Galway homeless and Head shops

EuskalHerria

Was out last thursday and left the nightclub with a friend who wanted a cigarette. We ended up talking to a homeless man I usually see around eyre square asking for change for a cup of coffee yet usually spot him with a can an hour or so later. Anyway we ended up talking to him for another half hour at least and as my friend an I are staunchly Anti-Drugs we started asking him where he got the drugs he used when he needed them.

I was honestly shocked at the answer when he said that him and most of the homeless go to the head shop as they are a lot of the time cheaper and stronger than the stuff you would buy off your dodgy dealer. He started telling us that you could get a PCP tablet in the head shop for €7.50 that would have you off your head for a night and sometimes take you on a bad trip.

Now Speaking personally I would be for the legalisation of some drugs so to take away from the dangers of how drugs are made and distributed at the present time. At the same time it was a little unnerving and I was uncomfortable at the thought of someone walking into a shop and simply purchasing a drug that could possibly (whether it being "herbal" or not) make someone have a bad trip and possibly lead to a tragic accident.

I'm sure the discussion of head shops have been done to the death but how do feel about people being able to buy legal drugs? Especcially legal drugs like this PCP replacement which are a very serious drugs.

Robbo

By PCP, you mean BZP?

EuskalHerria

Robbo wrote: »

By PCP, you mean BZP?

He Kept referring to it as PCP but I would assume that is probably the more likely to be sold in a head shop.

happyoutscan

EuskalHerria wrote: »

I'm sure the discussion of head shops have been done to the death but how do feel about people being able to buy legal drugs? Especcially legal drugs like this PCP replacement which are a very serious drugs.

Everyone to their own, recreational drugs don't cause too many problems. You would probably be better off being anti-drink as it causes way more issues than a bit of weed or a happy pill ever did.

ronnie3585

EuskalHerria wrote: »

He Kept referring to it as PCP but I would assume that is probably the more likely to be sold in a head shop.

He had probably taken a lot of PZP and had confused the two.

Amalgam

EuskalHerria, why are you staunchly anti-drugs? Why be against something you haven't tried, or do not have any wish to try, what business is it of yours what other people do?

It is the market and the support structure behind the drugs that are the problem, the violence and shootings do not come from the drug 'itself', but from the supply chain and the lure of profits from controlling supply.

In isolation, if that person wants to take drugs, let him. He has probably made a decision in his mind as to the worth of taking that pill.

cornbb

Imagine being able to walk into an establishment that will legally serve you potentially addictive beverages that will make you go off your face for the night, make you sick, depressed, or maybe even violent...

Sorry, don't wanna go off on a mad one comparing legal/illegal drugs... just wanna point out that legality often has little relationship to the harm a drug has the potential to cause, and that its folly to point out the dangers of one drug without considering the dangers of all drugs - I don't like the fact that drinkers/smokers often have very strong judgemental opinions about the vices of others without considering the implications of their own drugs of choice.

Personal responsibility is key, the law is really very self-contradictory. Although having said that I do feel sympathy for people whose drug habits have consumed their lives.

EuskalHerria

Amalgam wrote: »

EuskalHerria, why are you staunchly anti-drugs? Why be against something you haven't tried, or do not have any wish to try, what business is it of yours what other people do?

It is the market and the support structure behind the drugs that are the problem, the violence and shootings do not come from the drug 'itself', but from the supply chain and the lure of profits from controlling supply.

In isolation, if that person wants to take drugs, let him. He has probably made a decision in his mind as to the worth of taking that pill.

Sorry can you do me a favour? I re-read my post a number of times and still not once could I see where I had written that i have not experimented with drugs?

I am staunchly anti-drugs from my own experiences and when I realised the reasons I was taking certain drugs. There is nothing wrong with a joint but drugs such as heroin should be completely eradicated fro society.

You say why am I involving myself in what others do? I'm not try to infringe on any ones rights but at the same time forgive me for having a dislike for drugs that prematurely kill, destroy lives and families and are a disease in predominantly working class areas.

padi89

EuskalHerria wrote: »

I am staunchly anti-drugs

EuskalHerria wrote: »

There is nothing wrong with a joint

Sure there is nothing wrong with having a drink either, sure it never did anyone any harm.

