Why people do drugs?

[RedBaron]

Like many other users, baron first started out of curiosity and just the want to experiment with new things. Soon after it became the need to escape the daily grind and to get an over the top euphoria that one just doesn't seem to be able to achieve without drugs.

[Subvert]

SWIM uses amphetamines to get more done in a day, to feel motivated and save money on food.

Cannabis to relax and forget the hurdles of life.

& Psychedelics for a change for scenery.

[Hollow Hippie]

Depends on the type of drug

Stimulants, opioids, and depressants for simple pleasure and recreation. No escape. In amphetamine's case, SWIM takes advantage of the work inducing effects to do something productive and entertaining.

Dissociative psychedelics (DXM, Nitrous) for a journey outside the mind and a tool for examining SWIM's life.

Setragonenic psychedelics (LSA, etc) to bend SWIM's world to take a different look at it + the emotional feelings to everything in life, something SWIM sometimes needs.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Very true statement. I like it.

[Goshawk]

Swim takes them to feel good. He has chronic neck and back pain
which is another reason for their use. The absence of pain is pleasurable
in itself but Swim likes the high they produce in addition to their medical
use. No other underlying reasons for use is indicated in this case.

[OrangeJulia]

Swim's sisster just likes drugs for all reasons, they're fun, enjoyable, recreational, and also help for health problems adn pain. She gets what she can find and has a great time with them.

[fatkidzonmopedz]

swim first did them bc he didnt like himself. everyone around him was doing drugs and he finally just gave in and decided to see what everyone loves so much about em. now he does it because sober life is boring and he feels without drugs he is a boring uninteresting loser. pretty much, hes lost.

Reputation Comments on this post:

a little sad to hear, but a valuable perspective nonetheless.

[Tussipax]

Most of Swim's friends smoke weeds and get drunk just for fun when they are all together.
Swim takes drugs to feel something transcendant, to feel in an other world, to feel like in a dreaam, to feel euphoric, to feel get high, to feel good, to feel in a unrealist world, to feel have a trip without coming out of my room.

[Akashik]

For me , curiosity also, and a mix of things, ( is it ever just one thing)

plus i feel that humans need to be a balance of good and bad ( not saying drugs are bad just u know...."not as accepted!") but i still love em....or hate them....

BALANCE!!

[dadrone]

SWIM enjoys the different type of experiences. The weird thing is that after a while of intoxication, SWIM enjoys sobriety the same way he enjoys achieving inebriation when he's sober. They both have their pros and cons.

[Waste]

Without a doubt curiosity.

THere's just something about drugs that fascinate SWIM, the idea of going through this life and not trying something, just because the government say it's bad for you is something he just can't grasp.

Even harder drugs like H, surrounded by all the media hype, always being told stories of how people end up addicted to the stuff, that still won't stop SWIM from trying it. He just has to know what all the hype is about, and more importantly he knows he can trust himself to be responsible with a new chemical. Read up on doses, a few trip reports maybe, check out bad sings to look out for etc.

(Ignore the very basic English, SWIM is rather fucked on trams for the first time )

[dr. swim]

Drug-use is looked down upon by society because they make us happy with the way things are, and if society is to advance there needs to be a certain amount of discontent so that people are pushed to improve and reform.

I personally believe that drug use is nothing but a victim-free sin. You're not gonna get anywhere in life just doing drugs all the time, but as long as you're not hurting other people then there shouldn't be any laws against it. Especially when said laws are extremely biased towards certain types of psychoactive substances and restricting towards others.

[Codehead]

There are as many reasons as there are drug using people. But mostly I think its the having godo times or make good times even better. Also there is the problematic users, who often end up addicted, they use drugs to escape reality (usually from problems, depression and anxiety), ofc they also use drugs to have good times, but still the main reason is escaping from reality.

[RedBaron]

Swim does drugs because you only live once so why not experience as many different things as you can. When people start doing drugs it is out of wanting to know the unknown. They hear good things from their friends, the media also plays a big role in advertising drugs and celebritys having a blast from them. Influences could be different for everyone, but when someone starts experimenting then you know that they wanted to change their reality or escape it for a while. Its all about perspectives too because drugs can teach a person alot when you open your mind to the world and are willing to learn. They have the ability to put you in someone elses footsteps for a time being and you can see the world from that angle; thinking outside the box.
Swim believes that the government puts such bad stereotypes on drugs because they dont want everybody knowing how good it feels to get high and to question authority. Instead of being under their control because the whole thing is a giant control mechanism to keep the general population from knowing too much and rebelling against corporations and government agencies.

