Do you harbour prejudices against people who use drugs?

[Hoplon]

the only ones i have a really actual agro in my soul for is Alcoholics, since i had the singular displeasure of growing up in a house with one.

Mostly i am just weary of people who are too focused on a drug, since the addiction can make them untrustworthy.

 

[MrFalconfly]

Depends on if they're high at the time of conversation. I can't stand talking to people who are stoned, drunk, high, tripping, etc. Not because I have some grudge against the substance, it's just because they become annoying as shit. Stoners are the most annoying, heroin addicts are the most unpredictable, in my experience. The heroin guys seemed to have real trouble understanding that you can't just fuck somebody up because you don't trust them, and they get kinda twitchy when you confront them about it..so, yeah, don't do that.

The stoners though. Good God. I'm a university student. I'm a smart guy in a working-class area. Most of my friends didn't even go to college, and so they never quite mastered critical thinking. Some guy tells them marijuana prevents cancer, they'll be on the phone to me in five minutes flat telling me marijuana prevents cancer. They'll then rattle off a bunch of terms they've parroted from their dealer, and then look at me expectantly.

First off, guys, I'm a fucking humanities student. I am not a chemist.

Second, everything you just said was total bollocks and there's no evidence to support the claim.

Third, I'm not telling you you can't smoke, I'm telling you to stop doing it around me because I'm asthmatic and, even if it DID prevent cancer, it doesn't prevent asthma attacks.

And fourth, if you call this number again, I'll have you shot.


So...long story short, my prejudices are not based on the type, quantity or frequency of drug use, they're based on the respective culture. Weed culture is one of only two trends I can't stand. I don't get upset about swag. I don't give two shits about 'yolo'. The other trend I despise is 'lad culture' because, well, sorry mate, but soaking a tampon in vodka and shoving it up your arse is about as admirable as....half the other shit you freaks do to justify yourselves to each other.
You ever see that Secret Life of Students? The 'lad' on that in the first episode said "Lad status confirmed - now to get laid."
And here I thought lad culture required sex.

Oh, yeah. Weed culture, that's what I was talking about. Fuck weed culture. If you want to smoke weed, do it quietly. Should weed be legalised? Don't see why not. Honestly it doesn't affect me.

That seems to perfectly summarize my stance on drugs and drug-users.

Although personally I take it a step beyond and say that anything that alters the fine neurochemistry that makes sure your brain actually functions has quite a few risks associated with it.

But hey, I'm not gonna be all high and mighty since I myself have been drinking the occasional beer (ethanol itself being a behavior altering compound), but to my defense I've yet to see ethanol causing psychosis-resembling symptoms.

On the other hand "Several recent studies suggest that frequent cannabis use during adolescence is associated with a clinically significant increased risk of developing schizophrenia and other mental illnesses which feature psychosis."*

*http://cannabisandpsychosis.ca/more-information/what-do-we-know/

 

[Raziel]

Yes. I consider them a bunch of idiots to be avoided. Exempting people who really do use pot for actual medical conditions.

Its not just the drug side effects, its also legal trouble the bring with them. When I find out about someone using I basically cut them out of my life.

 

[giles]

I don't hate people for using alcohol or pot and I won't bother them with my opinion. I don't like being drunk, it makes me lose control. Feels like I stop being myself. I understand some people enjoy this particular effect, but it's the opposite for me.
At parties I come up with an excuse not to drink by driving to the place, pretty sure nobody wants to hear my philosophical reasons for abstaining. I can still be fun and have fun with all the drunkards, so it doesn't bother me.
Smoking anything is just a big no for me, I had asthma as a kid and my parents went to a lot of doctors so it doesn't bother me anymore. I'm not gonna throw their hard work (and my ability to breathe) away just so I can trick my brain into happiness for a few hours.

 

[Verlander]

No, not really, because I judge every situation as it comes, complete with context and nuance.

Ideologically, I see the benefits of legalisation, but I'm not so naive as to think it would come without a price. Mostly though, I choose to abstain personally. I don't smoke either, but I do drink (not heavily anymore)

 

[CrystalViolet]

Yes. I consider them a bunch of idiots to be avoided.

I asked this of another user earlier, but I'll also ask you: Would meeting an intelligent, contributing member of society who just so happens to take lots of drugs undermine your view of drug users, or would the fact that they take drugs eclipse all the other qualities enough so that they're still idiots in your mind?

