"Jimmy, set down that controller and do a line with Mommy."

[Joe]

Hot on trail of our addiction issue, some nutball of a parent would rather her child do coke than play videogames. Seriously, who are these people? While a healthy drug addiction is one way to influence your kid toward a career in rock 'n' roll (or politics), I'm going to have to err on the side of caution and say a behavioral addiction is better than a chemical one.

But hey, in the spirit of drug-addled gaming, check out the online version of Dope Wars (I'd probably avoid clicking this at work, just to be safe).

 

[Joe]

Original Comment by: Tom Rhodes

Full article here [http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article337171.ece], btw.

To be (somewhat) fair, the preceding paragraph and content of the whole article (about marijuana) kinda make the quote a little more palatable:

Right now, thousands of young people - and some adults - are locked away in their bedrooms with a bag of skunk in one hand, and a remote control in the other - hypnotised by crap TV and hooked to the escapist (!)antics of Playstation games. For some parents with a concern for their child's future, a dabbling in cocaine is a far more digestible alternative. "I'd rather my son take a more proactive, less habitual drug like cocaine, than lock himself away and play video games" ... "It's so lazy. At least with pills and coke you're out and about doing something."

Still, that's a very two-dimensional way to look at it. And this woman obviously doesn't know what the "doing something" with cocaine actually means. And while this isn't the place to discuss it, the supposed laziness-inducing aspect of pot has been nothing but a myth. What the link appears to be is that lazy people will seek out activities that will continue their sloth-like existence, rather than the activities causing it.

My two cents.

 

[Joe]

Original Comment by: Tim
http://oghc.blogspot.com
Lots of successful individuals have used cocaine as the catalyst for a mental breakdown spawning a lucrative career as musicians, politicans, and actors based on their "hard knowledge of what its like to be in the gutter."

Many more people have used video games for the same, simulated gutter-life experience (see Condemned, XBox 360) with similar results, but they just don't credit gaming during their award acceptance speeches.

So:

Cocaine | Good:
1. Makes your efficiency levels rise like a ************!!
2. Cheap.
3. Grants access to most clubs in West Hollywood.

Cocaine | Bad:
1. Destroys nervous system, nose bleeds difficult to explain to police while standing over bludgeoned pet carcass.
2. Illegal.
3. Pretty much ends your career as an A-List supermodel.

Games | Good:
1. Their fun!
2. Stimulates the mind in positive ways.
3. Grants access to elitist circles of interesting nerds globally (INCLUDING West Hollywood.)

Games | Bad:
1. Expensive.
2. Stigmatized by "mainstream" society as a loser if played at a certain stage of life.
3. Two words: Carpal Tunnel.


I guess you have to have the RIGHT sort of parent to understand. Joe, did you notice how well the old PSOne discs work as coke mirrors? ...yeah, I didn't either. Although I'm sure Crash Bandicoot 2 would be PERFECT.

 

[Joe]

Original Comment by: Tom Rhodes

Tim:

I think you win the door prize. ;-)

 

[Joe]

Original Comment by: Randall Fitzgerald
http://www.ikimashou.net
Wow. So I guess we'll be seeing a similar story on Law and Order: SVU here pretty soon.

Also, I've not ever had the public forum to say this, but WTF @ DOPE WARS? That game is crap. I mean seriously, I've played it about 500 times over the years as it would keep cropping up, and I just can't stand it. It's so boring and blah. I mean, there's GTA, COME ON! Why won't it die?!?!?

 

[Joe]

Original Comment by: Slartibartfast

This woman is obviously blindingly ignorant and voted for Bush.

 

[Joe]

Original Comment by: Patrick Dugan
http://www.kingludic.blogspot.com
Um, coke ain't cheap, a gram of good blow is going to run you at least as much as a game, and a gram bag only gets you a few hours of play time.

Heres a guid to drugging and gaming: http://kingludic.blogspot.com/2005/12/gonzo-gaming.html

 

[Joe]

Original Comment by: Aujang Abadi

That idiot should read "A Million Little Pieces" and get back to us on the "I'd rather my kid was addicted to cocaine" spiel. She is a lunatic, and from that comment *alone* I think she is unfit to raise a child. To even have the audacity to suggest that playing a video game is MORE damaging than a substance addiction is completely absurd.

On a separate note from her idiotic bullshit, every "addiction" is a behavioral addiction. Physical dependency on any drug can be purged within 2-6 weeks--it's the behavioral addiction that causes relapse.

 

[Joe]

Original Comment by: BacksideNine
http://www.boardroom.com
Dont you mean throw a copy of "A Million Little Pieces" in the garbage because that guy is now an exposed hack? Check thesmokinggun.com. Cocaine is a hell of a drug. But hey, if your kid is on coke, at least he will be out stealing DVD players and TVs to support his diet. I would rather a kid do that than play those damned video games.

 

[Joe]

Original Comment by: Aujang Abadi

I'm not concerned about whether or not his escapades with the cops were true or not--he paints a visceral picture of drug abuse, which should be reason enough to stop anyone from using. Somehow the argument: "Well, he didn't REALLY get arrested for hitting a cop, but the shitting blood and vomiting daily, that's true" doesn't seem very viable when trying to tell someone that drug addiction isn't as bad as it seems.

But anyhow, it's besides the point--videogames are about as addictive as any other activity, and certainly not at the same level as narcotics.