P and all that jazz

NTA

I tried marijuana mainly out of curiosity. It was cool, but I didn't need it long-term. I've only tried it once since I finished Uni and that was combined with most of a bottle of Bundaberg Rum on a camping trip with mates, which was my first boys night since the boy was born.
 
Things did not end well THAT night, and I respectfully buried the contents of my stomach lining the next morning. 
 
Still, best night's sleep I had in over two years ;)

Cookie

Agree with legalisation of some. Let people make their own decisions, but then they need to take responsibility for their actions - both in their choice of drug (how it affects them personally) and how their actions while under the influence, affect other people. 
Certain drugs just don't agree with certain people, so there is a need to "trial" carefully. i'm especially thinking of those Jekyl and Hyde characters who turn when they get some drink inside them.

gollum

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Cookie" data-cid="558879" data-time="1455527858">
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Agree with legalisation of some. Let people make their own decisions, but then they need to take responsibility for their actions - both in their choice of drug (how it affects them personally) and how their actions while under the influence, affect other people. 

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No difference to alchohol. We have a legal & taxed drug that most people use sensibly & a small chunk go overboard on. Personally I'd rather deal with a group of young guys binge eating hash brownies than binge drinking beer. 
 
Personal responsibility & financial impact are the key. Legalise it, tax it, make the consequences of over doing it real. 
 
You legalise weed in NZ you damn near bankrupt the Mongrel Mob & Black Power.

JC

Yeah, I'm for decriminalisation, so long as the people who use don't expect the rest of society to pick up the pieces (and the tab) if it all goes wrong.
 
Though I still don't know why otherwise intelligent people would choose to take class A or B drugs, legal or not.

Cookie

Drugs and their possible legalisation is a bit like getting a tattoo. Bear with me... 
Getting a tattoo is a life changing event, there are risks involved, but it's legal. Society generally agrees that people are responsible enough to make their own decisions regarding what they ink themselves with. 
Now some tattoos look great on some people, others look like twats for the rest of their lives. While I would never get a tattoo, as I would fall into the twat camp, I wouldn't want to stop others getting one. And on the whole I wouldn't judge those who do. 
I say on the whole, because if some dingbatt has something indelibly misspelled on his own skin - then of course I will draw my own conclusions. 
Just because it's legal, people still need to make sensible decisions - and generally they do. It's the exception proves the rule. 
So if you want to make "edgy" life choices go ahead, feel free to try stuff out, but don't go running to mummy (or the state) if you end up with a massive cock tattooed on your forehead.

NTA

Good analogy, actually.
 
The thing these days is people can have them laser removed. The fun part is they've got to go through some pain to do it :D

Paekakboyz

That's an interesting post Cookie, I don't see anything overly edgy about class C and even some class B usage. Class A isn't edgy but it can be a much grimier scene. Actually I reckon the edgiest fulla in the thread is TR - how he dodged the ganja up north I'll never know! (tips hat). 
 
In my younger days it was about fun and new experiences - but looking back it would have been much better if we'd been adults before cracking into said product. That's why I'd rather we legalised most drugs, tax it and focus on education and associated health issues. Ripping the economy out from the gangs would be just one benefit if we took that approach. Having to find a balance between education and 'encouraging' use (esp for young people) would be a better situation than our current one imo.
 
Like I mentioned earlier if you are taking (any) drugs to hide or avoid something bad in your life it ain't likely to end well. But those tend to be the tragic cases that get attention while many recreational users who have successful careers, passions, families and friends are invisible.
 
NTA you can enjoy some pain if you owe the headhunters for that last tinny too - they might just take your powerwall!!
 
hmmmm . off the grid power??! Have you looked into hydroponics by any chance :whistle:

taniwharugby

I do have a couple of tats if that makes any difference haha

NTA

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NTA you can enjoy some pain if you owe the headhunters for that last tinny too - they might just take your powerwall!!
 
hmmmm . off the grid power??! Have you looked into hydroponics by any chance :whistle:
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The maximum draw out is 3.3kW - not enough to run the kind of lights i'd need ;)

SammyC

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That's an interesting post Cookie, I don't see anything overly edgy about class C and even some class B usage. Class A isn't edgy but it can be a much grimier scene. Actually I reckon the edgiest fulla in the thread is TR - how he dodged the ganja up north I'll never know! (tips hat). 
 
In my younger days it was about fun and new experiences - but looking back it would have been much better if we'd been adults before cracking into said product. That's why I'd rather we legalised most drugs, tax it and focus on education and associated health issues. Ripping the economy out from the gangs would be just one benefit if we took that approach. Having to find a balance between education and 'encouraging' use (esp for young people) would be a better situation than our current one imo.
 