EuskalHerria

EuskalHerria wrote: »

Sorry can you do me a favour? I re-read my post a number of times and still not once could I see where I had written that i have not experimented with drugs?

I am staunchly anti-drugs from my own experiences and when I realised the reasons I was taking certain drugs. There is nothing wrong with a joint but drugs such as heroin should be completely eradicated fro society.

You say why am I involving myself in what others do? I'm not try to infringe on any ones rights but at the same time forgive me for having a dislike for drugs that prematurely kill, destroy lives and families and are a disease in predominantly working class areas.

i presume you didn't inhale;)
Have to be careful when you are in politics.

EuskalHerria

padi89 wrote: »

Sure there is nothing wrong with having a drink either, sure it never did anyone any harm.

Of course there is nothing wrong with a having a pint. I love when a drugs thread is started any where smart arses straight in with alcohol and cigarettes are drugs too. Thing is your not down a back alley for a pint or a fag? There is regulators to make sure there is a safety standards met with all alcohol but i'll be honest never seen the same approach with heroin.

My point for this thread was the fact that there are homeless men becoming addicted to drugs that are readily available over the counter but are far more dangerous than alcohol or cigarettes.

Basically it comes down to how you can apply it to yourself. There is a chance your family or friends may not find certain drugs because of their illegal status but when similar drugs with the same effects are being sold in shops then it becomes more openly available to a wider market. Added to this is because younger people are fed bullsh*t stories about drugs they are unable to properly gauge how to handle and take them in moderation as much as say a young person would know hw to gauge hw much alcohol they intake.

The problem is a mixture of these drugs becoming legal and openly available and a lack of information for young people. As I was talking to this man I could only think that there may be another like him soon who could have been prevented from going down what would generally be considered the wrong path in life.

cornbb

EuskalHerria wrote: »

My point for this thread was the fact that there are homeless men becoming addicted to drugs that are readily available over the counter but are far more dangerous than alcohol or cigarettes.

I think the relative dangers of various drugs are highly debateable, but lets not get into that... I just think that its not fair to demonise one particular drug (no matter how dangerous or high-profile it is) without acknowledging that most/all drugs have the potential to cause huge harm.

As an example: A guy takes cocaine most weekends for two years and kicks it or gets bored of it after that, and continues his life. Ten years later the same guy is struck down by lung cancer caused by his smoking habit. Not a universal example I know, but maybe it'll illustrate my point.

Basically it comes down to how you can apply it to yourself. There is a chance your family or friends may not find certain drugs because of their illegal status but when similar drugs with the same effects are being sold in shops then it becomes more openly available to a wider market. Added to this is because younger people are fed bullsh*t stories about drugs they are unable to properly gauge how to handle and take them in moderation as much as say a young person would know hw to gauge hw much alcohol they intake.

I think this just comes down to common sense, which in turn is a matter of personal responsibility. Just as someone with no common sense might overdo it with BZP or whatever, they would be just as likely to overdo it with alcohol. But I accept your point that maybe alcohol maybe isn't necessarily so much of a hazard because its effects are well-known and it is ingrained in our society.

Tawny

EuskalHerria wrote: »

We ended up talking to a homeless man...

he said that him and most of the homeless go to the head shop as they are a lot of the time cheaper and stronger than the stuff you would buy off your dodgy dealer...

Now Speaking personally I would be for the legalisation of some drugs so to take away from the dangers of how drugs are made and distributed at the present time.

Just out of interest, what has his being homeless got to do with the availability of legal highs?

EuskalHerria

Tawny wrote: »

Just out of interest, what has his being homeless got to do with the availability of legal highs?

Very little it was just something that caught my attention when talking to a homeless man last week. Essentially the homeless are not going around doing dodgy deals to score drugs they are readily available, cheaper and safer in certain shops.

What I am asking is this a good thing? Straight off the cuff it is for those who do not have to be in danger when using or acquiring their drugs. At the same time it is readily available to a larger market of people. My fear is that younger people do not know and are not educated enough on drugs and that can lead to misuse and overdosing as they do not know how to gauge their intake carefully?

