is anyone watching going cold turkey on channel 4

[WantoN]

Whether you agree with this being shown on TV or not, the program serves 2 very useful purposes: 1) It shows exactly what people go through when they're coming off the drug

No it doesn't. The severity of withdrawal differs substantially from person to person. Someone smoking it will suffer withdrawal symptoms that are utterly minor in comparison to those taking it through injection.

b) It's a very powerful deterent to taking it in the first place.

It's never quite that simple with any addiction to any drug. Invariably it starts with a 'oh I won't get hooked, it's just a recreational thing', the decline occurs rapidly and usually a person doesn't realise until it's too late. More often that not drug taking of this sort is an escape as opposed to a pleasure thing, and a dependance on such a drug as a crux is a hard thing to shake.

The program portrays an unfair view, it's sensationalistic, and more importantly misinforming.

you should see drug abusers after their first night in prison, they run around desperate to score asking everyone, its truly awful to watch I can never imagine being that desperate, its known as "clucking"

And misinformed views such as this is exactly why the program is such a pile of pap.


Ant

 

[WantoN]

Double-post. Oops.

 

[Tru]

No it doesn't. The severity of withdrawal differs substantially from person to person. Someone smoking it will suffer withdrawal symptoms that are utterly minor in comparison to those taking it through injection.

Ah, so you're saying a program showing people actually coming off heroin doesn't show exactly what people go through when coming off heroin?

Well of course you're not. Yes different people will have different symptoms, but that's irrelevant to my point.

It's never quite that simple with any addiction to any drug. Invariably it starts with a 'oh I won't get hooked, it's just a recreational thing', the decline occurs rapidly and usually a person doesn't realise until it's too late. More often that not drug taking of this sort is an escape as opposed to a pleasure thing, and a dependance on such a drug as a crux is a hard thing to shake.

The program portrays an unfair view, it's sensationalistic, and more importantly misinforming.

I know all about addictions to drugs and I know people who take heroin. This program is showing, in the cold light of halogen lamps what junkies go through when coming off heroin.

In what way is the program misrepresenting the subject?

And misinformed views such as this is exactly why the program is such a pile of pap.
Ant

I could be wrong but I think MrMoon is a prison warden, we definitely have a couple of the boards.

edit: Yes he is indeed a screw.

 

[WantoN]

Ah, so you're saying a program showing people actually coming off heroin doesn't show exactly what people go through when coming off heroin?

I am saying that the program demonstrates the worst of the worst, the lowest of the low. Those who push metal into veins and directly inject cut heroin into their systems. Many users don't use this way anymore.

As I mentioned, it's a worst case scenario that's being portrayed. Yes, when people come off heroin if they've been injecting, it's horrible. But the program paints all heroin users thus. Either that or abusive mothers who do nothing to protect their children from said addiction. There are many proffessional men and women in the UK who addictively smoke heroin, and maintain steady jobs, and if as you say you know people who take heroin, undoubtedly you know this to be true.

It's a horrible, horrible drug, and I do not defend anyone who uses it and the though of it leaves me cold. But the program paints an unfair picture. A smoker generally, as I'm sure you are aware, will suffer the worst of withdrawal over the first two to three days, 12 hours after their last fix. After which, it takes a further 5 days or so for feelings of worthlessness, exhaustion, lethargy and lack of motivation to fade enough to retain a sense of normality. Generally a smoker has to deal with a very low moral as opposed to babies crawling accross the ceiling "in the cold light of halogen lamps" The worst of it, is the mental addiction that always follows.

Yes, were this to be put in an advert, it would make an excellent deterrent. It wasn't. It was a way of making money through shock-tactics and painting all addicts as scum. This is my point.

Ant

 

[Tru]

From what I saw of the program it made it clear that these people were long time heavy users, if viewers assume that every heroin user is like that, then you can't blame Channel 4. Even if they do, is that really very different from the common view of heroin users by the majority of the public anyway?