Scared.
Am I the only one here who is really scared of drugs?

Never done em as they terrify me... I was 14 when the Leah Betts thing happened. The pic of her lying dead on a hospital bed was shown to us about 400 times a day. It scared me off drugs for life!

Can't say the same for booze, which I do indeed partake in and I know that it kills more people... No logic really.
(Just a girl., Sun 19 Sep 2010, 19:57, 27 replies)

She died from drinking too much water as I recall


not my pic, saw it on b3ta years ago and found it funny
( broadsword now that's fresh, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 20:06, closed)

Yes, I hear that can happen on E.
You can drink so much water, you drown. Too scarey for me :-)
(Just a girl., Sun 19 Sep 2010, 20:15, closed)

Not quite
E screws up control of your kidneys, and your bodies temperature regulation. So people get too hot, then drink lots of water to cool down. The body can then stop making urine, which basically waters down the blood. Pretty unpleasant stuff really. Current advice is not to drink water, but pour it over yourself or similar.
( Greenbat, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 20:38, closed)

Oh - makes more sense, thanks :-)

(Just a girl., Sun 19 Sep 2010, 20:49, closed)

This should put things in perspective...

(ham.sandwich, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 20:20, closed)

What are the units on that graph?

( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 20:38, closed)

Have a slightly-better-scaled version:
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Drug_danger_and_dependence.png
(tty, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 20:44, closed)

not the same study
but still relevant.
(cypherspace is not a toaster, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 20:52, closed)

That makes more sense.

( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 21:33, closed)

harm as rated by a panel of 30 or so experts in psychology
the full study is here: www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(07)60464-4/abstract
(cypherspace is not a toaster, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 20:47, closed)

That's bollocks
pure heroin is pretty much harmless, if massively addictive. It's only the fact that addicts generally have no idea of purity that leads to fatalities.
( wotofco pissing in your swimming pool, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 20:50, closed)

It isn't bollocks
If you're talking about the pure substance then most drugs will be harmless if taken in the right dose - look at the sheer number of illegal drugs that have a legitimate use. The study tries to take into account what happens once dealers/users/the public get their hands on the drugs. Hence why heroin is the most dangerous.
(ham.sandwich, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 21:29, closed)

I've never had a problem with it, physically, other than withdrawal if I've been using heavily
i found it pleasant, and harmless really. I never banged it though, only booted.
( disasterprone "Pyjamas caused the Holocaust", Mon 20 Sep 2010, 7:25, closed)

Nah, I don't even drink
Got plenty of mates who enjoy a spot of pot, I've never felt the need. Also knew a lad who smoked a lot of skunk with mates, he said he was very lucky to get out of it. Had a very good drug education thingy through cadets, where they explained what actually goes on in the brain. That put me off.
( Greenbat, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 20:32, closed)

Well this is the thing...
I've known mates who have dabbled and have been perfectly fine. But I have also seen folk who haven't done so well.

Pot for example. I knew one lad who just sat smoking skunk and black in his room all day long, day after day, on his own chewing himself up. He was properly stuck in a rut with it. Failed exams, no job, smoke, smoke, smoke. I really do feel it effected him in a psychological sense - dunno what ever happened to him but I hope he broke the cycle and got on with his life. Seemed a real waste of a life to me to be like that at 18/19 years old.

I dunno, I don't wish to judge and those of you who can control it and not harm others whilst doing it - crack on.

On the other hand, the really serious stuff - crack, heroin - seems only to lead to bad things. Seen too many police pics of young people deteriorating because of that crap. Also too many old ladies robbed and burgled & too many dealers getting rich.

Have a nice cup of tea and a biscuit instead!
(Just a girl., Sun 19 Sep 2010, 20:40, closed)

I've known people to experience a big range of effects from pot
one guy was diagnosed with cannabis-induced psychosis, basically bi-polar. Another girl textbook bi-polar, probably brought on by smoking pot. And yet, me and a reasonable number of my friends still smoke a fair old amount and carry out our lives perfectly reasonably, having achieved a lot between us (one of has just become a chartered structural engineer for example) and are all happy, lead fulfilling lives and don't suffer from a lack of ambition.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Mon 20 Sep 2010, 10:53, closed)

So
What exactly did they explain? Because current (and previous) drug education is woefully inaccurate/incomplete.
(tty, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 20:45, closed)

Think they were called Galahad
One was an ex user, then dealer, then informer. Rather than the usual bollocks secondary schools get, they told us how the drugs work-as in, what they do to which dells in the brain, and what damage they cause. It's all to do with synapses, and various chemicals that occur in the brain. For example, the brain releases dopamine after excercise/shock/sex etc, which calms you down. If you go for a massive run, you might feel completely immobile after. It is the dopamine receptors that the THC in cannabis acts on, to give similar feelings. Problem is, it damages them, so the dopamine doesn't work. If you damage enough of them, the body is unable to calm itself down-hence paranoia etc. similar things happen with Coke/adrenaline, ecstacy/seratonin and others I can't remember. So yeah, they do fuck your brain (and other bits) considerably.
( Greenbat, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 20:52, closed)

Was it the Two Circles?
You draw two circles - one large, one small. The large circle represents your brain now, the small one is your brain on drugs. Got that?

Then - drugs are illegal. The same two circles also represent - small, your arsehole now. Large, your arsehole in prison.

SEE what damage drugs can do!
(Juan Quar is clinging to her front teeth on, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 22:01, closed)

No
That's the usual secondary approach. Though you misssed out the "we're not trying to stop you experimenting, just giving the facts", and the dreadful attempts at being cool...no wonder everyone under the age of 20 is off their tits.
( Greenbat, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 22:11, closed)

I grew up in a small town in which heroin and solvent abuse was endemic, and have lost several relatives to the former.
To this day, I'm still a bit nervous round people who are clearly off their tits.
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 20:43, closed)

Leah Betts died from drinking 15 pints of water. Fucking idiot that she was.
I remember listening to the news, and hearing she had taken Green Apples. That was us desperatly looking for Green Apples that weekend. We thought if a half killed her, they must be strong as fuck.
( The Awful Puppy Bakery is still bored, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 21:38, closed)

Well, it had the opposite effect for me :-)

(Just a girl., Sun 19 Sep 2010, 21:41, closed)

green apples?
or white apples?

www.b3ta.com/questions/massivedrugs/post871413
(Ross McBingobangobongo bingobangobongo, Mon 20 Sep 2010, 13:25, closed)

dont believe the hype
the media reporting and police campaigns bear no resemblance to the scientific data around harms
(imallamallama looking forward to llamageddon on, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 22:30, closed)

not scared...
but I did used to take the attitude that "they might well be great, but as long as I don't know what I'm missing out on, I'll always be happy enough with just alcohol"

I've since experimented and had lots of fun, but always in moderation - usually pills no more than once a month or so, and a smoke maybe once a fortnight. I find that with the amounts I take, I get to have an enjoyable night, but stay fully aware and in control, unlike with alcohol alone.

Good times, but lack of easy access to the good stuff at the moment means I'll probably be stopping when my current stash runs out.
(bblgoose, Mon 20 Sep 2010, 13:36, closed)

LIGHTWEIGHT
i believe was the meme d'jour at the time
(mymilkshakebringsallthemongstotheyard poison hearts, poison minds - joining hate, Mon 20 Sep 2010, 14:32, closed)