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Does anyone not take drugs?


eternalsummer
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drugs poll  

285 members have voted

  1. 1. Which of the following do you take more than once a month?

    • Caffeine (chocolate or tea or coke or coffee, etc.)
      244
    • alcohol
      101
    • nicotine
      5
    • prescription pharma for brain issues (sleeping pills, depression meds, etc.)
      41
    • OTC painkillers or sleeping aids (tylenol, benadryl, advil, etc.)
      111
    • other drugs I'm not thinking of right now
      31
    • natural mood changers - melatonin, 5-HTP, St John's Wort, etc.
      33
    • None! I don't take any of it!
      22
    • (added) prescriptions for long-term physical things like blood pressure
      77
    • hormones (not sure how this works or how to word it)
      21


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No one in my family is on prescription drugs, but we do take OTC drugs every once in a while.

 

I take a fistful of vitamins a day and don't ever plan to give up my caffeine and alcohol, but I do quite well without grains or any sugar other than those naturally occurring in vegetables.

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The OP seemed to think it was remarkable that people use things like caffeine, alcohol, etc. I was just showing that it's not really the remarkable...it's something humans have been doing all along. 

 

Based on the title, I thought it meant that OP thought it unusual that people don't take drugs, including caffeine and alcohol, etc.  In the original post it seemed to me she realized her lack of doing so was unusual and wanted to compare that to the hive to see if she was right.  She is right.  Most people do consume some sort of drug including caffeine, alcohol, OTC meds and prescription meds of some type. 

 

She used no judgemental language, yet apparently some people seem to be so hypersensitive to even technical and matter of fact language, they feel defensive.  It really is surprising to see how upset some posters are. This whole thing is fascinating psychology. How quickly people jump to assumptions of judgement when someone compares and contrasts norms between different individuals surprised me, especially here at the hive where actual controversial subjects are often discussed civilly.  The current transgender disclosure thread is an example.

 

It also leads to related issues about mood and mind altering effects of nutrient deficiencies and correcting them with different modes of supplements in addition to mind altering effects of screen time.  I wonder if people will be upset by that too if that develops more in the thread. 

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I thought it was remarkable that everyone I know does it every day.

 

(alcohol, not every day.  But some drug, every day).  I wonder if Europeans used stimulants regularly before coffee/chocolate/tea?  Alcohol I can see because it is not too hard to make from whatever you've got sitting around.

 

eta: although I hadn't really thought about it as a new thing, anyway

 

Seriously?  A lot of Europeans have a culture of drinking wine or beer with meals.  A lot drink coffee.  A lot drink tea.  Have you never heard of European chocolates?  A breakfast of bread  with chocolate (pain au chocolat) is a famous French thing.  A lot of Europeans smoke.  In fact, the US is much more conservative on these things once you get past college age for many people. 

 

PS - it's not like Europeans never get sick and never need prescription meds either.  Or don't do recreational drugs.  Amsterdam anyone? 

Edited by Jean in Newcastle
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Seriously?  A lot of Europeans have a culture of drinking wine or beer with meals.  A lot drink coffee.  A lot drink tea.  Have you never heard of European chocolates?  A breakfast of bread  with chocolate (pain au chocolat) is a famous French thing.  A lot of Europeans smoke.  In fact, the US is much more conservative on these things once you get past college age for many people. 

 

PS - it's not like Europeans never get sick and never need prescription meds either.  Or don't do recreational drugs.  Amsterdam anyone? 

 

 I think she meant historically, as in before tea or coffee were brought there. 

 

I read somewhere that small amounts of alcohol are stimulants, so maybe? More acts as a depressant. 

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I'd be dead without my meds. Not functioning sub optimally, but dead. I will happily take them for the rest of my life. If the apocalypse comes, I'll be one of the first to go.

 

And - there's nothing I could have done to prevent the particular misfortune of these diagnoses. I didn't eat myself into it. I was a vegetarian, fit, active, mostly organic, healthy person before this knocked me out.

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I wonder if Europeans used stimulants regularly before coffee/chocolate/tea?  Alcohol I can see because it is not too hard to make from whatever you've got sitting around.

