Ain't that a trip?

[wendybeth]

I had a medical doc tell me that heroin is probably the most effective painkiller on earth- not that they can prescribe it, though. He was referring to a person I knew in horrendous pain due to terminal cancer, and was frustrated because nothing they had helped lessen her pain.

[Prudence]

What if I have just never been interested in recreational drugs? In the same way that I've never really felt the need to sky dive or ride a unicycle or learn karate? Am I just an square beyond redemption because that's one thing in a long list of things that have never interested me?

[Snowflake]

Originally Posted by Prudence

What if I have just never been interested in recreational drugs? In the same way that I've never really felt the need to sky dive or ride a unicycle or learn karate? Am I just an square beyond redemption because that's one thing in a long list of things that have never interested me?

Nope, not square beyond redemption! I tried pot and did not care for it. Never had an interest in pills, etc. I think I'm the square, my sister was far more adventuress, she was the stoner in the family. I was the bookworm.

Roaring drunk on only one ocassion and I disliked so much the fact that I was 1 out of control and 2 could not remember much of the party. Of what I do remember, I freely admit I comitted the absolute worst in the way of party faux-pas (thank God it was my sister's party, makes a good family story however embarassing and it was not funny at the time) What was the faux-pas you might ask? Well, I got sick. No big deal, right? Not so if you happened to get sick all over a tray of Alice B. Toklas brownies. Sigh, that would be me.

I guess I'm a square, I'm just so interested in things and doing things I've never felt the desire to try artificial stimulation. Although, Wendybeth does point out something that might be beneficial as my body creaks it's way into middle age, a dose of speed to help get me moving.

Oh, and my sister is quite the conservative nowadays. Those wild sown oats have left her and she's quite the old stick in the mud.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Ecstasy was being tested for theraputic uses before it was outlawed, including couples therapy. Ooh, didn't know they were testing again, cool.

If you haven't done the drug you may not understand why it could help you during a counseling session. E makes you extremely empathic, and I can see how relating to others under the influence could help you reach breakthroughs. I'm sure people may think that alcohol also makes you empathic ("I love you, man!") but seriously, it's nothing compared to how you feel about the people around you while you're on E.

This "benefit" is much different from the medical marijuana uses, which are basically a new way to tackle pain. Using drugs for psychological benefits is so standard these days though that I"m surprised people still question the idea when applied to recreational drugs. Geez, so many people use Zanax for fun...

I can see a mental benefit to using LSD or shrooms. It really depends on what you want out of it. Some of what these drugs can do reminds me of the Hofstadter stuff. It gets meta, where you're thinking about thinking, pondering about pondering. I worked through some issues of my own in my experiences, in many different venues of thought.

[scaeagles]

I've been thinking about this whole medicinal purposes and research and modern science.

I put very little faith in modern medicine or the scientific research that accompanies it.

There is a statistic that I have been quoted by an acquaintence who works in pharmiceuticals (sp?). 80% of perscription drugs do not work properly for 80% of the people who take them. They have some effect, but not the complete effect, or side effects are bad enough to have a zero sum or negative overall effect.

ISM mentions that we didn't know the positive effects of red wine for a long time. This is true. And it may change tomorrow for all we know, as is common in almost every area of science. I get sick of being told by the medical or scientific community that the next huge discovery or breakthrough has been made and it amounts to nothing or is later reversed.

I can attest to the medicine 80% figure. Of all the medicines that I took that were supposedly going to relieve symptoms, they either did nothing or the side effects were worse than what I was dealing with. To be fair, accupuncture, herbal remedies, and chiropractic care did nothing for me either, but there were no side effects.

All of that being said, I see no reason to put anything into my body unless 100% necessary. To address another point by ISM, I was living on chocolate for about 6-7 months, and detoxing myself over these last few weeks has been something akin to withdrawal.

So why do it? Messing with my chemistry just makes no sense to me.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

So why do it? Messing with my chemistry just makes no sense to me.

Because it's fun. It is akin to any other risk/reward situation. Not all of my experiences have been good, but many were.

[CoasterMatt]

I have to take chemicals every day to keep my brain from locking up and shutting down, so I'm not gonna mess with anything else in my brain chemistry. I've got no problem with the recreational stuff, as long as nobody else comes through my front window with a baseball bat, asking where the pudding is...

[Not Afraid]

Well, I partake in no recreational drugs and very little perscription drugs. But, I've tried my share. LSD made me laugh for hours, but mushrooms were the best. Nothing like a 4th of July at the beach on 'shrooms with the world exploding around you.

I'd probably love heroin and it is a good thing I never tried it. Speed puts me to sleep and pot makes me parinoid. Alcohol was my love until my body stopped dealing with it like a normal person. I actually like being drug free - except for an necessary thyroid med, an anti-depressant and, now, allergy meds. I rarely, if ever, take antibiotics. Even post-op pain killers don't make me happy enough to take them most of the time.

[innerSpaceman]

My point is that we put things in our bodies all the time that alter our physiology, often not beneficially (but perceived that way) - - and many of which are mood or mind altering as well.

There is nothing wrong with not trying, not wanting to try, or not cup of teaing any particular drug, food, substance or therapy. But don't go knocking it or judging it. There's plenty that each and every one of us do that fall into the category of "messing with" our body and brain chemistry.

[€uroMeinke]

The one time I had acid, I just felt like crap. I did experience hallucinations while on shrooms, but so far the "best" hallucinagenic experience I've has came at the result of sleep deprivation.