Drug abuse is not a disease it is bad life decisions

originally posted by: Itisnowagain
a reply to: gortex
a reply to: AaarghZombies
Can everyone stop thread drifting please?

Is drug abuse a disease or is it just bad life choices?

why does it need to either of the things you’ve presented? Such binary thinking leaves a lot of room for error.

a reply to: Rob808
It's the title of the thread.

originally posted by: Itisnowagain
a reply to: Rob808
It's the title of the thread.

Be proud of that box you live in.

a reply to: Itisnowagain

Can everyone stop thread drifting please?

This thread seems to be an attempt to blame the victim for the actions of the arresting officer and so his death , I don't think discussing the circumstances surrounding his death is "thread drift" , they are part and parcel.

From the OP
It was not his fault that he did drugs, he was not a bad person because he took and dealt drugs or passed fake money or resisted arrest every time he had an encounter with police.

Is drug abuse a disease or is it just bad life choices?

Gave my opinion on that on page 1.
I'm not trying to absolve the victim of the part he played in his own death but nor should the actions of the police officer involved be absolved either , being an addict does not mean you have no rights .

From the OP
In fact it was our fault, societies fault that george was committing these petty crimes. We all are at fault because poor george eventually overdosed on his sickness.

This thread is about more than just drugs and life choices.

a reply to: gortex
Good post......I understand now.
Carry on.

originally posted by: Itisnowagain
a reply to: gortex
Good post......I understand now.
Carry on.

Get that smug smile out of your emoji.

a reply to: Peeple
What?

What?

You have to be joking......

Being nice is not allowed now......

This world is crazy.




I gave gortex a star and a smile.....was it a smug star?

a reply to: Itisnowagain

I meant smug like you're saying: These kids are slow.
It's not nice but it's kind of a compliment.
You knew, right?

originally posted by: Peeple
a reply to: panoz77

Cigarettes and coffee. My addictions.
I'm such a bad person you should kill me here and now.

So you have a disease or those two things are things you CHOOSE to do because you like them? I also love coffee and smoke cigarettes, but I don't claim that I have a disease as the reason that I choose to ingest those two things.

a reply to: panoz77

It's a mild addiction, because they're weak drugs, but if I don't have them I notice I feel physically different.
I like doing them it's not like I die if I don't do them because it's not crack or heroin, but that's not really my achievement.

You're addicted too I bet? To something harmless maybe but still. Sugar? Sports? Alcohol?
What's your poison?
You edited so : check

So what if we call it disease because it is the closest word we have to describe it even if it's not like the others?

Sorry, but it isn't quite that simple.

No, it isn't like a bacteria or virus that you can 'catch'...

Yes, it is the result of bad judgement, decisions, and life choices...

That said, a true addict is not simply someone continuing to make bad life choices.

I know. I was an active addict for almost 15 years, started smoking dope when I was 13. The circumstances surrounding that first toke are definitely of my own making, and I was the one that ultimately decided to smoke it.

That said, from that day on, I wanted to quit. I tried many times. I got into stronger drugs, and the cycle got worse, the bottom came pretty quick when I got into coc aine and crank (crystal meth). I never smoked either, and thankfully I was decided to never use a needle after seeing some friends when they were using (their facial expressions scared the # out of me), or I likely would have ended up dead, instead of finally getting the help I needed.

It took 2 visits to a treatment center - first was after an intervention by my parents, and I saw possibility of being able to stop, stayed clean for about 6 months, then started using again. About a year later, I called the treatment center myself, and went again, and have stayed clean ever since (almost 35 years now).

Anyway, thats my .02 cents, from the perspective of someone went through it.

originally posted by: panoz77
The MSM narrative, in an effort to undermine that george floyd was a drug addict, claiming that drug abuse is simply a disease that you "catch". That we should have sympathy for drug abusers, they are just sick. It has nothing to do with poor life decisions, or self gratification, or greed, or selfishness, or personal irresponsibility. They want us to believe that poor george was just a sick, claustrophobic, well mannered, upstanding citizen who just happened to be sick. It was not his fault that he did drugs, he was not a bad person because he took and dealt drugs or passed fake money or resisted arrest every time he had an encounter with police. Those were just because he had a sickness and nobody helped him. In fact it was our fault, societies fault that george was committing these petty crimes. We all are at fault because poor george eventually overdosed on his sickness.

