# Did anyone else "just say no"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 24, 2023, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537 "2023-05-24T21:42:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/201 "2023-06-07T05:21:59Z")
I’m simply saying, that these ‘virgins’ of the Order, are simply requisite and oblivious. Great Sacriice. ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/202 "2023-06-07T05:31:08Z")
+18 , unlesa you are confused. ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/203 "2023-06-07T07:23:43Z")
In junior high school (way back when marijuana was illegal everywhere) I really, really looked forward to the day I could try pot. I was too much of a goody-goody, though, and knew it would be a long while before I ever got the chance… By the end of high school I had seen many bright, creative classmates, kids with far more talent than I had, drift into a mindset where their only interests seemed to be getting stoned and going to concerts. It turned me off pretty completely. In college I sat in a circle where a joint was being passed around, and I just handed it untried to the next person. I guess that’s “just saying no.” Thing is, it wasn’t any kind of effort; I really wasn’t tempted by that point. So no pot, almost zero alcohol (never learned to like it) until, in my mid sixties, I tried some marijuana edibles - with my doctor’s knowledge and (tacit) approval - for chronic headache. It maybe helped some. Not enough to try it very often. ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/204 "2023-06-07T07:25:26Z")
Hey, I just realized when I re-read my own post: I can truly say I experimented with marijuana in the 60s! Do I have to tell anyone I mean _my_ sixties? ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/205 "2023-06-07T07:41:08Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I guess the way I look at it is that in your teens and 20s, drinking and some light drugs like pot seem cool and fun and you are probably pretty lame if you haven’t experimented with any of that stuff. Wow. That’s not judgmental at all. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/206 "2023-06-07T11:19:15Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > As an adult, I’m one of those people who falls into the category of Better Not as I do have PTSD. I’ve heard it claimed by many that pot helps PTSD, but it seems the evidence points the other direction. Heh. My first medical card had my diagnosis as PTSD. The doctor who supplied me with that diagnosis believed anyone my age naturally would have suffered trauma over the course of their lives and this suffer stress when recalling that trauma. Later Pennsylvania added anxiety to their list of acceptable diagnoses and my doctor switched me to that, out of concern for PTSD being eliminated from the list. Honestly, I just wanted legal cannabis (which I love for the positive effect it has on my life, increasing my enjoyment of enjoyable stuff and making the unenjoyable tolerable). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/207 "2023-06-07T15:13:01Z")
> [@Blindmellowjelly](#): > > I’m simply saying, that these ‘virgins’ of the Order, are simply requisite and oblivious. Great Sacriice. And that, kids, is why we stay off the drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/208 "2023-06-07T16:15:16Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Heh. My first medical card had my diagnosis as PTSD. The doctor who supplied me with that diagnosis believed anyone my age naturally would have suffered trauma over the course of their lives and this suffer stress when recalling that trauma. Interesting theory. The truth is most people do suffer some kind of trauma, but for whatever reason, only about 13% of those people end up with PTSD. There are certain kinds of traumas linked with higher rates of PTSD, and various situational factors that can contribute, but maybe there’s also something, I don’t know, constitutionally different with people who don’t get it. I really don’t blame anyone with PTSD thinking getting stoned is going to help them calm down. It probably does work in the moment, but seems to lead to more problems overall. As for me, the things that help the most are atypical antipsychotics and EMDR therapy. ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/209 "2023-06-08T03:13:16Z")
I have had better experiences, and less traumatic, and better outcomes with pot snd beer and Chile, than any synthesized pharmeceuticals like SSRI new classes of psychiatric meds, as one of those first guinea pigs for Prozac, and Paxil, and a Zoloft in the 90’s. I’ Ve be3n on Risperdal since inception. Th4y all have risks and side effects and deleterious effects, long term or even short term. It’s ashame that Big Pharma relys on their “Expert Authority” and don’t admit that these psych meds are like any other peddlar with their poison and reality that psych meds are like any other drug?.. uni ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/210 "2023-06-08T04:08:13Z")
I can guess at some of those deleterious effects… ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/211 "2023-06-08T15:44:22Z")
> [@Blindmellowjelly](#): > > Th4y all have risks and side effects and deleterious effects, long term or even short term. I wondered how long it would take for someone to bring pharmaceuticals into this. Medications are in fact brain-altering drugs, at least in the short term (I’m not sure about the long term) but they are strictly regulated and researched unlike other substances. I’ve heard of SSRIs being unhelpful, but I’m not aware of any research showing that they’re bad for you. I’ve been happily medicated for most of my adult life - well, not always happily because not every drug works for every person. But happily as of the present day. Given how strictly the FDA and insurance companies regulate psychiatric medications, and keeping in mind their potential benefits, I’d toss in my lot with psych drugs more readily than, er, street drugs. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/212 "2023-06-08T16:15:54Z")
I was an occasional pot smoker in my younger days, I rarely bought it so if I did smoke it, it was when my older brother offered some. I quit smoking cigarettes and pot in 1993. While cleaning out my brother-in-law’s apartment after he had a stroke a few years ago, I found his stash of weed. I tried a little but didn’t like it. I did something that would probably make a lot of pot smokers sad, I threw almost an ounce of weed in my yard waste bin. I now look at my older brother at almost 70, still smoking pot and vaping instead of smoking cigarettes, he is barely a functional human being. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/213 "2023-06-08T16:19:08Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > I now look at my older brother at almost 70, still smoking pot and vaping instead of smoking cigarettes, he is barely a functional human being. But is he happy? I know 70 year olds who do not drink or use drugs and are barely functional and miserable. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/214 "2023-06-08T17:03:46Z")
