Misinformation regarding drugs.

Vito Corleone

The recent thread regarding Ecstasy/MDMA has got me thinking... Do you think some of the information about drugs is misleading and possibly damaging to the youth of today?

When I was in secondary school we were shown a video regarding ecstasy. The video showed how a girl took ecstasy and died, the video then portrayed how her brother got bullied due to his sister's drug abuse and then he committed suicide.

The main jist of the video was - if you take drugs you will die and your family may die!

Obviously, we knew that was a load of nonsense as a large percentage of the class were taking ecstasy regularly and had seen no adverse effects from it.

Thoughts?

Penny Tration

Drugs are bad, mmm'kay?

gramar

Winners don't do drugs. Most of the time.

LimeTimee

Drugs will never be legal because of the pharmaceutical companies on this island and don't forget we have to wait until America, UK and many other countries legalise, and then we will too.

Nino Brown

gramar wrote: »

Winners don't do drugs. Most of the time.

Tell Lance Armstrong that

Tilly

I remember when i was younger and taking it there was only Leah Betts in the papers. It didnt frighten any of us as it was only one person and we were told she died due to drinking too much water while on it.

There seems to be a lot of "bad" pills going around these days. If it was in the papers as much as it is now back in my day, i know i wouldnt be risking it. You'd wanna be a right creamer to go near those green yokes.

Sleepy

Isn't that why we sent Ming to Europe? To get the herb legalised?

I Heart Internet

Vito Corleone wrote: »

Thoughts?

The only misinformation being peddled is that consuming illegal drugs is a harmless, victimless pursuit.

Snorting mary-lou is a mugs game.

The bull**** about drugs makes it harder to get decent information out there and convince people of the actual dangers. By the time people are 14/15 they'll know people who've smoked spliff and been fine. So if the stuff about spliff was lies then why believe the scare stories about the rest?

Honesty would make a massive difference when trying to convince kids about the actual issues there are with drugs.

Nino Brown

I Heart Internet wrote: »

The only misinformation being peddled is that consuming illegal drugs is a harmless, victimless pursuit.

It would be if they were legalized. Obviously not harmless, but no more harmful that a lot of the other things we do that are legal.

o1s1n

I Heart Internet wrote: »

The only misinformation being peddled is that consuming illegal drugs is a harmless, victimless pursuit.

Snorting mary-lou is a mugs game.

Is it not possible to have a sensible middle ground based on facts?

I Heart Internet

o1s1n wrote: »

Is it not possible to have a sensible middle ground based on facts?

But the fact is that buying and consuming illegal drugs today supports violent criminal activity. What middle ground approach to that do you propose?

Vito Corleone

I genuinely think if young teens were educated properly and honestly about drugs there would be a lot less drug abuse and deaths due to drug abuse in this country.

Shazer01

Vito Corleone wrote: »

I genuinely think if young teens were educated properly and honestly about drugs there would be a lot less drug abuse and deaths due to drug abuse in this country.

I completely agree. Education is key. Not sending people to jail where minor habit can become a much bigger problem. I think people should not go to prison for having enough for yourself. The gardai should concentrate more on the large scale production within the state and obviously trafficking in and out of the state. Supply of day cannabis should be controlled by the state. Simple.

MRnotlob606

Drugs are for losers like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs,Carl Sagan and Sigmund Freud.

Holsten

Misinformation on any subject is very stupid and can be extremely dangerous.

Drug use is no exception.

Majority of drugs will do very little damage if any.

Weed,MDMA,LSD basically harmless and will produce a very good time.

Suryavarman

I Heart Internet wrote: »

The only misinformation being peddled is that consuming illegal drugs is a harmless, victimless pursuit.

I don't think anybody is saying that. In fact it people generally tend to vastly overstate the harms of drugs.

Snorting mary-lou is a mugs game.

This I agree with. The average human nostril would never be able to fit Mary Lou McDonald up it. To even try to do so would extremely foolish.

o1s1n

I Heart Internet wrote: »

But the fact is that buying and consuming illegal drugs today supports violent criminal activity. What middle ground approach to that do you propose?

I take it you don't buy diamonds either or any other product which has a potential association with illegal activities? How about cigarettes? Alcohol?

Can you stop moving the goal posts and focus on one thing? In relation to the OP, I'm fairly sure this is to do with the possible health effects of consuming drugs. (and the misinformation surrounding such)

That particular discussion can be fact based as many of the side effects/issues are medically documented.

Or we could just go down the usual hysterical 'DRUGS ARE BAD!' versus 'DRUGS ARE BRILLIANT! black and white argument which generally happens here ad nauseam.

DamagedTrax

I Heart Internet wrote: »

But the fact is that buying and consuming illegal drugs today supports violent criminal activity. What middle ground approach to that do you propose?

we either be allowed to grow it ourselves or have it properly regulated by the guberment.. keep the taxes low enough and the quality high enough that we have no need for criminals to buy it from.

if you give me the option between a nice clean homegrown weed or some mental strain of skunk thats been sprayed with god knows what (from some guy called wacker in the flats), i know which one i'm going for every time.

