There has been quite a lot of talk about drugs here, more so in chatrooms and I though that we need an thread about drugs in general.

I put alcohol first into the title because, well, as we all know, it's the most widely used substance in the world... It's also the biggest killer of all drugs. And I'm willing to bet that everybody here has some or a lot of experience about booze. So let's talk about it. Let's also talk about other substances.

I personally refuse to take anything else than alcohol and occational weed and tobacco. Coffee/caffeine also if that counts. I have talked something about my few experiences with stronger stuff. I'm very happy and proud that I have been able to mostly steer clear of any stronger subtances. I've done booze + pills few times, speed once and benzos/mild opiates twice. Not much.

In Finland alcohol is quite a big problem, less so in younger populace in last few years, that's a positive change, when I was 15, almost everybody of my age used to be wasted drunk two days a week, myself included... It was quite crazy time, Russian 96% spirit was cheap and easily aviable, many people used to smuggle it to my town and sell it to kids. Some times this stuff used to be quite impure, laced with methanol, car windowcleaner and such garbage. I've seen the effects of impure alcohol quite a few times then, it's horrible, some times leads to partial or full blindness, it can cause braindamage and even death. Once I drank impure vodka myself. I puked blood and had two days hangover.

The matter about alcohol I would like to talk about is that most people don't realize, or they deny it's a real drug because it's legal and it doesn't cause immediate addiction. Heck, I've been nearly addicted to boozy twice in my life, I'm only 28 years old... first time it was close to an addiction happened when I was 15-16, second time in late 2008, early 2009 after getting out of civil service.(i didn't go to army, it's mandatory in Finland to do some shitwork for the state.) Both times I've kicked the habit and these days I only drink if I have really good reason to. And I try not to drink too much, but it's not always so simple.

The whole subject came to my mind now, as I came back from Russia day before yesterday... I was there four days on a vacation, drank heavily in two days, it's nearly impossible to go to Russia for vacation and steer clear of booze, it's everywhere in there, easy and cheap on any street corner, any kiosk, any gasstation, any hotel and restaurant.

Interesting thing is, that while the quality of Russian alcohol has gone up a lot in last 15 years or so, after drinking last sunday, I still have some hang over effects. I drank four days ago... And still I can feel it. I've been detoxing since monday, lot of water, some seasalt, good food, sauna and lot of sleep. Now it starts to wear off. And the hangover I got was quite weird, I didn't really feel sick, no headache, almost as it never came. But I have been through very painful aches in my muscles and joints, my lower back(kidneys??) is very sore, for monday and tuesday my legs were like on fire when ever I moved, like my legmuscles were full of some burning poison. And my dreams in last two nights have been full of so disgusting and frightening things, I don't want to describe in in here.

Anyway, my point is that this what I got is not a normal hangover, feels more like a withdrawal from something much stronger... And I have not done anything else than just booze AFAIK.

Ok, that's enough for a start.

That sounds like a bad lingering hangover Hex
I've never really had a hangover of any kind because I hardly drink, and when I do it's only a few beers. The most alcohol I've ever had was 5 pints of ale on my birthday, and I made them last a few hours, so I was just nicely mellow and it was fun.
I don't understand people who get falling down drunk, with all the horrible stuff that comes with it like vomiting and that. My uncle went to a dinner with Polish friends and he drank loads of vodka and he did nothing but sit by the toilet all night throwing up He said it was the worst he's ever felt!
I know what alcohol and some drugs can do to people, I've seen drunken violence and things, and drunken people are a pain in the arse! They're a nightmare to deal with.
I tend to stay clear of drugs and alcohol. I like my caffeine, I'm going to stop using it for a bit actually, I'm going to try decaff tea. I want to see if I get withdrawal symptoms I've been drinking tea and coffee for 20 years.

I have a lot of experience with booze and recently given up. For me I've always wanted to not drink and diet changes ie going vegan and consuming a lot of fruit was key to my not wanting to consume it anymore. I think basically, it's a matter of keeping your blood sugars up with fruit that helps, especially dry fruit. Of course, I do very low, virtually no fat too. Combined with this goes the need/want to eat chocolote. I do drink coffee and consider it very addictive.

The last time that I drank, I had a bottle of wine and felt so bad afterwards, it was that feeling of 'I'm never doing that again'. Of course I've had that hundreds of times before over my life of drinking large amounts of beer. This time it seemed more serious than ever before.

