Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

m.nautil.us

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 692 posts

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

#191

Post by lazide »

capableweb wrote: post #147
joemazerino wrote: post #117

This is legitimately dangerous reporting. Heroin is ranked in the top 3 of addictive chemicals and all this article reports about is this anecdotal nonsense. I've too many friends to Heroin to know the reality of the drug.

I think you're missing the point of the article a bit. Everyone knows Heroin is dangerous and it's iterated on in the article as well. Only responsible and healthy individuals should self-use drugs, generally speaking. Then you can also argue that you might not have lost your friends only because of Heroin the substance, but also how people with heroin addiction is "treated" and frowned upon in society. I think what…

Who decides that someone is a responsible and healthy adult? Do we have any data on how many responsible and healthy adults try heroin?

Anecdata and broad brush strokes of course - In my experience anyway, the actually responsible and heathy adults I know haven’t felt the need to use heroin. The people who somehow are able to delude themselves into thinking they are responsible and healthy while obviously in crippling mental and/or physical pain, have - and it’s been devastating to them.

I’ve had prescription opioids before (hydrocodone, codeine, morphine) during medical emergencies. The feeling of peace and calm is amazing - which is exactly why it attracts people in pain and suffering, destructively so in many cases. It is difficult to know if that feeling is going to be magnetic or repulsive to you until you try it. It happens to be repulsive in my case (I know it’s a trap), thankfully.

It’s a complicated story of course, and bad outcomes tend to get the press. Better treatment (including in many cases mental health treatment) is definitely needed.

It is not the only substance like this - alcohol, tobacco, amphetamines, and others have track records of similar problems.

Pretending that anyone and everyone could self evaluate and go for it without a decent percent of them having major problems for them and those around them is unfortunately just not a good idea.

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

#192

Post by flatiron »

ChrisRR wrote: post #183
SamBam wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> His assertion the 70% of all drug users including alcohol and prescription users aren't addicted if anything seems extremely low to me. I'd say the vast majority of my friends drink alcohol and are more than likely on prescription drugs but I don't think any of them are addicts Actually, I'm not sure. 30% of alcohol drinkers being addicted might be roughly right (though surprising to me as well). In the US, 50% of…

I'll admit that is an insane amount that I wasn't expecting, but something about those numbers just feels off. Like 10 drinks a day? Many people don't even drink that much water Maybe we're getting a very different view of the US from the UK, but despite all of America's flaws and how weak the beer is, it seems so unexpected to me that 1/10 of people are opening a new drink every 90 minutes and somehow managing to ho…

if someone drinks from 5pm-10pm one can of beer every 30 minutes thats 10 drinks. they could easily wake up at 7am, hold down a job and rinse and repeat. a 30 rack of miller light (my beer of choice) is $22 which is 73 cents a beer so thats ~$7.50 a day on beer. obviously there are cheaper routes (buying $10 handles of vodka for instance). so at least in america, price really isn't a factor here. and holding down a job most likely isn't a factor since they are stone cold sober from when they wake until 5pm. i assume a lot of people silently live like this sadly

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

#193

Post by yboris »

say_it_as_it_is wrote: post #161

Your brain is physically changed the first time you use heroin. There's no going back to normal. There was the person who you were before heroin and the person who you are after using heroin. If you manage to quit heroin, ten years after kicking your heroin habit, you're still thinking about heroin. Twenty years later, you're still thinking about heroin. You never stop thinking about heroin until you die. Every painf…

Your brain is physically changed the first time you try a strawberry. There is no going back to normal. There was the person who you were before you tried a strawberry and the person who you are after you tried a strawberry. If you manage to never eat another strawberry, ten years later you're still thinking about what a tasty berry it was. You will fondly remember that taste until you die ...

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

#194

Post by werber »

DanBC wrote: post #101
emsy wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)

> Do insulin users have a drug problem? How many insulin users lose their jobs, lose their homes, turn to acquisitive crime or prostitution to fund their insulin habit? We can talk about how many people who use heroin this happens to, and how much it's caused by current drug prohibition laws, but it's more than zero. Decriminalisation makes a lot of sense but we need to be realistic about the harm caused to about 10%…

Unfortunately, insulin users in the United States are sometimes forced to turn to more nefarious means of getting money to support their body from dying. I've known 2 people who died that were unisured and broke who died from not being able to support their dependency on it. Universal Healthcare should cover those dependent on Insulin and Heroin

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

#195

Post by boomboomsubban »

joemazerino wrote: post #117

This is legitimately dangerous reporting. Heroin is ranked in the top 3 of addictive chemicals and all this article reports about is this anecdotal nonsense. I've too many friends to Heroin to know the reality of the drug.

