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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 1:22 pm
by Malcolm
Can't remember becoming a millionaire.
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:10 pm
by Leisher
I just don't understand the allure of drugs.
Ok, I'm crazy rich, have tons of free time, and can do pretty much anything. throwing a ton of money at something that'll get me addicted, negatively affect my health, possibly kill me, get me in trouble with the law, ruin my career, cause family strife, etc. isn't going to be high on the list.
Whatever happened to just railing groupies? Drinking some jack? Hitting Vegas with friends? Playing video games? Etc.
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:21 pm
by Malcolm
Drinking some jack?
Last I checked, booze was a drug.
Playing video games?
Haven't divorces been caused over non-stop gaming marathons? Haven't mofos been killed over MMOG ph4t l3wt?
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:50 pm
by Leisher
Last I checked, booze was a drug.
So's aspirin. You know the difference. A shot of booze won't kill you.
Haven't divorces been caused over non-stop gaming marathons? Haven't mofos been killed over MMOG ph4t l3wt?
I don't know if anyone has technically gotten divorced simply because of a gaming marathon. Nor do I know if anyone has actually been killed for electronic goods.
I do know that such cases would be ridiculously rare, and thus, not a good comparison.
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 3:11 pm
by TPRJones
Leisher wrote:Last I checked, booze was a drug.
So's aspirin. You know the difference. A shot of booze won't kill you.
Neither will most illegal drugs. It is just as easy to be a responsible recreational drug user as it is to be a responsible recreational drinker. The only difference is one is still illegal while the other is no longer illegal for tax reasons.
Edited By TPRJones on 1453839147
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 3:21 pm
by Malcolm
Leisher wrote:Last I checked, booze was a drug.
So's aspirin. You know the difference. A shot of booze won't kill you.
One Vicodin won't either, and most likely a small amount of coke or smack won't.
Booze = 88K deaths over '06-10 ~= 17.6K/yr
Prescription drugs = 16K deaths in '13
Seems like that shit is running neck and neck in the long term. In isolated incidents, it's easier to OD on certain chems versus others, especially if you're on multiple potent meds that interact badly. The favourite celebrity killer cocktail seems to be anti-anxiety + sleeping pills + painkiller + liquor.
Finally, I'll leave you with a quote from one of John Waters's finest:
Honey: How can you be a drug addict in the new millennium? It's so retro.
Lyle: Before I was a drug addict, I had so many different problems. Now I just have one - drugs! Gave my life a real focus.
Edited By Malcolm on 1453839835
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 3:38 pm
by Leisher
Neither will most illegal drugs.
Tell that to Len Bias.
One Vicodin won't either, and most likely a small amount of coke or smack won't.
I like how you had to qualify that.
Booze = 88K deaths over '06-10 ~= 17.6K/yr
Prescription drugs = 16K deaths in '13
How many of those booze deaths are driving while intoxicated? Just curious. Basically, how many are directly related to the booze and not something done while drinking booze?
A lot of those prescription drug fatalities are mistakes made by doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and by the people taking the drugs.
And that quote is just stupid to me.
If you want to do drugs, go nuts, but I'm not interested.
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 4:10 pm
by TPRJones
Leisher wrote:Tell that to Len Bias.
Can't, he's dead. But before I consider that relevant I'd want to see a breakdown of the chemical content of what he took. I'd bet it was either laced or badly cut. If so I wouldn't consider it death from drug use but from poisoning. I also wouldn't consider it death from alcohol if someone died from drinking moonshine laced with gasoline, so I'm being fair about it.
If only there were legal alternatives to these black market substances that could have some sort of quality control.
Edited By TPRJones on 1453842721
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 5:17 pm
by Malcolm
TPRJones wrote:Leisher wrote:Tell that to Len Bias.
Can't, he's dead. But before I consider that relevant I'd want to see a breakdown of the chemical content of what he took. I'd bet it was either laced or badly cut. If so I wouldn't consider it death from drug use but from poisoning. I also wouldn't consider it death from alcohol if someone died from drinking moonshine laced with gasoline, so I'm being fair about it.
If only there were legal alternatives to these black market substances that could have some sort of quality control.
That's pretty much what I think every time a load of H turns up laced with fentanyl.
All chems will kill you in large enough amounts. But notice the legit shit -- nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, prescriptions, etc. -- is produced with quality control (allegedly), should facilitate easy, accurate dosage, and have big-ass warnings about potential health hazards. You'd figure those facts would be enough net them fewer deaths than illegal things. Quite the opposite. Point being that booze is deadlier than any criminal substance.
If you want to cut down on the number of fatal ODs, then the answer isn't making the desired goods illegal; mofos will get them unless you pump an untenable amount of Orwellian resources into stopping them ... if it's even possible. The best chance at mitigation is close monitoring during administration. Just like there's a place for you to order drinks, a longtime heroin user damn near needs a qualified medical professional to determine a hit that has a low to negligible chance for OD, so provide him one along with real estate to shoot up. Put in QC comparable to prescription meds and a safe infrastructure for users and you'd cut down on deaths, massively up your tax revenue, and cripple a gargantuan river of dollars flowing into organized crime. That last part will take a bit, because it's dependent on an open and mass produced supply driving down cost to the point where theft and resale of the drugs isn't profitable in general.
Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 9:09 am
by Leisher
If only there were legal alternatives to these black market substances that could have some sort of quality control.
But there aren't so back to my original point, why get into them?
And going back to Matthew Perry, he can't remember making three seasons of Friends. Jokes aside, how is that a good thing?
Losing your memory does make for a funny story though.
Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 10:28 am
by Malcolm
But there aren't so back to my original point, why get into them?
He was young, rich, and partying. Some people get hooked while experimenting, some when they get prescribed meds and then never get off, a few self-medicate.
Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 12:43 pm
by Leisher
In other words, he was stupid.