 

[kasperbbs]

I wouldn't mind if they didn't go out into the public while under the influence of drugs. I know for a fact that one of my friends likes to drive like a maniac after smoking some weed and who knows how many like him are out there.

 

[Ravesy]

I guess I do have prejudices against people who drugs, from witnessing the effects that they have had on my friends in the past.

I had two friends growing up, one was on course to become a doctor, the other was studying chemistry at university. The first is now cooking food at a pub, and the other is working for a supermarket. The reasons for this? Weed.

Now I'm aware that in these instances the end result was due to their misuse and when used in moderation the effects aren't anywhere near as life altering, but that's the experience I've had with it.

At the end of the day its addictive, against the law, has an effect on your personality, and makes a lot of other people feel uncomfortable.

If people want to do drugs that's fine with me, just don't be surprised if I think you're a dumbass for doing so.

(this is obviously without even touching on the actions of the parties that produce and distribute the drugs)

 

[spartan231490]

Depends on the drug. Weed, no, not really. Not unless you use to the point where it becomes a problem, then I judge you a lot. Out of experience, I expect heavy users of marijuana to be less capable and a lot more flaky. Other drugs, there's definitely a little judgement from me towards anyone who uses hard drugs. It always seemed to be a really stupid decision to me, after losing my sister to an unintentional overdose last year, I feel even more strongly about it. If you use hard drugs I automatically assume you have poor judgement and a weak will.

I've had a lot of people tell me that there's nothing wrong with weed.

Then proceeded to immediately make me feel uncomfortable because I'm not big on the smell. I don't toke. Or they tell me how they've "christened their apartment" and then immediately do that shuffle when I tell them I'm not big on it. Like, I've just become some sort of lecherous gross person.

I used to kind of treat it like smoking. Just, don't do it in my house. If I'm in your space and you want to light up, meh. Whatever. It's your space. But, please respect my preferences. Also, you're an addict. If you wake up to two poppers every morning. You're a fucking addict. You're an addict if I load up team speak to hear you toking every fucking time. Same with steam VOIP, and same with in-game VOIP. You're an addict if you need to toke before, after, and during every single fucking DnD/Shadowrun session.

Correction: It used to not bother me. But working and playing with a bunch of fucking addicts for around an entire year? Now it does. I used to want a lot of these things legalized, now I'm conflicted. Keeping it illegal causes crimes, but having the harsh punishments on the addicts? Well... Maybe they'll change. I don't know.

Met a lot of people like this too. Thing is, you should probably still be for legalization or decriminalization. Treating addiction as a criminal problem just makes it worse. However, as Portugal and Brazil have shown, decriminalizing allows you to treat it as a mental health problem and treat it. Both places have seen addiction rates, not to mention overdose and crime rates, plummet since decriminalizing drug use.

 

[small]

pot. no not at all. do what you want with it i dont care as long as i dont have to smell the crap.

other drugs, definitely. ive had enough issues with amphetamine users to know i dont trust them what so ever

 

[shootthebandit]

I dont have a problem with people who take drugs. Ive taken drugs in the past. Speed, extasy, cocaine and weed (only a couple of times I must add)

I find it kind of sad how as a society we condemn people with a serious drug addiction but people who are addicted to food you cant make fun of them because they are fat

drug addiction is a serious illness and not something that can be solved with punitive measures

 

[CrystalViolet]

I have no objection to marujana.
But anything else is moronic. Legal or not.

But do you actually know that all other drugs, provided that they're pure and not abused, are definitely bad for you? Cocaine and heroin are undoubtedly bad for you, but pure MDMA and LSD for example have been shown in what limited studies have been authorised to be quite safe. This is all relatively speaking of course.

And I also am inclined to believe the part about it causes more cancer than tobacco.

I'm not going to try to change your opinion about people who take drugs or justify my use, I'm just trying foster informed and sedate discussion, but I'm sorry, your assertion has no factual basis. It may be your opinion that the other drugs cause cancer but the science does not back that up at all.

Of all the smoking things, tobacco may be the safest.

Gosh, no! It's not as bad as crack, but it's so, so much worse than marijuana.

No, it is not a cure for cancer. It has limited medical use, I suspect.
And that medical use will turn to addiction fast in some cases.

