# Issues of drug use--addiction, poisoning, overdose, etc. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 23, 2004, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745 "2004-10-23T07:46:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/1 "2004-10-23T07:46:00Z")
After the reaction I got to my postings in the General Questions thread “what would happen if I ingested 1 pound of LSD?”, I decided to take the advice offered by II Gyan II and post this as a thread taking up a separate issue. Perhaps other substances besides certain illegal drugs, nocotine, and alcohol are addictive; any number of substances are posonous; and even some legal medications can be taken in too-large doses. So I’d like to ask the Teeming Millions to discuss this matter here, given the impetus from the death of John Belushi in 1982 and Bill Stout’s news commentary mentioned on the other thread. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/2 "2004-10-23T12:47:36Z")
What are you looking for in particular? Issues of addiction, poisoning, and overdose are so broad. I mean, breathing and eating are addictions… ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/3 "2004-10-23T14:08:27Z")
I am against it. Seriously, the OP is too broad. Does this sum up what you’re asking? > [@dougie\_monty](#): > > “Doing drugs in a responsible manner”? Is that what you’re saying? Gimme a break! > I made the allusion to Jenny in the movie Forrest Gump because of her similarity to the man who died at 44–I’ll call him Alex Sanders. He had a series of problems and emotional reversals, according to his mother (who died the year before) and his sister. I venture the guess that if Alex hadn’t taken LSD, he might not have ‘graduated,’ in a sense, to more serious indiscretions. > And I’ll thank you not to pass pompous judgment on my parents’ course of action when they told my brother and sister and me about drugs. It was NOT a ‘thou shalt not.’ They spent at least one whole evening (complete with blackboard) telling us about things such as heroin and cocaine, addiction, and so on. (This was in 1958.) I must also point out that, although both parents smoked and my father (who died at age 66 from multiple organ failure) drank heavily, the three of us never engaged in drug abuse. I don’t smoke or drink, either. > My former stepfather died about two years ago from lung cancer–inoperable by dint of his long history of alcoholism. So I know about the evils of Demon Rum. > I would also venture to say that, given the results of alcohol abuse–quite well documented for millenia–I consider it foolish to aggravate this situation by following the same course with drugs. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/4 "2004-10-23T14:44:19Z")
I don’t know what the question is. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/5 "2004-10-23T15:01:02Z")
I would also point out that it’s not only some medications that can be poisonous when taken in too large a quantity, anything is. Heck, water and food will kill you if you take too much. Other than that, I’m not sure what is up for discussion here. I’m pretty sure that the majority of people would not like to suffer from addiction, poisoning, over overdose. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/6 "2004-10-23T15:11:02Z")
Actually, I’ll need to talk with my kids about this sometime soon. While we’re waiting for **d\_m** to post an OP, I hope nobody minds my rambling on about where I stand. I guess my position is that many recreational drugs can be done in a responsible manner. Many people can have a drink, toke or what have you every once in a while without any problems. Personally, I was never much of a drinker and did drugs a few times in my early twenties. After a while, I just gave most of it up. There were a few times that some crisis or another happened, I needed my wits and I was just drunk enough to not be completely there. Also, I just noticed that I had as good of a time sober, if not better. I never developed a dependence on alcohol but I do smoke. Even though I only smoke about three cigarettes a day, it’s a real nuisance. Sure, it isn’t good for me now and I’m at a greater risk for developing cancer later, but I just haven’t gotten around to quitting. That said, I’m glad that this is my addiction, rather than being addicted to alcohol or marijuana, and I’m really glad that I’ve never regularly used anything like cocaine or opiates, where physical dependence is quickly developed. Also, unlike some of my friends, I still have my liver (and pancreas, kidneys and sinuses) intact. Regarding illegal drugs, I think that the biggest reason for not doing them is rarely brought up, namely that they’re illegal. Personally, I’m all for allowing people to recreationally smoke grass, but as things are you can still be sent to jail for smoking a joint or having a bag. Also, that conviction will hurt your career. Guilt by association is also an issue and values tend to get blurred once you step on the other side of the law. A lot of people (many who do drugs as well as many who don’t) have a hard time differentiating between a few people sharing a joint, a couple of junkies shooting up heroin and/or hordes of modern day Visigoths looting and sacking Rome. On the whole, it’s just not worth the hassle to me. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/7 "2004-10-23T18:58:33Z")