Like I mentioned earlier if you are taking (any) drugs to hide or avoid something bad in your life it ain't likely to end well. But those tend to be the tragic cases that get attention while many recreational users who have successful careers, passions, families and friends are invisible.
 
NTA you can enjoy some pain if you owe the headhunters for that last tinny too - they might just take your powerwall!!
 
hmmmm . off the grid power??! Have you looked into hydroponics by any chance :whistle:
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Really sensible post.
 
Even Ice isn't anywhere near as bad as the media portrays it.
 
Has anyone on here read "chasing the scream" by Johann Hari?
 
It's an excellent look at prohibtion and addiction throughout the world. He asks why many people use drugs without any problems, yet some can't?
 
Anyway he comes to the conclusion that much of what we take as fact is not..... 
 
"Drugs are not what we think they are. Drug addiction is not what we have been told it is. The drug war is not what our politicians have sold it as for one hundred years and counting"

Crazy Horse

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="558987" data-time="1455592583"> 
Even Ice isn't anywhere near as bad as the media portrays it. </blockquote>
 
Spend a shift or two with those on the frontline and see if you feel the same. Sure some people claim to lead normal lives on it, but when it goes bad it goes really bad. A lot of the most dispicable human behaviour I have seen can be attributed to ice.

SammyC

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Spend a shift or two with those on the frontline and see if you feel the same. Sure some people claim to lead normal lives on it, but when it goes bad it goes really bad. A lot of the most dispicable human behaviour I have seen can be attributed to ice.
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Well I know a few people who definitely living normal lives and who use it.
 
Successful lawyers, Accountants and Doctors, with family etc.
 
It's no different to speed, which has been around for a long time. 
 
Sure I've heard some awful stories about what people do on it....... but they are the long term addicts who may have had better access to treatment, rehab etc if it wasn't illegal.

SammyC

I kind of liken the Ice, P, Meth hype to what has happened in the USA with the "crack cocaine epidemic"
 
Crack and Cocaine are the same thing.. Crack however has a stigma attached because it's generally used by those at the poorer end of society. Cocaine is a rich white boys drug so less stigma.
 
There's been a bit of research done in the states... this article makes the point better than I can
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobsullum/2013/11/04/everything-youve-heard-about-crack-and-meth-is-wrong/#5ae3e521e024'>http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobsullum/2013/11/04/everything-youve-heard-about-crack-and-meth-is-wrong/#5ae3e521e024</a>

Tim

Sounds like you know a lot of people, SammyC ...

dogmeat

Fucking addicts of any type are annoying, boring twats whatever the substance.
 
Add to that sad, pathetic, desperate and dishonest.
 
You really, really don't want to add violent to the cocktail.
 
It could be the way their brains are hard-wired or personality traits but I've seen guys pretty much become hooked from their first shot - be it booze or something stronger.
 
In my younger days I'd try anything. Mate and I started smack at the same time. I never had any issues other than finding it a pretty boring drug.
 
He was locked up in Mt Eden within 6 weeks having been caught trying to knock off a furriers to finance what was already an addiction.
 
edit: Notwithstanding what I say about addicts - they deserve sympathy and assistance. Mate I reference did OK once he kicked his habit

SammyC

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Fucking addicts of any type are annoying, boring twats whatever the substance.
 
Add to that sad, pathetic, desperate and dishonest.
 
You really, really don't want to add violent to the cocktail.
 
It could be the way their brains are hard-wired or personality traits but I've seen guys pretty much become hooked from their first shot - be it booze or something stronger.
 
In my younger days I'd try anything. Mate and I started smack at the same time. I never had any issues other than finding it a pretty boring drug.
 
He was locked up in Mt Eden within 6 weeks having been caught trying to knock off a furriers to finance what was already an addiction.
 
edit: Notwithstanding what I say about addicts - they deserve sympathy and assistance. Mate I reference did OK once he kicked his habit
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Agree 100%... but the facts are that it's only a small percentage that do get addicted.
 
Legalise things, make research and treatment plans more accessable for those who it does happen to.

SammyC

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Sounds like you know a lot of people, SammyC ...
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My friends are fairly representative of general society. You got anything else to add to this discussion?

Tim

I'm pretty skeptical when people on the internet claim to know so many people from such a small subset of society (respectable professional methamphetamine users with families).

SammyC

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I'm pretty skeptical when people on the internet claim to know so many people from such a small subset of society (respectable professional methamphetamine users with families).
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My point is that it's not a small subset.
 
Drug use is very common amongst young professionals with a bit of spare cash.
 
The guys and girls I know use a wide variety of drugs, Meth being one of those.

SammyC

When I say users, I should clarify that it's not a daily thing.
 
Mainly for recreational use, every now and then on the weekend.
 
Although I do know many daily pot smokers.

The Silver Fern

P and all that jazz