Drug addicts

[Phanerothyme]

So eating mince pies is wrong?

[upholder]

Only on Christmas day:o

 

Sorry, couldn't resist it:blush:

[pink-kitten]

EE by gum...where to start on this....

Right, from my position as someone who had an alcoholic mother...I strongly disagree that alcohol is not as dangerous as drugs...far from it. As alcohol is widely accepted and alcoholism is not always recognised as the disease it is it can be so hard for sufferers to get help. Alcohol DOES alter the state of mind, people CAN become addicted to it. Alcoholics can end up as totally changed people, abusing or neglecting their children. My mum died from drinking when I was twelve, so I have seen first hand the consequences.

Secondly, At the age of 16 I became addicted to heroin, i never injected. I was an addict for nearly two hears, couldn't hold down a job..and without realising it I lost everything I had...I'm sure I looked like the living dead.

To address some of the points made here...People who take drugs are NOT stupid. I'm a very intelligent person, people take drugs for all sorts of reasons. Mine were my unsettled childhood, being in care as a teenager, and a general messed up head.

Lack of education, job prospects, broken homes are all contributing factors to why people may become drug addicts.

These people need help and understanding...Lack of confidence is such an important part of the problem.

I have gone on to live a fulfilling life and have become a good mum with good prospects, gone on to further my education and confined the whole sorry business to the past.

Gods, lets give people a chance.

[MuteWitness]

so some one can go to the pub drink heavily and end up causing fights and yet it is illegal for someone to enjoy a joint and be happy. I think alcohol is a worse drug than weed.

[t020]

Alcohol should have much stricter controls on it than it currently has. I'd propose consumption limits, whereby every seller of alcohol, from bars, pubs, clubs to off licenses, would have to perform breathaliser tests before serving the customer any alcohol. There could be a limit of say, 4 - 5 units, at which the person would not be served. If the person was near the limit and ordered a double, or more than one drink, the person would still be refused. I would also increase the legal age of consumption on licensed premises to 21. There is very much a yob culture in this country, much of it fuelled by alcoholic binge drinking. This lifestyle is without a doubt promoted by certain aspects of the media. You only have to listen to some radio DJs going on about how 'bladdered' they got/will get at the weekend, etc etc. With this kind of shameless promotion of alcohol being broadcast 24/7 it is no wonder that young people from as young as 12 or even younger end up wanting to drink. As well as this, people of legal age are also 'egged' into binge drinking, with women just as guilty as men. As a result, the NHS will face crippling amounts of patients suffering from alcohol related diseases brought about by heavy binge drinking. The yob culture we have in this country is currently highlighted by our tourists in Faliraki, who in my opinion, bring much shame on this country and deserve all the punishment the police over there throw at them. I only wish that the Greek police would teach ours a thing or two.

 

As for drugs, I think most people on here know where I stand on the issue of legalisation. I think some of the police force would like to legalise it because cannibis abuse, for example, is so common that its a lot of work for them and takes up time that they could use doing something they enjoy, such as setting up speed traps on straight roads with no pedestrians within miles. Nothing beats sitting around with a donut in one hand and a radar gun in the other, waiting to catch out that b*****d that dares go 43mph in a 40 zone. Then they get the thrill of a good chase, barging dangerously through heavy traffic. Ever noticed that, even when not in an emergency, speed restrictions and traffic lights are ignored by some police cars? Anyway, aside from this, New Labour loves to dress up statistics in any way it can. Sometimes its dressing up unemployment statistics to make them look better, e.g. by cramming people into University and constantly changing the definition of an unemployed person, and sometimes its dressing up crime statistics, e.g. by legalising crimes to make it appear that there are less crimes committed. So, drugs should be kept illegal, and addicts should be punished in accordance with the law, but also offered some form of rehabilitation. End of rant.

[Hodge]

Originally posted by t020

...

