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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

#581

Post by yboris »

say_it_as_it_is wrote: post #551
yboris wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ...

I need to know where you get your strawberries, for a friend.

I just think it's a nice parallel. Drugs are experiences. Visiting Paris, or visiting a visually-inventive part of your mind while on LSD - from a certain perspective, these are the same thing.

The claim that a drug changes your brain forever is trivially true - it is literally true of strawberries. Once you've had the taste, you'll likely remember the experience of tasting it (and if you're not too young, you might remember the place and people that were there during your first bite).

For all the hysteria about the harms of drugs, we seldom hear a level-headed point of view about the possibility of them being a(nother) wonderful aspect of life.

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

#582

Post by sibeliuss »

gonehome wrote: post #545
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…

Yeah, the piece reads like a rationalization by a drug user still in the early stages of a problem. We'll see how things turn out in the end (maybe I'm wrong), but I'm pretty skeptical of a positive outcome.

The fact that he started only 5 years ago is a conspicuous detail -- I keep googling trying to find why he started in the first place, but haven't found that question asked. There seems to be some shadow material expressing itself in the form of a book.

I know my own problems, way back when, really got going at around the 5 year mark, and turned from weekend fun to every day need. If I hadn't have met my partner who helped pull me out I'm not sure where I would be right now. Knowing what I know from personal experience, this book seems reckless to me.

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

#583

Post by aphextron »

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…

More lives have been destroyed by alcohol than have ever even tried heroin. What you are describing sounds no different than an alcoholic. The whole point of this article, and Dr. Hart's research in general, is that it's not ok to demonize some drugs over others just because they are culturally accepted. Addiction is addiction, and there's zero evidence to support the fact that heroin is any more addictive or dangerous than alcohol.

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

#584

Post by throwawayboise »

rincebrain wrote: post #150
rmac wrote: post #5

Man, I read this as someone who tried to use opioids and I just couldn't chip. It spiraled into full blown physical dependence. I guess i'm the type with an underlying psychiatric illness which drove my usage and denial. That there exists people like this person who can chip (controlled use of opiates) always intrigues me -- as this drug was the ultimate pathway to euphoria and thus I became the mouse hitting the but…

I've been given opioid prescriptions a few times in my life, and I've never found myself wanting to take them for their own sake or suffering from withdrawal afterward. It's probably some variable physiological response - hopefully one day we'll have a good way of profiling a priori which people may have difficulty with using opioids in a controlled fashion so people don't have to suffer to find out they're among the…

Same. Never felt the slightest euphoria taking the prescribed dose. Maybe got a bit sleepy, but it's been so long I don't quite remember.

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

#585

Post by altcognito »

yboris wrote: post #431
altcognito wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not dismissing his account, so you should read my comment closer. I don't think I would use getting published as evidence that somebody "has their life together". Again, I don't care if he does have his life together. It may entirely fake, it can be temporary, and it can be one account. Look, I'm wholly for the idea of not shaming people who use drugs. I am also wholly against treating drugs which have establishe…

We do hear (literally) hundreds of stories about how drugs destroy lives. Growing up in the US, there would be nearly a yearly assembly where we were told about (exaggerated) dangers of drugs. One story was "a mother put her child in the oven" and other horrors. Hearing an opposing point of view is a breath of fresh air for people who are fed up with the one sidedness and hysteria. Stories distort reality. They overs…

Comparing heroin to unhealthy eating is an interesting take.

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

#587

Post by frakkingcylons »

sandworm101 wrote: post #561
moreranchplease wrote: post #549

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The circumstances of the overdose are important though. Many of them occur because the victim consumed it with another respiratory depressant like alcohol.

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

#588

Post by Cerium »

cambaceres wrote: post #576
gonehome wrote: post #545

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, the piece reads like a rationalization by a drug user still in the early stages of a problem. We'll see how things turn out in the end (maybe I'm wrong), but I'm pretty skeptical of a positive outcome.

Don't take this wrong, but I'm pretty skeptical of a positive outcome of your life too. We all die in the end.

Snarky comments generally get down-voted. I would like to take a look at your point though. Is death the outcome of life? I don't buy a computer to wait for it to break, even though that is the inevitable outcome. The meaning of life is not to have an opportunity to die.

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

#589

Post by s1artibartfast »

sandworm101 wrote: post #561
moreranchplease wrote: post #549

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

What do you mean by common and what would you wager the ratio is between dosing errors and unintentional OD with known doses? 1:10? 1:10,000?

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

#590

Post by vinger »

mfer wrote: post #424
fbelzile wrote: post #394

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case, the grounds for dismissal are for wearing headphones during working hours. Drug test results can be positive for things done outside of working hours.

Drugs, in many cases, outside of working hours can have effects during working hours. Many software developers working for companies have agreements that they can't compete with their current employer on what they do while employed there. It's something employees give up while employed somewhere. In the name of safety, many jobs with safety issues have to give up certain things (i.e. drugs) while employed there.

It is not because it affects their job performance it is because the test they use can't measure if things were done a minute ago or 3 weeks ago.
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