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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

#81

Post by lqet »

entropie wrote: post #53
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 am often wondering about how addiction "feels" It highly depends on the "thing" (it must not really be a thing). I would say "its the desire to plug a hole". Do you drink tea? Why dont you drink tea without sugar? There are lots of answers to this question. It can be "it tastes better". Thats what your mind is telling you. It probably would be more healthier to drink tea without sugar but you still add sugar to i…

But certainly it is much harder for an alcoholic to stop drinking, than for me to stop putting sugar in coffee or tea? I actually did that 15 years ago because I was too lazy to buy sugar. It tasted strange for 4-5 cups, then I was accustomed.

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

#82

Post by pessimizer »

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)

Even worse, I think it's treated as a modern version of demonic possession, where the cure killing the patient isn't considered enough of a reason not to deliver the cure.

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

#83

Post by lmilcin »

Etheryte wrote: post #58
lmilcin wrote: post #38

I am Coca Cola and coffee user. I am not addicted. That is, until I try to leave it for a while and then even if I succeed it still takes a lot of willpower. 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…

I'm not entirely sure if I follow the narrative here, perhaps you can clarify what you mean. Occasionally I have a beer, either socially or to try out a new beer — does this make me an addict? I would argue no, this alone is not a good definition. I don't have a better definition myself, and surely this is a subject many people have put a lot of effort into figuring out, but I don't think this approach has merit.

It is up to you. People have different levels of willpower regarding different things.

Don't dismiss power of addiction just because you "don't have a problem now". Our willpower levels change so what isn't a problem now may become another day.

You may loose your job and have hard time finding new one and try to use something that has been giving you comfort to lighten your day. And because your "bigger" worries you may not be paying attention to it or you may need that extra comfort so much you will just say "yeah, it will not hurt if I do this for a while". This is frequently how these things start. It doesn't happen that you are completely normal one day and die hard alcoholic or drug user the next.

Now, I wouldn't call what you described even remotely close to a problem. I also consume alcohol socially and even privately. I pay attention to whether I "crave" alcohol and when this happened I cut it instantly.

I have a test for this. Even if you don't drink alcohol, are you constantly thinking about it?

If you are not using but constantly thinking about it it means there exists a force (addiction) that you are currently able to overcome.

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

#84

Post by otherme123 »

hlasdjlfhalwjk wrote: post #48
JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #13

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.

Switzerland started a program in 1995 where they give medical grade heroin to people suffering from addiction. From the people taking part in this program, none have died from heroin overdoses or due to toxic contamination in the drug. So heroin is actually pretty safe if used correctly.

Indeed. If one reads the adverse effects of heroin (e.g. in Wikipedia) and ignores the ones caused by dirty injection, lacing and overdose, you are left with no long term effects other than a blurry "brain impairment to make decissions". On the short term, respiratory depression. That's it.

Not many legal drugs has such short list of side effects.

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

#85

Post by pessimizer »

maybeOneDay wrote: post #40
Geee wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, what's the problem then? Why is using heroin bad?

Black market incentivises dealers doing things like mixing fentanyl into heroin in order to make it vastly more profitable (fentanyl is cheap and incredibly potent), with the side effect of increasing its deadliness massively. 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…

These are all symptoms of the drug war, not heroin addiction.

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

#86

Post by supr_strudl »

quattrofan wrote: post #54
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…

Do you drink alcohol? If so you're a drug user... We've just decided for myriad, commercial, political and historical reasons to legitimise some and make others illegal. Note I never used the word "scientific" in that sentence.

I don't drink alcohol. The best advocates of drug use are drug users. They're quite passionate about it. Where I come from, they make fun of you if you don't drink and sing a song about how you're "too weak to drink." Every occasion calls for a drink: childbirth, Friday, getting married, getting divorced. It is so common that you're the weird one for not drinking.

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

#87

Post by thgaway17 »

huffmsa wrote: post #35
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?…

This'll get downvoted, but it strikes me how hypocritical it is that you can say you don't feel comfortable in your body they'll put you on test blockers and estrogen replacement to help you look like how you identify, but saying you think you need to look like Adonis is illegal. Controlled use of anabolic steroids is demonstrably safe and effective.

Who is the “they” you’re referring to? Both groups in your example need therapy, not hormones.

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

#88

Post by darkerside »

aminozuur wrote: post #41
coldtea wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Veterans who are given an opioid for pain, rarely got addicted if they had a warm and loving childhood, and lived a life with community and friends. Veterans who had many Adverse Childhood Experiences (A high ACE score), such as coming from a broken home, or faced neglect and isolation growing up, were much more likely to become addicted to the opioids they were given to treat pain.

I'd say it's much more likely related to their existing support network (which is correlated to childhood situation). See the Rat Park study.

Do you have any evidence as basis for your theory?

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

#89

Post by undecisive »

m0llusk wrote: post #57

This is interesting personal testimony. For anyone curious about a more scientific view of this issue I would recommend the book High Price by Dr. Carl Hart. While it is common for people to believe strongly that drugs are bad and addictive, actual scientific observation of drug users finds in many cases there is little evidence of harm and instead of forming an enduring habit they follow a progression which is more…

I'm assuming that's the same Dr. Carl Hart from this interview?

Driving was my go-to analogy too (I've got a longer post where I go into it) Surely there's the concept of legal drugs though too? You're allowed to have wine, but not drive at 120 miles per hour past school gates.

My feeling is that there's a difference between "safe" and "worth the risk". And as far as lawmakers are concerned, for most drugs there's not case where it's worth the risks.

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

#90

Post by pessimizer »

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #62

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 prof…

This is not about refusing people treatment who want it, this is about not forcing treatment on people who don't.
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