[Laszlo1]

swim began using drugs out of boredom, definitely, also feelings of detachment from basically everyone and even himself, a kind of vague, general apathy, that was recurrent throughout his sober life. This is when he began using the more social drugs, weed, alcohol, cigarettes.

swim's motivations have changed a lot since then. He departed from the use of drugs as a social crutch once he felt firmly established in his friend group. Now, he's not quite sure what it is... A certain amount of it is just release, freedom from worrying about classes and trite annoyances, or even a few hours swim can forget about giant looming abstractions that have dominated his life. But that makes it sound too grim, or hints at abuse or future abuse, which swim doesn't feel is accurate. Swim uses drugs also to just boost his capabilities, specifically pharm amphetamines, that just kind of serve as chemical work ethic, and really get swim going better than any other incentive he's found so far, excepting a few. Also, swim briefly used benzos to just remove himself from his life during a bad time or two, but was lucky in the sense that he sold his stash and gave that up for a few months now, as it didn't really get him anywhere.

[aowe]

Life is hectic for everyone. Some of us though are more able to cope with this than others. Some turn to drugs as an easy way to get passed their anxieties. Once a person starts using drugs to overcome anxiety. So the user feels he or she requires more drugs to bring more support. That type of cycle can lead to long term addiction.

people use drugs in order to have control over their moods, but as to why some people need so badly to have control over their moods while other people manage to cope without drugs, there is no simple answer to this question.

[beena]

It is easy to say 'oh I did drugs cos I had a bad childhood, blah-blah-blah', and although troubled individuals do seem to gravitate towards drugs and drug-addiction I think if we're all honest with each-other and ourselves the reason people do drugs is because they're damn enjoyable! Yep, it's that simple ....
More interesting, I think, is why do people keep doing drugs and why do some people get addicted and others not. SWIM has felt recently that she is caught up in some kind of weird drug-addiction vortex - she describes it like this because when her addiction is in full swing and she's totally under the contol of drugs she hates her situation more than anything and desperately looks for a way out but then as soon as she gets out she wants to get back in again (and invariably does).
It's like as soon as she's been clean for any period of time she finds herself incapable of remembering (at least not with any clarity) just how bad her life was on drugs and all she can think about and long for is the euphoria of a hit.
The last three times SWIM has got clean she's done it virtually by herself: with the aid of a few morphine tablets to take the edge off the w/d but never enough to make it pain-free. So she goes from using virtually everyday, feeling terrible on the days she can't get it and thinking about nothing else but desperately wanting to stop and change her life, to suddenly stopping and then finding that a week without drugs is so painful (both physically and mentally) that she wishes she hadn't started the whole damn process ... week two is usually better physically (and I s'ppose there's a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel), but time drags ... I mean really drags, boredom is a huge factor and insomnia is intolerable.
Week three on the other hand is great cos SWIM gets a sudden energy burst and what appears to be a natural buzz ... starts to feel really alive again. Unfortunately when this feel-good factor kicks in it seems to remind her of the euphoria of the drug itself and this is when the mental cravings really start again. Instead of remembering the agony of the withdrawal she has just been through or the horrible lifestyle she had when taking heroin everyday, all SWIM can think about is how great that buzz is. Also, one of the effects of getting clean is that (by week three) SWIM gets seriously restless and hyperactive and is so full of energy and ideas but can't channel them productively. Because heroin is a depressant and calms her down it always seems like a good idea to have some - doh! - So, SWIM never gets past week three.

[pinksox]

In her teens, SWIM smoked pot because it was "cool" and because she loved the body-twitching, smiley, gut-busting high she'd get from it. It was definitely a social event back then.

SWIM tried coke once as a teen when it was offered to her. She did one smallish line, then curled up on the couch, alone. She didn't recall feeling high or anything. Just strangely "mellow and relaxed," and, for the first time ever in her life, "completely and total safe." She woke the next morning tearing the house apart looking for more--even though she knew there was none to be had. SWIM knew at that point that she could never do this drug again or she would have a VERY BIG problem. She never has used Coke since that time.

