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I've heard that some people never get addicted, no matter what. I sure wouldn't want to gamble on that and test the theory, but I've heard of people like that and that they're extremely rare. The theory was that the 8 scientists who developed heroin were all non-addictive personalities and that the odds would be akin to them all being former lottery winners, but again, I have no idea how long they tested it on themselves. (I'm your age MQ and I read that when I was 16, so take it FWIW. LOL. )
I used to use drugs to control or abstain from drinking. This sort of worked at times, but always lead me back to drinking which was bad for me.
The main reason I'm sober from booze now is that I found a sufficient substitute to booze and drugs via higher states of consciousness which in turn wipes out my desire to use the drugs/booze in the first place... period, end of story. Hats off to folks who can handle their drugs/booze. That's just not me.
I used to use drugs to control or abstain from drinking. This sort of worked at times, but always lead me back to drinking which was bad for me.
The main reason I'm sober from booze now is that I found a sufficient substitute to booze and drugs via higher states of consciousness which in turn wipes out my desire to use the drugs/booze in the first place... period, end of story. Hats off to folks who can handle their drugs/booze. That's just not me.
Well, even those of us who COULD handle their drugs/booze and just didn't get addicted got...OLD. Beyond one or two glasses of wine, I'm done, so higher states of consciousness are the way to go for us, too.
Ok, so here's what I've heard, I can't say anything from personal experience cause I've never been addicted.
1. Depressants such as alcohol and opiates (heroin, morphine, painkillers) are the most addictive substances, even more so than stimulants (caffeine, crack, meth...) except for cigarettes. Alcohol is the only known drug to kill people if heavy users quit it cold turkey.
2. Almost no hallucinogenic or psychedelic drugs are addictive, mentally or physically. Psychedelic drugs really should be treated as a separate category of drugs in comparison to stimulants and depressants.
3. It really depends on the persons willpower. Every drug has had users use it occasionally in reason and every drug has had addicts recover from it. However, some stimulants and depressants do tend to get people addicted more than others.
4. Drugs affect different people in different ways. Some people may love one drug and some people hate it on their first time.
5. Life is best lived without any stimulants or depressants. This is my philosophy. Yes that includes caffeine and alcohol.
An interesting story I read once--back in the old days before heroin, there was a team of 8 scientists assigned to the task of coming up with a morphine derivative that would not be addictive. They put their heads together and came up with what they thought was the perfect drug--heroin--so they tested it on themselves. Not one became addicted and apparently the odds are really low for that sort of thing, much less 8 people together, but I'm not sure how long they used it.
Stepka, I don't mean to single you out because there are many silly and inaccurate posts about drugs in this thread, but these little anecdotes about drug lore are quite infuriating because they are almost always wrong. Like your story about the origin of heroin, or the common tale of methadone being created and/or named after Adolph Hitler, or pot being so much stronger (and therefore more dangerous) than it was in the 60's, etc.
Just to set the record straight (and this is only a partial history. Entire tomes have been written on the subject), Heroin was created by Bayer Pharmaceuticals as part of the ongoing study of opiate alkaloids that was occurring in Europe at the end of the 19th, and beginning of the 20th Century as a way of stopping the spread of TB (many opiates/opioids are very effective anti-tussives). Many potent opiates were created during this time, but heroin was marketed and sold widely, so it became abused widely. It was initially thought to be a safer substitute for morphine, but soon people realized that addiction to one opiate alkaloid meant addiction to just about any and all opiate alkaloids (mu agonists, particularly). It became an illicit drug with the passage of the Harrison Narcotics Act in the US, and has been one of the most misunderstood and demonized drugs in history ever since.
The fact is that heroin is much more effective at pain management than morphine, is twice as potent when injected (which means the patient can take less, which means less side effects), and has greatly reduced negative side effects like nausea, vomiting, constipation, etc. Addiction to heroin is no better or worse than addiction to morphine, but heroin is much more effective as a pain medication. It is still used in the United Kingdom to treat chronic pain patients and even recalcitrant opiate addicts. Addiction to opiates in general does not occur instantly (though a strong psychological craving may appear after only a few uses in those predisposed), and takes many weeks of daily use before physiological dependence occurs. However, tolerance rises very quickly, so users can find themselves with very large habits of any opiate in a relatively short period of time (3 to 4 months) if they are using several times a day, every day. Physical withdrawal from heroin is no worse than withdrawal from an equivalent amount of any other opiate/opioid. While not considered medically "dangerous" by the medical establishment, many people have died trying to detox from heroin and opiates over the years, usually from overdose (because relapse rates are >90%, but tolerance drops quite quickly), or suicide.