EuskalHerria

EuskalHerria wrote: »

Was out last thursday and left the nightclub with a friend who wanted a cigarette. We ended up talking to a homeless man I usually see around eyre square asking for change for a cup of coffee yet usually spot him with a can an hour or so later. Anyway we ended up talking to him for another half hour at least and as my friend an I are staunchly Anti-Drugs we started asking him where he got the drugs he used when he needed them.

I was honestly shocked at the answer when he said that him and most of the homeless go to the head shop as they are a lot of the time cheaper and stronger than the stuff you would buy off your dodgy dealer. He started telling us that you could get a PCP tablet in the head shop for €7.50 that would have you off your head for a night and sometimes take you on a bad trip.

Now Speaking personally I would be for the legalisation of some drugs so to take away from the dangers of how drugs are made and distributed at the present time. At the same time it was a little unnerving and I was uncomfortable at the thought of someone walking into a shop and simply purchasing a drug that could possibly (whether it being "herbal" or not) make someone have a bad trip and possibly lead to a tragic accident.

I'm sure the discussion of head shops have been done to the death but how do feel about people being able to buy legal drugs? Especcially legal drugs like this PCP replacement which are a very serious drugs.

NEWSFLASH: Galway man buys LEGAL drugs in head shop.


OP, wtf ?

TerrorFirmer

I think the real point here needed to be gotten across is that BZP is crap. Thought my girlfriend did look like a manga cartoon for an entire day. You gotta weight these things up...

ronnie3585

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Thought my girlfriend did look like a manga cartoon for an entire day.

You don't really have a girlfriend, do you? You just took some of the sh*t and sat looking at a manga cartoon for the day.:pac:

EuskalHerria

rarnes1 wrote: »

NEWSFLASH: Galway man buys LEGAL drugs in head shop.


OP, wtf ?

Good man, fair play your a welcome addition to this thread. Please any more ground breaking insights into social problems?

EuskalHerria

EuskalHerria wrote: »

Good man, fair play your a welcome addition to this thread. Please any more ground breaking insights into social problems?

Your thread is about LEGAL highs. I dont see the problem?

Also, you cant get pcp in head shops. You should do your research before posting nonsense

EuskalHerria

rarnes1 wrote: »

Your thread is about LEGAL highs. I dont see the problem?

Also, you cant get pcp in head shops. You should do your research before posting nonsense

My argument was a bit more than just about legal highs, read through the thread.

I Realise you cannot get PCP in the head shops i stated a PCP replacement or something similar to PCP.

Pub07

rarnes1 wrote: »

Also, you cant get pcp in head shops. You should do your research before posting nonsense

I agree, go do your research and then come back and post more nonsense.

EuskalHerria

Pub07 wrote: »

I agree, go do your research and then come back and post more nonsense.

F**king hell, two head shop owners on their period have just entered the thread?:eek:

Des Hynes

EuskalHerria wrote: »

Of course there is nothing wrong with a having a pint. I love when a drugs thread is started any where smart arses straight in with alcohol and cigarettes are drugs too. Thing is your not down a back alley for a pint or a fag? There is regulators to make sure there is a safety standards met with all alcohol but i'll be honest never seen the same approach with heroin.

My point for this thread was the fact that there are homeless men becoming addicted to drugs that are readily available over the counter but are far more dangerous than alcohol or cigarettes.

Basically it comes down to how you can apply it to yourself. There is a chance your family or friends may not find certain drugs because of their illegal status but when similar drugs with the same effects are being sold in shops then it becomes more openly available to a wider market. Added to this is because younger people are fed bullsh*t stories about drugs they are unable to properly gauge how to handle and take them in moderation as much as say a young person would know hw to gauge hw much alcohol they intake.

The problem is a mixture of these drugs becoming legal and openly available and a lack of information for young people. As I was talking to this man I could only think that there may be another like him soon who could have been prevented from going down what would generally be considered the wrong path in life.

Not half as addictive as alcohol, nor as dangerous.