Not what I would consider happy. He rarely leaves his home. The only thing that gets him out is usually something involving his granddaughters or walking to a local lake to go fishing. It wasn’t worth his time to renew his driver’s license a few years ago. His wife won’t let him drive now after 2 tickets for driving on an expired license. Most days he just sits in front of the TV watching old reruns. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/215 "2023-06-08T17:48:16Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > If you smoke weed regularly you stink too. You may not realize that but you do. I have Covid nose and I can still smell you the second you walk into the room. Just so you know I just came across the perfect term for this nonsense. > **[Toupee fallacy](https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Toupee_fallacy)** > > The toupée fallacy is an informal logical fallacy regarding silent evidence and the problem of induction. It is a type of selection bias (and of survivorship bias) that is most readily summed up by the following phrase: ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/216 "2023-06-08T18:07:38Z")
**Moderator Note** Let’s all keep in mind that the OP is about **recreational** substances. While many people do use things like pot in place of prescribed pharmaceuticals, if you are using it as a treatment for something, that doesn’t really qualify as recreational use. Admittedly the line here is a bit fuzzy. For example, if someone finds that recreational use of pot makes them feel less anxious overall and they no longer need to take anxiety medication, is the pot still recreational? So we’re not going to enforce this too strictly. The main point here is not to hijack this thread with a discussion of prescribed pharmaceuticals and “big pharma”. We’re just trying to keep this thread on-topic. And for those that do want to discuss pharmaceuticals and “big pharma”, that’s an interesting topic on its own, so feel free to discuss it, just not in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2023, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/217 "2023-06-09T12:16:38Z")
Cannabis was the only remedy that rescued me from social hell in high school in the late '70s. Those tokes blew away the confining high school status ego head games and left us free to be you and me. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/218 "2023-06-09T18:41:36Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > > [@ftg](#): > > > > I don’t want to merely pile on here, but you really, really have to understand how simple it is for us non-drinkers to not just not drink, but also avoid people who think alcohol is some weird be-all end-all. For someone like me, alcoholics, or whatever bowdlerized word you want to use for people who seek out alcohol all the time, live in a practically different universe. > > > > I do not see, in any way shape or form why someone would think alcohol would be ubiquitous in _my_ society. > > > > If you’re around alcohol and heavy drinkers a lot, that’s your choice. > > I think that there are two things here (maybe more) > > I go to clubs very frequently for live music. Obviously there is a bar there and a lot of drinking. No one even notices that I am not drinking because even the drinkers won’t have a glass in their hands at all times. People I have known for years will forget and offer to buy me a drink. The activity is the music. > > The other thing is people going out to get drinks. They will meet at a regular bar/pub and get a table and order drinks and maybe some food. It would be obvious that someone isn’t partaking. In this case the activity is the drinking (and talking of course). I never go to something like this unless someone is going to be there that I haven’t seen in a long time and that is my only opportunity to see them. > > So for this non-drinker, alcohol and heavy drinkers are definitely ubiquitous. Honestly I don’t think anyone really cares if someone is or isn’t drinking. It’s not like the fun police are going to bust you for not having a beer in your hand. But I think that speaks to my point. Alcohol might not be ubiquitous in @ftg’s “society” (whatever that means), but it is pretty ubiquitous in the general society. It’s not hard to avoid alcohol if you don’t want it. But it is pretty hard to avoid all contact with alcohol or people who consume it. The popular media image of drinking patterns in young person (under 30), which have largely been supported by my own experiences and observations, is that a large number of them drink socially. Often in excess. And often exhibiting drunken behavior that would not be considered acceptable for adults. Now there may be a bit of a “toupee fallacy” there in that if you walk past Fraternity Row or a party neighborhood like Manhattan’s East Village or Boston’s Boylston Street on a Friday or Saturday night, it’s going to appear as if the whole world is out drinking. Even if it isn’t the whole world, it appears to be the part of the world who appears to be having a good time! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/219 "2023-06-10T11:12:33Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Honestly I don’t think anyone really cares if someone is or isn’t drinking. Heh, well the bartenders and bar owners care. Years ago I saw a band play at a friend’s bar. The band was **Over The Rhine.**. There was a cover charge which went to the band and the place was packed, so the band made out. But, the band attracted a crowd that was young, not well off, and interested in hearing the music without being drunk. People were ordering water, which was from the tap and free. The bartenders weren’t happy, and when the band approached the owner about playing again the owner told them no thanks. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537/220 "2023-06-11T17:44:42Z")
Just went to a Dead&Co show in St Louis…and Billy Strings two nights later… Nitrous was everywhere. Yes I have tried it a time or two… but seeing a guy do a headdrop, straight backwards on asphalt in Pittsburgh 1995 at a Dead show… I’ll take a hard fast pass… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-just-say-no/984537.md?page=12)