Sometimes I feel like I’m in a super minority in that I never tried recreational illegal substances. Partly because from age 19 to 57, I held security clearances and was subject to random drug screening, but mostly, I truly was not interested. I did wonder what it was like to trip out on LSD, and having heard that pot didn’t affect some people, I wondered if I would or wouldn’t experience anything. But I honestly didn’t care enough to experiment.
FWIW, I rarely imbibe in alcohol, and the couple of times I tried smoking tobacco, it grossed me out (another reason I’d have avoided pot - smoking=ick!)
I’m not bragging or being judgy here, but I suspect there aren’t many of us on the Just Say No bench.
Scoot over and make room for me on the bench. I have never smoked pot or tried any of the other substances when I was younger and they were illegal, altho I have been around people smoking weed and probably inhaled enough for it to show up on a drug test. It had nothing to do with the slogan; I was just never interested in doing it. I do drink alcohol on occasion, maybe once or twice a week on average, and usually only one beer or glass of wine.
I tried cigarettes I stole from my dad when I was a kid and that was enough to keep me off them forever. Same with chewing tobacco (not something I stole from him).
And, I am not judgy, either. I am fully in support of legalized pot, even tho I do not partake. When I am around people smoking it, I just decline to participate. I am interested in CBD gummies for sleep aids, but have not tried them yet (not sure that qualifies as “recreational illegal substances”).
Mostly, though I am a lifelong nerd, as well as being, particularly when I was younger, conscientious about following the law.
I didn’t drink until my 18th birthday (that was the legal age in Wisconsin at that time), and it’s still the only recreational substance in which I indulge. I never tried pot or any other drugs, and only had a cigarette once. That said, I did get a minor “contact high” at a Yes concert while I was in college, as the guys sitting directly in front of us were smoking joints for three hours straight.
Recreational cannabis is now legal in my state of residence (Illinois), and I’m curious to try it, but still leery about doing so while it’s illegal at the federal level, and while my place of employment is still silent on the matter.
I tried pot a handful of times in the late 70s but never got into it. I never tried anything else-- wasn’t interested.
However, I went through about a three-year period in the early 80s where I drank a lot. Every day. By myself. At home (couldn’t afford to drink in bars). For the purpose of getting drunk. I hated my life and didn’t want to be in it lucid. I knew what alcohol did to me and I mostly liked it. Until I didn’t. But I was never tempted to take any other mind-altering substances. I didn’t know how I would feel and didn’t want any surprises.
ETA: I have tried CBD gummies in recent years for anxiety, but never noticed that they made any difference. They seemed to help my dog Sweetie, however. (Dog rest her soul.)
Same here. I strongly dislike the smell of cigarette smoke, though I find some pipe and cigar smoke to be somewhat pleasant so long as I’m not being overwhelmed by it, and I suspect it’s because cigarette tobacco is just cheaper and lower quality. I absolutely hate the smell of marijuana, worse that cigarette smoke, and have no idea how people can reek of it and just go about their day.
I’ve also smoked tobacco to be “cool”. I don’t like it, but thankfully even after smoking for quite a while, once I decided I was paying extra money to die earlier for questionable “coolness”, I just… stopped. Never had any desire to go back.
I don’t like to drink alcohol. Well, that is not actually true… when I’m drinking, I LOVE drinking alcohol. And I can very quickly go out of control. I recognize this, and so, I don’t drink alcohol*.
What I really don’t like is not being in control of myself. And alcohol (and pot, to a limited extent) take away my rigid self control. According to others, I am certainly a helluva lot more fun to be around when I’m drinking, but… that’s not really me that’s more fun, is it?
Growing up alcohol was part of holiday dinners so I had a taste early, but it was nothing I’d go to great effort for. Drank beer during college, but not to excess. When I was flying as a pilot I just stopped drinking for 10 years outside of Thanksgiving dinner and New Year’s Eve.
Did try pot edibles when I was somewhere they were legal last summer. Apparently not much effect - I was declared “most boring stoned person ever” - but then I didn’t take that much.
Like the OP, I sometimes wondered about LSD but not enough desire to seek it out and try it.
My only real drug of choice is caffeine, and in recent years I’ve cut back on it considerably. Due to some up coming medical testing I am tapering myself off it entirely until after the first week of June. Going to be full decaf in about four more days, although last Monday’s medically required fast would, since I had zero headache, seem to indicate I’m more or less off it now.
I was, and part of that was fear based, part of that in religion. Later in life I felt I missed out and should have tried some of what others were enjoying. I did pray about it and told God how I felt I missed out of something we should be experiencing and that it was rules not of God but religion that I was following that caused me to miss that opportunity. Shortly later a good friend introduced me to pot. It was sort of like he took me under his wing as a big brother might do to a little brother and taught me about it and methods of using it. Much later on, actually quite recently I tried shrooms which there was a recent thread about where I told of my experience.
But… I do plan one day to try something and I want to go big. I’m thinking serious psychedelics like LSD or mushrooms. This won’t be for some time, but I want to try it eventually. I think it will be an interesting experiment.
Same here, from age 24 to 56. Never was subject to screening though. It was all on the honor system, apparently. While in college I did use pot a handful of times, and at some point in my career I lamented that I should have done more in college, since I couldn’t do it while working.
Now that I have retired and there are literally dozens of dispensaries around me, I just don’t care to even try now.
Hey, I smoked a lot of weed in my younger days. And what I liked about both it and alcohol is that you had the choice, joint by joint or toke by toke, (or with booze drink by drink or sip by sip) as to whether to raise or call. Anything like mushrooms or LSD, you buy the ticket, you’re taking the whole ride and that fact deterred me quite effectively.
Wait, did I write that post, are you me? Maybe I’ve smoked too much.
None of my friends drank or did drugs in high school, so I missed out on that completely. I started drinking in college, but not often and rarely to excess. I continue to drink, but probably 4-5 drinks per month. I tried pot once in Amsterdam. It was fun, I suppose, but even since it’s been legal here, I’ve never bothered to use it again.
Irony time. Because I’m a guy with long hair, and for quite a some time did research on marijuana and other drug use, I’d frequently get people at academic conferences asking if I could hook them up. No, unfortunately, I could not.
