Growing drug use in my generation.

Route1

I am twenty and in the last year have seen many of my friends experiment with a variety of drugs from weed to cocaine. I myself have tried MDMA and I must say that the euphoric feeling was sensational but both morally and the rather unattractive physical effects it has, has stopped me. Up to the last year the thought using something other than alcohol disgusted me but I have seen many of my peers succumb to the pressure of taking them. I have noticed a shift in the nightlife in Dublin as well, many nightclubs such as Twisted Pepper, The lost society and the button factory are almost geared toward drug use, I personally have been offered "pills" as well as bring asked am i selling them on many occasions. Maybe I'm being naive and this happens at this stage in life for everybody but the drugs themselves have almost lost the taboo attached to him to me the level of acceptance is frightening. I hope I am not portraying a 'holier than thou' attitude it's just I kind of feel uncomfortable about the direction some of my peers are going.
I just want to hear peoples' thoughts on the matter and share their experiences.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

wow
this definitely never happened in the 80's, 90's or 00's

i think we're in some serious moral decline

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Mmmm ecstasy

hatrickpatrick

Morally?
Just curious, what do you feel is morally wrong about taking drugs? Is it the fac that the production and sale of them tends to involve so much thuggery, or do you ahve a moral problem with the actual taking of them?

biko

Drugs have been common since the 60s, only the variety changes.
Once glue sniffing was the fashion, mad stuff.

Boombastic

terrible, young people today
They should be necking cans and spirits. have you called in the law?

Route1

I am aware that drugs have been around and in use for a lot longer than me, it's just how widespread they have become in recent years I'm referring to.

hatrickpatrick

biko wrote: »

Drugs have been common since the 60s, only the variety changes.
Once glue sniffing was the fashion, mad stuff.

I'd love to know who the first person was to look at a tube of glue and think "Could be fun to stick THAT up my nose..."

It's a bit like the ultimate question of what sick mother f*cker first looked at a cow and thought "Hmm, I wonder what would happen if I squeeze these yokes and drink whatever comes out of them..."

gizmo555

God bless your innocence, they've been widespread since the dawn of time.

hatrickpatrick

Boombastic wrote: »

terrible, young people today
They should be necking cans and spirits. have you called in the law?

That sounds like a #neknomination to me

kneemos

I agree,the acceptance of drugs has changed in the last twenty years and is just a bit disturbing.

somuj

Since man first discovered he/she could alter their perception of reality people have been taking drugs. The sooner the overweight people in office legalise them the better.

Peter Tork

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IT5ogF4C-8

padma

22/23 years ago 13 year olds were popping yokes regularly every weekend. The dance music clubs were booming. The dj was king on a saturday night. Thousands if not close to a hundred thousand people were dropping them every weekend all around the country. Even in the farmer places. Weed and hash was a lot cheaper too.

Route1

Legalisation in theory is a good idea, as it would make them safer and also the "war on drugs" appears to be a futile ineffective battle and is waste of a lot of police time and budget. Also a lot cartels and criminals running production would be wiped out, of course there would always be those who would produce and sell for even cheaper.

Cantstandsya

Alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, chocolate, aspirin, etc.

Where is the line and who decides on it.

Pompous

Route1 wrote: »

the thought using something other than alcohol disgusted me

Alcohol is far worse than most drugs. Just because it is legal and taxed does not mean it is good for you and to be abused.

You should try making your own decisions and forming your own opinions objectively. Stop allowing lawmakers and society decide for you.

magma69

Everyone is anti-drugs until they try sticking some ginger up their bum.

Lia_lia

Route1 wrote: »

I am aware that drugs have been around and in use for a lot longer than me, it's just how widespread they have become in recent years I'm referring to.

Do you have statistics on this? I reckon you're just at the age where your friends have started taking drugs, so suddenly you think the use of drugs has become widespread.

Route1

Pompous wrote: »

Alcohol is far worse than most drugs. Just because it is legal and taxed does not mean it is good for you and to be abused.

You should try making your own decisions and forming your own opinions subjectively. Stop allowing lawmakers and society decide for you.

