Whatever happened to smoking pot and drinking beer?

Is it judgmental to advocate that people stay away from substances that can harm their health, and do not experiment with brain altering drugs?

People look for the next thing that’s bigger, better or ‘badder’. I used to judge anyone who experimented with drugs.

Then I realized that without having that experience for myself, I was spouting a lot of statistics and had nothing to back it up. I smoked up, and realized it wasn’t as bad as it was made out to be.

But anyway, the answer is, the times they are a-changin’.

My friends smoked catnip.

And I agree with @asmonet. Not only do people build up tolerances but they’re looking for bigger, better, new and different highs and experiences.

And, as your article proves, that can sometimes go haywire.

I’m lovin’ the Amazon Ads———————————->

Im smokin’ dope and drinking Blue Moon right now. Nothing happened to it, just stupid kids.

Also, there’s a lot of mixing of substances going on (and this isn’t to say I’m not guilty of it). I’m young so I can’t really judge and say if there’s a rise in it over the years. But since there’s more drugs you’d think there’d be more combination. You know candyflipping, hippieflipping…all that, with such cute names to boot!

We love pot around here. Sure, some people have done a few other things, but most people I know stick to vodka, beer, and pot. I for one have never smoked pot, I’m more of an alcohol person. And I really don’t have any desire to do something other than alcohol.

I knew people who smoked pot but it wasn’t for me. However, that was back in the old days when a baggie of it cost $20. I have known a lot of people who drink beer. I still indulge about three times a year when visiting my brother the musician.

Nowadays there seems to be a whole lot more variety but a whole lot less knowledge. I do know from my daughter’s comments that as early as middle school a lot of kids in our area think the goal of every party is to drink until you puke, but that only the private school kids have enough money for drugs (or have parents with interesting medicine cabinets).

I’m pretty sure all of those drugs have always been available to adolescents. Heroine was big in the 70s, coke and crack in the 80s, psychedelics in the 90s; likewise, pill poppers have always been common. The media just loves to focus on the sensational. I lived all the way through 2 of those decades, and almost all the way through this one, and I’m perfectly fine. A little recreational drug use is good for the psyche. :)

Heroine was big in the 70s, coke and crack in the 80s
Not in my suburbs though. That was more of an inner city thing here in NY.

I agree with your last statement @tinyfaery, but boy, could that be a whoooole discussion of its own :)

@darwin
Nowadays there seems to be a whole lot more variety but a whole lot less knowledge.
Exactly. They are kind of just dumb about it.

A friend of mine had his friends staying with him from Georgia and they would inhale Air Duster.

Is that a new thing? Saw a chick on Intervention addicted to that.

@Triiiple is that that condensed air you use to clean your keyboard and stuff?

It’s kind of like whip-its I guess…

Also there’s a rise in kids/teens playing the choking or fainting game. A girl in my town died a few years ago from that. Although it’s disputed whether or not it was suicide because she was by herself.

This is over simplified but I still think is a part of the reason. When my grandfather lived, he was a farmer and his entire day was spent working and that was 7 days a week, no 40 hour work week for him. He simply didn’t have time for alcohol or drugs, he just wanted to put food on the table. My father grew up with the same ethic, in order to survive one worked. Now there is so much leisure time, survival is no longer the major concern of ones life, now we worry about how to spend our leisure time. Part of the problem is too much time on ones hands and very few demands that are life and death as there were in days gone by.

try going back to the days when a 3-finger lid was $10. Colombian or Oaxacan was $20. And in many places you could find ‘shrooms in any cow field for $0. of course there were also the synthetic chemicals that the more organic types stayed away from.

anyone remember the Richard Pryor routine where he played a wino lecturing a heroin addict against the evils of heroine? “Here boy! Try this, wine!” (or something like that)

The worst drug addicts I knew/know of were/are spoiled kids from the suburbs. They know how to hide it, plus they have a lot of money at their disposal. It’s easy to get Xanax and Adderall from mommy and daddy.

How about getting high off toxins toads release? lol.

The town and population I am from is huge on huffing. I think it is about money to be honest. The less money people have the more inventive they become with getting high. Would make sense right now with the poor economy. These types of drugs are VERY dangerous.

@rooeytoo
Good point. Too much time and not enough structured activities. I always remember the jocks were never really into drugs… although many were world class alcoholics.

haha I’ve heard of the toad thing @RedPowerLady

@aviona Crazy huh? I’ve never done it but I think I know way too many people who have.

@RedPowerLady
Yes, basically the fastest way to die is to cut off oxygen to the brain.

@tinyfaery the worst drug addicts i’ve ever known were drug addicts…from any background, urban suburban, affluent poor…addiction is an equal opportunity kind of thing

Stupid kids….

If your going to do drugs, fine, knock yourself out, but educate yourself first. These are the assholes that go around just putting whatever into their body because it will “get them high” and then give people who use drugs responsibly a bad name.

