What is actually wrong with being high?

[Midwest Lib]

1) Sure legalizing pot would destroy the organized crime associated with pot smuggling, but that would be true with any drug, not just pot. and

2) Because if it is legal, then it will not just be legal in your home. That said, I really don't care one way or the other as long as I do not have to smell it or be anywhere near it because I find it an obnoxious odor. The opponents, however, will argue that it is the "gateway drug" since most hard-core drug addicts seem to start off as pot smokers who went searching for a bigger, better high.

3) It really will be a moot point anyway at some point. Prescription drug abuse/addiction, and the proliferation of home-made highs will make pot seem nothing soon enough.

I appreciate your honesty. I can also appreciate that you don't want to be around it. I do however have a problem with the gateway drug theory. The vast majority of marijuana smokers do not go on to use other hardcore drugs. It's easier to argue that those who are going to do the hardcore drugs will naturally use the lesser drugs as well.

I also agree that prescription drug abuse/addiction is a huge issue that needs to be addressed. If there is to be a war on drugs, this should be the aim in my opinion.

 

[APACHERAT]

"Weird orgies, wild parties, unleashed passions"
Yeah, I'll have some of that.

I miss the 60's and early 70's, I think the Vietnam war created the atmosphere, it was just happening. Once the draft ended and America's involvement in the war ended, so did that era. It just kinda slowly died out.

What was it replaced with ? Frickin disco.

 

[Grand Mal]

I miss the 60's and early 70's, I think the Vietnam war created the atmosphere, it was just happening. Once the draft ended and America's involvement in the war ended, so did that era. It just kinda slowly died out.

What was it replaced with ? Frickin disco.

Hear ya. My son put it nicely- he said the 80's music was like a long soundtrack from a 'Rockie' movie.
Except for Stevie Ray and the Clash, of course.

 

[Aderleth]

Hear ya. My son put it nicely- he said the 80's music was like a long soundtrack from a 'Rockie' movie.
Except for Stevie Ray and the Clash, of course.

I hate disco just as much as the next guy, but there was plenty of good music in the 80's, most of it just didn't make much of an impression in the US outside of niche markets. A lot of it came from these guys:

Factory Records - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Fisher]

I appreciate your honesty. I can also appreciate that you don't want to be around it. I do however have a problem with the gateway drug theory. The vast majority of marijuana smokers do not go on to use other hardcore drugs. It's easier to argue that those who are going to do the hardcore drugs will naturally use the lesser drugs as well.

I also agree that prescription drug abuse/addiction is a huge issue that needs to be addressed. If there is to be a war on drugs, this should be the aim in my opinion.

well the vast majority of gun owners do not kill people, but your side of the aisle has no qualms about trying to ban those but it is the exact same logic. This is the problem with granting Washington too much power--no matter where you stand, they are going to use that power against you at some point. I say I am an anti-federalist for a reason. It has little to do with left v. right.

 

[What if...?]

I always want people to be in control of their selves, fully aware of what's going on and what they are doing while they're interacting with others - when they're not, problems can and do happen. Do they always happen? No. But being under a seriously altered state shouldn't be a mission that one aims to achieve.

I don't buy into the concept that "feeling good" means "having an altered state of consciousness" - I don't believe anyone who is a drug addict finds it to be "fun" and, further, I don't believe that they are truly "relaxed."

The "I want to self medicate" argument is the exact thing that will NOT further anyone's efforts to do drugs.

If someone needs to "feel good" by "altering their state of awareness and consciousness" and that is "more appealing that being sober" - they need to seek therapy and learn how to cope with something called "being a living person." It's disturbing that so many people don't want to be in-tune and aware. Is life really that bad? If so - seek help. Have problems - getting high won't fix them or improve your quality of life.

I think you are.conflating needing to be high all the time with enjoying being high sometimes.

I smoke every day. But I very rarely smoke "all day". Only at a music festival or the like.

