Found this article rather interesting. It was written in 1966 but it's really amazing how much of it still holds true today. The article is a bit long and really makes it's point on the second page so if you're going to start reading it I suggest you finish it.

Something a lot of people might find interesting are the statements about amphetimine abusers. Everyone always bashes kids that are addicted to meth and say it was better when noone did it, but you see, meth is just another form of a drug that we as society have been addicted to for years. This is of course an american article but we all know anything that happens in the states crosses our boarders, even if it isn't as prevailent (I live in Canada).

Another thing I found interesting was how even then, 1966, the author admits that users of these drugs are relatively harmless. They don't account for many crimes, fights, or rapes. But rather opiates and alcohol are the main cause. It's really too bad law enforcement can not understand these things, but I do understand how they can make the mistake when dealing with something so unfamiliar in their own personal lives.

http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/66aug/pparty.htm

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One thing that truly pisses me off is that all the attention is directed towards hard drugs while things as simple as an asprin which is clearly a drug are not taken into account.

Most people criticise drugs when their whole world is filled with them. Asprins might not be very hard but imagine how many asprin pills a so called "Drug free" person takes through out their lives.
literally thousands!!

The funny thing is a truly drug free person is one that has never had a headache in their life.

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But these conditions are frequently merely symptoms of far more complicated disorders. The convenient prescription blank solves the problem of finding out what the trouble really is—it makes the symptom seem to go away.

So true. Somebody close to me has been taking medication for depression since Christmas. She's recently started to come off them and was surprised to find that she started to feel down again. She's also tired a lot (which she was before she went on them) which pisses her off, so basically she's back on them again. And now more-or-less dependant.

What she doesn't realise is she's a different person than she used to be. She's not just happier, she's bordering on emotionless. Nothing phases her, she doesn't seem to care about much but just gets on with stuff. But she's been on them for so long she thinks THAT is normal. I could cheerfully throttle the doctor who perscribed this little lot.

I know I've gone a bit off-topic but I'm just making the point that all kinds of people are pulled in by all kinds of drugs.

As the article also said; the junkie knows he's addicted....

What gets me about this whole article is that it shows how goverments never learn. History repeats itself over and over again. When will they learn that drugs are a part of human nature. Always have, always will be.

Prohibition of drugs, whether it is alcohol, ecstacy, or marijuana doesn't work. All it does it drive it underground and be dangerous and uncontrolled [moonshine, bad pills, etc]. When will they learn? Get it legal and out in the open and then it can be controlled. Idiots.

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quote:

Originally posted by Spad But these conditions are frequently merely symptoms of far more complicated disorders. The convenient prescription blank solves the problem of finding out what the trouble really is—it makes the symptom seem to go away. So true. Somebody close to me has been taking medication for depression since Christmas. She's recently started to come off them and was surprised to find that she started to feel down again. She's also tired a lot (which she was before she went on them) which pisses her off, so basically she's back on them again. And now more-or-less dependant. What she doesn't realise is she's a different person than she used to be. She's not just happier, she's bordering on emotionless. Nothing phases her, she doesn't seem to care about much but just gets on with stuff. But she's been on them for so long she thinks THAT is normal. I could cheerfully throttle the doctor who perscribed this little lot. I know I've gone a bit off-topic but I'm just making the point that all kinds of people are pulled in by all kinds of drugs. As the article also said; the junkie knows he's addicted....

Anti-depressants are definetely a bad thing. If you come off them the wrong way they can make you more depressed then when you started. I hope your friend was having a doctor wean her off of them otherwise that may have been the reason why she was feeling down again. I have three friends that are on anti-depressants....one is 100% a better person bc of it. The other two are still depressed and anxious...though less anxious then they were before. They say the drugs are supposed to help them work through their "issues" and fix them with a therapist...or at least come to terms with them...but it doesn't seem to help them...it seems more like a crutch. I think anti-depressants are one of the worst drugs out there. They are just as bad as any illegal drug out there. If a person is addicted to them then what's the difference btwn that and other so called "hard drugs"? Basically there is none!

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quote:

Originally posted by twilochik Anti-depressants are definetely a bad thing. If you come off them the wrong way they can make you more depressed then when you started. I hope your friend was having a doctor wean her off of them otherwise that may have been the reason why she was feeling down again. I have three friends that are on anti-depressants....one is 100% a better person bc of it. The other two are still depressed and anxious...though less anxious then they were before. They say the drugs are supposed to help them work through their "issues" and fix them with a therapist...or at least come to terms with them...but it doesn't seem to help them...it seems more like a crutch. I think anti-depressants are one of the worst drugs out there. They are just as bad as any illegal drug out there. If a person is addicted to them then what's the difference btwn that and other so called "hard drugs"? Basically there is none!

No this doctor seems a complete asshole. If he'd backed up the medication with a course of therapy or something I'd be OK with it. But the attitude seems to have been "here's your pills, out of my office coz I'm busy" (I'm sure he meant well...). But I know what you mean by becoming a crutch. When she tried to come off them she was getting upset over things and finding it strange.

She didn't seem to realise that she was getting back to normality (we all feel like shit sometimes) because she was so used to not feeling that way. But I think now she realises she's becoming dependant on them so hopefully she'll help herself.

So I'm sort of on the fence about these things. In the beginning they definetly helped. She was going through a lot of grief and they really helped her get things into perspective and sort herself out. Helped her to carry on functioning if you like. But now they seem to have caused a whole new set of problems.

And that comes with any drugs if we're not careful. E for instance, although generally accepted not to be addictive can still cause all kinds of problems if you let use get out of hand. It's just a knock-on effect and you don't realise it's happening.

Yeah there are def too many doctors that are out there prescribing these things. One of my friend's primary care physician...just a regular MD prescribed them for her...w/out any care if she got counseling or not. And I think these drugs are meant to be used with serious counseling. Just like MDMA was used in marriage counseling...or so I've been told. It supposed to let you be open...deal with things...not feel so helpless.
But a lot of people don't know that they aren't supposed to take illegal drugs when on anti-depressants...or even drink alcohol...b/c alcohol is a depressant and can actually make their depression worse.

But just like you said too much of anything is no good. Even prescription drugs....look at how many actors/actresses in hollywood are addicted to prescription pain killers or sleeping aids.

It's human nature to escape reality. People have been using varying methods to do it since the begining of time. But I honestly believe that sometimes it's better to deal with things sober..esp hard, depressing things...it can only make you stronger. And I'm talking from personal experience. I tried "escaping" to get through one problem...and it only led to others...it only makes you feel worse about yourself. And then I dealt with one completely sober...and I had to deal with it sober...I had no other choice. And it was a much better experience and I was able to deal with the issue much better.

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^^^^^^dude in pic must be on some crazy drugs

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Originally posted by Electric_Hybrid ^^^^^^dude in pic must be on some crazy drugs

Amen to that! hehehehe

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