Addicitve substances, why do people start using them?

[Hyorinmaru]

People know it slowly kills them but everday hunders if not thoudands of people start doing it anyway and most of them bcome addicted. I myself am one of those people. Here are a few reasons I can think of that people would start when they know what it does.

Peer Pressure
Kids see there friends do it and those same friends say man you have to try this the 'high' is the best thing in the world. To fit in those kids who know what it does gives it a try and the smart ones never do it again but the others keep doing it until they can't stop without a lot of help (depending on what it is)

They see a Role Model do it
Kids may see someone the admire using something be legal or illegal and think "I respect and love that person and they're doing it why shouldn't I do what they're doing?"

To escape
This is a reason I think most people use the harder drugs like Cocaine, Crack & Heroin. There life sucks so bad lost the kids don't have a job and may not have a place to live. They will do anything to forget all that even for a little bit and to continue to forget they keep using.​

Those are just a few ideas I think people use if you have anymore feel free to post them or add on to what I have up already.​

 

[Ty Burna]

You named probably the three major ones, and there's sort of no point in repeating what you said, so as a person who was into drugs at one point, drinks alcohol and smokes cigarettes let me give a personal point of view on the subject.

Basically my alcohol use started off as more or less a cool thing to do in high school. It was about being rebellious at the time, and my friends and myself always had fun getting drunk as shit. Basically this was started not so much as peer pressure, but for the most part it was just something we started to do as a group because we all knew what it was about, and that first time getting drunk was a blast. Today it's not so much about the rebellious nature that drinking provided in high school, but a way to relax and a sort of crutch to let troubles go away for awhile.

As far as drugs are concerned, that was really my own fault for smoking weed for the first time. I started on my 17th birthday in Minneapolis and the guy that was offering had some shit that my town could only dream of. Since it was a special occasion I decided to give it a try, and I have to say I loved the hell out of it. I then tried other drugs when I moved out for college, why kept doing the stuff I did, I don't know I was in a different mindset at this point, I was at the point that it was an addiction to getting fucked up, not necessarily an addiction to anything in particular. I've since cleaned up that part of me, though I wish I could still smoke weed, that is the only vice that I've had that I wish I could continue using.

Cigarettes, well they started because I was in a bad mood when I started, again I just straight up asked for one on a drunken night. A close person to me had passed away and I was depressed and was looking for just about anything at that point. I've been smoking since.

Let me just say this, while we enjoy our vices, it's all important to keep those vices and addictive substances to a reasonable level. This applies to alcohol especially, as it is probably the most dangerous substance I have and continue to do. Cigarettes may kill me later on, but I can always quit those, alcohol is something I don't think I'll ever quit using, but I also only drink maybe 2 or 3 times a week, and always in moderation. If you feel ya got a problem and are addicted to a substance, by all means find help for your issue. If you have family that cares for you, they can be your best support system, that's what I found out when I was trying to get away from drugs and I had been pushing them away while I was involved with them.

 

[The Dewbliners]

Milenko, you hit on the three major factors. Like Ty, I don't think it's gonna contribute anything if I rehash them. But here's why I personally started all my Vices.

When I first started doing drugs, it was to impress my oldest brother, make him think I was cool. So, I started smoking the pot. No big deal right? Wrong. I started smoking for all the wrong reasons, and soon became a major pot head. I think that falls under the "role model" mold. Do I regret it? No. Do I miss it? Hell yeah, I do. I just realize my responsibilties take precedence.

From pot, I started doing acid and ecstasy. Why? Because I wanted to fit in with the "candy kids" to accept me. Eventually, I became addicted, had to go through rehab. This falls under factor number two: Peer Pressure.

My alcohol consumption isn't really that big a factor, I try to keep it under control. But, I think the main reason I started drinking was to avoid reality. Like Ty said, it's all about control. I don't plan on quitting drinking anytime soon, even though it's more likely to kill me than my smoking. But, it'll be easier to quit. You said the avoidance of reality is why people start abusing crack, blow, heroin, and the like? I beg to differ. In my opinion, that's leading cause of alcoholism. I think the main reason people start doing the harder stuff is because they have no pride in themselves, and are trying to feel self-important. Then again, I'm a recovering addict, and don't feel sorry for coke fiends.

But, that's my opinion on the reasons people use illicit drugs.

 

[FromTheSouth]

I think people get addicted for one additional reason.

