I'm sorry but that's not really what survival of the fittest means, rather a common misconception, you're basically stating 'The best survivors will survive."
Well now it's just become apparent you haven't read a thing I've said. - - Auto Merge - - All of this. Natural selection isn't a reality for humankind anymore except in isolated incidents, unless you want to argue from a social Darwinist standpoint and to that I'd point you to the 1890s and laugh horrendously; do keep in mind we had that occupy wall street a while back, which is in itself proof against that idealology. The moment we invented hospitals and could buy our food off of somebody else regularly, natural selection became null and void for mankind, this is unless you do in fact hunt for your own food and live entirely self sufficiently, in which case I'd like to applaud you for getting the Internet to work let alone have time to spend on it.
If addiction didn't have the stigma it does and the people weren't treated as second-class citizens for having it, there wouldn't be as many of them in the first place, hell, it probably wouldn't even be a problem. Portugal is an example of this; they do the opposite of what we do in America, decriminalize a the less dangerous drugs and treat addiction as an illness, and as a result the addiction rate over there is astronomically smaller than ours.
What do you expect when a government is run by crusty old conservatives who would suffer a heart attack as soon as they saw the real world outside their gold plated offices.
Ahem... my opinion is that we've all got our choices for any matter. As with those previous examples, we all have the option of refusing an offer for drugs. There are some instances where they can be forced on us, but then legal recourse can be taken. We also have these choices in other things with life. Like choosing to pick specific names out when trying to make a point when it becomes unessecary, or choosing to do something time wasting as opposed to constructive when bored. That's totally off topic though. As a member of a state where Alcohol was illegal for the longest time, I'm happy it isn't anymore. Now, I've never done drugs, but I do like a good wine... or some spiced rum at times.
Alright. I've done some clean up on the last few pages. Let's try to keep it clean now, ok? Details will be sent to the involved members by PM soon. ~Open sesame!~
I use to smoke cigs and weed as well as drink. I stopped smoking weed back in 2007. After my 21st bday in 2010, I adopted the Straight-Edge lifestyle, and it was mostly working. I last smoked (cigs) at the end of 2011 and stopped drinking fully in 2012. I have been fully sober all of 2013 and hope to be for all of my life. I do have temptations when it comes to alcohol though.
I'm glad to hear you made a positive change in your life Bry. I did all the same (well, with a few additions to that list I won't bother listing) and I quit all that awhile ago too. Drugs I quit last year, Cigarettes I put down two months ago. Alcohol I've never really been big on since I left college, I still drink it but rarely. So yeah, brohoof for clean living!
So, uh, I drink alcohol and I have smoked weed on occasion, but I don't make a habit out of it. I'd never touch harder drugs, though. Not even once, as they say.
From BRIEFLY reading some pages in this thread, I'll be the counter-point this thread needs. I will try to refrain from saying anything illegal, as the last thing in this world that I want to happen is getting banned from this forum. I have absolutely NO problem with drugs, including alcohol and nicotine, but also tylenol, cannabis, etc, etc. In fact, "Someone else that I know" does indeed smoke cannabis. I think that it probably helps them out with their depression, that once was anyways, not to mention motivation. My friend tells me he is much happier and can finally summon the courage to finish his fan-fictions while under the influence of that herb. Plus, he tells me it makes everything really awesome. But enough of that, I just want to say this out in the clear, Medical Marijuana is one of the best things to happen to medicine. I mean, Marijuana has been used by every culture ever for it's medicinal purposes. There is an ingredient in it called CBD, or Cannabidiol, cures so many different things that it is beyond ridiculous. It is also a very affective in treating cancer. I think, well know rather, that the only reason this plant is illegal is a combination of big companies trying to get money and hemp can be used to make anything, and is very cheap, and politicians demonizing it. I hope I added some points toward the discussion. [If this is against the rules to say, please inform me, because as I said, the last thing on earth I'd want to happen is getting banned from this forum]
Well, well. I have tried marijuana once and have no desire to continue. I like to run, and smoking (even the stuff that isn't actually bad for you) reduces your lung capacity. It was okay, but honestly abuses drugs for a temporary high just feels sad to me. I do drink, but I don't really even like it the way some people seem to. After some time, I felt as if I needed to be drunk to enjoy things I had previously enjoyed regardless of my mental state. That gave me some pause, and I am still deciding how often I will want to drink in the future. Probably not that often. I have never had any desire to do hard drugs because I value my health (and finances). I have never desired to smoke cigarettes simply because of how gosh-darn bad for you they are. As an artist, I do not drink or smoke to help my creativity. I'm already pretty creative and don't really need it. Also, it wasn't really all that helpful when I tried it (if anything, I got distracted more easily and had more typos in my writing).
I take a small dose (10 mg) of ritalin three times a day, to help me focus on my schoolwork. I'm 19 now, and I've taken it during a several periods since I was 16. I have some serious concentration issues. Ritalin is weird stuff, but in my case it does help. I'll just take it one more year to (finally) finish my VWO highschool. For various reasons, I'm confident that I won't need to take it during a follow-up study. In my opinion, they definitely shouldn't distribute this stuff so freely to young children. My best friend used to be a severe case of ADHD when he was young, to the point that he almost got placed out of home. His parents then put him on a heavy dose of ritalin. From what I hear, it helped him with his behavioral issues, but it came at a price. He became skinny and depressed, but most notably this: When we were 12, he was very small. Even I used to be a head taller than him. This lasted until he stopped taking the pills. Then, after several months he was a head taller than me. Aparently the medicine significantly arrested his natural growth. This can't be good. Nor can it be healthy to grow so much in such short period. Then again, he took a very high dose (80 mg I believe) for years non-stop. Anyway, side-effects can vary from person to person, but here's what happens to me every time I take it: - Laxation and sweaty armpits. - After 30 minutes I get a temporary high. Concentration increases, and everything becomes more pleasant. I can focus on schoolwork, but the temptation to daydream or do something creative also increases. - After 30 more minutes the high fades. The ability to concentrate remains until the 4 hour period is over. - Sometimes I become anxious, and my heart starts to pound. At times I feel a slight strain around my heart. In stressful situations or during physical labor I can become dizzy, or even feel like I'm going to faint. If I weren't in my senior year, I would still rather not take it. I can easily see how, for different people (kids) under different circumstances, this stuff could cause addiction, fainting, (mental) health problems, or even heart-attacks.
Said it before, I'll say it again. I'm for the legalization and taxation of cannabis-based products (Marijuana for instance) even though I'd never do it. Better than wasting millions upon millions of dollars imprisoning people for having it.
I agree that they shouldn't waste the taxpayer's money to be doing that too, especially since Marijuana is safer than Tylenol, Nicotine, Alcohol, and basically everything minus water. I'm infuriated that the plant is a schedule one drug which means it is considered more harmful than cocaine and painkillers while being just as harmful as heroin and methamphetamine. As I said personally, "someone I know" (I'm not sure if I have to do that, or not, so I'm playing it safe) smokes marijuana because A, it lets them be motivated and B, it makes them happy.