**** drug all the same

happyoutscan

Sorry but ALCOHOL is the deadliest drug this country has or will ever have to deal with.

F*** all point worrying about heroin (although I do agree it is a filthy drug) when the issues that alcohol bring are dismissed because it is a 'social' and 'regulated' drug. It isn't, it's a terrible drug that has destroyed entire sections of our society and will continue to do so unfortunately.

Right, I'm on holidays in Poland so I'm outta here and to the pub for a pils and some brown-vodka (I think thats what it was).

Thomas_S_Hunterson

EuskalHerria wrote: »

My point for this thread was the fact that there are homeless men becoming addicted to drugs that are readily available over the counter but are far more dangerous than alcohol or cigarettes.

Funnily enough, given a clean supply of heroin, an everyday (ab)user will live a long (and very happy) life.

Given a clean supply of alcohol from your local offie, an everyday (ab)user will probably have liver failure within a decade.

That's not to say I support the legalization of heroin, it's a filthy drug.

biko

Fine Gael Senator Fidelma Healy Eames has called for emergency legislation to be brought before the Dáil to deal with the availability of herbal ecstasy.
She claimed two young people in Co Galway are being treated in a psychiatric unit as a result of taking the drug. Herbal ecstasy contains the legal drug BZP (Benzylpiperazine) and has effects similar to MDMA. BZP is legally sold in Ireland although it is banned in a number of other countries, including the US.

Robbo

Fidelma is prone to grabbing hold of every balloon in the hope that one of them rises, as she's not guaranteed a nomination next General Election. Classic example of a local politico thinking aloud and every newspaper in town printing it as if it were delivered by Moses himself.

I would question the validity of her claim unless it gets backed up by someone from the HSE. These rumours abound in Galway and one of my own favourites was of soapbar hash being laced with heroin (yet sold as normal, for the same price) to get teenagers addicted.

I once read the BZP comedown as being "like waking up in a playground of dead children. With food poisoning". It does strike me that someone who develops an addiction to this is feeble minded enough to develop a marshmallow flump habit if they thought it would get them caked.

Oh and Alcohol isn't a drug, it's a drink.

Lockstep

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

I think the real point here needed to be gotten across is that BZP is crap. Thought my girlfriend did look like a manga cartoon for an entire day. You gotta weight these things up...

That sounds class.

Life in a manga cartoon would be bizarre if my limited knowledge of manga is anything to go by.#


+1 on Fidelma. I've met her a few times, she creeped the ****e outta me.

Robbo

From my limited knowledge of Japanese animation, it means there were tentacles. Lots of tentacles.

Des Hynes

Robbo wrote: »

Fidelma is prone to grabbing hold of every balloon in the hope that one of them rises, as she's not guaranteed a nomination next General Election. Classic example of a local politico thinking aloud and every newspaper in town printing it as if it were delivered by Moses himself.

I would question the validity of her claim unless it gets backed up by someone from the HSE. These rumours abound in Galway and one of my own favourites was of soapbar hash being laced with heroin (yet sold as normal, for the same price) to get teenagers addicted.

I once read the BZP comedown as being "like waking up in a playground of dead children. With food poisoning". It does strike me that someone who develops an addiction to this is feeble minded enough to develop a marshmallow flump habit if they thought it would get them caked.

Oh and Alcohol isn't a drug, it's a drink.

inisboffin

Sean_K wrote: »

Funnily enough, given a clean supply of heroin, an everyday (ab)user will live a long (and very happy) life.

Unless you limit and constantly monitor this clean supply, unfortunately, this isn't true either. Any junkie will tell you that they are constantly chasing the first 'high', so the chances of ODing are enormous. Death is not good for the health

Liver and kidney damage/failure, hormonal imbalance-related illness, vein collapse, are just some of the long term physical effects of heroin.
Long term psychological effects would take a page.

It's a nasty drug in its 'clean' form, never mind what it's like after s*it is pumped into it for street use.


Not taking from the argument that alcohol is very damaging when abused though, and the latter is legal AND almost always encouraged in our culture.

