How I got here • Hacker News Board

Re: How I got here

#351

Post by Fischgericht » Mon, Nov 13, 2023, 11:03 AM UTC

user_7832 wrote: post #335

OfSanguineFire wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how many people here would agree with your claim "it is a dangerous substance when used without medical supervision". Often in hacker circles soft drugs are viewed as something people can take on their own provided that, as you suggest, purity is guaranteed. And while setting and trusted and savvy companionship is important, the involvement of a medical professional may kill the whole freespirited vibe.

I’m not sure I’d consider mdma to be a soft drug. Over-dosing acid by a factor of 10 will be scary for a few hours. Doing it with mdma will likely be scary for your family in the hospital.

Over-dosing vodka by a factor of 10 will likely be scary for your family in the hospital. Same goes for nutmeg.

Part of the danger of a substance is how much distance there is between the substance doing something intended and something unintended by taking a higher dose.

Part of the problem of the opiod endemic in the US is that fentanyl is so potent that due to fluctuations in the incompetent black market on it, and/or due to incompetence by its users, things can turn deadly quickly.

The other thing is how long it takes for you to notice the effects of a substance. If you get a quick result it's far less dangerous to overdose, as you'll notice when it's enough.

Re: How I got here

#352

Post by Fischgericht » Mon, Nov 13, 2023, 11:10 AM UTC

supertofu wrote: post #278

Fischgericht wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might want to try Ketamine. In some countries it's now available legally from neurologists as nose spray. If not, get it from the dark net or a friend in the rave community. Or ask as friend who is a veterinarian. You get mix your own nose spray with that. Before Ketamine, I never in my life had been able to get into a group of people with them being closer than about 50cm to me. Which means: I could never join a…

Thank you for the recommendation. I worry about developing a dependency to ketamine, but in NY state where I live, it is legal for therapeutic purposes. I might consider it. I prefer microdoses of psilocybin, since I have a bias towards plant medicine, and I know exactly where the fungus came from :) And just a funny note re: dancing -- part of my healing journey has been through ecstatic dance. It is a completely so…

From my perspective psilocybin and LSD are very good tools to get a new mindset, get rid of addictions, and to restructure your brain long term. LSD trips sure made me a better person.

Ketamine OTOH is something that can help me in a situational way. I only take it in concrete situations of social anxiety.

By the way - I order it "illegally", but my neuroligst agrees it's a good idea. Right now the situation in Germany is still very stupid, as doctors are only allowed to prescribe it if you go to the doctor every time you want to take a pump from the nose spray. Which obviously is not practical at all helps for situational use...

I'm a person how very easily gets addicted. Anecdotically, but also from what I have read, ketamine is not very addictive.

I am aware that a lot of effects that you can get through medication can also achieved using things like ecstatic dance or breathing techniques or medititations. I'm not patient enough for this, also I prefer to dance to Techno ;)

Re: How I got here

#353

Post by Fischgericht » Mon, Nov 13, 2023, 11:18 AM UTC

hereme888 wrote: post #316

andrepd wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't that precisely an argument for legalisation? You wouldn't have 19 year kids selling shit, you would have pharmacies and certification processes and etc.

I agree it's one argument. But, my views on legalization at the moment are these: Alcohol is a drug, and it gets you drunk. Has side-effects, affects long-term health, etc, etc. Weed is a drug, and in my personal experience it's WAY more "drug" than alcohol, especially how it's used nowadays. Also, across all cultures/races, studies show that the earlier a person starts consuming it, the higher the risk of developing…

In general most psychoactive substances should only be tried once you are a stable person. While your brain and mindset is still in early development it may cause harm.

This is especially the case if you have a trauma hidden. I have seen people who got abused as a kid, and then in their early 20iers tried LSD, and absolutely weren't ready for their brain to suddenly bring up those memories.

OTOH: I'm going to large rave festivals often. There you see the ambulance cars mostly unused. If you go to Oktoberfest, there is constant activity and people getting hospitalized. And people look really fucked up, throwing up everywhere, etc. Overdosing alcohol is more common than with any other drug.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Rational...

Re: How I got here

#354

Post by Fischgericht » Mon, Nov 13, 2023, 11:44 AM UTC

_heimdall wrote: post #317

polygamous_bat wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is that weird? You can have food, you can make food for yourself and your friend, but if you’re selling cooked food to strangers you need to have minimum standards of cleanliness etc.

There are legal avenues to buy food though. My confusion is just that its illegal to sell but legal to own, it seems that still makes it functionally illegal to own since you shouldn't be able to buy it anywhere

This is indeed a logic problem that exists in many countries that have partial legislation.

But it still helps. It removes the stigma, but most importantly: In many countries going after substance users is a low-hanging fruit to police. Instead of solving real crimes if you raid a club you can arrest a lot of "criminals", improving your statistics.

In the "war on drugs", in 99% police is going after the users, not the dealers, because the latter are far harder to catch.