For the posters who don’t see a question in my OP here, I refer you to II Gyan II’s question near the end of the other thread. I don’t condone use of illegal drugs any more than I condone excessive alcohol consumption (Keith Moon, for example) or heavy smoking (Edward R. Murrow, Spike Jones). The only reason I haven’t added a link to that thread is that with the reformatted Message Board, I don’t know how. Dougie\_monty ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/8 "2004-10-23T19:16:58Z")
I just read that thread and the only question from II Gyan II is this (he was speaking to you): “Anyway, why did you revive this thread? Do you have any new pertinent information to contribute regarding the toxicity of 1 lb. of LSD?” That’s your question for this thread? ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/9 "2004-10-23T19:18:02Z")
Thread in question: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=271878](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=271878) ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/10 "2004-10-23T19:36:01Z")
> [@mouthbreather](#): > > I just read that thread and the only question from II Gyan II is this (he was speaking to you): > “Anyway, why did you revive this thread? Do you have any new pertinent information to contribute regarding the toxicity of 1 lb. of LSD?” > That’s your question for this thread? II Gyan II suggested a thread dealing with “drugs and drug policy,” if that makes it any clearer. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/11 "2004-10-23T20:53:34Z")
**dougie\_monty** revived the LSD thread after 7 weeks, because he was incensed with some pro-drug remark by John Belushi’s widow. Since that wasn’t pertinent to the GQ thread, I told him to start a new thread elsewhere if he wanted to discuss something about drugs and drug policy. Apparently, this is that thread. However, I don’t see any coherent thesis in the OP. So, I don’t see anything to discuss. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2004, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/12 "2004-10-24T07:24:09Z")
> [@II Gyan II](#): > > **dougie\_monty** revived the LSD thread after 7 weeks, because he was incensed with some pro-drug remark by John Belushi’s widow. Since that wasn’t pertinent to the GQ thread, I told him to start a new thread elsewhere if he wanted to discuss something about drugs and drug policy. > > Apparently, this is that thread. However, I don’t see any coherent thesis in the OP. So, I don’t see anything to discuss. Let me put it this way: I wanted to bring up these issues, concerning the potential for addiction or poisoning (adulteration) and the likelihood of overdosing. (I once read in one of Asimov’s books that there is a substance known as calomel, which can be used as a medication but must be taken carefully. But it is chemically similar to corrosive sublimate, and, as Asimov wrote, “a little of that will kill you no matter how carefully you take it.”) Since posters on the other thread had insisted to me that the consequences of drug use, LSD in particular, have been distorted by schools, news media, and so on, I thought this thread would be a good place to take those issues up. (I had no luck following links given in the other thread, either because of server problems or my own ineptness in following the links, or some other reason.) Does that make it any clearer? ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2004, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/13 "2004-10-24T14:58:37Z")
No, but I see what you’re getting at. There are a couple potention questions I see in your post… correct me if I’m wrong. 1. What are the consequences of drug use? (and maybe why do people take them?) 2. How is the media distorting the facts of drug use? Well, for number 2, things like this piss me off, [this link.](http://www.adac.org.au/images/p_kids_2_jpg.jpg). This sends the message that all drugs are somehow bad for you and is somehow going to turn your life upside down for the worst. This is wrong on so many levels. I can go deeper into this if this, if this is what you were talking about. ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2004, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/14 "2004-10-24T15:56:01Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Since posters on the other thread had insisted to me that the consequences of drug use, LSD in particular, have been distorted by schools, news media, and so on, I thought this thread would be a good place to take those issues up. (I had no luck following links given in the other thread, either because of server problems or my own ineptness in following the links, or some other reason.) Does that make it any clearer? Not really. Assert something. Write a paragraph on what you believe about LSD and issues regarding its use. Then, I’ll respond to that. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/15 "2004-10-24T16:22:23Z")
