderful, especially when coupled with Xanex or a fifth of Jameson. Nothing better in all the land. But, common sense says you better not do it two days in a row or at all after you hit 40 unless you want to die of a heart attack.

Acid was just too contaminated. Bad trips were happening all around me. Besides, you can't really go for a 12 hour trip once you graduate high school. Too much **** to do.

Booze would be great if you could just binge like you would with pot. But, Booze binge comes with a three day effect: the night you get hammered, the hangover next day and the third day when you just start feeling normal--but, by then you're already looking to binge out and start the whole cycle all over again. Another one of those age things where, after, say, 40, you just say, "**** this."

Gimmesometruth said:

Good grief. There is another nascent argument for "less" health care in the US....people might "abuse" medications.

Brilliant.

Click to expand...

There is no might about it. When the "cure" kills then what is the greater good that we are (legally, morally and financially) defending? These instantly "feel better" medications are profitable yet do nothing to fix the underlying condition and are well known (except to big pharma experts) to be highly addictive.

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/27/americans-consume-almost-all-of-the-global-opioid-supply.html

SenorXm/Sirius said:

We're an unhappy people. We're a rich country, plenty of food and toys,etc. but in polls and surveys it shows we're unhappy.

Lots of reason. Turn on the TV, go to the movies, listen to AM radio and it's nothing but negativity. 24/7 of showing human beings worse traits. Lie, cheat, do anything to get a head, etc., it's the American way now. Add in the constant pressures of our society, most Americans live to work instead of working to live.

We don't know how to enjoy life anymore. We're an unhappy bunch.

Click to expand...

I agree with this. I also believe it is why so many young people seek out drugs. Growing up in this society just sucks. It really does. It took me 20 years (after age-20) to come to terms with what was expected of me, and I did not go easy--rebelled by kicking and screaming the whole way there.

calamity said:

All the rage around these parts: Ohio; is the epidemic of overdose deaths. The spike in death really is a problem, but drugs are not really a new problem. In fact, when it comes to the USA, drugs are us.

Think about it.

How many people do you know that are 100% drug and alcohol free? Personally, I can count on one hand those who are not on some kind of prescription mood modifying drug or pain killer, people who do not drink at least 3 drinks more than 5 times a week or more than 5 drinks at least 3 times a week, pot heads, coke heads, pot and coke heads, etc. It seems to me almost everyone in the US has a drug problem.

Why is that? Is life that crappy? I would think the opposite. Life is good. But, the stats seem to suggest that maybe it is too good. After all, why else would everyone want to dope themselves up, or drink away their life?

Click to expand...

There are a lot of unhappy people out there, so many day to day stresses, it takes it toll.

calamity said:

Not an alcoholic. But, I have had my phases of being a heavy binge drinker, dope smoker, coke user, and, before all that, a huge fan of LSD, mescaline and mushrooms.

Eventually, I just came to realize that being impaired sucks.

Click to expand...

What is the attraction of opiods? I see them as a pain killer than can make you so numb you die. If you want hallucinations, you use LSD. If you want to go faster you use meth. I can't speak to cocaine or crack, but they too seem to alter pleasure zones.

Winchester said:

There are a lot of unhappy people out there, so many day to day stresses, it takes it toll.

Click to expand...

My theory is that we are not really made for what we do today. Basically we mostly sit, think and eat. The body breaks down, the endorphins are not being produced, and drugs seem to give us the rush we no longer achieve through physical activity.

I still remember the first time I went a week drug and alcohol free. We went backpacking in Yosemite. Between the climbing, huffing and setting up camp everyday, we were just too exhausted to get stoned. Life was about drinking lots of water, eating what you can and getting plenty of sleep. I learned from that.

ttwtt78640 said:

There is no might about it. When the "cure" kills then what is the greater good that we are (legally, morally and financially) defending? These instantly "feel better" medications are profitable yet do nothing to fix the underlying condition and are well known (except to big pharma experts) to be highly addictive.

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/27/americans-consume-almost-all-of-the-global-opioid-supply.html

Click to expand...

BS, opiates are an essential medication for maximizing the healing process and for pain management. What you argued was for LESS healthcare in general...it was an insane argument.

chuckiechan said:

What is the attraction of opiods? I see them as a pain killer than can make you so numb you die. If you want hallucinations, you use LSD. If you want to go faster you use meth. I can't speak to cocaine or crack, but they too seem to alter pleasure zones.

Click to expand...

Coke puts you in a manic state, basically. One toot and everything is great. You believe you are on top of the world. Problem is it also induces anxiety rushes as the drug wears off---like every twenty seconds. It really kills the buz. That's why Xanex, booze or some Vicadins go good with it. Which, come to think of it, may explain why so many intravenous coke heads like to mix a little heroin in with their cocaine shots.

Gimmesometruth said:

BS, opiates are an essential medication for maximizing the healing process and for pain management. What you argued was for LESS healthcare in general...it was an insane argument.

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When I had a chest tube inside me for a week, I thanked god every day for the morphine drip. No question about what you wrote. Opiates are an essential drug for people who need them.

calamity said:

When I had a chest tube inside me for a week, I thanked god every day for the morphine drip. No question about what you wrote. Opiates are an essential drug for people who need them.

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My sig/other has 2 open surgical wounds, a drain and temp ostomy while her colon is healing, I cant stand it when arguments about "access to health care" causes "abuse" are made.

It is sick and wrong.

calamity said:

When I had a chest tube inside me for a week, I thanked god every day for the morphine drip. No question about what you wrote. Opiates are an essential drug for people who need them.

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I don't have a problem with pain management, even if it lead to addiction as a trade off for a useful life.

I had a doctor after a surgery follow up. I told him "No pain at all. It's good. I take Ibuprofen if I need it."

At the end of the visit, "Would you like some more pain pills?"

Hell, I could have taken them and sold them. Talk about not listening.