# What recreational drugs in your opinion should someone avoid taking at all costs? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 16, 2019, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220 "2019-03-16T07:34:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2019, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/61 "2019-03-17T21:42:34Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Interesting, would that actually help come down from a bad trip? Or just make things worse in a different way? Not really sure. I have had some really weird trips (got lost in a closet for a bit, and then there was, uh, never mind), but nothing that really qualifies as the classic bad trip. As far as I can tell, the bad trip is a myth, but in order to avoid that, you would need to first off make sure you are not going to be alone and second never take acid if your are starting out from a negative headspace (make sure you are emotionally stable/comfortable). The cannabis cancels out the good parts of the acid, but I have no idea how it would affect bad trip. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2019, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/62 "2019-03-17T22:29:23Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Then you must be doing it wrong. A shot of whiskey to chase a comestible will really knock you sideways. No, the combination to avoid is cannabis and acid. IME, they do opposite things and end up cancelling each other out. But I don’t _wanna_ get knocked sideways! Now, a glass of fine wine or a tasty beer is just great when you’re stoned, but strong spirits crush the high, I’ve found. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2019, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/63 "2019-03-17T22:31:49Z")
Smoking grass can soften the edges a bit, if the acid is getting too intense or if you’re receiving unpleasant stimuli. I think it’s helpful. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2019, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/64 "2019-03-17T22:50:29Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Taking N methyl folate supplements can help a LOT. Is that vitamin B9? That’s what I get when I google “N methyl folate”. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2019, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/65 "2019-03-17T23:41:52Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Is that vitamin B9? That’s what I get when I google “N methyl folate”. Folic Acid is B9. But if you lack enzymes to convert it to N Methyl Folate, taking extra folic acid won’t help. Hence the recommendation to take N methyl folate supplements, IF you are heterozygous for at least one, if not both, of the 2 aforementioned genes. ---
**Author:** ![Littleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ccd318/32.png) [@Littleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Littleman)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/66 "2019-03-18T00:52:24Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > There are stats about the dangers and costs of different types of drugs to the person taking them, and to larger society. For both legal and illegal drugs. > > Is this graph readable? [https://dynamic.decorrespondent.nl/media/904/59144b53679eb0254961807.png](https://dynamic.decorrespondent.nl/media/904/59144b53679eb0254961807.png) > > From worst to less bad: > Alcohol > Heroine > Crack > Meth > Tobacco > Amphetamines > Cannabis > GHB > Benzodiazepines > Ketamine > Methadone > Metphedrone > Bhutaan > Qat > Anabolic steroids > XTC > LSD > Mushrooms. > > Herbal psychedelics like ayahuasca, and huasca, and iboga root, aren’t even on the list. They are rarely taken recreationally, but always in a ritual setting with a careful sitter, who -if it is done right- prepares the triptakers and prevents and helps if problems arise. > And none of these herbal psychedelics are considered addictive by professionals studying drug addiction. On the contrary, they are used to combat addiction. And the therapeutic potential of such drugs is more and more researched. > Such herbal psychedelics are even produced in an responsible way. Having taken them a couple times I can understand why. Such plants and the experience they yield command respect from everyone who experiences them. I’d basically agree with that list. > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > This probably isn’t in the spirit of the thread, but why do any? I guess I’m kind of puritanical about things like this, but I don’t see the point of any of it. I enjoy life and I don’t want to be anesthetized through any parts of it. My husband drinks sometimes from mostly boredom, and that isn’t really any fun for either of us. > > I’d probably make an exception for medical cannabis, but if I thought I needed to use it, I would look for whatever benefits I could get without getting high. > > There are those substances that are supposed to enhance reality and open up your senses to new experiences and so on. Maybe. But I’m skeptical about those claims, and the possible consequences like psychological damage are too dire for me to consider doing them. Psilocybin has been proven to actually have long term psychological benefits. Not only that but it’s been shown to be counter-addictive. Typical users actually desire it less. On top of that you basically gain an instant tolerance, so that doing it again within a 7-9 day period will basically get you nowhere. For a very heavy trip it goes something like this; Start with feeling like your getting the world’s greatest massage, then get happy and get the giggles. Somewhere in there colors get very intense and sometimes a bit off ( for instance people by firelight may appear nearly fire engine red). Following this you may have intense experiences with patterns (existing or imagined). A super heavy trip may give you the ability to have waking dreams, even experience another place or time. All the while, anytime things are too intense you can simply " shake it off" and return to sobriety for as long as you’d like with maybe only a little light sensitivity remaining , it only goes as far as you allow it. Which is it’s best feature over LSD , aside from not having any ability to have relapses or to put you in a permanent trip. Basically the only downsides are cardboard taste and possibly minor stomach discomfort at some point before it kicks in. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/67 "2019-03-18T00:59:49Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > But I don’t _wanna_ get knocked sideways! You should try a pangalactic gargleblaster. I hear it is like getting hit in the head with a slice of lemon wrapped around a brick. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/68 "2019-03-18T01:24:59Z")
I have several problems with that list if it is, in fact, ordered from most damaging/harmful to least–seriously, cannabis more damaging than benzos, with the life threatening withdrawal potential? Worse than GHB, an actual date rape drug? Worse than methadone, which is incredibly physically addictive? Yeah, that list as ordered does not appear congruent with reality. ---
**Author:** ![Littleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ccd318/32.png) [@Littleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Littleman)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/69 "2019-03-18T01:47:44Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > I have several problems with that list if it is, in fact, ordered from most damaging/harmful to least–seriously, cannabis more damaging than benzos, with the life threatening withdrawal potential? Worse than GHB, an actual date rape drug? Worse than methadone, which is incredibly physically addictive? Yeah, that list as ordered does not appear congruent with reality. I didn’t even see it there. It appears to be a ranking of individual social damage, which may include public awareness and stigma associated which may well be influenced by prevalence, I’m not sure. Anyway, I retract that agreement. I’d put crack and heroin ahead of alcohol Move cannabis to probably just above shrooms, and maybe a couple other adjustments. ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/70 "2019-03-18T04:07:03Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Same thing, depriving the brain of oxygen. When I was a teenager in the 70s there were kids huffing PAM, the cooking spray. It had propane as the propellant I think. That was Freon. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/71 "2019-03-18T05:30:37Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > XTC Pleeeeeeeeeeeease be upstanding for the Mayor of Simpleton… ---
**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:** [March 18, 2019, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/72 "2019-03-18T11:04:22Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Amanita Muscaria (the red toad stools with the white spots). As above, but only lasts 4 or so hours. We have two Amainta rings that pop up every year. They are beautiful mushrooms. I took a bag full to a mushroom club meeting to help fuel discussion. Psilocybin shrooms are fine with me, but I’d never considered eating our Amanitas. After the meeting a quiet, older couple approached us and asked what we were going to do with our bag of Amanitas. I told them I would toss them on our compost pile. They asked if they could have them and I gave them to them, apparently making their day. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/73 "2019-03-18T15:16:16Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > We have two Amainta rings that pop up every year. They are beautiful mushrooms. I took a bag full to a mushroom club meeting to help fuel discussion. Psilocybin shrooms are fine with me, but I’d never considered eating our Amanitas. After the meeting a quiet, older couple approached us and asked what we were going to do with our bag of Amanitas. I told them I would toss them on our compost pile. They asked if they could have them and I gave them to them, apparently making their day. I read somewhere that the _Amanita muscaria_ (please make sure they are not _Amanita phalloides_ or death cap!) have interesting psychedelic effects but also are a bit toxic. In Siberia people would give them to the village fool who would feel the high, metabolize the poisonous compounds and excrete via urine the psychedelic substances unmetabolized, so they would drink the urine and get high without the worst side effects. So all you need is a village fool. Do you still have those in the USA? In Europe they are becoming scarce. Perhaps due to to much _Amanita muscaria_ processing, I don’t know… ---
**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:** [March 18, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/74 "2019-03-18T15:42:23Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I read somewhere that the _Amanita muscaria_ (please make sure they are not _Amanita phalloides_ or death cap!) have interesting psychedelic effects but also are a bit toxic. In Siberia people would give them to the village fool who would feel the high, metabolize the poisonous compounds and excrete