Every pothead fucktard claims that it cures cancer. It doesn't. There's plenty of in vitro evidence that it redacts tumours, and a little in vivo, but there's no hard evidence that it can cure cancer in human patients. As for no medical use? That's another story. It has actually been shown to be highly effective for relieving symptoms of multiple sclerosis and arthritis, and it's probably the most effective palliative adjuvant to chemotherapy. Weed is not highly physiologically addictive, certainly less so than alcohol, but it's all about management and education. I can still buy codeine over the counter in most European countries. Also, why tell a cancer patient undergoing chemo that they're not allowed to smoke weed because they might get addicted?

I don't believe that it makes people chill out all the time.
A addicts going to get angry pretty fast when the withdrawl kicks in.

Cannabis has been shown to induce transient paranoia and psychosis. So has alcohol. The difference is that an alcoholic episode isn't going to be exacerbated by the fact that they're worried about being caught doing something illegal.

Of course, some people are fine, and not addicted. They can handle it.

You can call me an "addict" and that's technically true because I'm addicted to caffeine and chocolate. I try to limit myself to only 2 squares of dark chocolate per day and no coffee after 6pm. I think I handle it pretty well.

But some will be screaming insane addicts.

Yup, and criminalising their addiction does none of us any favours. Alcoholics don't risk a criminal record.

The rest are death sentences.

Seriously? Isn't that a little extreme? I've never heard of anyone dying from LSD.

 

[CrystalViolet]

Oh wow, finally an interesting thread !

Thank you! It's nice to see such a varied response. I like to hear both from people who agree and disagree with me.

If you smoke pot once a day, I'm okay with that.

Gosh, that's a lot! I don't judge anyone for their drug use (it would make me a massive hypocrite) but smoking pot once per day is not healthy at all. Even once every two weeks is way too much, in my opinion.

If you sniff cocaine five times a day, I don't want to see you when you'll have withdrawal.

Cocaine is off limits for me. It's one of those drugs for which an adverse reaction is unpredictable, whereas with MDMA or amphetamines you can control the dose. There's also no real way to get your hands on cocaine ethically. Ethics and health are both very important to me.

Now, whether some drugs are dangerous or not is not my problem, but I still care for my friends. If some of them would stick to pot, I would appreciate it a lot more than them doing acid or cocaine.

Out of curiosity, why do you consider acid dangerous? Not just you, but people in general. Acid is one of the least toxic, least addictive drugs out there. I heard a lot of myths about people going crazy whilst on acid but they're not true. Even on very high doses (*cough* I mean my fictional character) my behaviour and judgement are intact. I may see sparkly unicorns in the room and my emotions will be effected but I won't run around in fig leaves brandishing a samurai sword.

I think it's shameful how acceptable drug use today, especially if you compare to alcohol and tobacco.

I think it's shameful that drugs are criminalised and users vilified. I would not have argued that society accepts drug use, apart from alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco.

I can't open the TV without some sort of proclomation that drugs are the bestest thing ever, it's disgusting.

If you're talking just about alcohol, then yeah, but I almost never see drug use cast in a positive light on TV.

Humans shouldn't take any mind altering drugs,

Why not? Why is there something inherently wrong about transiently altering your perception/mood?

Do you drink caffeine?

live in the world, find a hobby,

I have many. I volunteer as a gymnastics coach, compete in a number of sports, hike and climb mountains regularly, I read more books in a month than most do in a year, I volunteer at an animal shelter, I... could go on, but you get the idea.

I could say the same thing about you with regards your interest in video games and anime, but that would make me a massive hypocrite.

don't destroy your body with this shit.

Do you eat processed food? Do you drink carbonated drinks? I'm among the healthiest, fittest people I know, both mentally and physically, despite having suffered from a potentially lethal illness as a teenager.

At the end of the day its addictive,

Not all drugs are addictive and potentially addictive drugs can be used responsibly.

against the law,

I personally could not give the dregs of a fuck that it's against the law. I worked in law enforcement for two years and I'm more ashamed of the things I was part of during those two years than all other events in my life combined. Criminalising drug use is immoral, impractical, and I would even go so far as to say evil. It does far more harm than good. 100 years ago having a sexual relationship outside marriage was against the law. In hindsight we can see how stupid that was.

has an effect on your personality

Excessive use of some drugs, yes. Same with a lot of things. I like to think they haven't radically affected mine, err, my fictional character's.

and makes a lot of other people feel uncomfortable.

