Does whether or not a person use drugs affect your opinion of them?

[GhostFingers]

I used to do drugs. I smoked ganj for about 6 years and did class As for about a year. Let me tell you all something from this perspective: IT WAS FUN. The reason drugs have been cultivated so much over the millennia is because getting high is fun, and it starts a little at a time but then ends up in incremental stages with full-blown addiction.

Weed was great, and i loved the ritual involved (ie preparation. grinding, rolling smoking). My mates and i practically worshipped the magic weed. It was something we could all do together, something for every occasion (celebrate or commiserate). The problems were caused by us no longer being able to get by without it. That's the point when you could categorically say we were addicted. We did eventually go down the path of harder stuff to feel different kinds of highs and i'll reiterate: IT WAS FUN. I've had some totally mind-blowing and irreplaceable experiences. Some of those nights are still infamous amongst those of us who were there.

But what goes up eventually comes down and this was a lesson more literal for me than anyone. I lost control. I eventually lost my awesome flat, a couple of treasured possessions, a boyfriend and a whole bunch of fairweather hangers-on. In retrospect of course, losing that last thing was good. I also lost my mind a bit, and that's the scary part. I continued to smoke weed until the December after the big emotional crash. I started to get really bad panic attacks triggered by smoking weed. It was really sudden. Just one day, i took a bong and about ten minutes later was convinced I was having heart attack and i would die. So since then i haven't so much as touched a joint (except the rare times i've been around tokers, and i rolled one for them). When the bad outweighs the good, there's no point in taking drugs, and i'm glad i was able to recognise that.

There's a whole bunch of life-lessons i would never give up on or change the past for without them, i wouldn't be entirely wiser for it. I don't condemn people who take drugs, because i've been there, and it's a perspective you can't actually have if you don't have that experience. I did relapse into hard drugs but fortunately events conspired to remove that temptation before too long. It's a bit of a struggle every now and then to not relapse again. I keep telling myself i am better for being without the hassle, though, and that seems to work for the most part. I still know stoners and i still like them. (And as i mentioned rolling a joint for them for 'old times sake' gives me pleasure). I know what people are like when addicted though, and the nature of addicted people as opposed to light very occasional users is different. Addicts want one thing: their next fix. This is why many people don't trust them. Rare users don't need drugs in the same way, and to heavy users it seems like they have amazing control or willpower, but it isn't that. They just think about drugs differently. Having lived both sides of the fence i can see that.

Sorry for the ramble, but it really was a huge part of my life for a big portion of my life, so you can see why i would have a lot of views on the subject. Basically, if someone has their drug use under control, it really doesn't matter. It's still the same person. If someone is an addict, that's when the behaviour changes and it would be better for that person to stop, but the choice to stop ultimately can't be forced by another. It will only come from within if it is true desire to change. You can't choose to change someone, but you can choose how much time you spend with that person.

 

[Snowy]

I used to do drugs. I smoked ganj for about 6 years and did class As for about a year. Let me tell you all something from this perspective: IT WAS FUN. The reason drugs have been cultivated so much over the millennia is because getting high is fun, and it starts a little at a time but then ends up in incremental stages with full-blown addiction.

Weed was great, and i loved the ritual involved (ie preparation. grinding, rolling smoking). My mates and i practically worshipped the magic weed. It was something we could all do together, something for every occasion (celebrate or commiserate). The problems were caused by us no longer being able to get by without it. That's the point when you could categorically say we were addicted. We did eventually go down the path of harder stuff to feel different kinds of highs and i'll reiterate: IT WAS FUN. I've had some totally mind-blowing and irreplaceable experiences. Some of those nights are still infamous amongst those of us who were there.

Out of curiousity, did the health effect (to yourself, and others) cross your mind during that period?

 

[GhostFingers]

Out of curiousity, did the health effect (to yourself, and others) cross your mind during that period?

Yes. Everyone knows that drugs are bad, smoking causes cancer, blah blah blah. I was a young adult with no fear or care of illness though. It's a fact i (and i assume others) just pushed to the back of the mind. Disease is not a pleasant thing to think about especially when what you think about affects your buzz. I was not about to sit down and ponder the ramifications of consuming toxins with my fellow users. I was more likely to yell, "bangin' choon!!!" (I kid, i would never have said that).

 

[aquadrop]

If I already know the person... then the fact that they do drugs wouldn't really change my opinion of them. I mean, most drug users are usually in a 'phase' and eventually grow out of it. If anything, I'd just be super worried for them (with weed I wouldn't be as much, so many people do it here I don't really care. XD But if it's heavy alcohol drinking or cocaine, then yeah, super worried.).

