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Drug use is not abuse

Oct 13 2008 Tags: ,

We all use drugs, every each one of us, especially when we take the liberal meaning of what a drug is – anything that can cause addiction. The thing with addictions is that they can range from very severe to very light and because the human brain is wired to release endorphines into our head to induce pleasure any time we do a pleasurable activity we can get chemically addicted to pretty much anything. Many people out there, for example, are addicted to adrenaline sports and can’t quite function normally without something rushing through their veins every now and then – then we have the television addicts, sitting in front of the damned telly all day long and let’s not forget to most recent entrant to the addiction scene internet. Very many people I know can’t fathom life without internet for more than a week or two and whose to blame them, us geeks made the world even more internet dependant than it is fossil fuel dependant.

But let’s look at a less liberal definition, the one where a drug is “any chemical substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function”.

Most people simply do not make a distinction between using and abusing drugs, especially when it comes to illegal drugs. But that’s not the case. There is such a thing as responsible drug use that is not abuse. There are many examples out there of people drinking alcohol, but not being drunks. People smoking cigarettes, but not dying of cancer. People popping ecstasy every now and then, but not dehydrating to death. People doing some acid to increase the spectrum of their experience, but not jumping out of windows. People smoking a joint here and there, but not … ok what’s the proverbial “bad thing” people do when stoned? Lounge around and eat?

This is why I believe it’s wrong that we teach our children and everyone around us not to do drugs, because, simply put, drugs are cool, everything from alcohol to caffeine and THC is quite simply awesome. We get a buzz, we broaden our lives, we … whatever. But we must be responsible. No driving under any kind of influence, no getting addicted (and it’s easy not to get addicted really), no doing stupid shit and we must always be wary of what we do. For example the moment I start noticing I’m doing a certain drug too much I stop. That’s right, quite simply stop. Why? Because I don’t want it becoming a habbit as it would then lose its alure and become just another plain and boring aspect of my meaningless existance (more on how all our existances are meaningless tomorrow).

I don’t understand how some people can think only those without a real life, without anything to do, can use drugs. Because drugs aren’t about filling the void that resides within us, it’s in all of us and we fucking have to put something in there to fill it up lest we be empty. Some people put telly in there, some make children, some fill their lives with work, some go to mountains, some fly high up and jump down, while the others opt for a few hours of chemically induced fun.

Personally I’ve tried several different drugs, many legal ones, very few illegal ones, actually just one illegal drug, and I can safely say I’m addicted only to two – caffeine and the internet. I don’t want to cure this addiction because I don’t see a reason in it, when I will, I’ll ween myself off them. Until then … do drugs people, they’re fun, but be responsible about it.

Oh, on a sidenote, our society as a whole should start condoning drugs, because when they’re regulated and taxes are paid, they become controlable and there’s less addiction and overall less bad crap from them.

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4 responses so far

  • http://http%3A%2F%2Fdorkmuffin.com OneLuvGurl

    I completely agree. I’m a pot smoker, but I am more productive than most people I know. I also don’t believe that the government should tell me what I can or cannot put into my own body. If you take away the “drugs are bad” label, they won’t be “cool” anymore. Like you said, how many other things are legal but bad for us? It’s pretty bad when the government is telling us we can’t have “trans fat” in our diet. If I want my fat, I’ll have my fucking fat! :D Besides, I’m the one who has to live with my fat ass anyways, right?

  • http://blog.mozganostroj.com sparkica

    I’m no smoker, but a joker and I drink coffee, so I’m a junkie … :D

  • Adrienne

    Firstly, I’m not entirely sure that ‘anything that can cause addiction’ would be considered the ‘liberal meaning’ of what a drug is, but putting this aside, I have a few points to make.

    I think quite a few people -would- make the “distinction between using and abusing [illegal] drugs”, it’s just that society tends to look down it’s nose at illicit drug use in itself, recreational or dependent. I agree that there is such a thing as responsible drug use that is not abuse, though I disagree with your examples. True, just because an individual may consume alcohol on occasion, possibly even binge drinking, it does not make them an alcoholic (not “a drunk”, I don’t think. That is an altered state of conciousness, not the term for one who is dependent on their regular abuse of alcohol). Though it does -not- take the onset of cancer to determe whether an individual abuses cigarettes and it can be quite clear whether one is addicted or not.

    I do condone recreational drug use and agree that associated precautions and responibilities must be enforce on oneself, as stated. Though, I am in agreeance with teaching our children not to ‘do’ drugs. It is a rare breed who, like yourself, are (or claim to be) able to ween themselves off addictive substances, or to control against becoming addicted in the first place. It -is- “that easy to become addicted”, really. And perhaps those who are addicted to these illegal substances have the same mindset as you. That they “don’t want to cure this addiction because [they] don’t see a reason in it”.

    I think a distinction needs to be made between a habit and an addiction. Sure, many of us, including myself, may go a little mental without daily (let alone fortnightly) internet and mobile-text-messaging access. In most cases, I do not believe this would be due to the so-called cravings of an addiction. Moreso a rapid change in daily routine, disrupting one’s habits (of checking their mobile/youtubeing to waste time, etc). I would say, though, that modern-day society has attributed the term “addiction” to this habit-breaking. I’m sure many people would panic if their clothes were taken away for a few days, but does this mean they’re ‘addicted’ to them?

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