ScumLord

inisboffin wrote: »

It's a nasty drug in its 'clean' form, never mind what it's like after s*it is pumped into it for street use.

That's not totally true, in it's clean form Heroin isn't that bad. I know people that have lived a normal life dragging a 40 year addiction around with them. They have access to a clean supply and the will power to control it. It's still an addiction and it is doing them harm but the fact is their life isn't in danger because they have a clean supply.

The biggest danger with illegal drugs is the fact there illegal. Illegal drugs can contain anything. Even Cannabis can be contaminated for profit.

inisboffin

ScumLord wrote: »

That's not totally true, in it's clean form Heroin isn't that bad. I know people that have lived a normal life dragging a 40 year addiction around with them. They have access to a clean supply and the will power to control it. It's still an addiction and it is doing them harm but the fact is their life isn't in danger because they have a clean supply.

The biggest danger with illegal drugs is the fact there illegal. Illegal drugs can contain anything. Even Cannabis can be contaminated for profit.

I was responding to the post where heroin (ab)use was compared to similar alcohol (ab)use. Heroin abuse, with prolonged use, will cause cirrhosis of the liver at TWICE the rate as alcohol abuse. I can go digging for studies but it is common sense.
We all know 'of' people who drank '7 or 8 pints a day' for their whole lives. We also all know WAY more people who died of alcohol related disease. For someone to 'control' a heroin habit is rare. To maintain a 'maintenance' heroin habit is rare..way rarer than an alcoholic with a 'daily' maintenance...Generally it takes huge willpower, and frankly a lot of money. I don't know where a 'clean' daily supply of heroin can be guaranteed for anyone less than a very well off person. Heroin is cut with so many additives, including actual sh*t:( One little side-disease of this, fairly common among junkies if there is an outbreak ishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necrotizing_fasciitis
If you are not rich, or have willpower of steel, the lifestyle choices needed to maintain a habit are often lifespan reducing on their own.

If you are talking about 'medical' heroin or something similar that is rarer and cleaner, then the chances of overdose due to purity are phenomenal unless someone else is trickling your supply to you and controlling it. An addict will generally chase the high.

ScumLord

inisboffin wrote: »

I was responding to the post where heroin (ab)use was compared to similar alcohol (ab)use. Heroin abuse, with prolonged use, will cause cirrhosis of the liver at TWICE the rate as alcohol abuse. I can go digging for studies but it is common sense.
We all know 'of' people who drank '7 or 8 pints a day' for their whole lives. We also all know WAY more people who died of alcohol related disease. For someone to 'control' a heroin habit is rare. To maintain a 'maintenance' heroin habit is rare..way rarer than an alcoholic with a 'daily' maintenance...Generally it takes huge willpower, and frankly a lot of money.

He did have both. In fairness a rarity among addicts he was also a doctor.

The thing is Alcohol is clean, so to speak. The other major problem with alcohol is the doze required. With the illegal drugs you put far less of it into your system whereas alcohol pollutes the system because of the amount that's required to get the desired "buzz".

If heroin was available under the same restrictions as alcohol you would be looking at medical grade stuff being sold. So to compare legally manufactured alcohol to street heroin isn't fair. You'd really need to be comparing medical grade heroin addiction to alcohol.

Heroin is highly addictive though, you will end up with an addiction hanging over your head quite easily. Alcohols a bit safer in that you have to go out of your way to develop the addiction.

End of the day I suppose heroin is bad and it doesn't really matter how bad it is.

axiom32

EuskalHerria wrote: »

My argument was a bit more than just about legal highs, read through the thread.

I Realise you cannot get PCP in the head shops i stated a PCP replacement or something similar to PCP.

try reading some info urself
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phencyclidine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzylpiperazine

inisboffin

ScumLord wrote: »

He did have both. In fairness a rarity among addicts he was also a doctor.

End of the day I suppose heroin is bad and it doesn't really matter how bad it is.

