nero120 said:
Did you read my post, or were you too quick to pigeon hole me in your figured-out universe? Ive been around regular drug users for most of my life. Im pretty sure I can form reasonable opinions on it based on my observations - remember, Im the one NOT out of my head. And if you're addicted to something, there is no "choice" in it, is there? And I have a right to form my own opinions, and Im pretty sure you judge people when you meet them based on your initial reactions, so get off your tower hypocrite.
Firstly, I'll accept some of your post, so please don't think I'm being to aggressive. However, you have NO scope, nor ANY true understanding of addiction (This is assumined from your posts) and so let's not go there. Of course I base someone on my initial reaction to their personality, but that's it. Just because I strongly disagree with something they do, doesn't mean I'll respect them less. Frankly I'll respect them more for defending their right to do whatever the hell it is that takes their fancy.
nero120 said:
Not at all, there are far more positive views on drugs nowadays than 10 years ago. I think society has accepted it for the most part. My reaction was simply against people who like to quote Bill Hicks too much as trying to say that drugs are responsible for all the best music, which of course we can both agree is complete ********.
On this I'll happily agree. However, you're doing a little pigeon-holing yourself there, I don't like violent, stupid chavs, that doesn't mean I'll paint everyone who wears burberry as a head-kicking, car-stealing scumbag. My point being that, in your original post, you threw a pretty broad blanket over the whole 'pro-drugs' attitude being a glorification.
nero120 said:
Thats because you are trying to justify your habits to others by describing it as comparable to other more accepted substances. Alcohol yes, but caffeine no! Most people who drink a coffee a day are not doing it for the "escape" but the taste. Its not addictive in the most part and the likely hood of someone developing schizophrenia from drinking too much coffee is slim. You know there is a huge gap between caffeine and hard drugs, so why pretend there isn't? One could argue that people drink coffee for the "kick", but this differs from person to person. Caffeine has never had a stimulant effect on me (even pro plus had no effect!). I drink lattes cos they taste good!
Justify? I justify my previous experiences with drugs as nothing but a celebration of my freedom of choice. I did and occassionally do these things, and I bloody well enjoyed them. I knew the inherent risks, and if someone had a conversation regarding them, I'd tell them exactly what I thought. I think they're a positive experience for many people, and something others, reasonably, would never try. However, because I've made those choices, I do these things, that makes me less worthy of your respect than someone who hasn't?
What the hell is this suggestion that all drug use is for escape. (as an aside, everyone escapes somehow, the effect that these affect your body in a chemically-enhanced way is the only difference). People, for the most part, do drugs because they ENJOY them, they enjoy the feeling of them, the experiences they have on them. Yes there are risks, but caffeine will raise your blood pressure, constrict your blood vessels and make your heart race more than a spliff! 100 units of coffee in a 24 hour period can be a fatal dose. no one to this date has every died as a result of marijuana ingestion. I suggest your read up on the actual physical affects of drugs before you throw these opinions down, for instance, take a look into the damages and effects of say, smoking heroin, and tell me what you find.
nero120 said:
Thats your choice of course, and everyone accepts that. What I object to is people who try to glorify what they do. If you enjoy it, great! But having a spliff and drinking a cup of coffee are not the same thing no matter how much you would like it to be!!
I don't glorify what I do or did, but I certainly celebrate it. Actually, they really aren't that far off. You can read all the hype about smoking, and canabis as much as you want, but the fact is, if you've say, been smoking for ten years and give up for ten years, you're at a no higher risk of lung desease, heart desease and many other related illnesses, as someone who's never smoked. As for cannabis, severe, long term use can apparently cause some brain damage, but not as much as alchohol abuse. And you can throw your 'scyzophrenia's around as much as you like, do some research into documented, conclusive cases of mental health issues as a direct result of cannabis use, and see what you find.
nero120 said:
You do drugs, so can speak from your own personal experience of the effects. But I have been around drug users for a long time, so I can speak of the visible effects of it on people, and to be honest Ive had far more fun sober with drunk people than with stoned/wasted/tripping people - and that is an unbiased opinion.
I find it hard to believe that if people are on completely different wavelengths they'll ever get on. As to the visual effects, hmmm. We take risks in many forms, do ourselves harm in all manners of ways. As I've said, do some research into the abuse of drugs, compare it to alchohol abuse, abuse from say, over-eating, the air we breath. There are risks inherent in everything, and if people take those risks in full knowledge of the possible consequences, then really, you have no right to condem them, and proclaim them unworthy of respect.
At the end of the day, I can respect and accept a difference of opinion. What I won't stand is the statement that I, or other who take drugs 'responsibly' are unworthy of respect. And, as I said, addiction is a COMPLETELY different kettle of fish, it comes in many forms, a great deal of which aren't related to illegal drugs. Just because someone is an addict, don't pretend to know their story, or even to understand what being an addict means. Not many of them fall into that stereotype of hoody-wearing theives with a crack addiction and no morals, as comfortable as that likes to make people.
Ant