On the other hand... if I DIDN'T personally know the person, and all I knew was that they drank a lot, or did coke, then yeah, my impression would be bad of them. I find alcohol much much worse than weed, but I guess that's a different topic. XD

 

[zakisrage]

Depends. I think drugs like heroine, marijuana, cocaine, etc. make people look trashy and low-class. Sadly, over here it's a problem in the Lebanese community - two of my second cousins died of heroin overdoses. I hate illegal drugs and think they should stay illegal. Back in Lebanon, stuff like heroin, cannabis, etc. is illegal, though it's not enforced (even so, the police tend to be pretty harsh towards drug users, to say the least, according to my relatives in Tyre).

And yet you might find me a hypocrite because I have no problem with people smoking cigarettes. (A lot of people think that Islam forbids smoking, but that isn't true.) I don't smoke, but my dad smokes a lot. We're even more fond of smoking those hookah pipes.

I don't know if anyone here's heard of Krokodil, the new drug that's sweeping Russia. It's got to be the worst drug of all, since it eats your skin until your bones are showing, and users die pretty quickly. Over in Russia, people who do Krokodil are basically pariahs due to the gruesome damage the drug does.

@Soki I feel bad for the people in your country. There's so much cool stuff to see in the Netherlands (not to mention all that good cheese - the people who live across the street from me are of Dutch heritage and they make good cheese). Seeing people go there as an excuse to do drugs must be painful.

 

[Karpi]

I don't know if anyone here's heard of Krokodil, the new drug that's sweeping Russia. It's got to be the worst drug of all, since it eats your skin until your bones are showing, and users die pretty quickly. Over in Russia, people who do Krokodil are basically pariahs due to the gruesome damage the drug does.

What?! I thought this was a joke, like a made up drug that doesn't actually exist. Fuck... why would anyone ever use that?

 

[Dorothy]

I don't know if anyone here's heard of Krokodil, the new drug that's sweeping Russia. It's got to be the worst drug of all, since it eats your skin until your bones are showing, and users die pretty quickly. Over in Russia, people who do Krokodil are basically pariahs due to the gruesome damage the drug does.

What?! I thought this was a joke, like a made up drug that doesn't actually exist. Fuck... why would anyone ever use that?

Because it is an incredibly potent opiate with effects that can be ten times as powerful as morphine.

 

[GhostFingers]

Krokodil

Heard of it, am disgusted by it. Never did needle drugs and this stuff... it is made with petrol and household chemicals, right?

Russia is a very extreme country. The hardship is extreme, the people are tough, poverty and violence are widespread and the seedy underbelly (stands to reason) is also very fucked up. The people who do it do so because it is cheap to make, gives them a buzz and have nothing else going for them so they become self-destructive. For them there are no consequences, because there is no hope for the future. (I'm not saying this is true of all Russia and Russians, but there are a lot of places where life is lived on the edge - the brink of death, disease, crime and insanity.)

 

[PaulTheProtist]

It depends on the type of drug. If you're doing something like marijuana I wouldn't mind too much. Of course I wouldn't be friends with a stoner but I wouldn't consider them a devil for doing so. However, when it's something like bath salts, my opinion is much different. I have absolutely no respect for anyone, and I mean ANYONE, who uses bath salts. Why? When someone uses bath salts, they are not only choosing to put their lives in danger but they are also choosing to put other people's lives in danger. In my area bath salts are a huge problem and many people are getting killed by people high on bath salts. So yeah it would impact my opinion of someone similarly to if the guy murdered someone if we are talking about bath salts.

 

[indigohex]

I am pretty neutral on this issue. As mentioned, some drugs (such as bath salts and the aforementioned Krokodil) are horrible and addictive (as well as kill people), but I think people on drugs (any drugs) need support from family and friends instead of being shunned from the wider community. In fact, some former drug addicts can go on to be very productive members of society, and that means that if someone uses drugs, then they need support from family and friends and besides, who is to judge them?

And I feel that with the economy in the state that it is, I feel that many more people may turn to drugs to escape the reality that surrounds us at the moment sadly.

My opinion on this issue may be controversial, but hey, I am a pretty outspoken person.

 

[Krash]

You know how some people only drink alcohol with certain friends? Well I used to smoke weed when some friends of mine had parties. Only with them, and only when I had no intention of going anywhere. The media portrays it as something far different from what it actually is. So I couldn't care less if any of my friends smoked weed safely.

Hard stuff, on the other hand, is crazy. I've seen first-hand what some of that stuff can do and, working where I do (in the hospital), you get to see what cocaine, heroine, and meth does. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

If a friend of mine came to me and admitted to using something actually dangerous, I wouldn't stop being friends with them. But I would try and help them kick the habit.

 

[Axe to Fall]

This is something that is pretty circumstantial, but it usually does not affect my opinion on a person. Now with that said, I always take the fact that they use drugs into account when speaking to them, but that usually does not mean that I discount the things that I say. There are plenty of people who use drugs and are pretty put-together, generally speaking.

