Say No fro Drugs!!
 

We all should say NO for any types of Drugs. Are you guyz agree with me or not???

Good to hear from you again sayno4drugs.

On one level - sure - great short succinct slogan and pretty much the basis of recovery, or early recovery for sure :)

But...my own history is pretty complex.

I could say NO one minute and be sprinting down the liquor shop the next.

I needed some action and some change to back up my NO :)

as for 'any types of drugs' - I think there's some complexity there too.

I depend on some medications to help me live and have a good quality of life :)
If I said NO to those I doubt I'd be here on SR today...

D

Well, it depends on how you define "drugs."

I medicate myself as needed with over the counter drugs I buy in a retail store, generally for cough, sore throat, or stomach issues.

I take drugs as prescribed by my Doctor.

I do not take any drugs that don't come from the two sources above.

I took everything off the table except my medications prescribed by my doctor.

Psychedelics aren't completely off the table, but would be used for spiritual growth and under the guidance of a clinician or shaman.

Addiction is the problem not the drugs.
Like a carpenter blaming his tools.

^^^ What is methamphetamine a tool for, other than abuse? Cocaine? Heroine?

Please elaborate on the tool analogy, Finalcall.

Most drugs of abuse are, or were at some point, used as medicine. The ones you mention courage2 have for the most part been surpassed by safer medications but all three can still be legally prescribed in many countries. Off the top of my head methamphetamine is used as a weightloss drug, cocaine as a topical anesthetic and heroin (under its medical moniker of Diamorphine) is used as a very strong painkiller.

Oddly enough, the one that's legal almost everywhere (and that happens to be my kryptonite) good old ethanol has very few medical benefits besides making a pretty decent mouthwash and hand sanitiser and is not used medically at all, save as an antidote to the poison found in antifreeze if nothing else is available. Yes Walking Dead fans, that's a real thing apparently!

Diamorphine I especially appreciate as a medical drug as it is heavily used in the UK in palliative care. Used in the this manner it is truly invaluable in my opinion, and I will always be grateful that it was available to help my family members who have passed from terminal cancer move on to the next world with dignity and without pain or fear.

I meant street drugs.

And/or, I should have asked, who's the carpenter? Per Madnellie's writeup , most can be tools in the hands of a physician. (Though not in the case of my MD grandpa, the hophead.)

If one isn't a physician (and I'm guessing Finalcall is not), how are drugs tools?

The OP said no to any and all drugs, not just street drugs. Maybe highercall was talking about prescriptions?

I was responding to Finalcall, who hasn't responded so I don't know what s/he was referring to.

Do you mean highercall = Finalcall?

The OP no to all drugs isn't even possible, not if you include modern food sources & the air we breathe, whereas the question of whether drugs are tools can get interesting. Plus the part of the statement "addiction is the problem." Where's using in all of this? And the intention to abuse?

Plus get meta -- why would anyone post on SR about use of medically necessary drugs as prescribed? It's kind of a strawman approach to talking about drugs, isn't it? So why do it?

Psychedelic drugs have been used for thousands of years for spiritual growth and exploration. This use continues today, and is being investigated for addiction treatment. There are a number of studies and treatment protocols being developed for MDMA, ********, and psilocybin. This is far different than rolling on Molly at a rave. Also addiction treatment using these compounds needs to be part of a larger framework that includes other treatment protocols like 12 Step, psychotherapy, cognitive work, etc. These substances also tend not to be physically addictive, particularly when used in this manner.

I see this as similar to medical use of drugs that are often abused. Other than this exception and the medical use as prescribed (and even then with caution), I pretty much agree with the no to drugs.

Yeah, I meant finalcall. His/her post sounds like a play on that saying about guns. Like guns aren’t the problem, people are?

^^^I agree. But in his/her case, not even the carpenter/user is the problem, it's something abstract.

MindfulMan, I fully appreciate what you say about psychedelics. However, I've known way too many people who used that argument as a gateway to mental destruction. People who thought they could doctor themselves.

Therefore even when there's truth in what you write I can never read it without remembering the kid who medicized himself based on a theory about jimsonweed and last time I saw him he was drooling at my feet, the guy who tried to hang himself on acid and claimed it made him sane, the psychedelic-head who says he's treating himself to intensify his understanding of himself as a god-wolf, and all the people who have wasted their youth on ecstasy.

Yes, they are abusing, not using under medical management. But many of them use the "it's scientific" argument to justify and promote their use to others.

Sorry for the long post, and sorry that my experience on this one sickens me to a point of passion.