This poll is to find out how many of lost someone they love to drugs.

I really think that drug education needs to be much better. I remember when my children were first "educated" about drugs that they went around saying that everybody they saw with a cigarette or drinking alcohol was a drug addict. When the got older I was confronted by the "hypocricy" issue. (ie Marijuana is no worse than cigarettes or alcohol yet they are legal.) "Your drugs (for old people) are legal but ours (pot) is not." I think for many young adults that this kind of education led to them not believing ANYTHING negative which was said about drugs. The result has been an explosion of deaths due to cocaine and herion. The laws are just as confusing. Alcohol is OK unless you kill somebody while driving drunk. Having a stick of marijuana is the same as having a gram of herion or cocaine.

An old friend of mine just recently killed himself. He was on heroin, so you could ask yourself if he would have done such a thing if his mind was clean. Furthermore i knew a few guys who took an OD, not on purpose, but they never had enough i suppose.

There's no need to change our druglaws, you'll only create more criminals.

Someone I often drank with in bars in Holland died from a combination of drugs and medicine last month. He was only 22. My take on most drugs is fairly simple. I see them as nuclear weapons; in the right hands, and used in the right way, their damage can be limited, and they can even have a beneficial effect sometimes. But give them to someone inexperienced, someone who doesn't know what they're doing, and all hell can break loose. I don't think a half pill of good xtc every once in a long while is a bad thing, or a joint a week, or something like that. I think moderation and caution are the words of the day here.

"I don't think a half pill of good xtc every once in a long while is a bad thing, or a joint a week, or something like that. I think moderation and caution are the words of the day here."

xtc I am assuming that is short for ecstasy(spelling), I have heard quit a few people dying by taking one pill of this stuff so I can't say I agree. There was a recent insident in Winnipeg were a 20 year old girl took one to celebrate her 20th birthday and her heart stopped has a result. I know drugs may effect different people differently but I really don't think those pills are worth the risk.

I have never heard anyone dying by smoking a joint however and for some it may even have medical benifits, although they are probaly better off placing it in muffins or brownies. There are two many drug users who are considered criminals who should not be criminals, the pushers, and sellers are the criminals but we continuously lock up the users.

I feel we should relax the laws on users, possibly some substance abuse education, get them cleaned up, but enforce higher penilties on the pushers. These guys don't mind going to jail because they have all kinds of money from the people they convince to take their drugs so when they get out they are fine financially, now if you hit pushers with a couple million dollars in fines than they may reconsider.

[ 02-18-2003, 04:05 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

Then it wasn't real XTC, real XTC doesn't kill people, it's originally a "lovedrug". It's for stimulating your..... you know. What you're talking about is probably some mix with a lot of amfetamine in it. Or worse, i read a story the other day there were "XTC" pills circulating which contained stuff they use to tranquilize elephants in the zoo. One pill of that, and you'll never wake up again. An 18 year old died after having only half a pill. They should execute dealers with that crap right on the spot.

Cigerettes can be considered drugs right? If so yes , I lost my grandfather to them. He was a heavy smoker and ended up having problems with his lungs and heart.He died in 1996,4 days after my grandmother died. :(

I was a group therapist for an Intensive Outpatient Program for drug and alcohol. I saw every class of people imangianable. I dealt with Local, State, and Federal authorities. I wish I could have brought every person I know in and observe for a solid month and let them see and hear these people's stories. Some of the most significant regret you'll ever see expressed is in this type of setting. Once they clean up they see how they messed up their lives with loss of time, money and resources and especicially relationships. And not everyone were heavey users. Many were the so-called recreational users. They'll tell you themselves that moderation is a lie because it does take a toll. Here are some facts.

1. As long as the "pleasure" is greater than the pain you'll NEVER change for you will see no need to change even though people around you tell you your life has gone to hell. ONLY when the pain is greater than the pleasure will one seek help.

2. The age in which you started taking drugs is the age you began arresting the development of certain areas of your brain. Let me give you a true example. Here is an actual conversation in a group setting:

Him: "I am 26 years old but I feel like 18, I act like I am 18, and I think like I am 18. All my friends are 5, 6, 7 uyears younger than me. My girlfriends are that young, too. "I just don't understand yself."

Me: "When did you start taking drugs?'

Him: "Eighteeen."

3. Heroin is the single most addictive drug out there. The recovery rate of remaining totally clean is 4%.

4. In the state of New Jersey the statistics are that 85 to 90% of women who have either a drug or alcohol problem have in their history at least one incident of sexual abuse perpetuated upon them.

5. The latest research in brain functioning shows that just ONE HIT of cocaine, crack, heroin and these so-called recreational drugs will PERMANENTLY altar the pleasure centers of the brain. This spells big trouble because abusers and dependents are always looking for their "high." Their life revolves around their drug.

6. The next time I hear someone tell me that pot is harmless I am going to puke all over them. I don't have time to go into the latest research in brain functioning but you need to look into this yourself. Oh, by the way, marijuana stays in your system for at least 30 days.

7. The "high" that glue sniffers and their ilk get is actually their brain dying. Autopsys performed on glue sniffers, et. al. , shows their brains riddled with holes where the substance killed the brain and the cells died.

8. You can't die from a Heroin withdrawal but the pain associated with a withdrawal makes you feel like you are dying. The only withdrawal you can die from is alcohol. Ever see someone go through an alcohol withdrawal? I have and it isn't pretty in the least.

9. Alchol, drug, gambling, and sex addicts all experience the same brain chemistry function in the the throes of their abuse or addiction.

I could tell you tons more but i'll leave you with this: "A person is a slave to whatever masters him/her."

6. The next time I hear someone tell me that pot is harmless I am going to puke all over them. I don't have time to go into the latest research in brain functioning but you need to look into this yourself. Oh, by the way, marijuana stays in your system for at least 30 days.

I have not read that on this post but I think it may have been aimed at me. Some people who are in chronic pain say it helps ease there pain and allows them preform normally through the pain. They would rather eat muffins with pot than take something even worse like morphine for their chronic pain. If this is true why could not pot be a prescription offered by doctors for chronic pain. I really dislike governments saying you have no choice but to suffer because we the government says so. If it is not legal to obtain as a prescription these guys are going to obtain it anyway end up supporting organized crime.

Albromor, you can get weed as a prescription drug in Holland. It's for people who suffer from chronic headaches and things like that. So you're gonna need a lot of puke i'm afraid.

And smoking weed isn't any more unhealthy than drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and living in a crowded city.