Objectively. And what are you basing that statement on? People visibly are far more altered when on drugs gurning jaws, hallucinating than alcohol where a level of relative control is kept.

blaze1

yokes were everywhere sure even your granny was a hardcore raver

Route1

No, its just through conversation people have commented on how popular they have become.

ger vallely

OP I feel it's just the stage you are at in life. You and your friends are relatively new (you said you are 20) to the whole clubbing and pubbing scene. Therefore you are being exposed to other new experiences which come with that. Give it a few years and you'll notice how loads of your peers are getting married,then they'll all be having babies,buying houses, 40th birthday parties, deaths(hopefully not too soon) etc,it is the flow of things. Drugs have been around in society for many many years. I'd like to think you just were not as exposed to them in school!As with so many other things in life-it's either for you or it's not.

eireannBEAR

Stay away from heroin,Smoking it,is just as addictive as injecting it....Dont care about the rest knock yourself out!!

kneemos

What's wrong with your reality that you have to take drugs?

eireannBEAR

kneemos wrote: »

What's wrong with your reality that you have to take drugs?

Alcohol,tobacco coffee........your post applies to the whole country,you must be one in a million!

MonstaMash

Pompous

Route1 wrote: »

Objectively. And what are you basing that statement on? People visibly are far more altered when on drugs gurning jaws, hallucinating than alcohol where a level of relative control is kept.

Yes, objectively. Thanks.

I am basing my statement on personal experience and observation.

Alcohol is a drug. You cannot compare alcohol to 'drugs' and say 'drugs' are more altering. It depends to what drug you are referring and the dosage.

For example, I can take the right dosage of any illegal drug and go to work. Or I can take the right dosage of alcohol and not be able to walk or speak.

The Backwards Man

Ssssh. . . no one tell the OP about the Opium Wars.

kneemos

Pompous wrote: »

Alcohol is far worse than most drugs. Just because it is legal and taxed does not mean it is good for you and to be abused.

You should try making your own decisions and forming your own opinions objectively. Stop allowing lawmakers and society decide for you.

I

Better to give your kids some Ecstasy tablets and a bag of weed when they're heading out to keep them of the drink?

Route1

Pompous wrote: »

Yes, objectively. Thanks.

I am basing my statement on personal experience and observation.

Alcohol is a drug. You cannot compare alcohol to 'drugs' and say 'drugs' are more altering. It depends to what drug you are referring and the dosage.

For example, I can take the right dosage of any illegal drug and go to work. Or I can take the right dosage of alcohol and not be able to walk or speak.

Of course but thats a very selective statement. I've never heard of overdosing from alcohol, I don't think the late Katie French and Gerry Ryan were having a few cans of Dutch.

dmc17

Route1 wrote: »

I am aware that drugs have been around and in use for a lot longer than me, it's just how widespread they have become in recent years I'm referring to.

I thought they weren't as widespread these days but were more widespread when I was around 20. What can we conclude from this?

As others have said, it's not just rife in your generation. It's been rife for very many years. I'm not sure at 20 years old how it's possible for you to think that your generation is the worst tbh.

If you don't want to do drugs, don't do them, it's not a big deal at all. Most people grow out of it eventually anyway and get bored with the comedowns in the very same way most people grow out of alcohol and eventually get sick of having hangovers. It's a growing up thing.

kneemos

eireannBEAR wrote: »

Alcohol,tobacco coffee........your post applies to the whole country,you must be one in a million!

Exactly we have more than enough legal stuff.

Cantstandsya

Drugs etc are part of the human condition. I read a very convincing article years back the suggested that human intelligence had evolved alongside experimentation with mind altering/opening drugs/substances.

There is a reason that so many gravitate towards psychedelics/hallucinogenics and it is more nuanced than that they are all just degenerate wasters. The most open minded/intelligent people I know have experimented in this area. The human mind is a wonderful playground and you won't find the best slides or swings in the bible or any other prescriptive bull****.

I think in the future humanity will freely play with the borders of consciousness and the small minded prohibitions of the 21st century will be rightly lambasted.

kneemos

kneemos wrote: »

Exactly we have more than enough legal stuff.

So you had no issue with people taking stuff from headshops then?

MonstaMash

Route1 wrote: »

I've never heard of overdosing from alcohol.

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/AlcoholOverdoseFactsheet/Overdosefact.htm

eireannBEAR

dmc17 wrote: »

I thought they weren't as widespread these days but were more widespread when I was around 20. What can we conclude from this?

Ah now heroin is available in every town i know,crack is in most and meth is in every big town,we have more drug addicts than ever before,there might have been more e's around a few years ago,but everything else is more available then before.

Pompous

Route1 wrote: »

I've never heard of overdosing from alcohol

I guess it never happened then. 'Drugs' must be far worse.