Scuid Mhór

Vito Corleone wrote: »

The recent thread regarding Ecstasy/MDMA has got me thinking... Do you think some of the information about drugs is misleading and possibly damaging to the youth of today?

Any advice that deals in absolutes and doesn't encourage free thinking on the matter is propaganda. I think there are lots of people ago shouldn't indulge in substances for a variety of reasons, but teaching kids and teenagers that 'drugs are bad', as a previous post so eloquently put it in a satirical manner, is ridiculous, really. Mostly because most drugs aren't all bad if done in moderation, and hammering a point down like that is counter-intuitive i.e. it leads to a public opinion revolt.

Shakespeare's Sister

I Heart Internet wrote: »

But the fact is that buying and consuming illegal drugs today supports violent criminal activity. What middle ground approach to that do you propose?

Them being regulated.

BetterThanThou

I definitely think there's too much misinformation when it comes to drugs, and very hard to find information that comes from a neutral point of view. Personally, I think all unnatural drugs are bad news, I'd never touch them, I've seen the effects some of them can have, and I feel there's too much potential for dangerous ingredients to be used. But I know a lot of people who don't share the same mindset as me, once they realize weed isn't as bad as people say it is, they get under the impression that harder drugs such as coke and acid aren't either. The whole thing is definitely too black and white. Hell, when my family found out I enjoy to smoke occasionally, half my family labeled me as a junkie, and the other half was asking if I wanted to split a bag with them.

Freddie Dodge

Life is great just as it is, without altering one's perception of reality.

Change your reality if it bothers you so much.

Idiots use substances to alter their perception temporarily, rather than actually doing something constructive to change it.

Some of them don't make it/natural selection.

Arthur Beesley

So we should all become junkies?

whirlpool

I can't be the only person in the world who has never taken completely illegal drugs. Anyone else??

whirlpool

Freddie Dodge wrote: »

Life is great just as it is, without altering one's perception of reality.

Change your reality if it bothers you so much.

Idiots use substances to alter their perception temporarily, rather than actually doing something constructive to change it.

Some of them don't make it/natural selection.

Every single thing you do / ingest, that isn't absolutely vital to your survival, is to alter / distort your perception temporarily. Every. Single. Thing. Including cups of tea and biscuits. And watching tv shows.

Some people's perception of reality is so distressing to them that they need more extreme forms of reality distortion. Don't judge. Sympathise, ideally, or at least understand.

(Calling them idiots probably isn't going to make their reality better.)

bur

I mean, what great music was ever made on drugs?

twinytwo

Scuid Mhór wrote: »

Any advice that deals in absolutes and doesn't encourage free thinking on the matter is propaganda. I think there are lots of people ago shouldn't indulge in substances for a variety of reasons, but teaching kids and teenagers that 'drugs are bad', as a previous post so eloquently put it in a satirical manner, is ridiculous, really. Mostly because most drugs aren't all bad if done in moderation, and hammering a point down like that is counter-intuitive i.e. it leads to a public opinion revolt.

When have you know the majority of Irish people do anything in moderation, the same is true for alcohol and look how that turned out?

The Backwards Man

whirlpool wrote: »

I can't be the only person in the world who has never taken completely illegal drugs. Anyone else??

Na, plenty of people haven't. It's just that drug users spend an inordinate amount of time trying to justify their habits. Sad really.

Arthur Beesley

whirlpool wrote: »

I can't be the only person in the world who has never taken completely illegal drugs. Anyone else??

I haven't either.

MY CUP OF TEA

whirlpool wrote: »

I can't be the only person in the world who has never taken completely illegal drugs. Anyone else??

nope me neither...never felt the need, im annoying enough as it is

endacl

MY CUP OF TEA wrote: »

nope me neither...never felt the need, im annoying enough as it is

Not your cup of tea...? :pac:

TimeToShine

Was there any need for this thread? The same topic is being discussed in two active threads already and it always ends up in the same place.

faceman

Vito Corleone wrote: »

I genuinely think if young teens were educated properly and honestly about drugs there would be a lot less drug abuse and deaths due to drug abuse in this country.

I disagree. Alcohol abuse remains a massive problem and we're all educated honestly about that. I can't see how it would be different for drugs

Arthur Beesley

faceman wrote: »

I disagree. Alcohol abuse remains a massive problem and we're all educated honestly about that. I can't see how it would be different for drugs

Same with smoking. Who in their right minds would smoke?

Suryavarman

faceman wrote: »

I disagree. Alcohol abuse remains a massive problem and we're all educated honestly about that. I can't see how it would be different for drugs

No we aren't. Most people would be completely shocked if they were told how much damage alcohol does to the body.

MY CUP OF TEA

endacl wrote: »

Not your cup of tea...? :pac:

I really didnt think my username through...the amount of people on here that feel the need to constantly point out they are not me is tiresome...