Its not fun for me if there's no contrast. I don't smoke at work, because I don't enjoy it. It makes me not want to be there and ruins the buzz too.

This isn't meant to be combative, you're one of the posters I respect here. I just think you're looking at it as an "either or" situation as opposed to the reality of occasional/situational use. Whixh IME makes up most peoples use patterns.

 

[What if...?]

I agree for the most part that a severely and perpetually altered state of consciousness induced by chemicals is generally not a healthy thing for the individual or anyone around them. If someones mental processes are causing them that much pain and dysfunctional behavior there are usually better prescribed meds for that purpose. But there are a host of reasons for someone as tererun says to "experience life" from their experimenting with illicit drugs. It has to remain a personal choice for people to learn and grow from. Sometimes they're just young and finding things out for themselves or a person may need a temporary break from the stress of their particular circumstances and mental imbalances.

I've had enough personal experiences with booze and drugs to find that habitual use for me at this stage is not a benefactor. But someone who really does drink socially or use marijuana medicinally or other mild substances without chronic abuse might have a perception of increased happiness and who is anyone to deny them?

I heard a saying once: "Drugs won't solve your problems, but they WILL put them on "hold"".

And sometimes that's all you need. A break. So you can come back to them with a clear head

 

[Un biased]

The problem with being high is its addicting nature but to what extent it depends on what someone is getting high on . People who get high by smoking or injecting something that would alter their state of mind is but as long as it is only to themselves and they do it in their own homes nobody truly cares , but that currently people do not do that . or from what I witnessed . Personal responsibility goes a long way but people don't seem to be taking it when they get high . Getting high is also a problem since it gives poor in pulse control and as said before It very's from which substance you use . A bad decision does not seem so bad if people are high on certain things . Besides some of the worst crimes and robberies the participants were high at the time of the crime .( Ha it rhymed )

 

[grip]

I heard a saying once: "Drugs won't solve your problems, but they WILL put them on "hold"".

And sometimes that's all you need. A break. So you can come back to them with a clear head

I saw a movie called "Prozac Nation" based on a true story of a girl in Harvard with clinical depression/bipolar who didn't want to take medication because she told the doctor it made her someone she wasn't. And the doctor said your disease has made you dysfunctional and you need a break from that version of yourself thru the medication to reorganize your mind and personality, so you're not functioning around your illness. She stayed on the medication for another year or so and slowly got her life back. She didn't need the medication indefinitely just as many people don't stay on legal or illegal chemicals forever.

 

[What if...?]

The government sees your use of marijuana as dangerous if, for no other reason, you are participating in an illegal activity that is supplied by syndicated criminals who kill or exploit a lot of people in the process. What is wrong with that is that people on the borders are being terrorized to supply you the drugs that allow you to set back and smoke your weed.

I don't know anybody who has seen mexican weed here in San Diego in a long time. Its all grown in the states, mostly THIS state.

 

[What if...?]

1) Sure legalizing pot would destroy the organized crime associated with pot smuggling, but that would be true with any drug, not just pot. and

2) Because if it is legal, then it will not just be legal in your home. That said, I really don't care one way or the other as long as I do not have to smell it or be anywhere near it because I find it an obnoxious odor. The opponents, however, will argue that it is the "gateway drug" since most hard-core drug addicts seem to start off as pot smokers who went searching for a bigger, better high.

3) It really will be a moot point anyway at some point. Prescription drug abuse/addiction, and the proliferation of home-made highs will make pot seem nothing soon enough.

Actually, alcohol and tobacco are usually the "gateway drugs", by the usual definition. One or the other or both almost universally precede pot use.

And ADD meds.give kids.who take them a built in taste for stimulants like coke and meth.

 

[iggicee]

There is nothing wrong with getting high in and of itself. But time and place are key factors. If you are going to get high, do so responsibly, just like you should do if you are going to be drinking.