Why does this matter? Homosexuality also makes a lot of people "uncomfortable". If what I do in the privacy of my home makes people uncomfortable, it's their problem. That is assuming it's not affecting other people.

 

[Ravesy]

At the end of the day its addictive,

Not all drugs are addictive and potentially addictive drugs can be used responsibly.

against the law,

I personally could not give the dregs of a fuck that it's against the law. I worked in law enforcement for two years and I'm more ashamed of the things I was part of during those two years than all other events in my life combined. Criminalising drug use is immoral, impractical, and I would even go so far as to say evil. It does far more harm than good. 100 years ago having a sexual relationship outside marriage was against the law. In hindsight we can see how stupid that was.

has an effect on your personality

Excessive use of some drugs, yes. Same with a lot of things. I like to think they haven't radically affected mine, err, my fictional character's.

and makes a lot of other people feel uncomfortable.

Why does this matter? Homosexuality also makes a lot of people "uncomfortable". If what I do in the privacy of my home makes people uncomfortable, it's their problem. That is assuming it's not affecting other people.

I think the key with all of these points is that they are just my opinion based on what i've witnessed. I'm sure you are a lot more responsible with what ever you use than my two examples, so a large part of what I have said isn't relevant.

Some drugs aren't addictive, but a vast majority of the ones we are talking about are, and that's where the problems start. Fair enough that you don't care that its against the law, that's your choice and you don't care about it, but others do.

With regards to changing your personality (and once again to be clear I'm not saying this IS the case with you) both of my examples again didn't think that it had changed them. As someone who has witnessed the change from the outside, I can say with certainly that it did, regardless of if they noticed it themselves or not.

With people feeling uncomfortable, again just down to my experience. I used to live with both of these guys, and when the end result is the entire house reeking of weed, to the point that when you and your other half order a takeaway and the delivery driver says something along the lines of "Enjoying some good joints?" then it doesn't lead to a very good relationship with others. As you say if its just you then this doesn't apply.

You seem like a switched on guy who does things in moderation in his own home and thats fine. But I'm speaking in a more general scale.

 

[nightmare_gorilla]

Honestly? yeah, subconsciously I definitely think less of people who use drugs. I'm all for the legalization of drugs and it's totally up to you how you want to live your life but to a certain extent yeah I think it's kind of lame.

I mean it's fine, I'm not about to preach to or talk down to anyone who uses recreational drugs but come on. I've tried some drugs before and honestly I got nothing out of it. I find myself amid the strangest company in that I do no drugs and don't drink at all but there's not a religious aspect to it nor do I abstain due to excessive use in the past, I just don't dig it. beer, pot, cigarettes, tried them, don't like them. it's super weird to try and explain to people that you don't drink just because you prefer the taste of soda and don't really enjoy getting hammered. so some of my judging is more counter judgment... "what you don't drink? come on just have one don't be a weirdo!". but in regards to the illegal kinds of drugs I just think it's kind of lame, we have video games, we have movies, we have comic books, and stand up comedy. We have so much stuff to entertain us and your preference is to alter your brain chemistry so your body is kind of tricked into having a good time? I look at it as a crutch in the sense that some people seem to need drugs to have a good time or they seem to think drugs will magically improve anything they are doing. and I think that's kind of weak.

again, no real judgment here I mean you're certainly welcome to do whatever you like and have any kind of good time that you prefer. but me I don't need it, and i'm happy without it. I don't understand the appeal of it mostly.

 

[Henkie36]

Depends. If it's one of those people who smokes pot every once in a while, no. If you are one of those annoying sods who can't stop banging on about the irony of 420 (which I still don't get or find even remotely funny) and build your entire lifestyle around it, then yes, I will harbour a prejudice against you. But do you really blame me? No, it's not because you smoke weed, it's because you're annoying me!

I also think people who use hard drugs are idiots (it's illegal for a good reason) and that those are the quickest way to ruin your life.

 

[SNCommand]

Yep, I don't smoke or drink, or use any other recreational drug, and I think less of people who spend their time getting high, especially if they're an addict

 

[CrystalViolet]

I think the key with all of these points is that they are just my opinion based on what i've witnessed. I'm sure you are a lot more responsible with what ever you use than my two examples, so a large part of what I have said isn't relevant.