Theres some fella over on the golfing forum saying pitch and putt is not my cup of tea??..duh..ive never even played golf!

whirlpool

Vito Corleone wrote: »

I genuinely think if young teens were educated properly and honestly about drugs there would be a lot less drug abuse and deaths due to drug abuse in this country.

What more education can be given on drugs?

People take mood-altering substances to - shock horror - alter their moods.

IMO, an international revolution is needed. Education about emotions and how to handle emotions better needs to begin and it needs to begin soon, and it has to start from montessori age onwards.

It's not just substance abuse that's caused by an inability to deal with emotions, it's most of the world's problems.

MY CUP OF TEA

Im not being smart but Id genuinely love to know why people who take drugs think that they are illegal?

Caliden

MY CUP OF TEA wrote: »

Im not being smart but Id genuinely love to know why people who take drugs think that they are illegal?

Why do you think marijuana is illegal?

Scientific study? Nope
Deaths? Nope

A few Mormons went to Mexico, brought it back and the Mormon church didn't like it? Yup


I'm not 'pro drugs' and I don't even use any but there are definitely drugs that should remain illegal due to their addictiveness and health effects.

Certain drugs like marijuana, lsd and mdma have yet to be proven to be addictive and the medicinal possibilities could be staggering if scientific research could use them.

For example:
Cluster headache (quoted as being "..the most painful condition known to medical science")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRXnzhbhpHU

LSD or magic mushrooms have shown some signs of stopping the headaches occurring.
I think that making some drugs illegal just because they're not understood is a silly reason given that alcohol is illegal and the damage it causes (not including the cost to the country) is staggering.

miss no stars

whirlpool wrote: »

What more education can be given on drugs?

People take mood-altering substances to - shock horror - alter their moods.

IMO, an international revolution is needed. Education about emotions and how to handle emotions better needs to begin and it needs to begin soon, and it has to start from montessori age onwards.

It's not just substance abuse that's caused by an inability to deal with emotions, it's most of the world's problems.

I think giving older teenagers (5th and 6th years) actual information about how drugs work in your system, the good effects, the bad effects, which drugs cause physical dependency, which cause psychological addiction, the time it takes for addiction and dependency to happen, the different methods by which the different types are consumed and the risks associated with the different methods of taking them, the problem with unregulated supply (purity, what it's cut with etc.), how drugs are produced and get here and so on would be a good idea. In fact, I don't see how it could be a bad idea. Unbiased information would allow them to make informed choices. I'd go further and suggest that staying safe on drugs (never take free samples, if you don't know the person don't buy, never get into debt for them, interaction with other drugs like alcohol etc.) is something that should also be covered. I also think the long term effects of say, weed usage, should be compared with long term effects of alcohol consumption. What do we know and what don't we know?

I think the important thing is to give kids enough information to make informed choices.

MY CUP OF TEA

Caliden wrote: »

Why do you think marijuana is illegal?

Scientific study? Nope
Deaths? Nope

A few Mormons went to Mexico, brought it back and the Mormon church didn't like it? Yup

so its a conspiracy?

what about other harder drugs?

Caliden

MY CUP OF TEA wrote: »

so its a conspiracy?

what about other harder drugs?

Who said conspiracy?
It's ignorance.

Define 'harder' drugs

wexie

o1s1n wrote: »

I take it you don't buy diamonds either or any other product which has a potential association with illegal activities? How about cigarettes? Alcohol?

Buying petrol supports terrorism, somehow you never hear that mentioned in any of these debates....

Greenmachine

whirlpool wrote: »

I can't be the only person in the world who has never taken completely illegal drugs. Anyone else??

What a completely illegal drug? Serious question.

Greenmachine

MY CUP OF TEA wrote: »

Im not being smart but Id genuinely love to know why people who take drugs think that they are illegal?

Politics has a lot to do with. Country A says Country B is bad, since country b, produces a particular product is bad by default. The vast majority of illegal drugs pre legal-high era in particular were at one time or another produced by the big pharmac companies. You can thank Bayer for inventing heroin. Which despite the misinformation does not make you an addict from one hit.

sbsquarepants

o1s1n wrote: »

Is it not possible to have a sensible middle ground based on facts?

Jesus, you must be on drugs right now.
There's no place here for sense or facts, back to your commune hippy!

AnonoBoy

I Heart Internet wrote: »

Snorting mary-lou is a mugs game.

What's Mary-Lou?

elefant

AnonoBoy wrote: »

What's Mary-Lou?

Clarky Cat

AnonoBoy

elefant wrote: »

Clarky Cat

Is that like Cake?

MY CUP OF TEA

Caliden wrote: »

Who said conspiracy?
It's ignorance.

Define 'harder' drugs

conspiracy...That was a joke in response to your stuff about the mormons!..

Hey, Im totally uneducated about drugs..i just wonder why they're illegal if they are supposedly so harmless?