To address the OP's question, I've known many people to casually use cocaine without ever becoming addicted, but I don't know many people who ever casually used heroin or another strong opiate/opioid without eventually becoming addicted. Same is true of barbiturates and crack, in my experience. Life is better without drugs. Having a drink or two occasionally or taking a few toots of a joint is one thing, but stay away from addictive drugs like junk and crack - you are playing with fire.
In my experience, there's no such thing as psychological craving, only physical. I've experienced what you might call a mental obsession to a mind altering product, a condition where my brain tells me I can partake without worry or danger, despite recent evidence to the contrary.
For me, a craving is always physical and only happens with a substance in my body. I sometimes like a bag of pistachios, but when I set out to eat a few, I do not intend to eat the whole bag. Once I get to eating them, it seems a craving kicks in. Prior to that, if you were to tell me or show me that I was going to eat a pound of pistachios at one sitting and feel icky, I'd eat an apple instead.
So you have friends who are social/moderate cocaine snorters? That's nice. I wonder how they casually obtain the substance. You seem to separate crack from cocaine. What about freebase? Is it the form of the drug that you condemn or the method of ingestion.
As far as weed goes, I remember Humboldt County Skunk being different than your run of the mill weed. It costed way more, was stickier, stinkier, and if you smoked more than two huge hits, you got cotton-eye. Like cotton - mouth, but up in your eyeballs. To say that thc output in various different types of mj plants and strains is not vastly different is a notion I'd like you to expound upon. I've been away from mj for so long that I cannot assess any advancements they might have made or not made.
If you have no experience with the topic, it's best not to comment on it, especially when the information available is so biased
To Whomever left this rep comment without signing it: Everyone has different experiences and I know several people who have become addicted to drugs after the first use so please do not tell me I have no experience with this sort of thing.
From my experiences that I go by because it is first hand knowledge from watching it myself my comment it not biased in the least.
Phil - people CAN die from Heroin withdrawal. I had a friend who was super excited that her bf finally agreed to go to rehab. He refused to take substitutes and wanted to enter the facility completely clean. Well, he died.
I was part of the techno wave in Germany in the 90's. Everybody young and hip took something on the weekends for clubbing. Some people got addicted. Some didn't. Some were already addicted.
I met lots of people who took hard drugs on weekends and then after they broke up with their partner or got pregnant, or moved away or got a new job - completely quit taking drugs and grew up.
I met lots of people whom I am pretty certain of, still take drugs and still don't work.
Back then, you could already see in their faces and behavior who is going to grow out of it and who doesn't.
I am not so familiar with the hippie scene in the 60's - but I am sure not everybody who took drugs back then is still using or needed rehab to be able to live a drug free life.
Being an alcoholic has nothing to do with the amount one drinks. It is the NEED for that ONE drink everyday that is the issue. Many recovering alcoholics do not ever have liquor again after they have quit drinking and other alcoholics can have 1 or 2 drinks on a rare occassion and still be just fine and not get back to their daily drinking habit.
As far as the drugs go I have no clue, I have never done drugs, never plan on doing drugs but from what I have read it is very difficult to close to impossible to take drugs one time and not become hooked. Then there are the stories of those who used those drugs ONE time and overdosed and died.
Alcoholics dont drink rarely and 1 or two drinks at that. If you think drinking 2 glasses of champagne on your birthday & another two at New Year's Eve makes you an alcoholic you are mistaken.
Yes it is possible, but I'd say it has something to do with the person.
Say you try a hard drug and you like it and you start doing it once a month, well that once a month might turn in to twice a month, into once a week but only on the weekends, and just the fact that you are making it more frequent means a problem is already occuring. then that once a week eventually picks up and your still in denial about it being a problem for a long time.
As far as trying things once, you wont instantly become addicted, but if you want to try different drugs out that bad you should just be aware of what can happen if you do get carried away.
And turning a one time deal in to a consitant ritual is an addiction.
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Beyond one or two glasses of wine, I'm done, so higher states of consciousness are the way to go for us, too.
Not one became addicted and apparently the odds are really low for that sort of thing, much less 8 people together, but I'm not sure how long they used it.