I took acid roughly between 50 and 75 times in a four year period, probably a total of about 250 “hits”. I started out with 1 but was taking 4 or 5 each time towards the end. I never had any horrific experiece (the only mind-numbing, scary, bad trip I had was on mushrooms) with acid. I don’t feel I’ve had any negative consequences from it. I don’t know how to give you a before and after picture to create tangible evidence that I wasn’t adversly affected. The only standardized testing I recall taking after my acid phase still placed me in the 99th percentile nationally for logic and critical thinking. I’ve never had a flashback, and it’s been about 9 years since I’ve last tried it. I don’t plan on doing it ever again. That’s not to say that everyone will have such good results, I’m only reporting on mine. I typically had a better ability to “deal” with hard drugs better than most of my friends. I was the last one to flip out, and I could typically keep composure in public while on 4-5 tabs (walking around the museum, relaxing in the park, typical stuff that 21 year olds do on acid). I would be interested to know what it is about a persons constitution/chemistry/mental condition that gives them the ability to deal with drugs better than others. And, in accordance with the standard SDMB disclaimers, drugs are illegal and I don’t recommend anyone trying them. Mkay? ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/16 "2004-10-25T07:44:25Z")
> [@II Gyan II](#): > > Not really. Assert something. Write a paragraph on what you believe about LSD and issues regarding its use. Then, I’ll respond to that. Let me put it this way: When my parents taught my brother and sister and me about drugs, they both drank and smoked. I did not sense a condradiction: My father was a heavy drinker and died at the age of 66 from multiple organ failure, likely aggravated by the drinking. My mother had been a smoker since she was 12; at the age of 58 she came home in tears following a biopsy. She underwent a mastectomy which, the surgeon said, she might not survive. (She did; she quit smoking cold turkey.) With this in mind, I see no acceptable reason to compound the issue by indulging in or experimenting with drugs. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/17 "2004-10-25T13:38:22Z")
… and that’s your personal choice. And if people want to smoke or drink themselves away, that is also their choice, not yours. ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/18 "2004-10-25T15:13:44Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > With this in mind, I see no acceptable reason to compound the issue by indulging in or experimenting with drugs. The mistake you’re making is assuming that illegal drugs are more or as dangerous as legal ones. You’re probably thinking that since tobacco/alcohol are legal, they must be not as dangerous as any of the illegal drugs. This happens to be wrong. The reason that some drugs are illegal and some aren’t, is a function of historical social and political factors and not because of a rational analysis of cost/benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/19 "2004-10-25T15:26:46Z")
Everything in moderation, that’s the key. I can’t imagine a life in which I did not experiment with drugs. I am just one of those personality types that is curious and I have a need to find out for myself, rather than take someone else’s word for it. Most of my friends have done acid with few consequences. I’ve never known anyone to overdose on it, or have their life ruined by taking it a few times. On the other hand, everyone I know has at least tried alcohol and many have had their lives negatively altered from it’s use. Still, no incidence of overdose from the people I associate with. I think any drug can be abused, and I think any drug can be used recreationally and responsibly. Without going into detail, I will say that I’ve tried just about everything and I am fine. In fact, I think my personal horizon is broader having used drugs. I would not advocate drug use, but I also wouldn’t sit and preach against it. It’s a personal choice. If you feel like you can’t handle something, or are afraid of it, don’t try it. If you are curious and careful, I see no problem in a little experimentation. \*I am not advocating the use of illegal drugs or drug abuse in any way ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745/20 "2004-10-25T19:48:34Z")
> [@II Gyan II](#): > > The mistake you’re making is assuming that illegal drugs are more or as dangerous as legal ones. You’re probably thinking that since tobacco/alcohol are legal, they must be not as dangerous as any of the illegal drugs. This happens to be wrong. The reason that some drugs are illegal and some aren’t, is a function of historical social and political factors and not because of a rational analysis of cost/benefit. I beg to differ with you: I just _told_ you about what alcohol and tobacco have done–or almost did–to relatives of mine! If I put all of these substances on an equal footing–mitigated only by chemical potency and an individual’s susceptibility–I still see no need to test my system. My Dad died from heavy drinking and my Mom developed breast cancer because of her smoking–why should _I_ see how far I can push my system with any substance that can be abused? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issues-of-drug-use-addiction-poisoning-overdose-etc/270745.md?page=2)