@RedPowerLady the toxins found on bufo toads is actually DMT which is a safe drug to use, problem is when mixed with toad toxins it can be quite dangerous so it is best to avoid that kind of DMT all together, theres much safer ways to take the drug :P

@uberbatman can you expand on “who use drugs responsibly”? do you mean in the safety of their homes? near a hospital that can respond to a crisis? without getting addicted? or in any case, are functional addicts/users?

@avalmez Use drugs responsibly as in research wtf theyre putting into their body prior to doing so. Know what your in for. I will never take anything that will pose a serious health risk to me or anyone around me. Nor will i put myself into any situation that can put myself or others at risk whilst under the influence of said drugs.I will not form a depenancy on these drugs and let them rule my life. I will never be under the influence of anything during anything thats important (ie school, work, social function) There is a difference between serious time, and play time. That, to me is responsible drug use.

@uberbatman what is an example of a drug or more generally an intoxicant or hallucination that is not a risk to your health? i do get where you are coming from, but all things in moderation could allow all things, u know? what ever tf

Ugh. Here comes the anti-drug rhetoric. (not you uber)

no shit not me :P

@avalmez me personally i would never touch anything like coke heroin meth crack. Stuff like that. That shit will fuck you up, no thanks. General rule, if it has to be snorted or injected its not happening. I would consider most hallucinagens to be safe. LSD, DMT, mushrooms, mescaline, they can all be enjoyed in moderation with no serious risk to the user.

It’s a fine line

@tinyfaery anti-drug “rhetoric”? nothing in my comment was rhetoric. i am trying to get folks here to draw a line between acceptable and not. it’s interesting that the general response seems to be to each his/her drug of choice..how ever you couch it,that that is the bottom line

@avalmez theres a big difference between the type of user and the habits of one who partakes in narcotics vs hallucinagens.

@uberbatman and what would that be? now, we are engaging in rhetoric

@avalmez Generally speaking (oh how its fun to speak in generalities :P) those who take narcotics tend to get a bit more serious about it and use a lot more regularly. How often do you hear “oh my friend overdosed on LSD.” as opposed to “i knew a guy who od’d on cocaine” or “i know i guy whos in deep shit and owes tons of money due to his coke habit” But then again we’re comparing a highly addictive drug vs one that has no addiction. I also think it takes a different type of person to want those types of experiences. For example if you took away all the horrible health risks involved with cocaine, i still would have absolutely no intrest in it. Nothing about that drug sounds appealing to me. While if you were to ask someone who partakes in cocaine if they wanted to take LSD theres a good chance theyd say no and say about how crazy that shit is or something. Like i was saying two different animals.

I come down off an LSD trip and think damn that was fucking amazing, i dont want to do that again for another couple weeks or more.
Others come down off a coke high and ask “wheres some more coke?”

I also feel hallucinagens have a lot more to offer spiritually to one than narcotics. Those who take hallucinagens seem a bit more enlightened (some times crazy :P) but enlightened. They are at peace with nature and their surroundings and have a different way of viewing this world. Hallucinagens can allow you to look at a problem in a different way, make complicated things seem simplistic and give you deep insight on life. Can you say the same about the guy who uses heroin?

uber, i love you.

People are historically moronic…. always willing, able and anxious to find new ways to destroy their bodies.

What? You don’t want to walk on sunshine?

@casheroo
That is a perfect example of the nature of addiction. It takes all your freedom. I never thought I would become addicted and thought much like uber that I mainly used hallucinogenics and “natural” substances until one day, I was no longer in control. I didn’t have a choice anymore. I was like an automaton. I am grateful every day of my life that I am free of addiction and I can face every one of my problems with my eyes wide open and access deeply transformative spiritual states through meditation. I have a sister who has been in and out of every institution and lost everything from drug abuse including her children. I lost a father to alcohol, two cousins who were incarcerated for the better part of their adult lives for drug trafficking. One who is still in jail and in fact went back because he violated his parol by using heroin. I am of 4 children who are all either addicts or alcoholics. I had a friend who hung himself from the ravages of addiction. My brother lost 3 friends in a drunk driving accident. Two were decapitated on impact. A year later his best friend was killed by a drunk driver.
As intellectuals I feel that we are by nature drawn to certain altered states of consciousness because we leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of answers. Personally, it may be genetic but if anyone’s interested there’s a good book called Genius and Heroin by Michael Largo which chronicles the prevalence of extreme addiction and alcoholism among gifted persons. Meanwhile, if you use drugs to live or live to the next time you use, you don’t have to die or die a slow death. There is a way out through 12 step groups and people like myself who have been to hell and back. I hope you don’t mind me preaching, but if you do, get over it. If it saves one person’s life than I’ll offend a hundred others if necessary.