 

[Hunter Blade]

I used to think poorly of anybody except pot users, but after living with potheads for a couple years now in college and being friends with multiple others, my opinion has fully changed. What I've learned is that if somebody's any more than an "occasional" user, meaning maybe once a week or less, then they become extremely unreliable and unable to take anything seriously when it comes to their habits. Especially when it's "there's no smell, stop being so anal about it" and "wait, you can smell that?", similar to tobacco smokers but worse because they try denying pot makes them stink. I know very few regular pot users both from college and outside of it who aren't like this, and that includes people in their 30's and 40's.

So while whatever, do your thing, the more I've seen of pot usage the more negatives I'm finding.

 

[Gabo2oo]

Almost every person I've met in my life drinks coffee and several of them smoke tobacco, so what gives anyway?

 

[Pandora]

I do not like to judge as "right" or "wrong" because it is extremely moralistic. I think when someone becomes addicted, it needs urgent help, because in besides the genetic pre-disposition, the person is probably not in the emotional environment that fosters a healthy life. Anyway, I think its stupid people who are moralists and treat users as if they were marginal or bad people cause most of them are just reproducing the common sense.

I already tried light drugs once in a while at parties when I was younger, things like marijuana, etc ... It was more for experience, I dont do that anymore, and dont recommend. I think stupid people who are encouraging consumption of drugs and alcoholic drinks.

But in any case, if drugs like drinks, cigarettes, marijuana and is from time to time, I have nothing against, and everyone knows what makes their own life. But I would not want to get involved romantically with someone who is an user, although I have a friend or another that do so.

You know how some people only drink alcohol with certain friends? Well I used to smoke weed when some friends of mine had parties. Only with them, and only when I had no intention of going anywhere. The media portrays it as something far different from what it actually is. So I couldn't care less if any of my friends smoked weed safely.
.

Yeah, you summed my words, strongly agree.

 

[Karpi]

I used to think poorly of anybody except pot users, but after living with potheads for a couple years now in college and being friends with multiple others, my opinion has fully changed. What I've learned is that if somebody's any more than an "occasional" user, meaning maybe once a week or less, then they become extremely unreliable and unable to take anything seriously when it comes to their habits. Especially when it's "there's no smell, stop being so anal about it" and "wait, you can smell that?", similar to tobacco smokers but worse because they try denying pot makes them stink. I know very few regular pot users both from college and outside of it who aren't like this, and that includes people in their 30's and 40's.

So while whatever, do your thing, the more I've seen of pot usage the more negatives I'm finding.

To be fair, you feel comfortable commenting on it because it's weed. Go to someone's house who works at a feedlot and tell them their house smells like animal shit. I guarantee they don't smell it either, because they're accustomed to it. Lots of pot smokers honestly can't tell if there's a lingering stench or not because their body ignores the smell.

Are you constantly aware that your clothes are putting pressure on your skin? Of course not, because your body ignores that stimulus.

 

[the_may_fan]

Drug use is bad. Period. To clarify, this opinion extends to the drugs that are illegal to distribute and consume in the US. Other drugs like alcohol and caffeine, for example, can be bad but the effects are typically far smaller than those observed in heroin or cocaine abusers.

This stance is interesting since I'm rather libertarian and often support maximizing individual freedoms. That being said, limits must exist and any activities that can bring harm to others or the user himself needs to be prohibited. I've studied drugs extensively throughout high school and college; as a neurobiology major I understand very well how pernicious these substances can be at the chemical and cellular level. Interestingly, stigmatizing the use of illicit substances is an excellent example of how being judgmental can be a positive force for change in society. Too often today I feel people don't want to judge others, which in some ways is wholly admirable. Sometimes, however, exercising moral judgments are handy in helping those who have simply lost their way or do not know any better. While judging isn't often the most popular thing to do, a verbal fight or confrontation is a small price to pay to potentially save a friend or stranger's life.

 

[Jersey Jimmy]

I don't really care for extreme druggies, but most of the time if someone can regulate themselves I have no qualms with anything. That being said, I myself have smoked weed a few times, and there was that one time I took a hit of acid...

...don't tell the cops about that second half. Please.

 

[LouThunders]

I normally don't care nor will my opinions change, unless you shove it up my face, then I will probably shove my fist up your face. Potheads are often guilty of this. I already told you I don't want any of it, why keep on telling me that 'It's not as bad as what the evil media wants you to believe!' and all that crap?

 

[slate]

largely depends on the drug. and what do you mean by ‘affect your opinion of them?’ if i'm aware that someone i know is using crack or meth of course my opinion of them will change—and it has. that doesn't necessarily mean that i think they're bad people: i just tend to trust them less. also, if they're addicted and need help they definitely should get the care and understanding that they deserve. i just don't want to be around them, especially while they're on the drug(s).

as for milder stuff i don't really care. smoke all the weed you want next to me. i haven't had any good experiences with drugs so far and i'm currently not interested in trying more (and don't think that will change anytime soon), but i don't actually mind if people use milder drugs. it's your body, i suppose