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Well, needing to use a drug is already a drug problem (addiction or not).
> Hart strives to “present a more realistic image of the typical drug user: a responsible professional who happens to use drugs in his pursuit of happiness.” I think this is likely wrong. I guess it partly depends on the definition of a "drug user" (like, does it include alcohol drinkers) but I would be very surprised if most heroin users are responsible professionals - how can you do anything when you're high on her…
It is a straw-man to assume that drug users are high during work. There are plenty of hours in the day. Erowid puts the duration of a heroin high at 2-4 hours.
:| > Hart presents himself as a model drug user. “I am now entering my fifth year as a regular heroin user,” he writes. “I do not have a drug-use problem. Never have. Each day, I meet my parental, personal, and professional responsibilities. I pay my taxes, serve as a volunteer in my community on a regular basis, and contribute to the global community as an informed and engaged citizen. I am better for my drug use.”…
Personally, I've always felt I had a personality that is prone to addiction, so I've stayed away from even alcohol on a regular basis. (Though at one point I was having my favorite alcoholic drink every night... I stopped when I realized what I was doing.)
Even breaking away from caffeine (again) is tough for me. Soda was also tough, and I ended up on soda water instead and still drink way too many of those.
I've also spent too much money on mobile gacha games, but because I know my personality, I managed to keep it from spiraling out of control. (Some people would even say the amount I spent wasn't a big deal, but it was far more than a single game is worth, so it's a sign that I was going wrong.)
Someone else asked how addiction feels, and I almost answered there, but didn't because I'm sure they meant hard addiction that you need help to correct, and I haven't been there. But as far as I've been, it's an almost-uncontrollable desire and subsequent rationalization and then capitulation. Each time. Fighting the feeling is depressing, even if everything else is going great. I only ever escape when I make myself feel worse about doing the thing than I feel from not doing it.
I wish I’d see more discussion and analysis like this over the recreational use of anabolic steroids (read: not for professional sports or contests, but rather for physical appearance). You want to talk about some shit that gets demonized for no reason? Testosterone replacement therapy is legal, but if you decide that you want to use an extra 100mg, suddenly it’s a criminal offense and you are a bad person. For what?…
Controlled use of anabolic steroids is demonstrably safe and effective.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Death is pretty long term. Pardon me if I’m pessimistic on this topic, I just watched a Janis Joplin documentary.
Death comes from _mis_use, which usually stems from _mis_information ("drugs are bad, let's not talk about them"). People die when they over-dose (which more often than not happens because they don't know exactly what they're getting, or the purity of it) or mix with other substances that they shouldn't.
A person quits for a while, decides to start using again and shoots up their usual dose for which they no longer have sufficient tolerance.
If that person knew that this is a common way people end up killing themselves, they probably wouldn't make this mistake.
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Addiction is rooted in truama. It's almost impossible to become an addicted if you didn't have to endure (childhood) trauma. So addiction is often an attempt of escaping, or soothing that pain.
> Addiction is rooted in truama. It's almost impossible to become an addicted if you didn't have to endure (childhood) trauma. Sounds like pop psychology. There are tons of extremely addictive substances. Try one and you will get addicted after a while, even if your whole childhood was hugs and roses and ponies.
Addiction is a force that counteracts your will power. You may not have drug problem but you are an addict if you feel compulsion to use the drug.
Today you may have enough willpower to counteract that force to consume more alcohol or drugs. But the next day may be worse, you may find some family or work problem and your will power may decrease enough that you will run into drug problem and have really hard time getting rid of it if at all.
It is called slippery slope for a reason.
Please, don't take this horrible advice. Drugs are harmful and can do fatal damage to you and those around you. I mean, is this guy advocating drug use? It sounds like he wants to justify his dependency.
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If he can afford it, a problem may not exist. Heroin use has few if any negative physical effects in the long term.
So, what's the problem then? Why is using heroin bad?
Users often mix heroin with benzos and/or alcohol which increases the level of risk enormously. The vast majority of overdoses are caused by mixing CNS depressants in with heroin, not by heroin use alone.
If you can't get a steady supply then withdrawals are vicious and can cause a host of other problems (crime in order to get money for more heroin being a commonly cited one).
One of the ways that heroin itself can cause overdose deaths is relapses - users may take a dose that they were previously tolerant to. I believe this is still far less of a danger than combining with other substances.