 

 

Hm... maybe we were just kind of out of it with all that alcohol in the middle ages, and then we went exploring and got tea and coffee and chocolate, and then we got all hopped up on those stimulants so that made us go "hey, let's invent some science!" and stuff.

 

Or maybe not. 

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I'd be dead without my meds. Not functioning sub optimally, but dead. I will happily take them for the rest of my life. If the apocalypse comes, I'll be one of the first to go.

 

And - there's nothing I could have done to prevent the particular misfortune of these diagnoses. I didn't eat myself into it. I was a vegetarian, fit, active, mostly organic, healthy person before this knocked me out.

Yeah, I think we've had this discussion before.  I'd be dead too.

 

Every once in a while I ponder what would have been different if my Dad would have taken the meds his physician recommended.  He might have been here to see his grandsons.  :(  Sometimes genetics just suck.

Edited by melmichigan
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I thought it was remarkable that everyone I know does it every day.

 

(alcohol, not every day.  But some drug, every day).  I wonder if Europeans used stimulants regularly before coffee/chocolate/tea?  Alcohol I can see because it is not too hard to make from whatever you've got sitting around.

 

eta: although I hadn't really thought about it as a new thing, anyway

 

There's a book about human invention and use of alcohol and stimulant beverages that's an interesting and entertaining read.

 

https://smile.amazon.com/History-World-6-Glasses-ebook/dp/B002STNBRK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500778494&sr=8-1&keywords=history+of+the+world+in+6+glasses

 

 

One of his major points is that untreated water wasn't safe to drink, so humans either needed to ferment something in it or boil it for a caffeinated beverage. So all the druggies survived and reproduced and those clean living Mesopotamians and Egyptians and medieval peasants....didn't.

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I think she meant historically, as in before tea or coffee were brought there.

 

I read somewhere that small amounts of alcohol are stimulants, so maybe? More acts as a depressant.

That's a misconception. Alcohol is a cns depressant, in any dose. People think it's a stimulant because it lowers inhibitions, making the drinker louder and more aggressive.

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eternalsummer, I get it. Everyone these days is on so many meds! It's hard to find anyone that's not, it seems. I'm 54, and when a new doctor asks what meds I take, this is what his face looks like:  :scared:

I don't take anything (prescribed or otherwise) and I am always having to reiterate that nothing means nothing, not even a vitamin. I also have to make sure they know that occasional alcohol consumption means once a year on my anniversary. I have never ever never ever been asked by a doctor or nurse about tea/chai though. 

 

ETA1: I'm not righteous about it. Just plain terrified of losing what little control I have over my life.

 

--

ETA2: I drink chai, that wonderful ambrosia that sets my world straight when it is off kilter. I can drink decaffeinated chai just as easily as caffeinated. I take ginger to help offset my stomach issues when I have been glutened. Since that alters my body chemistry and, therefore, my mood, is ginger a drug?

 

ETA3: I have been on longterm antidepressants in the past. If I ever need them again, I will take them. 

Edited by Scoutermom
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I drank caffeine and ate chocolate for the last 25 years, but have recently (as of 2 weeks ago, hah) quit, and it is hard!  Much harder than when I quit smoking after college.

This statement is what is throwing off how I perceive the thread. This is something new to you but the OP reads as if your drug free lifestyle has been long term or at least ongoing.

 

Unless someone eats nothing but organic fruits and vegetables and drinks nothing but filtered bottled water, how would one reliably not consume anything on your list of drugs? :confused1:  Okay, maybe that diet is a bit over the top, but, seriously, what would that lifestyle really look like?

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This statement is what is throwing off how I perceive the thread. This is something new to you but the OP reads as if your drug free lifestyle has been long term or at least ongoing.

 

Unless someone eats nothing but organic fruits and vegetables and drinks nothing but filtered bottled water, how would one reliably not consume anything on your list of drugs? :confused1: Okay, maybe that diet is a bit over the top, but, seriously, what would that lifestyle really look like?

Even then, tobacco and tea are leaves. I'm guessing medicinal herbs count?

