Addiction - Can opiate addiction turn a normal citizen into a dangerous criminal?

[cybergenesis]

Here is a question for all of you. On the news you often hear of heroin and opiate addicts robbing people, robbing banks, etc...

How strong is the addiction to heroin? or say to other opiates? Can it make say a gentle, law abiding geek turn into a dangerous, violent felon? Or are the addicts that become like that otherwise violent and misguided in the first place? Is such behavior just because many people who get addicted come from rough backgrounds where they have been socialized in the ways of crime?

I know many addicts steal and lie to some degree to get drugs. They may pawn of their possessions, but how far can the addiction twist an otherwise "straight" person?

[chillinwill]

Try checking out this thread

[humdroid]

No doubt opiate addiction can drive the user to stealing, or other self destructive ways of getting cash for a hit.
As for dangerous, maybe to themselves.
It has been known that some addicts have brutaly attacked people to rob, but in this chickens opinion, she would say, character is the determining factor, on how low, or whether the lows badly affect others, a person will stoop to.

[joshua666]

Swim thinks that opiates in general can turn a normal person to do what ever it takes to get what they need,but for the most part swim thinks "heroin" is the worst.
Not just the worst but it's so addicting that even swim has thought about doing stupid,dumb things,pretty much whatever he could think of to get money to buy more dope,glad he never did what he was actualy thinking though...
But heroin and other opiates can defently change normal everday people into crooks...

[TheNewLeft]

there is only ONE rule for ANY addiction....regardless of what drug.

"NEVER say NEVER"

Reputation Comments on this post:

not useful post; we are aiming at harm-reduction

[cybergenesis]

On a somewhat related note, I have always been surprised that society doesn't utilize the power of addiction for its own purposes. I mean you want addicts to work? make them work and provide them with their drugs as a reward. Want good behavior in prison with addicts? Give them their drug according to how they behave. Society sees addicts often as out of control semi madmen. Yet society doesn't realize the potential to use the addiction to control such people in a positive way (including for their own good!)

[MEKONE]

Originally Posted by cybergenesis

I mean you want addicts to work? make them work and provide them with their drugs as a reward. Want good behavior in prison with addicts? Give them their drug according to how they behave.

Sort of like a doggy treat ?No thanx.

[cybergenesis]

Originally Posted by MEKONE

Sort of like a doggy treat ?No thanx.

Well it would work for Swim, offer Swim the right reward and he would jump through various hoops

[FooManChoo]

Of course opiate addiction can turn a good guy into a real son of a bitch. Swim don't always look at it as how the 'addict' is but how bad the 'addiction' is. With a strong enough addiction even a top individual can turn into a unpredictable nasty piece of work. Maybe even become scary/ a threat.
And of course, yeah sure there is a select few that can hack the bitch and seemingly not really bother anyone.

[cybergenesis]

Swim gets bad enough without cigarrettes (Swim is a heavy smoker).. If say opiates or heroin is much, much more addictive then cigarettes then Swim can only imagine how bad the addiction must be!

[Mr.Opi]

hell yah it can swim is a great exzample of wut opiate addiction can do.. swims noticed hes more of an asshole and can no longer control swims anger its seems when swim freaks out/gets mad its way worse then if swim was 100% sober almost like swim turns into an out of control animal when on/coming off opiates. (SWIMS BEEN ON OXYCONTIN for 5years) been threw some pretty intense bar fights lol another exzample is swims friends who he has grown up with swim noticed that his pill poppin friends are all now dickheads with anger problems but swim still loves them lets just say the local pd stops swim and swims friends now when ever they see them swim dident used to be like this 5 years ago tho...before swim started opiates

[MEKONE]

Originally Posted by cybergenesis

Swim gets bad enough without cigarrettes (Swim is a heavy smoker).. If say opiates or heroin is much, much more addictive then cigarettes then Swim can only imagine how bad the addiction must be!

If thats the case then stay away.....far away.(Seriously)

[cybergenesis]

Originally Posted by MEKONE

If thats the case then stay away.....far away.(Seriously)

Well I do apply that same rule to fat women.

