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Why do we not want those we care about to do drugs?

KarenParker

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I have a friend who uses pills recreationally. Maybe once a week. I don't think there's anything morally wrong with it. I don't have a logical reason for not wanting him to do drugs anymore but I FEEL like I wish he would stop. Why is that?
 
O

Oberon

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My wife has been taking prescription meds for anxiety. I laughingly pointed out one day that she'd get better efficacy and fewer side effects by just smoking a joint once a day.

The primary downside would be the illegality and its associated risks, and for that reason we never seriously pursued it.

We're a conservative church-going couple in our 40s, but we've known too many perfectly functional dope-smokers to get all uptight about a little Mary Jane.
 

Colors

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Maybe you think it is potentially dangerous. No matter how small the potential, the fact that your friend is putting himself in "danger" can be upsetting. (Or in danger due to the illegality).

Maybe you feel it takes him away from his "true self" (the person you became friends with)- the person who you respect, in favor of an altered self.
 

Domino

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Karen - drugs alter a person. When you MUST take medication and it alters you, then that's one thing. But recreational drugs? I don't like it when I'm dealing with a person I know and care about, but it's an altered version of them. Drugs take your power away. They diminish your true self. Plus they frequently hurt people - recreational drugs are hard on your body and you should be treating your body with respect. Drugs make people do humiliating things to themselves and their families.

That goes for alcohol, cigarettes, etc.

I was in love with someone who was shackled to drugs and I could see it in his eyes what a prison it was. It controlled him.
 

Thalassa

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Because he could die of an overdose.

My father was a drug addict and it ruined his life. I never knew him well because my mother had the sense to keep me away from him after they divorced when I was a baby. He beat her while she was pregnant with me. While they were married, my father actually earned a living as a musician. By the time he died prematurely in his 50's, he was living in his elderly mother's basement.

One of my sisters also had a drug problem, and my entire family had to physically tackle her to get her into rehab...repeatedly. She refused to take care of her children properly and began to look like a cancer patient. She's finally sober now, but it took the effort of people who loved her to get her back to herself.

I think I've had more experience with drugs than some people. I recall having to end a friendship with someone I cared about very much because she was addicted to heroin and began stealing from me.

Even alcohol can become a serious problem as most people know. To believe that prescription pills can't eventually become as bad as alcohol or street drugs is naiive.

I usually look the other way when someone I'm acquainted with does drugs recreationally. But when I notice it become a serious habit, I want them to stop, because I have no illusions about drugs.
 

simulatedworld

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Karen - drugs alter a person. When you MUST take medication and it alters you, then that's one thing. But recreational drugs? I don't like it when I'm dealing with a person I know and care about, but it's an altered version of them. Drugs take your power away. They diminish your true self. Plus they frequently hurt people - recreational drugs are hard on your body and you should be treating your body with respect. Drugs make people do humiliating things to themselves and their families.

That goes for alcohol, cigarettes, etc.

I was in love with someone who was shackled to drugs and I could see it in his eyes what a prison it was. It controlled him.

That's pretty much true of any drug except marijuana.

Not that it's impossible to get carried away and spend too much time on it; it's just that the negative effects are just negligible enough that lots of people smoke recreationally and are still, as oberon said, perfectly functional.
 

Domino

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Dunno, Sim... pot can wreck your lungs and make you paranoid.
 

Thalassa

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Dunno, Sim... pot can wreck your lungs and make you paranoid.

Pot is bad for your lungs, but so are cigarettes. Marijuana should be legal (for adults), in my opinion. It does less damage than alcohol and simply cannot be compared to other illegal substances.

I agree that smoking pot can be taken to an extreme by some people, but so can drinking beer. The difference is that people who drink beer to an extreme excess cause a lot more car accidents and die of alcohol poisoning much more quickly.
 

Moiety

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Karen - drugs alter a person. When you MUST take medication and it alters you, then that's one thing. But recreational drugs? I don't like it when I'm dealing with a person I know and care about, but it's an altered version of them. Drugs take your power away. They diminish your true self. Plus they frequently hurt people - recreational drugs are hard on your body and you should be treating your body with respect. Drugs make people do humiliating things to themselves and their families.

That goes for alcohol, cigarettes, etc.

I was in love with someone who was shackled to drugs and I could see it in his eyes what a prison it was. It controlled him.