By the way, it's called alcohol poisoning. You clearly are not seeing the point, or you are and would prefer to debate semantics. Either way, best of luck with your misguided attitude towards 'drugs'.

eireannBEAR

eireannBEAR wrote: »

Ah now heroin is available in every town i know,crack is in most and meth is in every big town,we have more drug addicts than ever before,there might have been more e's around a few years ago,but everything else is more available then before.

I don't agree. I've seen people die from heroin use for the past 20 years and I'm fairly sure it wasn't only starting when I was in my teens.

nm wrote: »

That caught me as well.

What morally wrong with taking something you enjoy yourself? Not legally speaking now, morally speaking.

I think morally would come down to crime associated with drugs to be fair rather than the effects on the individual who has taken the drug.

bennyl10

Route1 wrote: »

Of course but thats a very selective statement. I've never heard of overdosing from alcohol, I don't think the late Katie French and Gerry Ryan were having a few cans of Dutch.

They werent smoking weed either.. which is a lot less harmfull than drink

dmc17

eireannBEAR wrote: »

Ah now heroin is available in every town i know,crack is in most and meth is in every big town,we have more drug addicts than ever before,there might have been more e's around a few years ago,but everything else is more available then before.

What I was saying is there are times in your life or situations when you are more exposed to these things and tend to have greater awareness of them.

eireannBEAR

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't agree. I've seen people die from heroin use for the past 20 years and I'm fairly sure it wasn't only starting when I was in my teens.

Im sure they did but the Deaths/addict numbers and availability of the drug was far less than it is today.

https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=10&cad=rja&ved=0CHcQFjAJ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.ie%2Firish-news%2Fdrug-use-continues-to-rise-outside-dublin-29557693.html&ei=2ensUo6YBqPT7AbCpoHYDw&usg=AFQjCNFRHu6Wu77FJj2xh1B25hjx2UoKzA&sig2=l9NUdWYjr0tiOUkfH7D1Vg&bvm=bv.60444564,d.ZGU

So while i respect your opinion its incorrect.

Cantstandsya

Route1 wrote: »

Of course but thats a very selective statement. I've never heard of overdosing from alcohol, I don't think the late Katie French and Gerry Ryan were having a few cans of Dutch.

Have you heard of many overdosing from weed?

There are of course numerous examples of death by alcohol overdose. Amy Winehouse as a famous example.

eireannBEAR

dmc17 wrote: »

What I was saying is there are times in your life or situations when you are more exposed to these things and tend to have greater awareness of them.

Sorry your 100% right man.

dmc17

eireannBEAR wrote: »

Sorry your 100% right man.

I agree with you on the availability of things, just from OP's point of view it not because of this that they're starting to notice them more.

The Backwards Man

Everybody seems to be having sex these days. When I was young I hardly ever had sex.

There must be more of it about these days.

eireannBEAR

eireannBEAR wrote: »

Im sure they did but the Deaths/addict numbers and availability of the drug was far less than it is today.

https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=10&cad=rja&ved=0CHcQFjAJ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.ie%2Firish-news%2Fdrug-use-continues-to-rise-outside-dublin-29557693.html&ei=2ensUo6YBqPT7AbCpoHYDw&usg=AFQjCNFRHu6Wu77FJj2xh1B25hjx2UoKzA&sig2=l9NUdWYjr0tiOUkfH7D1Vg&bvm=bv.60444564,d.ZGU

So while i respect your opinion its incorrect.

I guess because I've been living in dublin all of my life I haven't seen such a dramatic rise. Also perhaps because I would have been closer to a lot of it when I was younger as I grew up in a less as advantaged area, my perception may well be skewed.

eireannBEAR

Deleted User wrote: »

I guess because I've been living in dublin all of my life I haven't seen such a dramatic rise. Also perhaps because I would have been closer to a lot of it when I was younger as I grew up in a less as advantaged area, my perception may well be skewed.

In fairness dublin is the exception,its where it arrived and maintained its presence,the rest of the country got hit bad,im shocked it took as long as it did to travel down!!

kneemos

[Deleted User] wrote: »

So you had no issue with people taking stuff from headshops then?

Headshots were a demonstration of what would happen if drugs were legalised i.e. queues down the street every weekend night.

falan

Drug use has been going on forever...My own love affair with yokes started when i was 16 in 1995 and lasted for 15 years. I've lived in city and countryside and both are awash with pills.