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In the last year, I've started banging on the Vitamin D and B12. Munching Brazil nuts, and taking a gradually higher daily dose of levothyroxine (thyroid). Still not got just the right kick from that last one.

 

Caffeine? Seriously old habit. Junkie. Coffee? Yes. Tea? Yes. Dark Chocolate? Naturally.

 

Alcohol? Lite drinker. I may have gone a month since the least drink, which is rare. Hmm.

 

And fermented foods. All of them.

 

 Bill (who is kinda losing his edge)

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I guess I wasn't really wondering why people took drugs, so whether it's a needs medication issue or a likes coffee issue wasn't the question.  I just wondered if it was my limited circle, or if really almost everyone takes some sort of drug on a regular basis (for whatever reason).

 

Caffeine, in coffee and in chocolate, is a drug.  If you eat or drink it, you are taking a drug.  What else would you call it?

 

Again, I don't mean it pejoratively as I don't even thinking smoking weed is wrong.  I just mean it descriptively.

 

Once one starts considering consuming caffeine in the form of chocolate/coffee as "taking drugs", the slippery slope looms large. I mean, am I "taking drugs" when I eat a poppyseed muffin??

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I work in pharmacy.  We do not call medications "drugs" at work:.  Yep, they are drugs, but the two words have very different social connotations.  For an abbreviated word, we use "meds" or "pills". 

 

The way you worded this question, and then setting yourself up as the sole example (that you know of) to which you are comparing everyone else,  makes it look like you think of your family as self-righteous perfection. 

 

The way you describe medications is bazaar and improperly simplistic. This is especially true since people had to instruct you to offer options for prescriptions that affect other parts of the body than the 'brain'.  ??????  BTW...Almost every medication affects the brain.

 

Many medications have multiple common uses.....my daughter takes a blood pressure medication......not for blood pressure but to affect her fight/flight response.  The fact that it stabilizes her blood pressure, is part of why it affects her fight/flight response. So, which kind of med is that?

 

People who have chronic pain are often on anti-depressants.  Not because they have a brain-chemical imbalance causing depression, but because they are in chronic pain. Due to the life changes that pain causes, depression is a common co-morbid issue.  Treating the patient with antidepressants can sometimes reduce pain by encouraging a more active lifestyle, but it can also help the patient's perception of the pain.  So.....are the antidepressants for 'brain' issues or pain?

 

I could offer a use for the vast majority of medications that qualifies any med as a 'brain' med. LOL 

 

I agree with others, the way you word this and the categories you listed,  make this is an offensive poll. 

 

 

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I just realized I don't know anyone outside our immediate family who doesn't take any drugs on a regular basis.  Is there anyone like this?

 

 

I drank caffeine and ate chocolate for the last 25 years, but have recently (as of 2 weeks ago, hah) quit, and it is hard!  Much harder than when I quit smoking after college.

 

 

This statement is what is throwing off how I perceive the thread. This is something new to you but the OP reads as if your drug free lifestyle has been long term or at least ongoing.

 

Unless someone eats nothing but organic fruits and vegetables and drinks nothing but filtered bottled water, how would one reliably not consume anything on your list of drugs? :confused1:  Okay, maybe that diet is a bit over the top, but, seriously, what would that lifestyle really look like?

 

I agree. The above 2 together are so confusing. The first one really comes across as a "no one else is like us (as in drug free)" statement but then says that for all but 2 weeks out of 25 years op has been like (the) every one else that she is asking about???

 

Perhaps a better question would be, "what do you consider under the category of drugs?" ????

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I'm PG and each time I go I get asked about medications, problems, ect. And they always ask seprately "Caffine?" No, I drink just water 99%of the time. It's like they don't believe some people don't drink Caffine drinks. I'm currently taking prenatals snd extra calcium. I have meds for mirning sickness as needed, but normally do not take any other medications. I do have one kid who takes a pill daily for a medical condition.

