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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

#651

Post by Treblemaker »

robin21 wrote: post #638
pvitz wrote: post #550

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree! When he said that he meets his parental, personal [...] responsibilities, I thought I would like to hear if his partner and his children think the same. Maybe everything is really fine, but more often, the drug user doesn't realize how his (ab-)use affects his closest environment.

Even the phrasing is weird. To “meet my responsibilities” as of it’s a burden or a job. Not like: “as long as I can remain a great parent and partner”. Maybe I read too much into it.

I think that's reading too much into it. One can care about meeting their responsibilities because they love their family. And "being a great parent and partner" can be one of those responsibilities.

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

#652

Post by boomboomsubban »

jm__87 wrote: post #649
boomboomsubban wrote: post #633

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> is how they would get reliable numbers for high functioning opiate addicts. He's very clearly advising against getting addicted, something most opiate users accomplish.

So the article states that Carl Hart makes a claim that 70% of drug users don't meet the criteria for being a drug addict. I'm wondering how you could even get a reliable number for this for a drug like heroin, given the stigma attached to this drug and the fact that users themselves may be in denial that they are dependent on the drug. Someone can be meeting all their obligations in life and still be struggling with…

An easy way to improve that accuracy is to survey people based on their past use as well. There's less reason to be in denial about something you've already dealt with.

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

#653

Post by thedmstdmstdmst »

Treblemaker wrote: post #651
robin21 wrote: post #638

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even the phrasing is weird. To “meet my responsibilities” as of it’s a burden or a job. Not like: “as long as I can remain a great parent and partner”. Maybe I read too much into it.

I think that's reading too much into it. One can care about meeting their responsibilities because they love their family. And "being a great parent and partner" can be one of those responsibilities.

I feel this is just word play but being a great parent and partner is not a responsibility in so much as it is a goal.

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

#654

Post by Uberphallus »

watwut wrote: post #453
Uberphallus wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a myth. My cousin is a social worker, dealing with addicts. I've done heroin myself. I know heroin addicts, though not as many as he does. We both agree: almost all addicts have a backdrop of broken families, poverty, unemployment, some kind of trauma or just a general lack of opportunities in life. Heroin makes all that go away... for a while. How could they NOT become addicted? The myth is about shifting blame…

That is not mutually exclusive. Every single person living in 2020 knows dangers of heroin addiction. It is not starter drug happy person will try these days. You have to be seld destructive to even try.

> Every single person living in 2020 knows dangers of heroin addiction.

LOL no. Some people here, most of them highly educated, are spewing myths like it's "instantly addictive", lies laid out to try to curb the epidemic from the 80s.

It takes relatively long daily use for one to become dependent, and basically you only do that if you don't have a job or anything you value waiting for you after the high, really. Sure, there are exceptions, but that's the norm. The fact that drug abuse heavily correlates with economic recessions and unemployment increases should give everyone a hint. [0]

In 2020, we know roughly 80% of the users never become dependent. [1] In the same ballpark as alcohol, unsurprisingly.

And it's normal. Because it's bliss, but then it's pretty shitty. For a few hours of high you have a few hours of nausea and general discomfort.

> You have to be seld destructive to even try.

No, you just have to be curious and know how to evaluate risks and benefits. It's not a "starter happy drug", but it's not the devil. In 2020, the people doing heroin know a good deal more what they're doing than the ones from the 80s.

Harm prevention and reduction has moved on a lot too. There are high precision scales for very cheap. There are testing kits, too. In the 80s pharmacies in most countries were told not to sell syringes to addicts, again to curb the epidemic, causing them to share needles with all the associated problems (HIV expansion, needles leaving more bruises, sepsis...). Now most countries with a sane drug policies provide free needles to addicts, when not straight up supplying heroin to them [2]. Unsurprisingly such countries have lower problematic drug use than the US, where the problem is policed rather than treated.

[0] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095539591... [1] https://drugpolicy.org/drug-facts/can-using-heroin-once-make... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroin-assisted_treatment

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

#655

Post by forgotmypw17 »

I have not used heroin, but I know several users, and have spoken with many more.