I think you are blowing it a bit out of proportion there Piranha. Junk food can also harm your body...in fact, everything done in excess can harm ones body. As with everything in life, being balanced and responsible about it is very important, of course. But having fun is no sin.

I basically agree with Colors' post in terms of a possible reasons why you wouldn't want loved us to be doing drugs.
 

Thalassa

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My wife has been taking prescription meds for anxiety. I laughingly pointed out one day that she'd get better efficacy and fewer side effects by just smoking a joint once a day.

The primary downside would be the illegality and its associated risks, and for that reason we never seriously pursued it.

We're a conservative church-going couple in our 40s, but we've known too many perfectly functional dope-smokers to get all uptight about a little Mary Jane.

Actually if your wife suffers from anxiety marijuana could trigger panic attacks. It causes paranoia and anxiety in some people. I wouldn't mess with it if she's already on a scrip.
 

Domino

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Pot is bad for your lungs, but so are cigarettes. Marijuana should be legal (for adults), in my opinion. It does less damage than alcohol and simply cannot be compared to other illegal substances.

I agree that smoking pot can be taken to an extreme by some people, but so can drinking beer. The difference is that people who drink beer to an extreme excess cause a lot more car accidents and die of alcohol poisoning much more quickly.

I agree with all of this. I only mentioned pot because Sim brought it up as some sort of exception.

I think you are blowing it a bit out of proportion there Piranha. Junk food can also harm your body...in fact, everything done in excess can harm ones body. As with everything in life, being balanced and responsible about it is very important, of course. But having fun is no sin.

I basically agree with Colors' post in terms of a possible reasons why you wouldn't want loved us to be doing drugs.

That's why I don't eat junk food either.

No fun = sin? So that's what I've been doing wrong?! *laughs*
 

Virtual ghost

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From purely strategic perspective this completly logical approach

Since if you are investing time and energy into a person and he/she is doing drugs you are probably wasting your time and energy.


But most people simply care about well-being of others. Even if they don't know them that well.
 

zago

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Why do we care? Because that's how we were indoctrinated. If we had been educated, we wouldn't have to worry because we would both better understand how to use them and also better understand how to react to people who are overdoing it.
 

simulatedworld

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I agree with all of this. I only mentioned pot because Sim brought it up as some sort of exception.

Well, if you agree with marmalade's post, then I think we're in agreement too.

Just wanted to say that marijuana is somewhat different because it's so much less potentially harmful than most other substances. It's not physically addictive, it's killed zero people in the history of the world, and most recreational users don't get wrapped up enough in it that their lives are being "controlled", etc.

It's not impossible for it to cause any negative health effects, of course, but I didn't say that. It just seems that given a risk:reward analysis of marijuana vs. other drugs, it's dramatically safer and less likely to cause any serious health problems.

And I felt that was worth noting.
 

professor goodstain

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People do die/get murdered from refer in the manufacturing/distribution phase quite often. More reason to legalize it. i personally wouldn't hang out with potheads though. Reason being, there is a large difference between grass smoking and non-grass smoking people. Not in intelligence but in perception of reality. More often than not, a drugy will deny the shit that is going on out there and live in a little world where their next fix is tops on their list. This can include refer and booze users depending on their frequency of use.
 
G

garbage

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I only care when I feel that it's damaging to them in the long term. Some harder drugs definitely have that capability.
 

Take Five

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Drug use introduces the possibility for harm directly or indirectly, even if it's marajuana. You never want the people you care about to suffer harm.
 

Stanton Moore

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i personally wouldn't hang out with potheads though. Reason being, there is a large difference between grass smoking and non-grass smoking people. Not in intelligence but in perception of reality. More often than not, a drugy will deny the shit that is going on out there and live in a little world where their next fix is tops on their list. This can include refer and booze users depending on their frequency of use.

Really? I smoke almost everyday, and I'm not a 'drugy'. I'm a responsible, tax-paying adult. I've smoked with a lawyer for the state of California, and with an Assistant DA of NYC, among other professionals. I guess they are potheads too, and have a reduced ability to perceive reality.
Sigh...Here's how adulthood works: you get to do your thing, without hurting others, and others extend the same curtesy to you.

And it's spelled 'reefer'. (Cute little NT:hug:)
 
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