 

They probably believe you but it's just that many people would leave that out. I've learned when taking a medical history to ask "Does your child take any medications?" "Vitamins?" "Other supplements?" "Ever use an inhaler or breathing treatment for wheezing?" I've added the last question because I've been surprised at how many people leave that off when asked about medications. And not just people whose kid used it once 5 years ago. Even people who have kids who use an inhaler every year with viruses or in the spring with allergies will leave it off when asked about meds. I'm sure some people feel like I'm not believing their first statement but as a medial person you learn that most people leave out or forget parts of their history. And sometimes you have to ask 10 different ways before you get the information you need. 

 

 

Yeah, I was with Soror's post right up to the end.   I have never run across any Christian teaching that says sickness is God's punishment or that Christians should not use medication.  

 

 

I think it's actually fairly common in Christian circles to have a sense of "if you pray hard enough the sickness will go away". I'm part of a mainstream denomination and it's not at all part of the teaching or stated beliefs but I hear the underlying belief a lot when people talk about sickness. 

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Heavy caffeine user here...lol.  Probably shouldn't, as it sometimes makes my heart wonky, but I'm hooked.  Plus I love the taste of coffee, tea and chocolate.  

I also use reflux/antacid meds quite often.  (although less so since my separation!)  

 

I have an occasional drink, but don't self medicate with it.  

 

Oh, and I have IBS meds that I take when I have a flare up.  

Sheesh, the more I think, the more I can add...I have a regular script for Meloxicam as well for an old shoulder injury and sciatica that get aggravated from time to time.  I don't always take it though, because it makes the aforementioned stomach woes worse.  I usually try to tough it out.  

 

I wish I didn't have to take any of the gut meds, but I also like to swallow and eat.  

Compared to my peers, however, I seem very minimally medicated.

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Bluegoat, I get you with alcohol, but I am not sure about caffeine.  what food product is it in as a sort of natural way of preserving the food, or as a side-note?  

 

SKL, I mentioned the same thing but I was reading the results wrong.

 

Caffeine isn't a preservative or a product of preservation, it just happens to be in foods like tea, coffee, and chocolate.  If you want to take it out, it requires further processing.

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Seriously?  A lot of Europeans have a culture of drinking wine or beer with meals.  A lot drink coffee.  A lot drink tea.  Have you never heard of European chocolates?  A breakfast of bread  with chocolate (pain au chocolat) is a famous French thing.  A lot of Europeans smoke.  In fact, the US is much more conservative on these things once you get past college age for many people. 

 

PS - it's not like Europeans never get sick and never need prescription meds either.  Or don't do recreational drugs.  Amsterdam anyone? 

 

 

Hm... maybe we were just kind of out of it with all that alcohol in the middle ages, and then we went exploring and got tea and coffee and chocolate, and then we got all hopped up on those stimulants so that made us go "hey, let's invent some science!" and stuff.

 

Or maybe not. 

 

 

I have no idea why this is seen as a  controversial question.  I expect the OP knows that a number of earlier or less technical cultures have used mind-altering substances.

 

The introduction of tea, coffee, and chocolate are relatively late in Europe's history.  What they did before, aside from medical use, is a pretty reasonable question, and interesting too, I think.

 

OP - the Celts used to paint themselves with woad, purposefully to make themselves crazy and fierce in battle  - and I believe possibly for some other purposes as well.

 

That's the only one that comes to my mind.

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Coffee: As much as possible, throughout the day. On fast days I drink it black and choose to call it "water."

 

Allergy meds: I don't think I could find ten people in Central Texas who aren't taking something for their allergies right now.

 

Ibuprofen: God's gift to women with period cramps; also I nearly always get a painful stitch in my side when running without prophylactic ibuprofen.

 

Bluegoat, I thought your lot drank plenty of gin. ;)

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Lightly caffeinated tea, 2 weekly sodas, dark chocolate, melatonin (a night a week on average.)

 

I get B-12 shots because I don't have the ability to absorb it in my digestive tract anymore, which does cause a change in mood if it's too low for too long, but I don't know that a nutrient like that would be considered a drug.

 

I sometimes take ibuprofen for knee or back pain.

I've seen the B12 absorbtion mentioned--how is that diagnosed? Would a blood test show?

Coffee, and I guess sugar (?) here very immoderately. I also am anemic so I medicate with steak 😂.