Most of them started out with prescription pills, often legally prescribed, and switched to H when the pills ran out and the source ran dry.

If they started shooting up, it was to use it more efficiently.

The biggest danger with heroin is unpredictable dosage and lacing with fent.

I would never advise anyone to use heroin, it's a terribly dangerous pursuit, and the payoff is burning out your pleasure receptors.

I think it would save countless lives to somehow legalize it to the point of an addict being able to get predictable dosage and not off the street.

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

#656

Post by forgotmypw17 »

xzel wrote: post #264
pessimizer wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If heroin were cheap and accessible to addicts, there would be no need to escape until the user were ready. It's so bizarre how laws against heroin get to be the Gallant against the Goofus of anti-pot laws when virtually all societal problems springing from heroin spring from the drug war. There would be few to no deaths, suffering, or crime associated with heroin if it were cheap and accessible, and if addicts were…

Heroin is already relatively cheap and accessible to addicts. The bigger issue right now is the latter part, helping people get off the drug and contamination, ex. fentanyl. I agree with everything else though.

It's cheap, accessible, and totally fucking unpredictable. You never know what dosage you're going to get, and, as you mentioned, whether it's laced with something else much stronger.

I think legalizing it to the point where an addict had access to predictable dosage would save countless lives.

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

#657

Post by thorin »

the_af wrote: post #129
xtracto wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It happens to me with CocaCola. I have stopped drinking it, but when I waz i the process, the cravings it gave me were crazy. I NEEDED to have a coke. Btw, in relation to the article, there was a Reddit user who ar some point wanted to "just try" this heroin thing and his message history depicts very amazingly hiw he spiraled to addiction.

I'm currently a Coca Cola addict. It's not unbearable, but I really have strong cravings regularly. It's not thirst -- I don't want water, I specifically want Coca Cola. This beverage has no redeeming qualities, and I want to kick off this habit.

The beverage is fine, if you have it every few weeks, during heavy exercise or when trying to stay a awake on a long car journey. It's not a drink you should be drinking all day, every day unless you'd be happy taking caffeine tablets and having several spoons of sugar on top of what you're eating. I love coke and will have about 1 can a month on average. In America (and fast food places in general) it seems to be the norm to have sugary soft drinks with everything, which seems pretty weird to me.

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

#658

Post by GordonS »

mdoms wrote: post #604
GordonS wrote: post #593

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read TFA, and didn't see any such mention. I've gone back to it with the search tool, and still don't see any such thing. Would you mind pointing to where these numerous points are please?

Really, dude? > 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 > “My heroin use is as rational as my alcohol use,” Carl Hart writes > Let’s just talk about alcohol first. When you’re at a wedding reception, alcohol serves as a social lubricant. People are more gregarious. They talk, they int…

He doesn't suggest using heroin at work in any one of those quotes.

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

#659

Post by mattowen_uk »

mattowen_uk wrote: post #537
staunch wrote: post #479

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a bit silly. You never developed an addiction to cigarettes so you were able to easily quit smoking them. Well, yeah, of course. The hard part is quitting something when you want to but cannot make yourself i.e. addictions are what is hard to quit. The majority of people are able to smoke, drink, eat, and fornicate without developing an addiction. The people that become addicted are the outliers.

The parent comment is being downvoted for some reason, even though the viewpoint is exactly the same as the original article.

Oh and now I'm being downvoted for pointing out a fact. Well done HN. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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

#660

Post by lqet »

ChrisRR wrote: post #146
kenniskrag wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Speaking as someone who cut out caffeine cold turkey, it's a different thing I got stinking headaches for a week, but not an overwhelming urge to drink caffeine When smokers quit, they almost always describe the urge to smoke rather than the physical side effects, often described more like hunger.

> I got stinking headaches for a week, but not an overwhelming urge to drink caffeine

This is exactly my experience after not drinking coffee for 1-2 days. Headaches that make the thought of drinking coffee slightly disgusting.

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