You'd be amazed the amount of addiction in the medical profession:rolleyes: Not so much to heroin but it is there too.
Yeah, I wondered if it was someone with 'access' that you were referring to.
Ever see the film Candy - deals with heroin addiction. Geoffry Rush's character was a bit of a chemistry genius, and had access to 'the pure stuff'.
Not to be using films to reference discussion tho!:p

You're right, comparing street grade to regulated alcohol is imbalanced. Medical heroin would be a better comparison over time.
I suspect the person you know was purely taking it to stop him getting sick though, the 'high' continually diminishes, and long term addicts just use to stop daily withdrawal symptoms.
The way the body becomes addicted and metabolizes each is different too though. Some alcoholics experience the need to drink until they drop. If the buzz is being chased in heroin though, this will lead to death pretty quickly. I am not against regulating heroin for existing addicts, so they have a clean supply. But the risk of death by (accidental) overdose with pure heroin is huge compared to death by alcohol.

Whatever happened to good ol ironing of banana peels!:p:D

chrussell

EuskalHerria wrote: »

Was out last thursday and left the nightclub with a friend who wanted a cigarette. We ended up talking to a homeless man I usually see around eyre square asking for change for a cup of coffee yet usually spot him with a can an hour or so later. Anyway we ended up talking to him for another half hour at least and as my friend an I are staunchly Anti-Drugs we started asking him where he got the drugs he used when he needed them.

I was honestly shocked at the answer when he said that him and most of the homeless go to the head shop as they are a lot of the time cheaper and stronger than the stuff you would buy off your dodgy dealer. He started telling us that you could get a PCP tablet in the head shop for €7.50 that would have you off your head for a night and sometimes take you on a bad trip.

Now Speaking personally I would be for the legalisation of some drugs so to take away from the dangers of how drugs are made and distributed at the present time. At the same time it was a little unnerving and I was uncomfortable at the thought of someone walking into a shop and simply purchasing a drug that could possibly (whether it being "herbal" or not) make someone have a bad trip and possibly lead to a tragic accident.

I'm sure the discussion of head shops have been done to the death but how do feel about people being able to buy legal drugs? Especcially legal drugs like this PCP replacement which are a very serious drugs.

I'm not a fan of drugs, but when I was in athlone a year or two ago, a friend of mine brought home some herbal e tablets and we took them. I have to say i got a bad reaction, spent the night in the toilet covering my ears cause I thought someone was coming up the stairs to kill me! I've never tried anything illegal and real but I have heard from others that the herbal stuff can be allot worse than the illegal gear! I even think the herbal stuff is banned in amsterdam!

Redhairedguy

BZP is due to be outlawed within this month. The headshops have already found replacements chemicals. In a matter of weeks BZP will no longer be on the market.

I remain very neutral on the stance of headshops as there are major pros and cons to them.

If people are still quite interested in this topic. The screening of 'Waiting for March' the documentary dealing with this very topic will be on the 13th of June in the Town Hall Theatre.

(Sorry mods, I'm not intentionly plugging it )

Asmodean

Have to agree with the OP here definitely I'm afriad. Drug users get so god awfully protective when they meet anyone who disagrees with the taking of drugs.

Funnily enough, given a clean supply of heroin, an everyday (ab)user will live a long (and very happy) life.

Do you have a source you could refer me to as to where you got this information? I'm not disputing it but I would like to source its validity.
I have experimented with drugs in the past and after I had a godawful trip once I vowed never again to go near the things. I just don't understand (IMO) how anyone could willingly take such mind-altering substances. The thing is they often lean on dodgey statistics or anecdotal evidence as to how 'grand' drugs are. But who knows just what damage these drugs will cause over an extended period of time.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Asmodean wrote: »

Do you have a source you could refer me to as to where you got this information? I'm not disputing it but I would like to source its validity.

It's pretty well known. (Pure) heroin and other opiates do virtually no damage to body except, I believe, some constipation. It places no strain on the organs. Deaths due to overdose are caused by respiratory failure due to the depression of the central nervous system (I suppose you could say relaxing to death:p).