I think people might try something, like cocaine, and love it. They might not be around it or able to get it, so they jump at the opportunity to try it the next time, and they love it just as much. So, they find somewhere to get it, and oops, it isn't as good. At this point people blame the drug and try and find some more, and it still isn't as good. So people keep trying it, looking to replicate the feeling of the first time. People get addicted to quest to match their first high, when in fact, the body builds a tolerance, and it will never be like that it again. People will kill themselves looking for that feeling.

I smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. I smoke pot too, but not every day, and not to excess. Besides, pot isn't addictive. But, cigarettes and alcohol are. I am addicted to nicotine but not alcohol. I started smoking because everyone else was. There was no peer pressure, just curiosity. I had tried some cigarettes growing up, but once I got out on my own, I wanted to see what it was like to have cigarettes all the time. I found out that it was something to do when I was bored, so I kept smoking. I was an athlete all through high school, so I couldn't smoke, but I did spend a lot of time dipping. I found that inhaling the nicotine was a much more direct delivery system and a much less disgusting habit. I think I am addicted because of the chemicals. If the store doesn't have Marlboro Lights, and I buy something else, I don't want to smoke. I would love to quit, but it's hard, and have decided to baby step my way down.

People get addicted to alcohol for different reasons. Some are genetic, however, I think the majority of people like the feeling of being drunk. It is a very free feeling. People who live constricted lives, marriage, demanding job, high school kids, enjoy the freedom of alcohol. The body actually becomes dependent, and it is the only drug that can kill you from quitting cold turkey. Alcoholics don't want one drink, they want ten, and that is the problem. While cigarettes are not good in moderation, alcohol has shown benefits. The problem is that too much of a good thing is never good, and alcohol is the prime example.

 

[Dexter]

Because it's their body to do with as they see fit, and put anything into it they see fit, and none of us have any right whatsoever to judge them for any of it. Beyond that, their reasons are their own and none of our business.

Take a look at this guy (link). I think most of us would agree that it's nuts to do something like that to yourself, but he seems perfectly happy with it. It's his body, and he's done what he wanted to do with it. I don't see any difference between that, and taking drugs. A lot of people don't think that's such a good idea either but it's their decision. We can sit here and debate the motivations all we want but ultimately, none of it matters.

 

[Hacksaw Highway]

Personally, because they have been fun for me. the only 2 drugs I use are alcohol and pot. I don't personally find either one addicting, I can use either one a few days in a row and then go 6 months without, but I know people who are addicted to both of them. I just find them fun and at this point have not felt any negative sonsequences, so I continue to use them. I dothink most drugs are fun the first time you use, from what I've been told and what I've experienced with the afore mentioned 2. Now later on they may be terrible things, but nobody would use them if it wasn't fun to begin with.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Peer pressure would be my reason for starting to smoke cigarettes and weed. The cigarettes I still regret to this day and is the worst vice I have. I haven't smoked bud since February, but I still consider myself to be a pothead. I know I will go right back to it as soon as I get a good job. I think the points of my life where I bordered on alcholism were due to genetics. On my biological father's side, alcholism has been an issue for generations, and me and my younger brother have both come close to losing everything because of it. Both of us have tried endlessly to avoid going down this road, and have been quite successful in self rehabilitation.

 

[LigerBomb]

Because it's their body to do with as they see fit, and put anything into it they see fit, and none of us have any right whatsoever to judge them for any of it. Beyond that, their reasons are their own and none of our business.

Actually we all have the right to form judgments about whatever and whomever we so choose. The same freedom of though that allows one to ingest anything they wish is the same freedom of though that allows me to pass a personal judgment on them for said actions. People don't have to agree with, or act upon my judgments much like one doesn't have to stop partaking in actions others may find to be unsound.

But, when all is said and done I certainly have the right to form an opinion on another's actions. Simply put, I can say "Hey you're a moron for drinking all that booze" to which you can handily reply "Fuck Off and mind your own business, Cunt face." followed of course by my retort of "enjoy the liver cirrhosis asshat!" then we both turn and go about our days. No harm no foul.

P.S. As for the original post... it feels good, and most people see those benefits as outweighing the costs that could potentially come down the road, if they consider them at all. Same reason people get fat; it taste good now, and I won't gain the weight till later. Practically guaranteed immediate gratification vs. possible onset of eventual negatives/consequences.

 

[Dexter]

We're saying the same thing, Liger. We don't disagree on the point, we're just phrasing it differently.