mot---

[CleanAzzE30z]

I never liked weed and did it very few times before diving right into crack and powder coke. Then fast forward 7 years to get that whole scene away from me. I never did weed, but Ive done K, coke, rock, H, meth (smoked and sniffed), acid, salvia, E, lots of PCP smoked and sniffed, GHB, and I think thats it. ALso never got into smoking. Ill smoke if Im drinking and only on weekends. averaged out Ill go through phases and when Im smoking a lot, itll be like 4-5 cigs a week. SOmetimes I go for months without smoking. Now Im basically battling alcoholism and thats it. As a predictable junkie I replaced coke with alcohol and its tougher to kick than coke cuz #1 I cant just lose the numbers to my "dealer" with alcohol and be ok. Coke isnt on every billboard in town. All my friends drink, my parents drink so its tough. #2 I have to look for coke to get it. Alky is everywhere and it finds me. Oh and to me "weed" isnt a drug. Ive never seen anyone on skid row due to weed or steal a car for weed or suck a dick for weed. I used to call pot heads pussies for being into such a "waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles" drug. But you guys are the smart ones cuz its not like youre stealing from your mom to get weed. And you dont withdrawal physically off of weed like the tortuous withdrawal off of coke. Hats off to you guys.

Mariano

[schmidty]

sorry man but this cracks me up. youre 20 years old and dont have a clue what the effects of smoking weed or abusing any substance will have on you when youre 30 or 40. you have many years ahead of you. what you are at 20 is not what you are at 40

I was gonna say the same thing.... give it 10-20 years.

That being said...nothing is black and white in this subject. All drugs (including caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, etc) are very different and everyones addictiveness (is this a word?) is different.
To the original Q "Is substance abuse a natural progression???" In the general case, taken all other variable as equal, I would say so. A 15 year old boy would be more likely to progress from some other "lesser" drug to the usage of crack cocaine rather then going from stone cold sober to crack head.....but that kind of reasoning is silly since so many other factors play into the situation.

It's like in high school physics when the teacher tells you to ignore air resistance and friction and all that good stuff. That's just stupid...but it makes things so much simpler :D

[backtrail69]

Yea, I am 19 and have never tried Pot or other Illegal drugs. Drink occasionally like...once a month or once every 2 months. I just do it socially.

I never thought that smoking pot was a very social thing to do when you are hanging with your friends. I know people that have progressed from pot to harder stuff, but I also know people that smoke weed very rarely. It is all how you do things. I am not considering heroin and harder shit to be something anyone should ever try IMHO.

When I went to Canada last month (since I am 19) we hung out in a bar and had burgers and drank some beer, it was a great time. It just very important to only make it a social event and not a way to make your problems go away etc.

[DarkWing6]

Oh and Mot I would not recommend studying under the influence. Your mind remembers things the best when you are trying to recall them in the same state that you studied them, so technically if you studdied for a test after smoking a bit then you would do better on the test if you smoke a little before that. This can be true with anything, how tired you are, mood, etc. Just food for thought.

I guess if you studied after smoking then it wouldn't be all that bad for you to take off with a plane full of people while you were high. :D
(this statement is a joke, but the first paragraph is true)

[blunttech]

are you asking me why I smoke weed? Because where I live its not only easier(I'm not 21 for another month) and cheaper then drinking. It lasts me a lot longer then buying a 6 pack of beer. I can focus and get into my school work a lot more eagerly when I smoke a little. I enjoy the feeling. It's not even a felony here, most Portland cops just ask you to throw it away or write you a ticket. It's also a fun social event, my friends and I sit around and discuss politics, the world, our feeling etc while we smoke. Of course I'm well aware we could do the same thing without smoking and we do, but sometimes its nice to have a nice calming feeling, especially after a long day of school or work. It's not like I'm stoned all day everyday, I usually just smoke a little at the end of the day or if I have a lot of mundane studying to do. It also makes my mind start churning and my creative juices start flowing.


Would you think any more or less of me, if I replaced weed with beer/liquor? If anything I'm far less of a functional person under the influence of alcohol.

sorry man but this cracks me up. youre 20 years old and dont have a clue what the effects of smoking weed or abusing any substance will have on you when youre 30 or 40. you have many years ahead of you. what you are at 20 is not what you are at 40

[Nick]

I'm not judging anyone, I'm just asking.

Yeah, my friends do the same thing, we just pop open a bottle of wine instead...and we've probably been doing that since we were 14 or even younger, who knows. Nobody's ever gotten drunk off their ass, so it was never a major deal.

Having never been 'high' on weed, I don't know what it's like, and I have no intention of finding out. It's not a legal issue, it's probably more cultural than anything else.