That is all. Don't do drugs kids.

originally posted by: KansasGirl
a reply to: panoz77
My current thoughts on the subject are that some people probably have a genetic predisposition to become addicted to substances.

I agree, based on all of the evidence I saw myself. Some people were able to choose to smoke pot or drink - or even smoke cigarettes - occasionally, not to excess when they did, and could go for weeks or months without, for years. Others - like myself - were 'addicted' from the very first toke (or drink). Alcohol was not my drug of choice, but when I couldn't get weed, I drank, and always to excess. I can't tell you how many times I tried to quit, but it never lasted more than a few days (sometimes it only lasted a few minutes). It was insane - that is what it means to be addicted.

For example, I didn’t have a drop of alcohol until I was 19, and the first time I drank, I polished off in excess of a single. pack of beer, and it did almost nothing to me.

The choices I made after that over the years, continuing to drink when I knew there were major red flags, that caused my alcoholism. And at some point, like a member pointed out, your body gets addicted and has to make all kinds of changes that make it really unpleasant, even dangerous, to quit.

No offense, but that would be what I call addiction by choice. That was the result of persistent ongoing bad decisions and life choices.

I would say drugs abuse is a disease for sure

In the same context as cutting yourself, bulimia...

All are self-harming actions for a little joy (escape)

originally posted by: panoz77
The MSM narrative, in an effort to undermine that george floyd was a drug addict, claiming that drug abuse is simply a disease that you "catch". That we should have sympathy for drug abusers, they are just sick. It has nothing to do with poor life decisions, or self gratification, or greed, or selfishness, or personal irresponsibility. They want us to believe that poor george was just a sick, claustrophobic, well mannered, upstanding citizen who just happened to be sick. It was not his fault that he did drugs, he was not a bad person because he took and dealt drugs or passed fake money or resisted arrest every time he had an encounter with police. Those were just because he had a sickness and nobody helped him. In fact it was our fault, societies fault that george was committing these petty crimes. We all are at fault because poor george eventually overdosed on his sickness.

That is all. Don't do drugs kids.

Somehow you are both correct and incorrect at the same time. You are right it isn't a disease, not really. But neither is it solely based on poor life choices. In most cases it falls more in the the middle, somewhere in the realm of mental health problems... I.e. these people know of no other way to escape/manage/handle their current life. They were never taught healthy ways to deal with the stress and pressures applied to them on a daily basis. As a result most run to drugs (including alcohol) in order to release or escape from the stress. We all know it doesn't solve anything. It merely takes your cares away, temporarily. But most see it as a fair trade off to not feel the effects of their life. If we started treating addiction like we do mental health issues, we would likely see a dramatic drop in overdoses. Combine that with teaching people how to deal with those feeling in a healthy manner and we would see far less people turning to drugs and alcohol as a means of escape.

Comedian Doug Stanhope said that sometimes people just find something they like doing more than living. Is that a disease, or just a philosophy?

originally posted by: Blue Shift
Comedian Doug Stanhope said that sometimes people just find something they like doing more than living. Is that a disease, or just a philosophy?

It's like procrastinating destiny.

a reply to: panoz77

I was hurt in a motorcycle accident some years ago.

While I was recovering, my doctor prescribed Oxycontin and then Percocet.

What he said to me was that I WILL get addicted, but whether or not I become an addict is up to me.

Smart man - he was dead on.

Well then should we feel sad for Hunter Biden cuz he must be in this group too then.

Like pretty much everything in life, it's far more complicated than this.

a reply to: panoz77

91% of people in rehab have a maternal grandparent who was a drug addict.