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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

#561

Post by sandworm101 »

moreranchplease wrote: post #549
JoelMcCracken wrote: post #542

I read this a few hours ago and didn't decide to comment then. But I just have to. I just lost my brother-in-law to heroin overdose. He overdosed because he went into rehab, came out, and then used far more than his body could tolerate. This is unfortunately common. Not because he mixed it with alcohol or antihistamines or whatever. Overall, his entire life has been extremely tragic. He was a good guy at heart. He wa…

The fact that they're illegal and you don't know the dose is why this happens though.

No. It is very simple, even common, to know exactly what the dose is and still OD. Look at any prescription opioid. The labels on those bottles are very accurate. People still OD and die.

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

#562

Post by datavirtue »

renewiltord wrote: post #414

The fascinating thing about this stuff is that you can have outlier people. For instance, tobacco is supposed to be highly addictive. Well, I picked up smoking from a girlfriend in college and we used to smoke all the time. Like ten cigs a day for a year and a half. Real bad, right? Well, one day, I decided "Meh. I'll just stop" and I did. Not because of any reason. I just chose not to. Now cigarettes are way addicti…

I practically tried to get addicted to cigarettes about 20+ years ago. Smoked quite a bit but could never quite cozy up to an addiction. The taste and smell was really bothering me so I just quit. Most of the people I know who smoked, never quit, and did various hard drug cocktails are all dead from heroine overdoses. I experimented with nearly every drug (no heroine, by they time that was available it was not something I would consider trying) but never formed an opiate or cocaine habit.

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

#563

Post by JohnJamesRambo »

otherme123 wrote: post #73
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.

Thing is, good heroin/morphine is almost free of side effects. Paracetamol, for example, is a lot more dangerous than heroin. Also, Joplin took heroin AND massive quantities of alcohol on the day of her death. It will be close to saying that when someone dies in a car crash while DUI, driving is the real and unique problem here. But the drug-war irrationality is better exposed by taking a look at weed and MDMA. Two q…

Okay sounds like you've got it all figured out. Good luck!

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

#564

Post by steve_adams_86 »

tptacek wrote: post #546
likpok wrote: post #540

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may be legal to grow opium poppies in the US for garden or seed purposes, just not for the processing into opium. https://depts.washington.edu/hortlib/resources/wp-resource_s... Michael Pollan also wrote an essay about it (I think taking a slightly stronger position).

I don't doubt it, but are they so common that I might walk by them in my own neighborhood? (I'm asking, I have no idea).

Yes, I still see them while walking around here in Victoria, BC. I have some seeds from a friend as well. They circulate and people grow them out of curiosity as well I guess. You’ve maybe seen them without realizing it.

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

#565

Post by mcguire »

"Hart reports that more than 70 percent of drug users—whether they use alcohol, cocaine, prescription medications, or heroin—do not meet the health criteria for drug addiction."

One would hope that would be well over 99%, given how many use asperin/acetaminophen/etc, caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and so forth.

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

#566

Post by datavirtue »

renlo wrote: post #486
ta8645 wrote: post #476

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You had me until your last sentence. There are people who are born with huge lung capacity, they are able to swim faster and longer than anyone else. We would never believe that it's emotional pain that is keeping everyone else from swimming as well. And people are born colorblind, they don't lose that ability because of emotional pain. Physics and our individual body chemistry at birth plays a deep role in our uniqu…

I think OP is saying that trauma leads to addiction, not necessarily the act itself; ie, shopping addicts are addicted to shopping because of past trauma not necessarily because of the act of shopping itself. As a prior nicotine addict I don't necessarily agree with this, as I have felt firsthand what the addictiveness nicotine feels like and I don't believe it's psychological (and, it seems like heroin may be simila…

If you have lower dopamine levels watching TV can be enough to get addicted. Any opiate is going to grab you. Some people cannot stop watching TV as it bumps up the pleasure enough for them to feel normal or not depressive. Some people get from seeing comments/likes on their FB posts.

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

#567

Post by happy-go-lucky »

JoelMcCracken wrote: post #542

I read this a few hours ago and didn't decide to comment then. But I just have to. I just lost my brother-in-law to heroin overdose. He overdosed because he went into rehab, came out, and then used far more than his body could tolerate. This is unfortunately common. Not because he mixed it with alcohol or antihistamines or whatever. Overall, his entire life has been extremely tragic. He was a good guy at heart. He wa…

My hypothesis is that there is always a thin line between drug/substance abuse and doing them in moderation.

> The way a lot of this is phrased, it makes it sound like drugs are fine and there is a conspiracy to demonize them.

Those who cry foul at the imagined conspiracies may already be deep in the throes of an addiction.

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

#568

Post by nobleach »

tmp-20210218 wrote: post #275
nobleach wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few years ago, right here on HackerNews, I made some comment about heroin being extremely dangerous and addictive. I had a gentleman with a Throwaway account come at me with a "cool story bro, but I use heroin often, and I hold down a high-paying job" response. Basically, he told me that I'm an idiot and I should stop spreading FUD. I looked at his other threads like a year later, and the poor dude, sure enough is…

probably me, although i can't remember the password to that account, so you'll have to take my word for it. but yeah, from a perspective of a couple years on, heroin addiction is fucking terrible. i mean, heroin's nice and all, but i was an idiot ;)

Dude, I'm just glad to hear you're alive! Hope you're doing well.

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

#569

Post by throwawayboise »

Kaze404 wrote: post #532
edgyquant wrote: post #449

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The effects of almost any narcotic last for 72 hours at least. Not as intense, for sure, but there are still symptoms.

Should people who drink get fired because they might drink on a Sunday and come back hungover?

Depends on what they are responsible for.

Airline pilots, I believe, have a no-drink-within-X-hours rule. I'm not sure whether X is 12, 24, or more. So even one drink the night before a morning flight would be prohibited, even though logically a single drink with dinner the night before should be a non-issue.

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

#570

Post by slavik81 »

hackermailman wrote: post #443
valuearb wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heroin is still illegal in Vancouver. Only a handful of addicts get free heroin. And because it’s illegal most addicts have to pay high prices for heroin of unknown potency, and frequent laced with Fentanyl. That directly leads to overdoses and hundreds of deaths, along with street crime to fund expensive habits.

It's been decrim unofficially for personal use for 5 years now, now officially decriminalized https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2020/11/28/vancouver-votes-to-decri... Every bus stop since March last year in the drug slums also has instructions where to get prescribed opiates. Area only got worse

From your link:

> The Vancouver motion however for the moment has no force in law.

A municipality doesn't have the authority to decriminalize drugs. They're just requesting the Federal government to act. It's not official, though it could eventually be.

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