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Drug addiction: The complex truth

mindhacks.com

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Re: Drug addiction: The complex truth

#51

Post by andyakb »

konstruktor wrote: post #43
robbiep wrote: post #15

I have previously commented on this topic on HN, but since it's back i'll go again. As a medical student I was taught that addiction is a spectrum. Each drug falls somewhere on that spectrum in terms of addiction potential, (And as GotAnyMegadeth comments, Nicotine is more addictive than Heroin) and every person has some prior probability of becoming addicted, due to the complex interplay of social/biological factors…

Are you sure you are talking about the destructive potential of heroin itself and not the circumstances in which it is consumed? It is not necessarily an IV drug, but the price, driven by criminalization, makes smoking prohibitively expensive (see the other comment about the Vietnam soldiers). In countries where the distribution of syringes is criminalised (Russia, USA), syringes are reused and shared. The price of t…

I agree with the point you are making, but for clarity's sake wanted to add that syringe distribution has many different legal (and pseudo-legal) standings across the US. In Boston (not sure if it is all of MA) you can buy needles and syringes from a pharmacy, while in Maine they require a prescription; however, many communities in Maine still have needle exchange programs

Re: Drug addiction: The complex truth

#52

Post by westicle »

redblacktree wrote: post #20
westicle wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. People assume that all opiate users are crackheads committing armed robbery. Many are highly skilled, highly paid professionals. I must confess a certain amount of cognitive dissonance seeing middle-aged men in tailored suits scoring heroin on the street!

These days there is no need for that. They can just visit a "pain clinic" and get a prescription.

Apparently not in St Kilda.

Re: Drug addiction: The complex truth

#53

Post by cholmon »

AznHisoka wrote: post #23

We should not look towards drugs to satisfy the void in our lives. We should not look to eating for pleasure, just for health. We should not look to our career as a source of fulfillment - it's just a means to an end. We should not look to our mates as a source of salvation - we should focus on giving. We should not look to our kids as objects to make us whole - we should focus on giving... Ok, so if we're gonna take…

I think it's silly to try to subscribe to a set of rules that just aims to get rid of all the bad stuff. It makes more sense to me to simply balance the consumption of these "drugs" (narcotics, alcohol, food, games, children, sports, etc). In fact, don't even call them "drugs"; call them "desire satisfiers". Satisfying any given desire has a cost and a benefit, and we all exist in this huge, messy web of conflicting desires that have varying and dynamic costs/benefits. The challenge of living is trying to balance the satisfaction of all our various desires.

Re: Drug addiction: The complex truth

#54

Post by jere »

bane wrote: post #38

Like lots of folks I drink a bit, and I smoke the occasional celebratory cigar. I'm fortunate to not have found myself addicted to anything though (that I'm aware of at least). However, I have family members who have deep addiction problems. Life affecting. One thing that I've noticed is that even when they get off of the substance, the addictive personality traits are still there -- years later. One of my relatives,…

You seem to be suggesting an initial addiction caused an addictive personality, but are you sure your relative wasn't prone to addictive behavior to begin with?

Re: Drug addiction: The complex truth

#55

Post by guelo »

netcan wrote: post #48

Anything that has to be spread to "The Masses" through marketing, propaganda or public education campaigns need a simple message to work. Simple, clear, strong messages with no room for debate. Just say no. Just Do it. The Real Thing. Exaggeration is absolutely essential if you want to get people to react. You cannot rely on reality to provide the necessary frightening statistics. So for example, almost everyone (inc…

And yet many times when savvy people notice that they are being lied to they discount the entire message and can end up engaging in more destructive behavior than they would have otherwise. Public health messaging should never contain exagerations or lies even of ommision.

Re: Drug addiction: The complex truth

#56

Post by x__ »

AznHisoka wrote: post #23

We should not look towards drugs to satisfy the void in our lives. We should not look to eating for pleasure, just for health. We should not look to our career as a source of fulfillment - it's just a means to an end. We should not look to our mates as a source of salvation - we should focus on giving. We should not look to our kids as objects to make us whole - we should focus on giving... Ok, so if we're gonna take…

They aren't taken away. You can still experience those great things, but don't make those experiences the purpose. The result is emotional balance and fulfillment.

Re: Drug addiction: The complex truth

#57

Post by michaelwww »

rwmj wrote: post #5

Does anyone really think "one try ... is enough to get us hooked"? They can't know any overt functional drug users if that's the case. Cocaine in particular isn't instantly addictive. If anything on the few occasions I've used it, it actively put me off.

The author proposes this theory is incorrect but doesn't cite any scientific sources that state "all it takes is once." (They do cite a drug scare web page.) They then go on to say that environmental factors influence drug use, which is obvious. This article isn't a very good advertisement for their "MindHacks" book.

Re: Drug addiction: The complex truth

#58

Post by BashiBazouk »

AznHisoka wrote: post #23

We should not look towards drugs to satisfy the void in our lives. We should not look to eating for pleasure, just for health. We should not look to our career as a source of fulfillment - it's just a means to an end. We should not look to our mates as a source of salvation - we should focus on giving. We should not look to our kids as objects to make us whole - we should focus on giving... Ok, so if we're gonna take…

Moderation in everything including abstinence and excess.

You should not look at any of these as a sole path but enjoy all of them in moderation.

Re: Drug addiction: The complex truth

#59

Post by oneofthose »

One aspect to the "instantly hook a user" theory that I have not seen mentioned here is the following:

Taking a potent drug like heroine or cocaine for the first time is described by some users as "pushing open a door to a very enjoyable place you did not know existed". Once this door is open, you will always know that this place exists, you can not "unknow" the experience.

While some people might be able to handle the knowledge of this enjoyable place and are able to choose when and if to go back, some might not be able to. Therefore I believe it makes sense to tell people not to open the door at all.

I also can imagine that the first time with these potent drugs is a positive experience for many, unlike the first cigarette or the first beer a person ever tries. The second cigarette is not smoked because the first was so good.

Re: Drug addiction: The complex truth

#60

Post by pekk »

jere wrote: post #54
bane wrote: post #38

Like lots of folks I drink a bit, and I smoke the occasional celebratory cigar. I'm fortunate to not have found myself addicted to anything though (that I'm aware of at least). However, I have family members who have deep addiction problems. Life affecting. One thing that I've noticed is that even when they get off of the substance, the addictive personality traits are still there -- years later. One of my relatives,…

You seem to be suggesting an initial addiction caused an addictive personality, but are you sure your relative wasn't prone to addictive behavior to begin with?

I thought the suggestion was an addictive personality causing the initial addiction and also subsequent ones.

I find this like saying that other people might have addiction problems, but you don't have the personality so you can take it or leave it.

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