No, that's fine. I'm not appraising the source of your opinions on drug users, I'm just interested in hearing about it and discussing it. I always say it's a bad idea to base your opinion of things on a small population within your immediacy because it almost always elicits a highly skewed view. I prefer to base my arguments more on research and reasoning than limited experience.

Some drugs aren't addictive, but a vast majority of the ones we are talking about are, and that's where the problems start.

I agree that some of the drugs I mentioned are addictive to differing extents but so are a lot of the legal things we have available. I'm a responsible adult and so I feel that I should be in a position to make the call myself as to whether I should be allowed to take them. Coffee, video games, gambling, are all addictive, and you could even argue that sex is, but it doesn't mean that they should be illegal or that we should judge people for partaking.

Fair enough that you don't care that its against the law, that's your choice and you don't care about it, but others do.

I don't see how this is even a point. The fact that my breaking the law bothers other people is completely irrelevant to me. All "my character's" drugs are ethically sourced, so why I should care that other people are bothered when I break the law by consuming drugs is beyond me. I see it as a non-argument.

With regards to changing your personality (and once again to be clear I'm not saying this IS the case with you) both of my examples again didn't think that it had changed them. As someone who has witnessed the change from the outside, I can say with certainly that it did, regardless of if they noticed it themselves or not.

It's always a shame when that happens. I've known people who were idiots with drugs but I've known far more people who were responsible, mostly because the latter fall into the group I usually associate myself with. I'm not claiming that this doesn't happen to many people. I believe that were it better regulated and have more education surrounding it we would find fewer people of that disposition attracted to it. The "OMG I'm so stoned, 420 lol" brigade are the same people who believe they're rebels because they're fighting "the system". "The system" fosters this attitude, along with "drugs are immoral", because we're force-fed a mantra from such a young age without ever allowing room for dissent or critical thinking.

With people feeling uncomfortable, again just down to my experience. I used to live with both of these guys, and when the end result is the entire house reeking of weed, to the point that when you and your other half order a takeaway and the delivery driver says something along the lines of "Enjoying some good joints?" then it doesn't lead to a very good relationship with others. As you say if its just you then this doesn't apply.

I've had room mates like that. It was student accommodation so I didn't choose my room mates. The good thing about that was that I was in a position to complain about the mess in the place without losing my deposit. It's your choice and mine not to associate with assholes of any persuasion, drugs or no drugs. I don't hang out with "stoners" so this isn't an issue for me.

You seem like a switched on guy who does things in moderation in his own home and thats fine. But I'm speaking in a more general scale.

I'm actually a girl. Don't let my crude language fool you, I'm really quite feminine I get what you're saying but I believe the "general scale" argument is a dangerous one to make. You could replace "drug users" with "black people", "gay people", "the Greeks", or "the working class" and it would be far more sinister. I'm not saying it's a perfect comparison but it's not far off since there's a great diversity in the type of people who take drugs. Every stoner who claims that cannabis cures cancer or meth addict who stabs a baby ruins the image for the rest of us. The more grounded among us are unfortunately the less conspicuous.

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

Not really a prejudice, but I am a little taken aback when people have told me they smoke marijuana, but that's because it's illegal not that I think it's morally wrong. That sounds confusing but to me doing drugs is inherently risky and I'm surprised when people find that risk acceptable even if they don't think it's morally wrong. Though I'd probably get over it once I got a better understanding of how often they do drugs. For example, I knew one guy who smoked pot, but made the stupid mistake of doing it within days of a job interview and they asked him to pee in a cup. The fact that he couldn't hold off when he knew he had an interview, tells me he's an idiot or has a problem

Also full disclosure: I'm 22 but I've never drank or done drugs. I just don't like the losing control of myself

 

[michael87cn]

Poison yourself all you want to a very early grave. Doesn't bother me as its your choice, why would I care what you do to yourself? Especially if I barely know you.

What does annoy me is people that tell others they do drugs.

I DRINK SODA! ... Good for you? It's extremely obvious you want attention/respect if you have to tell people you do something... especially strangers. VERY RARELY are drugs relevant, to anything, to any subject matter. People just like to brag that they are doing something illegal. It must add some stupid thrill to the act or something.

"Oh man I'm so high right now...." -Random chat in online game

Good for you, now shaddap. That stuff is annoying.

And just to add, my personal reasons for not taking drugs.

I don't like to be sick. I don't drink alchohol for this reason too. I have suffered enough in my life, I don't need to add on more suffering.