Relevant video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmVp2xRdgSA
If you think marijuana makes (most) people “lose their capacity to think,” you must have never tried it.
Actually I have…Its the only drug I can say I’v tried…and I didnt( and still dont) get the appeal. I like my mental state exactly as it is…thank you very much…
Why isn’t there more interest in drugs that make you smarter, faster, or stronger
Caffine?
I know a lot of people who play video games (WoW, Halo, Bio-Shock, and all those other countless games I can’t remember), and I believe they are more detrimental to someone than if they smoked and drunk some alcohol once in a while.
Actually video games can have many positive benefits…Theres an argument that the very nature of video games force the developmment of critical thinking and problem solving skills. multi-player games are indispesible for the development of social skills. Also many games have surprisingly sophisticated story-telling built into them…While few games have used them effectivly, there are some that manage to rise to the level of real art(I would actually include the first Bioshock in this catagory).
Of corse like just about anything video games can be harmful and addctive…but the people who actually fall prey to this are reletively few.
I actually agree that video games can be pretty awful even though I play mmos, the video game version of crack.
I just have a fetish for collecting and organizing things and I get my fix from MMORPGs.
I prefer not to have my sensory perception distorted further than it already is. I try to “see with eyes unclouded”.
You know what sometimes makes me not want to see reality undistorted? The state. Reality sucks sometimes.
I’ve had many good experiences with different drugs (opiates, psychedelics, dissociatives, etc.). My favorite drug is cannabis. My favorite method of ingestion is a vaporizer. The other drugs I really enjoy are psychedelic mushrooms and LSD.
Now, I have had “bad” experiences on drugs, but they were very short-lived and were always caused by something “bad” actually happening.
Depends on the psychedelic you’re taking. I’ve taken mushrooms and I can tell you the “trip” was quite fun. I wouldn’t say I learned anything. The drug mostly changed the way I thought about myself and the things interacting with me. It just added a new perspective.
Now, LSD and DMT are different drugs (much stronger hallucinogens), and it can make you lose your ego entirely, which would likely lead to you “learning things” about yourself.
One cannot objectively analyze the effects of cannabis after but one try. The beauty of cannabis is just how diverse the plant and it’s effects is. Smoking a sativa will energize someone, make them want to read, ride a bike, anything that stimulates the mind and body. But if you smoke an indica you might feel the body high, couch lock, munchies, sleepy, etc.
One cannot objectively analyze the effects of cannabis after but one try.
Good thing I’v used it more than once then…
The beauty of cannabis is just how diverse the plant and it’s effects is. Smoking a sativa will energize someone, make them want to read, ride a bike, anything that stimulates the mind and body. But if you smoke an indica you might feel the body high, couch lock, munchies, sleepy, etc.
I’ll take your word for it…I’m going to pass on using anymore myself…but go ahead if you want I wont stop you.
That’s completely fine. Glad you enjoy your way of life 
People who say that drugs are bad clearly have never tried a serious psychedelic drug. There’s a reason why so many tribes and cultures the world over use psychedelic drugs as a part of their shamanistic rituals. Some of them can be hard on your body the day after, but the experience you have is definitely worth the cost, as long as you are wise about your usage.
as long as you are wise about your usage.
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Just like most (all?) other things, ain’t that the truth.
My personal stance on whether I will take a drug or not is this; “could I be sober and hang out with these people on this drug?” If it’s coke, over-the-top alcohol usage, pharmaceuticals, heroin, things of that nature… I see absolutely no benefit from these… talk nonsense for 4 hrs and then go to sleep… /yawn
But like a little drink here, a puff of a joint there. Every once in a great while a halucinagen, ya, I’ll try. It’s relaxing, opens up the social atmosphere, and gets you to see things from a different perspective.
Anything you do all day is a vice, anything you do responsibly is a hobby.
*(oh btw, if you’re looking for a good read on psychedellics, i’ve never read it but i’ve heard good things about Timothy Leary (maybe..?)'s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Trip)
Hhere is a nice short introduction that will get you interested in using psychedelics:
Yes psychadelics are something else completely. I think a lot of people in the west who don’t try those types of things only relate to the idea of drugs through the alcohol culture. But psychadelics and other drugs aren’t just about getting “trashed” and seeing how wild you can get
Hhere is a nice short introduction that will get you interested in using psychedelics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grcqs9
Honestly…that made me even less interested in using them…
I have no interest in having any sort of psychadelic ‘experence’ I like my mental state as it is…and if I need a change, thats why I write…
just a quick question but is it true that people who use drugs which can cause hallucinations, generally see the same things? I’ve heard of wierd stuff like shared hallucinations, faeries, demons, angels, aliens, etc. Why is it always the same stuff? Why not some variety in hallucinagenic experience, is there some kind of objective or subjective reality here that causes a set pattern?
those are just the unimaginative people.
It’s not like a television channel that everyone can tune into and see the same thing, but yes, people’s thought processes and hallucinations can be similar.
Archetypes. Speaking as someone who’s done some hallucinogens, I’ve never seen a fairy, demon, angel or alien. I could describe what I saw in each of my various trips, but I’m not really sure it’s relevant.
There is a ton of variety in psychedelic experiences on drugs. There is not a set pattern. No offense, but you seem pretty inexperienced when it comes to drugs. There is a lot of material online about the effects of hallucinogens that I’d be glad to point you to if you’re interested.
I consider them negative because, to be frank, they f*** you up. They have direct negative health effects and can lead to harm of others.
My aunt was addicted for several years and it lead to my cousin undergoing severe neglect and child abuse. We were talking about it once and she described to me a time when she was seven years old, the house was filthy, dirty dishes and trash everywhere, upstairs her mother and her girlfriend were shooting up and she was downstairs trying to feed her 3 year old sister. Call it a sob story or call it an example that really hit home for me, do with it what you will
On top of the obvious detrimental effects to physical and mental health drugs are probably the greatest sign of weakness possible, it seems to me an attempt to cheat reality, not to directly attempt to consistently improve one’s wellbeing and life, merely a short escape. This applies to all mind altering drugs of any real significance on the mental state (a drink or two of alcohol or a hit of marijuana do not qualify as those are more soothers than anything else).
All of the above being said none of this can EVER come close to justifying the horrors of drug illegalization and warfare. So basically drug use: moral, legal, but dangerous and pitiful (though to what agree varies upon a variety of factors, I still associate with drug users I just have an unsympathetic look upon their values and actions.
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I consider them negative because, to be frank, they f*** you up. They have direct negative health effects and can lead to harm of others."
Some no more than drinking cofee, some even less than that.
Things like excessive drinking and muscle relaxers, coke, heroin.. things like that are an escape from reality, which in and of itself isnt necessarily bad, just that it’s too easy to permanently escape; i.e, addiction.
Hallucinagens are largely taken to get a different perspective on reality, to enter the “spirit world.”