In her late teens and early twenties, SWIM drank alcohol in social occasions because is made her relaxed and more social.

In her early twenties, SWIM got turned onto opies. First for what they made her feel...and then because of what they made her not feel.

In her mid-twenties, SWIM did DXM and diphenhydramine to get over the opiate PAWS phase.

In her mid-thirties, SWIM went back on opies for chronic pain and takes them as prescribed. They're for dulling physical pain and functioning now. Not for getting high. In fact, they don't make her "feel" high in the least anymore.

In her late-twenties through to present SWIM learned the indulgent mellow of benzos. Actually, several benzos give her a few hours of crazy productivity(at high doses) followed by the typical benzo mellow "chill" for several hours after. Other benzos just make SWIM mellow and sleepy or have anxiolytic effect(SWIM is a worrier...always has been)so that effect is sometimes welcome as well.

SWIM uses Lyrica and/or Zanaflex to potentiate certain benzos.

SWIM sometimes uses Cannabis to fight off nausea or relax. Purely an alone activity these days.

In short...they're all a chemical means to an end that SWIM can't meet on her own sometimes. Nothing worng or harmful when done in moderation. SWIM will never again go back down the addictive path she went down in her 20's.

[SmokeNmirrors]

Originally Posted by beena

It is easy to say 'oh I did drugs cos I had a bad childhood, blah-blah-blah', and although troubled individuals do seem to gravitate towards drugs and drug-addiction I think if we're all honest with each-other and ourselves the reason people do drugs is because they're damn enjoyable! Yep, it's that simple ....
More interesting, I think, is why do people keep doing drugs and why do some people get addicted and others not. SWIM has felt recently that she is caught up in some kind of weird drug-addiction vortex - she describes it like this because when her addiction is in full swing and she's totally under the control of drugs she hates her situation more than anything and desperately looks for a way out but then as soon as she gets out she wants to get back in again (and invariably does).
It's like as soon as she's been clean for any period of time she finds herself incapable of remembering (at least not with any clarity) just how bad her life was on drugs and all she can think about and long for is the euphoria of a hit.
The last three times SWIM has got clean she's done it virtually by herself: with the aid of a few morphine tablets to take the edge off the w/d but never enough to make it pain-free. So she goes from using virtually everyday, feeling terrible on the days she can't get it and thinking about nothing else but desperately wanting to stop and change her life, to suddenly stopping and then finding that a week without drugs is so painful (both physically and mentally) that she wishes she hadn't started the whole damn process ... week two is usually better physically (and I s'ppose there's a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel), but time drags ... I mean really drags, boredom is a huge factor and insomnia is intolerable.
Week three on the other hand is great cos SWIM gets a sudden energy burst and what appears to be a natural buzz ... starts to feel really alive again. Unfortunately when this feel-good factor kicks in it seems to remind her of the euphoria of the drug itself and this is when the mental cravings really start again. Instead of remembering the agony of the withdrawal she has just been through or the horrible lifestyle she had when taking heroin everyday, all SWIM can think about is how great that buzz is. Also, one of the effects of getting clean is that (by week three) SWIM gets seriously restless and hyperactive and is so full of energy and ideas but can't channel them productively. Because heroin is a depressant and calms her down it always seems like a good idea to have some - doh! - So, SWIM never gets past week three.

Swim agrees with the reason most people do drugs also is the fact they are so enjoyable swim never had a bad childhood in fact it was great. swims mother always will ask what did she do wrong that made swim like this and swim will always tell her its nothing she did cause swims sister is the complete oppisite going into her second year of college which is when swim dropped out and always does things in a positive direction unlike swim. So swim doesnt think it is how someone is raised its the fact of liking to feel good whenever swim would like.
Beena, swim is in the same boat swiy is,he will go to rehab or AA/NA and be doing well and knows that all the bad shit in his life was due to his drug addiction but as soon as swim has things together he gets this idea oh hes only 21 he has his whole life to get clean and one hit wont ruin his life also the depression swim gets is horrible constantly in his head he thinks swim will never get high again and feel that amazing rush and then pretty much panics. Swim has made it past 3 weeks but only because of suboxone but the problem with suboxone is though when swim is taking it people will be like well swim isnt actually completely sober and then swim will pretty much be like oh well since he isnt clean whats the diff. So swim is trapped in the same vortex ugh.