I was sort of hoping someone would tell me that cigarettes are more addictive than heroin

I mean you hear of heroin addicts getting repentant and quitting, but they still smoke. Of course in the end they often die from cigarettes. Cigarettes are the real bastards in the end.

[MEKONE]

The thing with "H" (especially if you have an addictive personality,like SWIM)is that it's just like that old cleche(I think thats how it's spelled).It starts off as once in awhile and then depending on your tolerance your dippin' every day.This of course takes some time BUT one can get wrapped up sooner than one thinks.

SWIM is not saying that SWIY will end up being a menace to society,because God knows there are functioning addicts.But even functioning ones will have a story or two that is a bit out of control(Trust SWIM on that one).

You know that feeling you get when you are DIEING for a cig?Well imagine that to the point it makes you sick.Of course you'll smoke that cig.Then imagine you smoke regular size cigs,BUT haven't smoked in awhile and someone gives you a 100.Again,you'll smoke that whole cig (which is longer)and be satisfied.

All in all you can't compare cigs to "H" addiction,there is NOTHING in the world(In SWIM's oppinion) like it.

Oh yea,and stay away from the fat chicks

[cybergenesis]

MEKONE your right if its worst than cigs, then Swim will be very careful not to get addicted. Swim will at least do Swims best (such as only using about once per fortnight). Swim actually quit cigs, but well went onto nicotine gum. But has been on nicotine gum for 12 years, and can't get off it.

Still Swim would prefer opiate addiction (especially if just to pills) than say methamphetamine addiction. Swim hates uppers and hates feeling jittery/ wound up/ paranoid/racing heart. Though Swim knows the withdrawl from opiates is worst than from amphetamines.

Isn't it SUCH a shame they are addictive and tolerance develops? I mean seriously. Would not they be a MIRACLE drug if they were not addictive? If you didn't get withdrawl? Imagine the whole world would be different. They would never have gotten banned for one thing. Huge amounts of the population would be on them. Society would be completely mellow. Maybe there is some as of yet undiscovered drug out there like that, just like opiates but with no addiction. Some scientists are researching for ways to chemically stop addiction and tolerance from occuring, now that would be a scientific breakthrough!

[PsychoActivist]

Originally Posted by TheNewLeft

there is only ONE rule for ANY addiction....regardless of what drug.

"NEVER say NEVER"

I'm going to have to agree with you on that. Many addictions can drive people to do things they wouldn't normally do.

[killersnowman]

personally swim knows of someone who uses everyday and yet is a vital part of an expanding company with huge amounts of business. he has told swim that sometimes swim feels it is getting out of hand and he is able to control swims need with little techniques like substitution and metering. all in all it helps him see joy in things that other people would never be happy doin. it works great for swim and he would never think of quitting.

[MEKONE]

Originally Posted by cybergenesis

Still Swim would prefer opiate addiction (especially if just to pills) than say methamphetamine addiction. Swim hates uppers and hates feeling jittery/ wound up/ paranoid/racing heart. Though Swim knows the withdrawl from opiates is worst than from amphetamines.

SWIM couldn't agree more.SWIM never really got into the whole "Meth" thing but he had a pretty heavy "Coke" habbit back in the day WAAAY before any "H" use.SWIM found it MUCH easier to get off the "Coke" than the opiates.SWIM got off the "H" for awhile but has not been able to get over opiates(Pills).

Originally Posted by cybergenesis

Isn't it SUCH a shame they are addictive and tolerance develops?

Definitely!!If one were able to take the same amount over and over and get the same feeling that would be GREAT!!SWIM gets very upset when he realizes that the amount that he took last week isn't doing the same it did for him this week,thats when all the potentionators come in.Although they help it's still not the same.

Originally Posted by killersnowman

personally swim knows of someone who uses everyday and yet is a vital part of an expanding company with huge amounts of business. he has told swim that sometimes swim feels it is getting out of hand and he is able to control swims need with little techniques like substitution and metering.

This is exactly what SWIM was refering to as the "Functioning addict".It's great that the SWIMMER knows when things are getting out of hand and then knows how to deal with it .