Is there such a thing as doing hard drugs “in moderation”?
Proponents for drug legalization say everyone should be allowed to make their own choices as long as others are not harmed. The problem with this is that no one knows what sort of problems this could lead to and simply disregards the sentiments of a majority of the people. One of their main sticking points they mention is the supposed double standard with the legality of alcohol. But the fact of the matter is, alcohol is for the most part consumed leisurely and in moderation by most people. Is there such a thing as a person who does ***** or heroin in moderation without developing an addiction?
Asked by:Got rings this millennium?
Babykins Baby posted: 24 Aug at 11:15 am
Yes. While addiction is much more common, there are plenty of ppl who do hard drugs in moderation, or can function fine with them. Ray Charles? Freud? The big problem is the government would loose TONS of jobs if it was legalized…. judges, attorneys, the entire DEA, corrections officers, lots of vice police officers, etc. Did you know that Correction’s Officer’s Unions (one of the strongest unions in the US I might add) actually lobby congress and the senate to impose stricter drug laws in an attempt at job security? Sickening. They would have to tax it, but implementing this would take forever in our bearucratic system. And don’t be fooled, there’s plenty of alcoholics out there, that don’t know what moderation is either. They would also have to take care of an aging population with medical problems that result from years of drug use…. and they already have to do this for alcoholics so why add more to an already burdened medicare system….
my philosophy: Pick your poison. Everyone has one they prefer. Live and let live.
Ashley N posted: 27 Aug at 11:13 am
HAH no. Ive seen this “in moderation” theory crash and burn first handedly and the devestaing effects it had on a person with so much potential and those around him.
First he denied any drug use in his teens, then he admitted by saying meth and ***** aren’t bad, and he doesnt do them often. Yet he couldn’t justify the fix he needed to constantly fill. He stole his families ipods, cameras, jewlery, cash, and even spare change.
he is now in his mid twenties, no ged/highschool diploma, no trust/respect, No money, nothing to show for his life. And facing a year or more in jail for current drug charges.
Once you pop you just cant stop.
meth, crack, heroin, etc. they’re addictive substances, and you will need to fill that fix.
ThatGuy042 posted: 27 Aug at 10:01 pm
Yes, there is, I’ve never done anything of that type myself but i have known people that have done things like meth and heroin on occasion without developing a dependency. But i will also say that there is a big difference between using them occasionally and using them commonly in moderation, I’ve never seen someone use heroin or coke more than twice a week and not start to develop an addiction, that’s just the nature of the way the drug works, but something i think people have a misconception about is that not everyone who develops a dependency becomes a raving fiend.
I have however known people who functioned just fine with a dependency on cocaine, maintaining a job, going to college ect, until the justice system ruined their lives and guaranteed that they would have no bright future. In this case it wasn’t the drug that destroyed my friends, it was the Government “Protecting them from themselves” by sending them to jail and giving them a criminal record that made it impossible to get a good job.
To me the issue really isn’t whether or not drugs cause harm directly, it’s the fact that their being illegal hasn’t come anywhere near making them difficult to get and has led to them funding the vast majority of all organized crime on the planet, the result of drug prohibition has been exactly the same as the result of alcohol prohibition.
Crim Liar posted: 28 Aug at 6:34 pm
A very few people just don’t develop addictions, bizarrely not developing addictions is down to problems with how the brain works. One reason such people don’t develop addictions is that even supposed hard drugs have no (at least pleasurable) effect on them. While I can’t say for ***** cocaine, I don’t know a single regular heroin user who I wouldn’t class as an addict (I known a few over the years). On a side note, I’ve actually known more people with major social issues from cannabis misuse than with heroin (and more deaths related to the depression it causes and even more institutionalized).
Josh posted: 30 Aug at 10:59 pm
Obviously people can do hard drugs in moderation, however, you don’t see it often because they don’t show it. They are completely normal functioning people who use drugs to relax, ect. People use drugs like heroin all the time, heroin is an opiate and has almost the exact same effects as hydrocodone, morphine, ect. (hydrocodone=vicodin) In canada it is prescribed for pain and called diamorphine. Most of them don’t get addicted, and can function fine.
michuacon posted: 03 Sep at 2:17 am
Crack, Heroin, and Meth are drugs not so easily weighed on the dependency scale. It has a lot to do with the personality of the person. I know first hand, you can do Meth and not become addicted. However, for some people, it only takes that first high. Heroin is one of the easiest, if not the easiest, to become addicted to. I personally do not know, but my friend used to do it and it was very difficult for him to quit. Dependency fear or not, drugs aren’t something to mess around with anyway. They have been proven to ruin lives. Hope that helped.
Kat612 posted: 05 Sep at 7:22 pm
In general, no, not really. That’s basically the difference between “hard” drugs and, say, marijuana or chocolate, some combination of how addictive the drug is and how much damage it does. ***** and heroin (or any opiate) are particularly addictive along with amphetamines ( “meth” or “tweak” etc.) and you can have withdrawal symptoms and cravings after only a very short period of usage, often even the first time you do it. Really. I suppose that a very small percentage of people could do these types of drugs recreationally, but it’s rare and it’s dangerous to go into an experimental stage counting on you being one of them.
The alcohol argument is really a hard one to call, because as you say, it is quite possible to use only in moderation and many people do. However, it is also the type of addiction that sneaks up on people because it is so socially acceptable. In addition, alcohol is one of the hardest addictions to kick, firstly because it is highly physically addictive, up there with the “hard” drugs with withdrawal symptoms including the shakes, insomnia and night sweats, irritability, headaches and stomach problems; and secondly, because as mentioned before, it is so socially acceptable that you can’t just avoid it as you would illegal drugs. Check out the statistics on alcohol abuse and you might be surprised at how prolific alcohol abuse really is.