Well said. These drug-positive articles never appropriately discuss the negative side effects of the lifestyle in a way that seems realistic.
Several people from my youth never made it to adulthood to regret the things they did as a result of drugs. Even "harmless" drugs like MDMA have consequences.
There’s much more literature and comment on the negative aspects of drug use IMO.
I’d agree that discussing only the upsides in a general debate would be stupid, even unethical. But on a personal account? Probably not.
Believe it or not, some people can have very positive interactions from regular drug use.
I’ve used E and mushrooms maybe a few dozen times each and I don’t have anything bad to say except the brutal comedowns with E the next day, and an upset tummy with shrooms. Can’t say the same with weed or alcohol - plenty of bad interactions with those.
Some people are high-functioning drug users. Look at Joe Rogan, whatever you think of the guy, it’s difficult to object that he’s productive, fit and family-orientated while consuming copious amounts of weed.
I would become lazy, unmotivated and depressed if I smoked 1% of what Rogan or other high-functioning stoners smoke, but I think it’s as interesting to know about their stories as it is to hear about people whose lives have been sadly ravaged by drugs.
Is it appropriate to discuss the negative side effects in this article? It's clearly a positive article about drugs - that's apparently just from the title. Must every article about a topic cover the positives and the negatives, even when it's a piece relating someone's personal experience that's clearly not intended to be unbiased news or science reporting?
Also, would you hold the same standard to drug-negative articles? Must they cover the positive side of drugs in a way that's realistic?
I won't accuse you of strawmanning but this misrepresents my statement.
It's would be weird to drop in figures about drug deaths in this article or something like that. I don't see why that would be relevant.
But it'd be good if there was some more critical reflecting done. Perhaps your drug days would be remembered less fondly if a friend died of an OD? Or maybe you were shielded from the criminal elements of drugs. Perhaps you avoided catching any of the lifechanging STDs that run rampant amongst drug users.
It's the "it can't possibly happen to me" mentality that these nostalgia-fueled articles have that rubs me the wrong way.
With that said, I do think anti-drug messaging needs to confront other positive aspects of drug use, particularly in controlled clinical settings. Many staunch anti-drug people haven't even heard of it because they simply don't encounter it in their usual reading material.
The thing that never worked for me in school was messaging like "drugs will kill you". Well yes that's true. But drugs are way more insidious than this. In my experience they are subtle in how they mess with your mind and over all well being. They take away my drive for natural highs, and natural highs are usually good things. For example exercise, accomplishments and learning. The come downs destroy free time. But worst is they seem to reset my happiness level to lower. Small things that should bring joy no longer do. Thankfully those effects have been temporary for me. I'm glad my drug use is over. I was only ever a weekend partier. Still managed to complete a degree and hold down a job. But I'm done with drugs for good.
> Perhaps your drug days would be remembered less fondly if a friend died of an OD?
Perhaps having a friend who died of an OD isn't actually that common amongst MDMA users on the dance scene?
Why does it rub you up the wrong way that this person has positive recollections?
Drug deaths from MDMA are not very common, certainly compared to drug deaths from (for example) alcohol. As such, someone who did ecstasy at dance clubs in their youth may be less likely to have lost a mate than those who drink. Maybe that’s why she doesn’t talk about that?
> it can't possibly happen to me
But there's the rub - 'it' didn't.
Are we all supposed to be sorry for having had a good time and come away happier for it?
Recreational horseback riding is statistically more deadly and more likely to result in serious injury than ecstasy use. [0]
Of course everything has risks. But nobody demands an article about the pleasures of equestrianism to include a warning about traumatic brain injury and paralysis risks.
David nutt is brilliant. I loved his book drink. However I think that horse riding Vs mdma point is a bit limited. I think there are dangers worth facing as the overall experience probably helps you grow as person, so horse riding has the dangers, the skills, the discipline and the responsibilities that go with it. In my mdma taking years I don't think I met anyone who benefited from it. In fact I know of quite the opposite.
Edit: btw I think all drugs should be decriminalised.
The problem is that the consequences are different for every person. We treat drugs as though messing with them has a guaranteed outcome, but it's not true.
Drugs effect everyone differently. People use them for different reasons. People experience different outcomes from taking them.
You can talk about 'appropriate' but you're assuming that they must talk about the negative aspects. Why? If some people have a positive experience with drugs why do we need to pretend they're lying?
Several people from my youth never made it to adulthood to regret the things they did as a result of drugs. Even "harmless" drugs like MDMA have consequences.