via urine the psychedelic substances unmetabolized, so they would drink the urine and get high without the worst side effects. So all you need is a village fool. Do you still have those in the USA? In Europe they are becoming scarce. Perhaps due to to much _Amanita muscaria_ processing, I don’t know… [Why reindeer love magic mushrooms.](http://www.drugdiscoverytoday.com/view/14778/why-reindeer-love-magic-mushrooms/) > [@](#): > > Reindeer go to great lengths to seek out the hallucinogenic fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria) and eating the fungi makes them behave drunkenly, run about aimlessly and make strange noises. Head twitching is also common. > Fly agaric mushrooms have long been used by man for their psychotropic properties but can be toxic. Reindeer can eat them without harm and having observed their effects on their livestock, reindeer herders in Europe and Asia have long collected reindeer urine as a safer way of taking this hallucinogen. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/75 "2019-03-18T15:50:27Z")
You guys know Hari’s bonding theory about addiction, right? That explains why people can also get addicted to non-drugs. It also explains this: many US solders who retruned from Vietnam to the USA, were addicted to heroin. Once they returned to their families and lives, over 90% of them quit heroin without problems. Why? Hari’s theory is that addiction is basically the human need to bond, to bond with other people or with a greater cause, is misapplied to a substance or activity, and the behavior that goes with it. The best therapy is to bond again with what humans are supposed to bond with. The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety: it’s connection, says Hari. [The Opposite of Addiction is Connection | Psychology Today](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/love-and-sex-in-the-digital-age/201509/the-opposite-addiction-is-connection) > **[Ted Talk – Johann Hari: Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong...](https://www.oatc.ca/news-articles-information/ted-talk-johann-hari-everything-you-think-you-know-about-addiction-is-wrong/)** here is the transcript for people who prefer to read rather them listen to the TED talk [Russell Brand explains how to get over addiction](https://ideapod.com/everything-think-know-addiction-wrong/) ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/76 "2019-03-18T15:57:33Z")
Questions from ignorance: > [@Littleman](#): > > All the while, anytime things are too intense you can simply " shake it off" and return to sobriety for as long as you’d like with maybe only a little light sensitivity remaining , it only goes as far as you allow it. How does that work? I have trouble reconciling that one is under the influence of a drug, but is cognizant enough to realize exactly how much under the influence they are and retain the ability to mentally reverse that state. > [@kayaker](#): > > We have two Amainta rings that pop up every year. They are beautiful mushrooms. I took a bag full to a mushroom club meeting to help fuel discussion. Psilocybin shrooms are fine with me, but I’d never considered eating our Amanitas. After the meeting a quiet, older couple approached us and asked what we were going to do with our bag of Amanitas. I told them I would toss them on our compost pile. They asked if they could have them and I gave them to them, apparently making their day. A mushroom club? What does a meeting entail? Sorry, just never heard of one even though I know people who cultivate edible mushrooms. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2019, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/77 "2019-03-18T16:20:29Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > A mushroom club? What does a meeting entail? Sorry, just never heard of one even though I know people who cultivate edible mushrooms. It is an educational club to help in the _safe_ definitive identification of culinary mushrooms in the wild. Field trips are arranged to parks/places where mushrooms are likely to be found. Mycologists give lectures, techniques (spore printing) are demonstrated, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/78 "2019-03-18T16:31:19Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > [Why reindeer love magic mushrooms.](http://www.drugdiscoverytoday.com/view/14778/why-reindeer-love-magic-mushrooms/) Even better than a village fool! 😃 I will check if our pet shop has some reindeer on stock. ---
**Author:** ![Chetumal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@Chetumal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chetumal)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/79 "2019-03-18T16:47:14Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > From worst to less bad: > Alcohol > Heroine > Crack > Meth > Tobacco > Amphetamines > \*\*Cannabis \*\* > GHB > Benzodiazepines > Ketamine > Methadone > Metphedrone > Bhutaan > Qat > Anabolic steroids > XTC > LSD > Mushrooms. Is that list from the 1950’s or something? Claiming cannabis is not only dangerous, but more so than benzos?? 😕:rolleyes: ---
**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:** [March 18, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220/80 "2019-03-18T16:48:45Z")
> [@Chetumal](#): > > Is that list from the 1950’s or something? Claiming cannabis is not only dangerous, but more so than benzos?? 😕:rolleyes: And why is Alcohol worse than Wonder Woman? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-recreational-drugs-in-your-opinion-should-someone-avoid-taking-at-all-costs/831220.md?page=5)