There's an article with references here. http://nepenthes.lycaeum.org/Drugs/Opiates/safe.and.fun.html

/edit: Also note that when I say happy, I mean content. I can't imagine life as a smack-head would b very fulfilling.

big b

Asmodean wrote: »

Have to agree with the OP here definitely I'm afriad. Drug users get so god awfully protective when they meet anyone who disagrees with the taking of drugs.
I have experimented with drugs in the past and after I had a godawful trip once I vowed never again to go near the things. I just don't understand (IMO) how anyone could willingly take such mind-altering substances. The thing is they often lean on dodgey statistics or anecdotal evidence as to how 'grand' drugs are. But who knows just what damage these drugs will cause over an extended period of time.

While I respect everyone's right to voice their opinion, especially when it's based on personal experience & not just hearsay, I feel compelled to say:

User groups of anything which csn be abused will be protective of their right to enjoy it, it's not exclusive to recreational drug users. See the thoughts of drinkers, speeders etc & you'll find plenty of protectionist views.

What really surprises me is that a country with a young, well-travelled & vocal population so readily buys into Nanny-Stateism.

ScumLord

Asmodean wrote: »

Have to agree with the OP here definitely I'm afriad. Drug users get so god awfully protective when they meet anyone who disagrees with the taking of drugs.

Do you have a source you could refer me to as to where you got this information? I'm not disputing it but I would like to source its validity.
I have experimented with drugs in the past and after I had a godawful trip once I vowed never again to go near the things.

I take drugs because they are mind altering. That's the whole point IMO. I'm convinced people just don't know how to take drugs and don't understand what the desired results should be. I don't think of trips as good or bad. It's a trip, you take each one as it comes and it will give you valuable incite into your own mind and how the human mind in general works.

Drugs aren't for everybody, you tried them didn't like them, that's fair enough. I know plenty like you. Everyone's different though.

inisboffin

Sean_K wrote: »

It's pretty well known. (Pure) heroin and other opiates do virtually no damage to body except, I believe, some constipation. It places no strain on the organs. Deaths due to overdose are caused by respiratory failure due to the depression of the central nervous system (I suppose you could say relaxing to death:p).

There's an article with references here. http://nepenthes.lycaeum.org/Drugs/Opiates/safe.and.fun.html

/edit: Also note that when I say happy, I mean content. I can't imagine life as a smack-head would b very fulfilling.

To clear this up a bit more...'Pure' heroin does not exist on the streets. The closest thing to 'pure' heroin is medical heroin. Access to this is extremely difficult unless you are a doctor (see posts above). It is not true that pure heroin doesn't cause liver damage. It does. Yes one can argue, so does butter I suppose.:p
'Chipping' as referenced in the link in the last post, is not usually associated with needle use. 'Chipping' is using a controlled amount "safely" over a long period of time (assuming your daddy is a doctor or you have access to pure heroin, I don't know how you can guarantee 'purity')
Ask any junkie if they started off 'chipping'. Most will say yes.
The kind of constipation one gets is extreme, we are not talking a few bananas constipation, but a very painful symptom. Brain damage is linked with the opiate family, but studies have (like mobile phones etc) been disputed by drug companies that have interests in legal opiates.
A link here referring to just the pure form of heroin (which I am not sure why we are discussing tbh), referencing allergic reaction and immune system failure.
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1999-09/937972538.Me.r.html

Most heroin users (I said most) are dead by 50. Varies a bit the age referenced but that's a low life expectancy. http://www.myparentingportal.com/heroin.html

ACCIDENTAL overdose by respiratory failure is high. The reason for this is the difficulty in monitoring the grade of the 'pure' heroin. The body just stops breathing. Also, if an addict is chasing the 'high', the need to increase the dose *each time* is often there (sometimes circumstance/money is the only thing stopping this). Therefore the addict is just maintaining the existing habit, and shooting up NOT to get sick. I wouldn't exactly call this relaxing.

Now, the vast majority of heroin use is of street heroin. It is 'cut' with a dozen different substances. It is highly linked with crime and disease, and the percentages for physical damage SHOOT up when you factor this, never mind on a social level.

Saying a teaspoon of 12 year old Jameson every day is not damaging is probably accurate too. But heroin doesn't come in sterile packages that are monitored by a nanny, nor does it make the user easy to control their own health in relation to usage.