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I am a heroin user. I do not have a drug problem

m.nautil.us

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Re: I am a heroin user. I do not have a drug problem

#61

Post by darkerside »

Geee wrote: post #49
lqet wrote: post #2

> One of the major reasons people can’t overcome it is because we’re not very good at treating addiction in this country. I am often wondering about how addiction "feels". I don't consider myself being addicted to anything, and always wonder how an addiction actually manifests itself. Is it a pain? Is it comparable to being extremely hungry or thirsty? Slightly related: a few years ago, I overheard a conversation bet…

I'd say that cigarette addiction doesn't really feel like anything. Mostly it's just like a feeling that you forgot something. Or a feeling that you didn't complete your to-do list. Then you get satisfaction when you're able to complete it.

Former smoker. You also get increasingly annoyed at anyone and everyone until you get to check off that box. Nothing feels complete, none of life's little victories or big disasters, until you've had a smoke to commemorate it.

To me, it always felt like there was something like a little pebble be stuck in my brain and there was only one way to get it out. Not physically, but in terms of how it affected me mentally.

Re: I am a heroin user. I do not have a drug problem

#62

Post by throwaway0a5e »

This guy's whole viewpoint seems to be pinned on "it's not addiction if it's not negatively affecting the rest of your life" (yes, I know this is a major criteria for a lot of medical diagnosis, addiction included).

The problem is that what it takes "negatively affect the rest of your life" depends a lot on what role you have in society.

Short of pornography producer, fantasy fiction author, songwriter and other professions where copious drug use fit one's "brand image" or potentially enhance one's work, a tenured college professor gets about about as much leeway from the rest of society as a white collar professional can get. He can be "eccentric" and nobody blinks twice. But for other professions the standards of behavior are different (and generally get more permissive as you go down the economic ladder).

Defining the difference between acceptable use and addiction, and by proxy who's problems are bad enough to be considered problems and therefore in need of solving in a way that is relative to one's place in society is very dangerous. If you're blind in one eye you're still blind in one eye even if it doesn't negatively affect you. Addiction (and a multitude of other conditions) are the same.

Re: I am a heroin user. I do not have a drug problem

#63

Post by throwaway_du »

yladiz wrote: post #25

> 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…

I used drugs recreationally until I had children. During this time I knew many colleagues that used drugs every week. Some used amphetamines and mdma at parties. Some used morphine substitutes day time during the weekends, and on a few occasions some were high during work hours (the last few hours on friday). They were very productive. Just because you use a hard drug does not mean that you have to take a large dose. I would argue that most people will be more productive with a low dose of amphetamines. On the other hand, I think no one codes better with alcohol. It all depends on the drug.

For several years I made a living playing poker, and I played a lot better with morphine in my system. It made me more patient and focused. I even tracked my results in different databases (with pokertracker) to compare my results while high. I made almost 10% more while high, and this is over hundreds of hours played.

Re: I am a heroin user. I do not have a drug problem

#64

Post by viraptor »

I found this quote pretty strange:

> Despite the current false narrative, the addiction rate among people prescribed opioids for pain in the United States, for example, ranges from less than 1 percent to 8 percent.

What's the threshold where it's a problem? 1% of prescription drug users getting addicted sounds like a terrible situation to me. Let alone 8%. Especially if they're already in a situation where finding a way to escape is tempting.

Re: I am a heroin user. I do not have a drug problem

#65

Post by fire7000 »

ddelt wrote: post #21

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?…

Your biceps will shrink after your cycle and put you into a depression in combination with having low testosterone. It's not a good place.

Re: I am a heroin user. I do not have a drug problem

#66

Post by darkerside »

arsome wrote: post #24
kenniskrag wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

do you drink coffee or soft drinks? Try not to drink them for 2 weeks.

I've done this several times, I have a headache for 24-48 hours then pretty much back to normal. Tolerance takes longer to reset obviously and I'm sure I get more energetic in subtle ways I'm unaware of in there... but I don't think it's remotely comparable to a serious addiction, from what I've read tobacco is probably the most widely accepted thing able to cause that level of addiction.

The worst is over after a couple of days off cigarettes too, but there's a thick trail for a couple of weeks and a long thin tail for a couple of years.

Re: I am a heroin user. I do not have a drug problem

#67

Post by diegoperini »

supr_strudl wrote: post #39

>When you’re at a wedding reception, alcohol serves as a social lubricant. People are more gregarious. They talk, they interact. The same is true with cocaine at parties, heroin among friends, or opium among friends, NDMA among lovers. It enhances empathy, openness, and forgiveness, all of these pro-social attributes. Please, don't take this horrible advice. Drugs are harmful and can do fatal damage to you and those…

It doesn't look like an advice but a simple, neutral observation of the pluses. Of course there are also minuses but this quote doesn't seem it rejects those.

Re: I am a heroin user. I do not have a drug problem

#68

Post by fire7000 »

insickness wrote: post #51
ddelt wrote: post #21

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?…

There's a good book on this called Better Than Well that discusses the use of medicine for life improvement rather than treating disease. One of the most interesting chapters was on amputees by choice, people who want to cut off a limb to become handicapped. Doctors were left with the painful decision of helping these people achieve this or having them do it on their own in a much more dangerous way. While most would…

You can go to a doctor and get them to prescribe the same hormones to change you from a girl to a boy. Tell them it's for gender re-assignment and they will send you home with a lifetime supply

Re: I am a heroin user. I do not have a drug problem

#69

Post by rkachowski »

ddelt wrote: post #21

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?…

slightly OT, but in what situations can anabolic steroids be used recreationally?

Re: I am a heroin user. I do not have a drug problem

#70

Post by Solid_Applaud »

emsy wrote: post #31
coldtea wrote: post #12

Well, needing to use a drug is already a drug problem (addiction or not).

Do insulin users have a drug problem? I think at the core of the issue is that our society generally regards psychological ailments as a personal flaw, rather than a health issue. (I’m talking generally, not about the professor from the article)

Yes, they do for the most part. Most insulin users are T2DM, and a large portion of these are able to get off of it over time.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5357144/

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