Anyone ever overdosed on caffeine?

[Triton]

the idea that weed is a gateway drug is highly exxagerated

The primary basis for this "gateway hypothesis" is a recent report by the center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), claiming that marijuana users are 85 times more likely than non-marijuana users to try cocaine. This figure, using data from NIDA's 1991 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, is close to being meaningless. It was calculated by dividing the proportion of marijuana users who have ever used cocaine (17%) by the proportion of cocaine users who have never used marijuana (.2%). The high risk-factor obtained is a product not of the fact that so many marijuana users use cocaine but that so many cocaine users used marijuana previously.

It is hardly a revelation that people who use one of the least popular drugs are likely to use the more popular ones - not only marijuana, but also alcohol and tobacco cigarettes. The obvious statistic not publicized by CASA is that most marijuana users - 83 percent - never use cocaine. Indeed, for the nearly 70 million Americans who have tried marijuana, it is clearly a "terminus" rather than a "gateway" drug.

Despite easy availability, marijuana prevalence among 12 to 18 year olds in Holland is only 13.6 percent - well below the 38 percent use-rate for American high school seniors. More Dutch teenagers use marijuana now than in the past; indeed, lifetime prevalence increased nearly three-fold between 1984 and 1992, from 4.8 to 13.6 percent. However, Dutch officials consider their policy a success because the increase in marijuana use has not been accompanied by an increase in the use of other drugs. For the last decade, the rate of cocaine use among Dutch youth has remained stable, with about .3 percent of 12-18 year olds reporting having used it in the past month.

saying that marijuana is a gateway to harder drugs is nothing more than a a scare tactic. as to why it was banned see this link http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/ ... legal.html

[Kurt_]

"Not only would it be cheaper but cleaner. Hell you could grow/make your own. "

Not true, the government would control and tax it like Alcohol and tobacco. Legally, at least, this option is out of the question. Realistically, it's not.


And weed was banned mostly due to propaganda in the 1930's, if I remember correctly from a previous BH discussion. Legalizing it will happen eventually, it's recently been decriminalized. It's the next logical step.

[CronoTriggerfan]

This isn't the place for any of this, guys, and it's so far off topic it's not even funny. Anyone who wants to get crushed in a debate by me about any of the aforementioned topics, hit me up on AIM. Screenname's Wileyville. Or just PM me. Either way, locked.

[Triton]

Protip: WELCOME TO F42 the off topic discussion forum section! nobody has gotten flamey or rude or anything and has been mature and as long as it stays that way i see no problem in discussing this topic, all your locking does is prove our point that people would rather ignore drugs and pretend they dont exist or activly attack anything relating to drugs and drug culture, yes bad people use drugs that does NOT mean that all people that use drugs are bad!

ive said it before and i say it again, if a mod OTHER THAN CTfan wants to lock this feel free but i vote it stays open. people should be allowed civil discussion of this topic so long as it doesnt stray significantly into the politics of it (beyond why X drug is/is not legal)

[ganonbanned]

My uncle used to smoke weed, then he started doing meth and crap, and then he ended up living in walmart. I'm not joking.

I don't think that Weed is a gateway drug, unless you let it be. There are a lot of people I know that have smoked weed for a very long time (10+ years) and haven't done anything else. Of course, it was a gateway drug in the case of my uncle

[CronoTriggerfan]

Okay, fair enough, douchebag. This is gonna get ugly, I assure you.

Any kid can spout off numbers of death tolls from various substances, but I would much rather have millions of people who preserve their current comprehension abilities and die of lung cancer than millions of stupid people smoking marijuana who are alive. Prison is the best kinda rehab. I'm very Randian in my beliefs of moral absolutism and objectivism, and I can say that, Kurt, I don't give a crap about drug users. They don't need help, they need to be behind bars. The culture of drugs is just as sickening. When you look around at the people doing drugs, they're the same scum I already hate for just being stupid and immoral in general. They're lazy, unmotivated, unintelligent, and will probably grow up to become leeches of society, anyways.

I know a lot of people involved in this crap and have experienced (and continue to experience) the denigration of morals that come along with drugs. I've had friends do stupid things with this stuff, and a close family member betray me for my entire life, behind my back, despite a myriad of problems at home, about his/her drug use. So to answer your original question, Kurt, yeah, I'm only just shy of 17, but I'd like to think I've been around the block enough to have an opinion.

But enough with the personal BS. I don't care about it, I'm sure you all don't, either. Again, my hate for marijuana isn't so much because "OMGIT KILLZ T3H BABIEZ", but because the people who use it are weak and stupid to begin with. Not to mention most of them are politically retarded little anarchists.

And vskid, second-hand smoke is the biggest propaganda campaign ever.

[Negative_Creep]

who cares what you think? if people want to smoke and do drugs they are going to.

[HBN]

...Again, my hate for marijuana isn't so much because "OMGIT KILLZ T3H BABIEZ", but because the people who use it are weak and stupid to begin with. Not to mention most of them are politically retarded little anarchists.

Before you say something like that, CTF, understand what you're saying. I'll be upfront with you. I've been into drugs. Not weed. Worse drugs. Ones that have side effects that will last my entire life. I have to deal with that. I'm ashamed of that. But I'm neither weak, nor stupid. I have a far above average IQ. But thats not the point.

Drugs, for me, were attempted suicide. Thank heaven I failed, because the pain I went through was totally worth it now that I'm engaged to an incredibly beautiful and intelligent woman.