[chillinwill]

Originally Posted by SmokeNmirrors

Problem with suboxone is though when swim is taking it people will be like well swim isnt actually completely sober and then swim will pretty much be like oh well since he isnt clean whats the diff. So swim is trapped in the same vortex ugh.

Who's to say SWIY isn't clean? Clean should be defined by SWIY and not other people. If one has to be on suboxone for a little while to get off their drug of choice and it will benefit them, then so be it.

[Adultswimmer]

SWIM thinks that life is pretty boring and shitty most of the time. Like rats scrambling around until they die. And as we progress and technology advances, life gets even more stressful. The competitiveness and pressure to "succeed." Hell, there are parents who have their kids signed up for so many activities that there is no time to play. Our mind wants something to take that stress away whether it be sex, drugs, alcohol, etc. Which is why the war on drugs will never work. It didn't work in the early part of the 20th century either.

Now we have the alphabets absurdly trying to prove they are worth their pay by shutting down what they call rogue pharmacies and harassing doctors. Their criteria for documentation in patients' records only allows for maybe 5 patients to be seen a day, if the doc actually followed the criteria. It is that intense. Unless they use templates, and since most family docs can't afford computers in every exam room, they just don't do it. The letters go out looking for meth labs or some such, can't find them, so they go after the docs; the easy way to show something/anything on their reports. They return from their field trip victorious that they now prevented legitimate pain patients from getting treatment.

SWIM grew up in France and approves of their philosophy that if you want to kill yourself, fine. Which is why there are not many speed limits, traffic lights, or lanes in the streets. Keeps you alert. SWIM would rather choose her own demise but at this point is just hoping it happens before she ends up in a nursing home or with Alzheimer's. SWIM would rather burn out than fade away. Yes, it's incredible how SWIM comes up with these phrases that make good songs.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Interesting points about life in general.

[SmokeNmirrors]

Originally Posted by chillinwill

Who's to say SWIY isn't clean? Clean should be defined by SWIY and not other people. If one has to be on suboxone for a little while to get off their drug of choice and it will benefit them, then so be it.

Swim agrees and is going for another try but actually it was the people at swims rehab, counselors and patients but swim has to say even he isn't completely clean being on suboxone but its better then being on heroin.

[Balatro_Diogenes]

SWIM does drugs due to an undying fascination with the imagination and the mysterious source of artistic creativity.

As a child, adults would simply laugh whenever SWIM would talk to his imaginary friends and become a different being in a different world every day. It was expected of him. Now that he's one of them that kind of behaviour is shocking, unacceptable and insane... so as he's forgotten how to judge himself through his own eyes and only through theirs, that old artistic/mental flare has died down.

Drugs help him revisit that place in the most extreme way possible.

For now, he's quit all the habits while recovering from a heart operation. He's learning to be comfortable in his own skin, with his own mind, and looks forward to discovering the insights that responsible, moderate use can bring him in his new state of mind.

SWIM hopes this makes sense and wishes everyone the safest of journeys.

[Codehead]

There are as many reasons as there are users. I myseld use drugs like for entertainment, relaxation and so on.

Codehead added 0 Minutes and 30 Seconds later...

Actually I don't use drugs but my friend whose name is I does.

[Venusia]

Swiv uses recreationally because she feels pain, emotionally and physically. She's entirely too human. She finds her use makes her feel that life is enhanced in whatever way the drug she's using at the time enhances her perception. She likes feeling as if she's altered slightly to deal with the dull daily routine.

[cra$h]

I used to do drugs to get high, to feel good, to feel confident, to see things from a different angle. I used to do them so I could love more, laugh more, see more….. to give life more than just one perspective. I used to take them so I could feel. Feel more positive, feel more energetic, feel more enlightened, feel more secure in what I want and who I am and what I am capable of. But now I just want drugs so I can be numb, feel nothing. I don’t want to keep thinking, I don’t want to keep feeling, I don’t want to be.

This is swim's story. What started out as pure curiosity became habitual, and that pothead soon became a psychedelic dope fiend. Swim uses each drug for a specific reason, not just to simply waste time (except for diphen). Opiates for that much needed stress relief, alcohol to make swim a party animal, psychedelics to learn something and enjoy life, speed to actually get much needed work done, and everything else would be to build friendship/business partership and have a good laugh