Long time readers of Deadrobot.com might recall that I have very little patience for tweakers and circuit boys who think a little toot every now and then isn’t a bad thing (I’m listed as “anonymous” in the comments, it’s post-B2 database purge).
This story of a man who had taken close to 25 hits of Ecstasy per day for 9 years just confirms for me that the long term effects of mind altering drugs is not a good thing (via boingboing.net).
The doctors discovered that the man was suffering from severe short-term memory problems of a type usually only seen in lifetime alcoholics. But evaluating the full extent of his condition was difficult as his concentration and attention was so impaired he was unable to follow the simple tasks involved in the test.
Apparently he was a cannibis user too, but the paranoia would abate when he stopped smoking up. While the article ends on an almost positive note that short term use is reversable, I’m still at a loss as to how taking recreational drugs is a good thing. Call me bitter, or a prude (I do have the odd drink every so often), but the risks are too great in my mind.
I’m off to my rock climbing base jumping class.
15 thoughts on “Again, My Distaste for Drugs”
You guys are so cliqueish…That might be a combination of Clinque and Amish.
Me too, while not hoping for looks that kill, looks that give a good shove would be useful.
I’m a coward, really. And I want people out of my way on the subway.
i don’t think society is mature enough to do anything more constructive than devour itself, but i hate humanity, so i’m gunning for the acceleration of our extinction. whether that’s accomplished by recreational drug abuse or the clash of cultures or viral devastation doesn’t matter much to me.
those husks were fairly entertaining and it was educational serving them for those years. anyone who longs to be a misanthrope ought to work in the service industry as much as possible.
no need to call you a fascist, you just seem more willing than i am to trade in some freedoms for some security. there’s a spectrum here, not an either/or situation, and i rarely expect anyone to share my little patch of opinionated real estate. i think it’s funny, though, that you have a vastly more charitable view of people than i do, but are more willing to circumscribe their behaviour.
Aroused and hungry, or Aroused and Angry. Take it as you will.
I hope I didn’t make you feel “aroungry” – is that a combination of around and angry?
So Aroungry!
Temperance… something that modern society let fly a long time ago.
As far as bug part quantities in food, you really don’t want to know, I prefer to eat mostly at home that I can control how many bugs go in, but let the government start setting limit for baby laxative additions to food, the s#!t will hit the fan for sure.
And mentioning pumpkin pie and baby laxative in the same post just seems disturbing on some level.
I eat poorly, download far too much web porn and browse Wal Mart to make myself feel self important. Is that close to a life of Koyannasquasti? (sp… I know)
I agree that risk management and errors are a part of our lives. It’s how we learn and grow and bla bla bla. However, I would rather that society as a whole didn’t have that option for choice because of the nature of the beast. The “errors” in this case are too costly and damaging to ourselves and others around us. And I’m surprised that you feel that society is mature enough to have this option, especially after working in a bar, serving husks of humans who sat at your bar.
Call me a facist, but I think we still need that nanny whacking our wrists. Then again, if its legalized, would you trust the government to monitor how much bug parts and baby laxitive is acceptable “interference”?
I think I agree with Andrew, and I too often “medicate” with pumpkin pie.
dr: sure, but addictive personalities are a quite separate concept from the addictive properties of drugs. shifting the blame to the substance from the user is far more infantile than can be expected from anyone not being paid by vice squads or pharmaceutical corporations.
anyone not able to integrate his recreational drug use reasonably into his life is out of balance, but it’s as likely that he eats poorly, watches too much crappy tv and buys garbage at walmart, which is far more deleterious behaviour, on a personal and societal scale.
risk assessment is a part of all of our lives, and we all err in making some decisions. this is, to most of us, an obvious, glaring, stupid-as-stink extended series of absurd errors and wilfull self-destructive behaviour by an idiot and addict: what of it? as a society we have to either nanny people into behaving ‘properly’, or we must allow for mistakes, even those as ridiculous as made by this one man. i’d rather have full choice in these matters, and yes, that does mean i’m for full legalisation of all recreational drugs, including any being currently used by the media in fear-mongering to keep the 905ers buying armour-plated suvs.
sorry for the longish rants: this is an issue dear to me, even though i indulge with an ever-increasing infrequency. i’m now off to medicate myself with some of my favourite substances while they’re still legal: pumpkin pie, web porn and new music.
I’ll drink to that!
I agree that the reporting of this person’s intake is probably skewed, and that 25 daily doses of anything is completely unreasonable, but I do think the unaware short term memory loss is true, repairable or not.
Remember, this is the Guardian, sensible newspaper to the country where E exploded on the world back in the early 90s. E has been a blight for England since it goes hand in hand with the then emerging club scene. I remember at one point, the UK toyed with the idea of legalizing it faster than pot, just so they could monitor it closely and possibly reduce the harm of ingesting cost effective drain-o added MDMA.
As for the implied cannibis condemnation, I tend to think that while joints aren’t as addictive as cigarettes, there are certainly personalities out there who would prove me wrong. After living with two 6-a-day users who’s habit ruined my relationship with two landlords as well as watching a sister slide dangerously to that brink of “faaaar ouuuut”-ness due to her lazy assed boyfriend at the time, I think I can safely say that moderation was not being observed in these cases. One of my nices was expelled from school a while back for getting caught with pot and my brother told her this: “You have to ask yourself why you’re smoking up before you do it. Is it for fun? Is it the proper time and place? Okay then. Are you smoking up because you feel you have to? Not okay then.”
I think it’s odd that his medical care came in the town of Tooting.
And personally I would rather be surrounded by a bunch of pot-heads than tweakers or crack-heads anyday – at least the food would be better.
while i think that consuming twenty-five hits of ecstasy per day for nine years is beyond foolish, i do have some contrary comments. first, we’re relying on the recall and honesty of this person, which is quite probably not wise. second, i love that the demonising of ecstasy is accomplished by comparing it to alcoholism (ie the abuse of a legal recreational drug. third, we all must realise that consumption of twenty-five doses of just about anything, daily, over such an extended time period, is potentially even more dangerous than what was reported here (twenty-five cigarettes, anyone? twenty-five bottles of gatorade? twenty-five bags of chips?) fourth, self-medication for entertainment is a decent and fair expectation in a civil society, and that the right/privilege gets abused by some does not contradict the inherent wisdom of allowing us the freedom to seek joy, in whatever malformed way we choose. imagine not being allowed your petty vices before condemning the choices of others.
i have other gripes, including the implied condemnation of cannabis, but i’ll let it be for now. my main gripe with ecstasy, though, is that it seems to be accompanied by drifting clouds of vapid idiots and the cloying tones of dance ‘music’.