I think some of the police force would like to legalise it because cannibis abuse, for example, is so common that its a lot of work for them and takes up time that they could use doing something they enjoy, such as setting up speed traps on straight roads with no pedestrians within miles. Nothing beats sitting around with a donut in one hand and a radar gun in the other, waiting to catch out that b*****d that dares go 43mph in a 40 zone...

 

But surely, speeding is speeding is speeding - illegal, which as you posted on the previous page, is wrong. Sorry to be pedantic, but have you just contradicted yourself - is speeding OK... sometimes?

 

My apologies if I misread the post.

[t020]

Speeding is wrong, I wouldn't condone it. What I'm saying is that it seems that the police much prefer to spend there time going after drivers, who are often only a few mph over the limit on straight dual carriageways, which isn't that dangerous, but is a 'cushy' number for the officers. Obviously all crimes should be tackled, but police resources are limited, so surely they should use a higher percentage of them on real problems such as under age drinking and drug abuse, as opposed to opting for the cushy number where retaliation from an often otherwise law-obiding citizen is at most extremely unlikely.

[scaramanga]

Im probably a little behind on this and what im going to say has probably been said already BUT…

 

Drugs will always be around in many shapes and forms. People just need some kind of escape from everyday life. The first post stated drug takers are stupid and irresponsible… Well that is bull…. Edgar Allan Poe was known to use opium regularly, American Indians used to puff on hallucinogenic cactus, Hunter S Thompson… Then you can go through a whole list of musicians and artists. They may not be geniuses but they are damn smart and its probable they knew what they were doing.

 

I do agree on some drugs though. It does really egt to me when I see programs about young people who have tried heroine just to fit in the crowd, got hooked to it and watch it become the epicentre of there lives, everything revolves around it. It is quite sad but that’s the risk that in most cases, they know about.

 

I think all crack addicts (or any type of drug users) wanting to get off the drug should be forced to watch requiem for a dream looped constantly for 24 hours. That should sort them out.

[Carlwarker]

...talking of mushrooms I have been told that good ones grow at the base of Higger Tor.

 

Thanks XADRIAN - I'll look for them on my next spiritual 'trip' to Carl Wark!

 

And as Timothy Leary once wrote: If you've taken drugs then you're biased and if you haven't, then you know nothing about them - or words to that effect.

[gwizz]

Yeah - thanks for that info as well XADRIAN!

 

It makes me feel sad to see such obvious bitterness, pain and anger being expressed here at totally the wrong targets.

 

Of course, when I was burgled (probably by heroin addicts - statistically likely) I was mighty [edited] off - but I couldn't allow myself the easy oversimplification of the situation by just thinking 'evil scum deserve to die'.

 

Many people have taken drugs such as heroin and not had their life spiral out of control. Many others have spent some time emeshed in the horrors of out of control addiction - in which case it does indeed damage what is left of your life. In my experience (and there are psychological studies that support this) it is those with underlying problems - carrying a burden of feeling bad (about themselves and the world) most of the time that get the greatest effects from such drugs - and therefore find them much more attractive than those who have had a loving, secure background.

 

These people need help to feel good about themselves - without drugs - rather than simply pouring fuel onto the fire by condeming them as satan's little children.

 

At least legalising drugs such as heroin would allow people who weren't ready to face their problems and work them through (with help); to live lives on a safe 'pause' mode- ready to pick up the pieces when they were stronger. As it happens pure heroin is one of the most non-toxic drugs there is to the body (aside from addiction issues) so there is little physical reason why anyone could not take it for years if necessary and then come off and be perfectly healthy. Of course you wouldn't really have much of a life while this was going on - but then people who get badly addicted to this stuff don't tend to have much of a life to start with.

 

I wish that those who invest so much energy in ranting against the evils of drug addicts were able to spend their energy more constructively. In my mind the real evils in this world are the social and economic conditions that create sink estates, unemployment, low self-esteem and social exclusion. Chronic drug addition is just a symptom of a sick society trying to ameliorate it's pain.

 

with love to you all

 

[Edited by Tony Ruscoe - swearing removed]