Re: How I got here

#355

Post by Fischgericht » Mon, Nov 13, 2023, 11:47 AM UTC

mormegil wrote: post #263

Fischgericht wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should not have been arrested. MDMA should have been legal. End of story. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02565-4 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34708874/ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/well/mind/mdma-ecstasy-ri... https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/07/03/australia-just-lega... It's legal or decriminalized in Portugal, The Czech Republic, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, by the way. Surprise: Tho…

I don't think MDMA is "legal or decriminalized" in the Czech Republic...? Sure, consumption of _anything_ is decriminalized here (you are allowed to possess only a tiny amount for your own consumption) but other than that, owning, offering, selling, importing, etc. MDMA is very much criminalized here!

"Very much criminalized" is a matter of perspective. Getting caught first-time in non-violent drug crimes in the Czech Republic means you'll end up with a minimal sentence on probation without actual jail time.

In the US, your life would be ruined forever.

But yeah, legal consumption without legal supply (with quality control!) does not fully solve the problem.

Re: How I got here

#356

Post by syndacks » Mon, Nov 13, 2023, 1:30 PM UTC

codingrightnow wrote: post #332

strix_varius wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for more first hand insight, from a related but different perspective. I'm curious: what led you to leave software engineering? SWE to corrections officer sounds like a rare journey.

My life circumstances were such that I needed a job in a new area where that's all I was qualified to do (meaning I can breathe) while earning enough to live on. Software engineering is not an option within 90 minutes of here. Even if I could get a job in software here and it paid the same, software is significantly more stressful than my current job, the future is unsure as tech is always changing, the people I work…

That’s it folks, corrections officers and prisoners are more friendly/outgoing than most of us tech workers. Fuck every single one of us

Re: How I got here

#357

Post by leobg » Mon, Nov 13, 2023, 1:41 PM UTC

hereme888 wrote: post #213

I could have been that guy, and worse. When I was 19 I got caught selling a bunch of MDMA at a night club. Undercover police caught me, and by God's grace they chose to let me go. MDMA had just begun to carry a minimum 10 yr prison sentence throughout the state. I had no idea what I was doing in my life, like I was asleep and not awake, until I got caught that night. About 15 minutes into the interrogation at the sce…

Kudos to officer Garcia. I don’t know many people who still bring that kind of responsibility to their job. So much easier to just follow the rules. Even among judges I know only very few who have the guts to make an actual judgement, which, after all, requires to say “I” - which seems almost an audacity today.

Re: How I got here

#358

Post by avbanks » Mon, Nov 13, 2023, 2:05 PM UTC

Fischgericht wrote: post #215

hereme888 wrote: post #213

I could have been that guy, and worse. When I was 19 I got caught selling a bunch of MDMA at a night club. Undercover police caught me, and by God's grace they chose to let me go. MDMA had just begun to carry a minimum 10 yr prison sentence throughout the state. I had no idea what I was doing in my life, like I was asleep and not awake, until I got caught that night. About 15 minutes into the interrogation at the sce…

You should not have been arrested. MDMA should have been legal. End of story. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02565-4 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34708874/ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/well/mind/mdma-ecstasy-ri... https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/07/03/australia-just-lega... It's legal or decriminalized in Portugal, The Czech Republic, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, by the way. Surprise: Tho…

Are you sure it's decriminalized for selling? Selling and consuming are not the same thing.

Re: How I got here

#359

Post by Aeolun » Mon, Nov 13, 2023, 5:10 PM UTC

morgante wrote: post #321

Aeolun wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The additional 10 years is 10 more years where they can't hurt innocent people. The justice system exists for the benefit of society and innocent citizens, not criminals. By this logic we should just never release them. Should we keep the 80% that would not reoffend locked up to prevent the 20% that would from doing so? Should we increase the sentence from 10 to 20 years to make that ratio 60% to 40%? Then we preve…

> By this logic we should just never release them. The problem with that is it removes the deterrence effect—if you're going to get the same punishment for murder as for shoplifting, criminals will exercise no restraint. > Should we keep the 80% that would not reoffend locked up to prevent the 20% that would from doing so? Why are you just making up numbers? The majority of violent criminals reoffend after release, o…

> Why are you just making up numbers?

I’m making a point. But numbers are more often around 20-40% in Europe.

> Deterrence absolutely has an impact on criminal behavior.

You just completely walked over the source I sent from the department of justice that said differently. Sentence length has no or minimal influence on criminal behavior.

> Why do criminals brazenly rob and openly deal drugs in San Francisco, but not in Miami?

You may notice that the same source indicates that the important factor is instead how likely you are to get caught, presumably SF police sucks at that?

Re: How I got here

#360

Post by frankyg » Mon, Nov 13, 2023, 5:24 PM UTC

Frivolous9421 wrote: post #347

frankyg wrote: post #262

MDMA either puts me to sleep or makes me talk faster than freaking Busta Rhymes raps, without effort. I recorded it once and it's crystal clear. Fun stuff. Need to get to the science of that mechanism.

My experience with MDMA is that it just feels like weaker meth which would sure explain it

Haven't tried Meth yet. Jessa Reed almost inspired it couple o' years back when I was at my weakest but when her teeth fell out in the middle of an interview I decided to wait into my late 50s.