I have done shrooms and LSD on multiple occasions and feel my life is richer for those experiences. I also have a good job, a great family, I exercise, and all in all have a great life. I do psychedelics for the same reason I skydive, SCUBA dive, watch movies, read books, play chess, travel, hang out with friends, and so on. I have one life to live and I want to accumulate as many experiences as I can.

There is always a risk vs reward when it comes to things like this. I have zero concern about ODing or getting addicted to psychadelics. They just don’t work that way. The worst thing that can happen to me is having a bad trip, which I have had before. But I always make sure that if I am taking more than a small amount I have a trusted sitter with me. And even that bad trip I had made me a stronger person.

I haven’t tried MJ before but I plan to one day. I will not try things like cocaine, meth, heroin or many of the prescription drugs some people take recreationally. While there are people who manage to use those on occasion without getting addicted, I don’t want to risk it. I am also not keen on taking something that one can OD on. Alcohol is the most dangerous drug I am willing to take recreationally, and even with that I am careful not to push my limits. I allow myself to get drunk maybe once a year.

Odds are, most members of this board know people who use drugs recreationally and you don’t know who they are because they do so responsibly. You only hear about the ones who do so irresponsibly.

The mistake many people make is thinking that everyone who gets high or trips is doing so because they are unhappy and are missing something in their lives. And while that is certainly the case for some people, there are those of us who do it to ADD to our already enjoyable lives. When you see me reading a book do you think less of me because I am trying to “escape” from reality temporarily?

I didn’t start taking them until I was in my late 30s with college and a family already under my belt. I am fascinated by how the human brain works and wanted to experience these alternate states of consciousness I had read about. I researched psilocybin mushrooms for two solid years before deciding to try them. And when I did I grew my own so I knew exactly what I was getting. And that first trip was one of the most profound experiences of my life. I felt emotions I had never felt before, I saw colors I had never seen before, memories were unlocked, and it felt as though I got to see the inner working of my subconscious that are normally hidden from my view. And that was a fairly low dose. I have also taken a heroic dose, once. In that trip I experienced “moments of eternity” and learned what “ego death” actually was. I don’t regret it for a second. But it was so intense it will be years before I take a heroic dose again, if ever.

I’m not recommending that others get high. Hell, it may be illegal in your particular country of residence. While I certainly have no moral qualms with disregarding laws I feel to be unjust, for the record, I haven’t broken any laws where I am. Psychedelics aren’t on the government’s radar here, though marijuana is which is why I haven’t tried it yet.

 

[shrubnose]

I understand there are negative indirect problems with being high. I am asking what are the actual problems with feeling good, having an altered state of consciousness, feeling relaxed, and having fun? Yes, people can do bad things with drugs, but they can also do good things. There are lots of people who use drugs for fun and pay taxes, do their jobs, live their lives, and make the world a better place with their presence. I want to know why is it wrong to be high.

I know the mistakes one can make or the problems that come from certain substances, but I want to know why someone being high pisses others off so much.[

/QUOTE]




Why would anyone think that co-workers, family members,friends, etc. should cut them some extra slack just because they decided that they wanted to 'get high?

I am not ever going to put up with that kind of anti-social behavior. And I will not waste my time associating with anyone who is stupid enough to do **** like that.

Now do you get it?

Anyone who wants to waste their life high on drugs needs to stay away from me. Not only will I not 'cut them any slack, I'll drop a dime on them.

We don't need critters like that.

 

[Medusa]

I understand there are negative indirect problems with being high. I am asking what are the actual problems with feeling good, having an altered state of consciousness, feeling relaxed, and having fun? Yes, people can do bad things with drugs, but they can also do good things. There are lots of people who use drugs for fun and pay taxes, do their jobs, live their lives, and make the world a better place with their presence. I want to know why is it wrong to be high. I know the mistakes one can make or the problems that come from certain substances, but I want to know why someone being high pisses others off so much.

its negative effects overshadows the good ones

you lose your connection with reality and it always affects the others because you dont live in a deserted island

for instance you cant drive if you are high l think

even alcoholics arent allowed to drive car