Wanting to remain conscious also plays a large part. This means that I'm more into getting satisfaction from just 'being' rather than needing constant stimulation from entertainment. This means having your mind where you are, when most of my life, my mind has been on other things, even whilst being in paradise situations. It took a long time to enjoy this type of feeling and was kick started many years ago with Eckhart Tolle.

I've done other drugs in my past. I've travelled the world. I think that alcohol was the big problem for me, everthing else didn't seem to draw me to it as much.

Alcohol is the worst drug. I suppose any drug can be bad if it's abused though, but I think alcohol is extremely open to abuse, probably because it's legal/common/everyone drinks, etc. I don't know.

yeah i had the never again thing and i didnt drink to excess after that. sometimes have a beer or glass of wine if its appropriate. but drugs is such a dirty word. it makes me think of homeless people addiction and dirty needles and diseases.
i think its good to have something push or pull or twist your mind in a certain way.

Hmm... last time I had a good and proper hangover was about 10 years ago. Drank roughly 24-30 oz of Russian (yes, direct from Russia) Vodka straight. Next morning, drove home and curled up on the couch for the rest of the day after taking a handful of Tylenol (which did not decrease the effects what-so-ever). Still had a nasty headache the day after I curled up on the couch. Felt like my eyes were just gonna fall out for a few days too, along with being overly tired.
After the above experience I cut back on the alcohol that gets snuck in

When I drink, I drink... if I have one, I'm going to either feel like meeting, or actually hug the porcelain god and pass out before I stop. Which is why I try not to keep it in the house, or if it is in the house I don't drink it. Over the last 3 months I have, however, drank more than I should have...and I learned what mixing a lot of cheap alcohol (Bacardi, Tequila, case of beer) and medical weed does to a person, immediate hangover .

As for other drugs, stopped them for the most part just before I found out I was pregnant a little over 7 years ago. Dabbled in meth as my drug of choice then. Although I have more recently (in the past year or two) had a run in with several kinds of pain killers (one of which I am allergic to), sleep aids, acid and cocaine (stupidly mixed the two with a small amount of meth -- ended up with my head in the toilet puking my guts out and screaming not to be touched as I relived a past experience).

Lesson involved? Don't mix acid and cocaine, don't do meth, sleep aids do nothing, and painkillers can literally kill you if you overdose on them (specially if you have an allergic reaction). Drink for the enjoyment, and if that means just getting a buzz, then stop there...if that means hugging the toilet, then do it...as long as you're safe and in good company, have fun.

Hexhammer wrote:
Sorry to be a pedantic bastard Hex....

But its not. The biggest killer (and the most widely used) of all drugs is nicotine. By a massive margin.

i thought nicotine was ok... for poison, it was all the tars and shit that killed you

batou wrote:
Indeed.

But...without the addiction to the nicotine (most addictive substance known to man), people wouldn't smoke the tobacco would they?

Also, nicotine is actually poisonous in itself. Its an insecticide, produced by the tobacco plant in order to protect itself from pests.

diamondgeezer wrote:
Yeah, but in that case, coffee beans, tea leaves and most herbs have natural pesticides. That in itself does not make the plant bad for you. Lots of plants that have natural pesticides also have medicinal benefits.

Native Americans would smoke tobacco in ceremonies, and when passing the peace pipe - they used the tobacco to connect with each other and get on the same wavelength.

In cigarettes, I think it is the tars and added chemicals that hurt you, and companies will add more nicotine to get people hooked.

I will have a drink once or twice a year. I smoke, and when I was younger I did some LSD, magic mushrooms. I went through a party period where I did cocaine and looking back it seems so painful. I remember the feeling of wanting more even though my mind and heart was already racing. It is the last thing I would want to do today. If anything, I would want the opposite, something to calm my nerves and give me a "who cares" feeling.

I am also health conscious, so I weigh the pros and cons, and If I think I am about to go completely mental, I will take a pill. I have had a few ocassions in the last 2 years where they helped me not to bug out.

Oh the tobacco/coerrcial cigarette debate. How nice to dig that one up. Well, what ever is the truth about this, I've seen many people die and suffer because of alcohol, but I'm yet to witness any correlation between tobacco and cancer for example. Commercial cigarettes are full of shit, tobacco in itself does not. Well, I'm just talking from my experience.

Anyway, nice to see this thread stirs up some talk, I knew it would be a success, everybody wants to talk about recreational substances.