This is nothing new, it’s been going on for as long as the respective products have existed.Some people just don’t have the means to acquire the more “mainstream” drugs they seek so they turn to households products with such affects in order to get their fix. As to why they think they need one, that I can’t answer.

@SeventhSense if you dont mind me asking what did you get addicted to?

haha @casheroo that seems like a joke or something

@casheroo they dont call it hippie crack for nothin.

It is crazy all the observations about time in relation to drugs. Idle hands are dangerous things.

But i cant argue that its not true, when i worked 10 hour shifts i had no time to smoke and drink like i do now, maybe id smoke one after i got home from work but had to go to sleep to wake up and go to class, then right to work. Now im only taking 3 classes and have a lot of time to do nothing so i just end up smoking.

@uberbatman wine enthusiasts will say they drink wine because it loosens the tongue and enlivens conversation. you say hallucinagens are spitiually enlightening and that people who use them tend to be more serious about it (meaning, they partake with a purpose in mind, right?).

now, i hang around wine ethusiasts and way back in the day knew drug users of all sorts. and yes, there have always been those who justified their drug of choice over that of the guys standing next to them.

my observation is that however you couch drug use the major element of use is simply to get fucked up, no? and however you use your time whilst swimming in the effects your chemical of choice exacts upon you, you’re still fucked up and it’s that very effect that loosens the toungue in one case, and leads to spiritual enlightenment in another.

my point is that if it wasn’t fun, you probably wouldnt do it. ever tried flaggelation? that’s suposed to lead to spiritual enlightenment as well.

finally, as for the effects of hallucinagens over other recreational drugs, i give you Ozzie. :)

@uberbatman
I used to use mainly hallucinogens- acid, mushrooms, cocaine, mescaline, weed and various pills from qualudes to valium. And as soon as I got one under control, I’d just switch addictions. For example, I’d stop all drugs but just drink. And then I started blacking out from the drink and lose days at a time. That’s kind of scary when you’re apparently functioning and conscious but have no recollections of some of the things that went down. I eventually realized I had to give up everything. And you can certainly achieve significant personal insight through psychotropics but what eventually occured for me was like opening a door to a nightmare that I couldn’t close every time I tripped or got high. So they did bring me to the door of awareness but they could get me no further. To me it’s akin to getting to Madison Square Garden by subway. The train like the drugs will only get you to the station. You then have to get off the train and go upstairs. For me to continue to use would have been like staying on the platform and then walking off the platform and going into the depths of the tunnel. This may sound kind of obtuse, but I don’t know how else to explain it. It would have been complete insanity for me to continue to entertain the nightmare. It just didn’t work for me anymore and I had to give it all up or I would have lost my mind. I found a 12 step group in Narcotics Anonymous(they’re not just narcotics) and have been clean since 1987.

@avalmez No, not really. I mean sure the first time i ate mushrooms or dropped acid was to get fucked up as you say and have a good time. But i quickly learned to respect both of these substances as something much more than “getting fucked up” I only do them once in a blue moon and 90% of the time with some spiritual goal in mind. So im going to have to disagree with that. As far as the Ozzie example, you think all that man did was hallucinagens? Please.

@SeventhSense Im happy you were able to break the addiction and remain clean all this time, that can be a tough thing to do. :).I do have a question though, how you could want to trip face like that on a daily basis? I can see addiction to pills, weed and coke, but the hallucinagens just seems weird.

@uberbatman
It wasn’t just hallucinogens. My addictions just cycled from one to another. The common denominator was just a desire to check out.

@SeventhSense gotcha. I thought you were saying youd have a stent with each drug. Not all at once.

Now would you say this was due to the addictive nature of the drugs or that you have an addictive personality?

@uberbatman
Well nature or nurture…a little of both

I do not understand this obsession with going and trying the most severe drug out there. I come from a county that is #2 in my state for meth labs. All my friends instantly became addicted to meth and I was the girl that was still completely satisfied with my weed and alcohol. But I will say that everyone is addicted to something it just depends on what you choose that addiction to be healthy or unhealthy

@uberbatman
Well yes definitely(have or had an addictive personality) but certain addictions are not as disruptive as others. I love a good chocolate malted too, but the worst that will happen from overindulging may be a good brain freeze or upset stomach. And if one is looking to justify the use or abuse of anything in their own backyard be my guest. But I will do anything in my power to keep it out of mine.

Maybe this sounds too simplistic, like Yogi Berra in that AFLAC duck commercial; people get addicted to the feeling the drug offers, rather then the drug itself.
So, once you quit or stop getting one feeling, or high, you replace with another another substance or behavior that provides another new and exciting feeling. That’s been my struggle over the years…..feelings, nothing more than feelings…..

i over the years.

@Garebo
I hear you.
I really only have one addiction it’s called MORE. The form is irrelevant.