I did drugs for one year, to the day. I literally stopped the same day I started. I started it because a very close friend of mine killed herself. I'll spare you the major details of how, but the fact was that she was more than a thousand miles away (Literally on the other side on the planet), and I had to listen to her do it, and not be able to stop her. I can go through, in my head, every sound that the gun she used (I assume her dads') made. Every action. Every click and sound, down to the final charge from the starter cap firing the gunpowder inside the bullet. I did not want to live with having to hear that sound every waking minute, and dreaming about it every damn night. But I didn't have the guts to just finish the job. I guess in a way, I wanted to suffer the way she must have in order to want to kill herself.

And I did. For three-hundred and sixty-five days. Until I just said; "You know what... You're not gonna die. You're just gonna have to live with the fact that shes dead, and cherish the fact that she chose you to be the one who was with her. Give up. Let it go.". So I did. I pitched every bag and vial I owned out the window. I cried. I yelled for it to all have been a dream. But it wasn't.

Today, still...I wonder if I could have done something for her. I wonder if it was my fault.

But I'm not weak. Not because I care. Not because I did drugs. Not because I didn't live the perfect life without pain, or betrayal. Not for any reason. To borrow form the old phrase "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger."... It didn't kill me. And I'm stronger. I was never weak, but I'm more of a man today because of what happened. I'm more of a man today than most people my age. More mature.

Am I the only one with pain? No. I wouldn't ever say that. But I do know what pain is.

So as a favor, CTF... Think about who and what your talking about before you say anything. Because I, for one, am greatly insulted by your close mindedness, and holier-than-thou attitude on this topic.

[CronoTriggerfan]

Boo-hoo. There's another group of people I don't care about, those who try to commit suicide. And yes, that's also the sign of a weak person. No amount of personal, boring sap stories about retards killing themselves will change my mind on anything, so don't even try it. If you or your friend don't value the beauty of life enough to stick around, far be it for me or anyone else to stop you. In fact, a part of me encourages it. I, too have a story or two about a close friend who tried to kill themselves, but whining about personal hardships isn't my thing. I just bring it up so that, in the flood of hate-posts littered with tears of lost friends and family, none of you can pull the "YOU DON'T KNOW HOW HARD IT IS" card.

And John, this is why I locked this thread to begin with.

who cares what you think? if people want to smoke and do drugs they are going to.

Well first of all, I see nothing wrong with smoking. Second, replace "smoke and do drugs" with any other illegal activity. Are you saying that just because something is inevitable, we should stop caring as a society? "Eh, serial killings happen, just sit back, they'll do it anyways." "Rapists? Can't stop them, they're going to do it regardless."

[Negative_Creep]

I think you must of missed where doing illegal substances is harming other people.

[HBN]

[And John, this is why I locked this thread to begin with.

Elaborate for us. Cuz as far as I can tell, you are the ONLY person here trying to start something, and being uncivil.

You locked it so you wouldn't start something with others? Hmm...

I see... .

[CronoTriggerfan]

[And John, this is why I locked this thread to begin with.

Elaborate for us. Cuz as far as I can tell, you are the ONLY person here trying to start something, and being uncivil.
You locked it so you wouldn't start something with others? Hmm...
I see... .

Look, the second drugs are discussed, they lead to arguments about legality, politics, morals, religion, etc. It always happens, that's what I meant.

Also, I'm not being uncivil simply because I have opposition to your lack of objectivity. The above post is what I believe. I like to consider myself an equal opportunity offender.

I think you must of missed where doing illegal substances is harming other people.

Gotcha, cocaine, meth, heroine, ex, they don't harm people. What was I thinking?

[HBN]

[And John, this is why I locked this thread to begin with.

Elaborate for us. Cuz as far as I can tell, you are the ONLY person here trying to start something, and being uncivil.
You locked it so you wouldn't start something with others? Hmm...
I see... .

Look, the second drugs are discussed, they lead to arguments about legality, politics, morals, religion, etc. It always happens, that's what I meant.

Also, I'm not being uncivil simply because I have opposition to your lack of objectivity. The above post is what I believe. I like to consider myself an equal opportunity offender.

I don't have a lack of objectivity. I have life experience in the matter. I didn't say you don't know what pain is. In fact, I made it clear that I didn't think that. So not only do you act out (Yes, that is exactly what you were doing) against that, but you show no heart what so ever towards something that is not only close to my heart, but painful to remember. All I asked is that you think about the possible back-story to something you hate before saying that a person doing it is stupid or weak. That's all I asked.

[Negative_Creep]

I think you must of missed where doing illegal substances is harming other people.

Gotcha, cocaine, meth, heroine, ex, they don't harm people. What was I thinking?

Uh yeah. Other people as in people around you.

You murder someone there is a victim. The guy you murdered. Whos the victim when you OD on Esctasy. YOU, nobody else.

[Extreme_Jesus]

Drugs are fine in my opinion

Im for the legalisation of most moderate drugs (eg Weed, Pills, Speed) but not for the really heavy stuff (eg Heroin, crack, meth) because the mad stuff ruins lives, the others most people can use and still be a functioning member of society. I know, cos i do.

Call me weak if you want, but its a matter of choice. My lifestyle is not for everyone. The golden rule is moderation. Weed may not kill, but ive seen what skinning up everyday for years can do to people. You get slower, lazier and just generally comprehend less. Weed is an awesome high and an absolute blast with your friends, but its a treat

I got out of most of the drugs i used to take mainly cos i found i cant do the drugs and drink alcohol together and by the time i reached legal drinking age id much rather be going to pubs than running round parks at night speeding my tits off, and to be honest i much prefer getting drunk, its a much more social event which all your friends can enjoy.

But then again drinking aint for everyone either, some people just dont enjoy it all, i for one enjoy immensely going out with my mates down to the pub every night and stumbling home laughing my head off when the bars are all closed.

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