3 ms·

> I've had and heard of very significant positive experiences from substances, and yet also, obviously, many people become alcoholics all the time, or become ba

> I've had and heard of very significant positive experiences from substances, and yet also, obviously, many people become alcoholics all the time, or become barely-functioning stoners who "wake and bake" every single day and are incapable of really anything anymore. _Almost everyone_ who uses recreational drugs or drinks stops drinking or doing drugs _on their own_ without any intervention. There's this idea that's been propagated that drugs are this evil demon that you can never shake once you get addicted, because for people who deal with drug addicts professionally, _all they ever see_ are people who haven't quit drugs almost by definition. However, those drug addicts are a _small_ percentage of all the people who have used drugs. https://www.drugfoundation.org.nz/matters-of-substance/archive/matters-of-substance-november-2014/ageing-out-of-addiction/ https://www.drugfoundation.org.nz/matters-of-substance/archi... Drug policy is basically based on the survivorship bias fallacy.

kortex 3y ago
Enlightening article. Indeed, the high comorbidity of substance abuse disorders with other developmental, behavioral, and/or executive function disorders, suggests that a lot of it stems directly from untreated congenital conditions. Often the lack of treatment and exacerbation of the condition stem directly from socioeconomic conditions. In other worlds, well-adjusted people with support networks rarely "get addicted" to drugs (as if they are some sort of cursed potion that anyone who consumes is afflicted).