Truthfully I've never run a cost analysis of how much it costs. For wine, figure fifty dollars a bottle. For beer, I don't drink anything lite, I'm usually drinking Yuengling or Guiness...so it probably is expensive. If I'm having a bad day, I have a shot or 3 of Jack Daniels, and I calm down a little.

When I want to relax, I get laid. My girl gives me a massage, and we can relax in the hottub. I feel great for hours. Anyone who knows me can tell you I'm a total moron when I haven't had sex.

Same thing, different methodology. For me, it seems less risky. I don't have to associate with a 'criminal element'. I don't have to go to a drug dealer.
It's actually healthy in most respects. It's what I grew up with.

[DarkWing6]

What about nicotine or caffeine? Those are both drugs but people seem to think that since they are legal, it is ok to do them while it is not ok to do other drugs.

And them being legal may be part of it. Weed is illegal so it is partially the rebellion and once you have crossed the line of legality then it can make others easier.

Don't take my stance the wrong way. I am not saying that everyone that smokes pot is gonna be a coke head and that pot is the only gateway into harder drugs. I am just saying that once people have crossed into illegal drugs, usually starting with weed cause it is easy and not really all that bad (I wouldn't use but we all agree coke, heroine, etc are in another leage), they have opened themselves up to other things.

[Mot]

are you asking me why I smoke weed? Because where I live its not only easier(I'm not 21 for another month) and cheaper then drinking. It lasts me a lot longer then buying a 6 pack of beer. I can focus and get into my school work a lot more eagerly when I smoke a little. I enjoy the feeling. It's not even a felony here, most Portland cops just ask you to throw it away or write you a ticket. It's also a fun social event, my friends and I sit around and discuss politics, the world, our feeling etc while we smoke. Of course I'm well aware we could do the same thing without smoking and we do, but sometimes its nice to have a nice calming feeling, especially after a long day of school or work. It's not like I'm stoned all day everyday, I usually just smoke a little at the end of the day or if I have a lot of mundane studying to do. It also makes my mind start churning and my creative juices start flowing.


Would you think any more or less of me, if I replaced weed with beer/liquor? If anything I'm far less of a functional person under the influence of alcohol.

[Nick]

Here's a question, something I've always wondered:

What's the point?
Why do it at all?

There are easier and cheaper ways to feel good.

[blunttech]

i have a totally addictive personality and while ive given up illegal drugs it still shows in my everyday life. i have a serious caffeine addiction and i tend to go 150% on anything i do. this holds true for good things as well as bad things.
if i could take some kind of treatment (if there were such a thing)that would allow me to drink socially and do recreational type drugs i would turn it down.
i really enjoy waking up feeling good and clear headed and ambitious to do things. ive learned how to have fun without some substance. something that was difficult for me as a teen

[ldsbeaker]

you can assume we are "weak" if you like.
thats what many people who dont have a real knowledge of addiction assume

I wasn't implying that at all. That would be way elitist, and condescending. I don't want to come off like that at all..
And you are totally correct. I don't have a real knowledge of drug addiction.
As far as a "gateway". I would tend to think that people who are into drugs are going to need a bigger and bigger high as they acclimatize to the high that they get from the drugs they use. It just so happens that those drugs go from cheapest and easiest to get to expensive and harder to get. (for the normal user)
I don't know, maybe I'm way off. whatever. Good discussion though.

[Nick]

Actually, the PROVEN consensus is that the gene causes you to have an 'addictive personality', not that it makes you like alcohol or drugs.
They've actually found the genes responsible.

http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?language=english&type=&article_id=218392744

[TwoJ's]

I have to agree with Blunt here. My dad was/is an alcoholic, and I think it makes it easier for me to end up like him. Not because of a gene that makes me like to drink, but because of what people call an "addictive personality".

But having said that, I think that drug use and progression to harder drugs is 99% about who you associate yourself with. If you and your friends all smoke pot, and nothing else is ever available, then it's not going to be a problem. The problem is that when you're buying and smoking bud, you are eventually going to interact with a bad influence, and I think that's why cannibus leads to other drugs. The "gateway" shit is wacky. Being high on weed and coke isn't similar at all. Maybe even opposite.

[Nick]

I've never seen caffene destroy someone's life.
And Nicotine should probably be made illegal as well.

Or, we could just legalize it all and prove that Darwin was a very smart man.

I agree with Mot is saying. The only thing I would point out or maybe slightly disagree is that while weed is not the end all be all gateway it is a very popular and easy way to get into illegal substances. Some may argue that it should be legal (i'm not gonna get into that and I don't think we should either), but the fact is that weed can (and many times will) start you down the path to at least try something harder. I never have done or will do drugs so I can't say this from experiance, but from what I have heard, read, and just thought this seems to make sense.

What about nicotine or caffeine? Those are both drugs but people seem to think that since they are legal, it is ok to do them while it is not ok to do other drugs.