5 ms·

As a long time on-and-off meth addict and dealer, I'll tell you one thing: Helluva drug! Not convinced I'd want society to have unrestricted access to that on

As a long time on-and-off meth addict and dealer, I'll tell you one thing: Helluva drug! Not convinced I'd want society to have unrestricted access to that one.

Reelin 6y ago
Meth is used to tread ADHD under the trade name Desoxyn. Alternatives include other amphetamines which exhibit substantially similar effects. A significant portion of the population consumes amphetamines on a daily basis and manages not to go on crime sprees. Perhaps it isn't the drugs which are the problem?
- mirimir 6y ago
  Dosage is a major factor. Smoking meth is way different from eating Desoxyn. Even lots of Desoxyn. Edit: Dosage and route both matter a lot.
  - Reelin 6y ago
    Agreed regarding route - I didn't mean to imply that all patterns of use were equivalent. I was trying to illustrate that it isn't some bogeyman that will swallow you whole. The drug alone simply cannot explain the issues that are often attributed to it. My point here is that many drugs have been demonized to a wholly unscientific degree and I often witness otherwise well educated and thoughtful people zealously perpetuating such myths without stopping to really think them through. IMO blaming bad behavior and even addiction on drugs is an easy out which avoids addressing the much more complicated underlying issues. Overdoses, abuse, addiction, and crime seem to me to be largely to blame on other systemic societal problems. As always, correlation does not imply causality.
    - mirimir 6y ago
      Yes, I entirely agree about drugs being demonized. And I believe that people get to choose what drugs to use, and how to use them. But that also means that they're responsible for consequences. Indeed, some drugs are so demonized that many who use them do get swallowed whole. Because it's what they expect, and part of the motivation.
- TheSpiceIsLife 6y ago
  You're right to some extend, or even reinforcing my point: A significant portion of the population is on restricted / controlled / monitored dosage / supply. Compare my point about unrestricted access.
  - Reelin 6y ago
    And yet that significant portion of the population somehow manages not to descend into a life of lawlessness even though meth is incredibly easy to come by almost anywhere in the country. I'm pointing out that it's absurd to attribute problematic behaviors to the mere consumption of drugs. We severely restrict freedoms in the name of a battle against symptoms rather than address underlying causes. Worse is that our waging of the battle itself is a vicious cycle, serving only to worsen the very same symptoms that it supposedly seeks to address.
mirimir 6y ago
It's been the standard military "go pill" for several decades. Maybe now superseded by modafinil. Modafinil is by no means as dramatic, but it's still great fun, and far easier on your teeth ;) Edit: Actually, the progression in the US military was amphetamine to dextroamphetamine, and now also modafinil.
- malandrew 6y ago
  As someone who has had a modafinil prescription since 2002, you're greatly overselling it. Hardly that fun. It's positively mild in comparison to meth or pretty much all other recreational drugs. Modafinil and recreational drugs aren't even in the same boat.
  - mirimir 6y ago
    Yeah, I am. But maybe if one took enough modafinil?
    - astrange 6y ago
      Don't try this at home without a blood pressure monitor.
    - malandrew 6y ago
      It's doesn't get more fun with higher dosages. You're just going to end up more on edge. Modafinil works by blocking the neurotransmitter that promotes sleepiness. Most stimulants work by causing your brain to dump tons of the neurotransmitters that promote alertfulness. Different mechanisms.
      - mirimir 6y ago
        Thanks, I didn't realize that. Higher doses do further reduce the need for sleep, however. And while they don't put me on edge, they do increase the risk of saying and doing risky things. But maybe that's because I'm bipolar.
- astrange 6y ago

As a long time on-and-off meth addict and dealer, I'll tell you one thing: Helluva drug! Not convinced I'd want society to have unrestricted access to that one.

Reelin 6y ago

Meth is used to tread ADHD under the trade name Desoxyn. Alternatives include other amphetamines which exhibit substantially similar effects. A significant portion of the population consumes amphetamines on a daily basis and manages not to go on crime sprees. Perhaps it isn't the drugs which are the problem?

mirimir 6y ago
Dosage is a major factor. Smoking meth is way different from eating Desoxyn. Even lots of Desoxyn. Edit: Dosage and route both matter a lot.
- Reelin 6y ago
  Agreed regarding route - I didn't mean to imply that all patterns of use were equivalent. I was trying to illustrate that it isn't some bogeyman that will swallow you whole. The drug alone simply cannot explain the issues that are often attributed to it. My point here is that many drugs have been demonized to a wholly unscientific degree and I often witness otherwise well educated and thoughtful people zealously perpetuating such myths without stopping to really think them through. IMO blaming bad behavior and even addiction on drugs is an easy out which avoids addressing the much more complicated underlying issues. Overdoses, abuse, addiction, and crime seem to me to be largely to blame on other systemic societal problems. As always, correlation does not imply causality.
  - mirimir 6y ago
    Yes, I entirely agree about drugs being demonized. And I believe that people get to choose what drugs to use, and how to use them. But that also means that they're responsible for consequences. Indeed, some drugs are so demonized that many who use them do get swallowed whole. Because it's what they expect, and part of the motivation.
TheSpiceIsLife 6y ago
You're right to some extend, or even reinforcing my point: A significant portion of the population is on restricted / controlled / monitored dosage / supply. Compare my point about unrestricted access.
- Reelin 6y ago
  And yet that significant portion of the population somehow manages not to descend into a life of lawlessness even though meth is incredibly easy to come by almost anywhere in the country. I'm pointing out that it's absurd to attribute problematic behaviors to the mere consumption of drugs. We severely restrict freedoms in the name of a battle against symptoms rather than address underlying causes. Worse is that our waging of the battle itself is a vicious cycle, serving only to worsen the very same symptoms that it supposedly seeks to address.

mirimir 6y ago

It's been the standard military "go pill" for several decades. Maybe now superseded by modafinil. Modafinil is by no means as dramatic, but it's still great fun, and far easier on your teeth ;) Edit: Actually, the progression in the US military was amphetamine to dextroamphetamine, and now also modafinil.

malandrew 6y ago
As someone who has had a modafinil prescription since 2002, you're greatly overselling it. Hardly that fun. It's positively mild in comparison to meth or pretty much all other recreational drugs. Modafinil and recreational drugs aren't even in the same boat.
- mirimir 6y ago
  Yeah, I am. But maybe if one took enough modafinil?
  - astrange 6y ago
    Don't try this at home without a blood pressure monitor.
  - malandrew 6y ago
    It's doesn't get more fun with higher dosages. You're just going to end up more on edge. Modafinil works by blocking the neurotransmitter that promotes sleepiness. Most stimulants work by causing your brain to dump tons of the neurotransmitters that promote alertfulness. Different mechanisms.
    - mirimir 6y ago
      Thanks, I didn't realize that. Higher doses do further reduce the need for sleep, however. And while they don't put me on edge, they do increase the risk of saying and doing risky things. But maybe that's because I'm bipolar.
astrange 6y ago