That might explain why the US is a lone super power.
Because a lot of people think their life either sucks or is lacking. Whether they have too little money or just enough to scrape by or way too much. No matter who you are, drugs make you feel better. Of course most of them have negative side effects, but that doesn’t matter when you’re high.
When I had my knee replacement I needed crutches (and opiates) because I was weak? Well sure my knee was weak but I don’t think anyone questioned my, uh, moral courage. Don’t take drugs to support you through pain? Good for you, don’t come running to me after major surgery!
This thread should be separated into two different questions:
Why do people do hard drugs (heroin, meth, etc)?
Why do people do soft drugs (alcohol, pot, some hallucinogens, etc)?
The answers that people do drugs because their lives are oh-so-terrible is amusing to me. Are the marketing vice-presidents having a few drinks with co-workers at happy hour running from their inner demons?
But it lets people place drug use into nice nancyreaganesque cubbyholes and feel better about themselves.
Pot makes everything better. Food, music, entertainment, sex, staring at the walls, etc… What more do you want?
Should you use “an” over “a” when the next word starts with an aspirated “h” (not a vowel sound)? Ask a grammar nazi.
What is it with you and Nancy Reagan?
I didn not mean to imply that all drug-users are crack-whores, because that is obviously not the case.
Research in pharmacogenomics is showing that this isn’t true for everyone. For example, they’ve identified not only specific genes with up to 95% association for opioid addiction, but also genes with about 50% association with any response at all to opiod pain medication (see Chapter 4 of this book). In other words, opioid medications didn’t make those patients feel better.
For me, this is the most useful answer in this thread so far.
Rachellelogram didn’t say “opiates make everyone feel better” so what you’re saying doesn’t at all refute her statement. There is some drug out there that will make any person feel “better” – or at least “different.” I am one of those that doesn’t respond to opiates – they just make me puke and don’t feel “good” at all (and have very little painkilling effect, 4 advil do more) yet a nice shot of nicotine is just the thing to take the edge off of anxiety*.
*don’t worry, I quit.
She was my go-to crack whore. You should have seen what she could do with jelly beans.
She’s also responsible for a lot of the drivel spouted in this thread, a set of asinine concepts that has pushed responsible drug policy back by decades and the caused the unnecessary, pointless, hypocritical and wasteful suffering of millions.
She didn’t start the so-called “war on drugs,” but she transformed it into something different (which, given its racist roots could actually be a good thing, if it weren’t for the widespread racism inherent in enforcement and policy). Whether you’re old enough to remember her or not, she’s clearly imprinted on you.
Why do people use drugs?
Because you touch yourself at night. /familyguy
Serious answer: They’re fun and enjoyable and some people like having different experiences or experimenting with changes in perception. Some people use them to escape “the pain of living”, some use them to escape boredom. The OP sounds like a really naive person. Drugs are fun; what’s not to get? For me and a lot of others, the risk that comes with the harder drugs like heroin and crack aren’t worth the thrill, but people have done much dumber things. And there’s pretty much no risk of physical addiction with weed or LSD.
The fact that you don’t “get” alcohol shows me you haven’t had much good experience with it. Go get drunk with your friends for a night or two (just don’t drive), then get back to us on the whole “durr why do people drink” thing.
If you’ve never tried alcohol or any recreational drugs (even the most harmless ones), you can’t judge others for using these substances, since you have no idea what they’re like.
There are a lot of us who just don’t enjoy that. Obviously, whatever people find pleasurable about being drunk is something subjective. I don’t know if it’s biology, culture, or some combination, but I’d love a better answer than “it’s fun.” HOW is it fun? It’s not fun for me! I assume the softer drugs are the same: fun for those that like that sort of thing in some way that I just don’t get.
Yes, but the OP is specifically asking about narcotics and weed–things that are supposed to cause a sense of euphoria. I’ve never smoked, but I don’t think people smoke tobacco to get a sense of euphoria–not anything close to narcotics or weed. What about alcohol? Does it make you feel (significantly) better–enough that you drink it specifically for that reason?
It lowers my inhibitions (I’m socially awkward and self-conscious most of the time, so alcohol can help me enjoy others’ company without worrying if I’m saying the wrong thing or if I look all right). It tends to heighten good feelings, so a somewhat enjoyable night becomes a really great one. It relaxes me when I’m feeling frazzled or angry. It’s fine if you’d tried drinking and just don’t enjoy it the same way other people do, but the OP stated he/she has never had a drink, then claims not to get what other people see in it.
I smoke pot about once a month. Always with my wife. We go in the hot tub, have sex, watch the Simpsons, etc. It’s a lot of fun. “How is it fun?” you ask. Hard to explain. We relax, we get silly, we get horny. (and yes, of course, we can do all those things without drugs) We could live without it, but I don’t see any reason.
I never drink, but I smoked pot for some time, (and still do on occasion). I never tried anything else aside from drinking and smoking weed, and never will. Why I started to smoke it in the first place? Because I knew that there wasn’t much of a risk of anything going wrong if I at least tried it. I knew I didn’t like drinking, (makes me feel depressed), so I wanted a vice of my own… and it was weed. Sure, I’ve always wanted to feel the ‘highs’ of other drugs, but it seems to me other drugs are just too dangerous or risky for one reason or another. So though I indulge in a little illegal activity from time to time, I still consider myself a bit of a prude.
Actually, the OP mentions Alcohol, opiates, and coca (and weed in the title).