>all this article reports about is this anecdotal nonsense. I've too many friends to Heroin to know the reality of the drug

The experiences of your friends is anecdotal. This article discusses the mechanisms of the drug, both the physical and personal cause of addiction, the common factors that lead to death, and the rate of users that end up addicted.

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

#196

Post by sillysaurusx »

loves_mangoes wrote: post #189
sillysaurusx wrote: post #167

How many of you want to decriminalize drug use? Be honest –– raise your hand. Now, how do you square that with almost everyone here universally claiming that these words are dangerous ? > The statements that make people mad are the ones they worry might be believed. I suspect the statements that make people maddest are those they worry might be true.

Hey there! Hand raised, and happy to disagree =) Giving people the autonomy to live their life, means there are many dangerous things you can say about things that are legal, and should be legal. I believe people should be responsible enough to drive a car, drink alcohol, and with or without prescription take a drug without risking a prison sentence. Now my advice is: It's not okay to drive while extremely tired, it'…

Happy to hear your disagreement! (Also, please have a wonderful day this fine Thursday.)

The thing is, wouldn't you agree that if something isn't criminal, then it should be fine to talk about the act of doing that thing? Because that's all this interview seems to be.

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

#197

Post by swirepe »

achairapart wrote: post #143

I can see addiction like unpaid debt. Just like everyone may need a bank loan (which is totally socially acceptable), sometime you may need a happiness/energy/relief/whatever loan. The thing is, just like a money loan, you should be ready to pay your debt after. The day you think you can run away without paying, it's where the trouble begin. This is true even with alcohol: Go to a party, drink a few glasses. One or t…

I liked the way you framed drug use as temporary happiness loans. That's very insightful.

>Now, I'm aware that this is quite complex, but still I wonder how many people there are out there who can self-control themself and diligently keep their debt in order.

The analogy breaks down a bit here for me.

Before I had a cat, I couldn't understand how people could pay so much for veterinary bills. After I got a cat, I could see myself spending more on her than I would spend on myself. Like, what's the point of having money if not to make my cat happy? My relationship to money itself changed. Self-control isn't a factor.

I'm stretching this analogy, but I wonder how many drug users with their happiness debts in balance have really just reframed their happiness finances around their addiction.

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

#199

Post by cryptica »

My experience with drug users in the workplace is that the drugs make them seem more empathetic in a superficial way but in fact reduce their real empathy in the sense that they're less likely to help others in need; when they do help others, it's often to get attention to boost their personal image so that they can get more money and/or power.

I think drug use also encourages people to seek out more thrills in their personal lives. It takes away their ability to enjoy a simple life and makes them greedier for endorphins. I wouldn't be surprised if the current narcissistic, monopolistic corporate economic environment is a result of heavy drug use among executives. They can never get enough money or power because they can never get the life satisfaction that their brains need to match the highs provided by drugs; even given the fact that their regular life experiences are far better than the average person; it still doesn't compare to the drugs. The best possible life experiences they can get don't meet their new baseline for happiness. Drug use also seems to encourage cheating and other unethical behaviours since these behaviours deliver a natural high (alas, it still falls short of their drug baseline).

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

#200

Post by watwut »

fingerlocks wrote: post #166
ardy42 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Opioids are insanely and instantly addictive. I accidentally became addicted after knee surgery. Is that true generally, or just for a subset of people who have some predisposition to addiction? While it could just be Purdue Pharma propaganda, I vaguely recall hearing that the "instant addiction" was a myth. However, people like you have experiences like yours, so there must be some truth to the "instant addiction"…

Yeah it’s a total myth. Not sure why you’re being downvoted. My wife and I kept a bottle of oxy in our bathroom for a few years, taking it only occasionally. No one got addicted because neither of us wanted to keep taking it. A prerequisite for addiction is that one must believe the drug makes them feel “normal” or functional in some way. “I can’t live with this pain - I need it.” If instead you as a user go into the…

It is not myth. Some people get instantly addicted to heroin, others can continue using casually for years. We dont really know what exactly is different, but it cant be psychological only. The withdrawal symptoms are physical, not just how you feel emotionally.
Post reply on HN