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I have no idea why this is seen as a controversial question. I expect the OP knows that a number of earlier or less technical cultures have used mind-altering substances.

 

The introduction of tea, coffee, and chocolate are relatively late in Europe's history. What they did before, aside from medical use, is a pretty reasonable question, and interesting too, I think.

 

OP - the Celts used to paint themselves with woad, purposefully to make themselves crazy and fierce in battle - and I believe possibly for some other purposes as well.

 

That's the only one that comes to my mind.

The OP did not just ask what was used before. I'm too lazy to go back and quote because it is hard to do on my phone, but she was musing that this was a new phenomenon that only happened with coffee, tea and chocolate. We were pointing out that it isn't. The actual substances used might change over the course of history depending on what culture you are talking about but the practice of fermented drinks has been around all through history. So has the practice of mind altering drugs. So has the practice of mild stimulants which do not fall into the category of drug use, in my opinion. (The OP disagrees with me on this point. ). So has the practice of medicine for ailments even if the remedies were willow bark for aspirin. So has the practice of supplementation in some forms (I remember the native Americans giving settlers pine bark? Needles? I can't quite remember but it had vitamin c in it to treat their scurvy. )

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I have no idea why this is seen as a controversial question. I expect the OP knows that a number of earlier or less technical cultures have used mind-altering substances.

 

The introduction of tea, coffee, and chocolate are relatively late in Europe's history. What they did before, aside from medical use, is a pretty reasonable question, and interesting too, I think.

 

OP - the Celts used to paint themselves with woad, purposefully to make themselves crazy and fierce in battle - and I believe possibly for some other purposes as well.

 

That's the only one that comes to my mind.

I don't know of any medieval European mind-altering substances other than alcohol and hallucinogens such as mandrake and belladonna. And as you say, the latter were used medicinally and not recreationally (and besides were more often applied topically than internally). Judging from accounts of what we would call altered states of consciousness, they were more often induced by intense prayer and fasting.

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I don't know about the rest of you, but apparently I'm wandering around my house in a drug-addled stupor because I just had a cup of tea and a Snickers bar.

 

I have to go out to the store soon, but I don't know if I should be driving in my impaired condition. ;)

 

Do you need an intervention?

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I drink too much pop and the only medicine I take on a regular basis (unless I have a temporary condition or something) is OTC allergy meds.  Only as needed, so not even every day, but more so during different times of the year.  I'm not much of a medicine person.

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I've seen the B12 absorbtion mentioned--how is that diagnosed? Would a blood test show?

I can't answer for the person you quoted but in my case blood tests showed that my B12 and D were low. It's not difficult to get those (or most) vitamins from food. If you're low the doctor should look at (of course your diet first) reasons why. Since I take a prescription ppi for acid reflux disease, the most likely reason I'm low on those vitamins is because that's a known side effect.

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I have no idea why this is seen as a  controversial question.  

 

 

I'm not sure why you quoted me to say that. I was half silly and half serious in my statement that you quoted, but it doesn't really have anything to do with being controversial or w/e. 

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I don't know about the rest of you, but apparently I'm wandering around my house in a drug-addled stupor because I just had a cup of tea and a Snickers bar.

 

I have to go out to the store soon, but I don't know if I should be driving in my impaired condition. ;)

 

We are here for you Cat.

 

(so long as you agree to share....)

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I have seen children affected for life by "crunchy" adults who have withheld appropriate medications for even simple ailments and diseases. Things like hearing loss from untreated ear infections. There is no virtue in their pride that they didn't run to the doctor "for every little thing". (I'm quoting them, not anyone on this thread. ). I use both allopathic and alternative medicine so I am somewhat in the crunchy category myself but I am sensitive to what I think is a weird misplaced pride in not using medication. Obviously if someone doesn't need meds then that is great. But there is no shiny medal for not using meds when needed.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Coffee: As much as possible, throughout the day. On fast days I drink it black and choose to call it "water."

 

Allergy meds: I don't think I could find ten people in Central Texas who aren't taking something for their allergies right now.

 

Ibuprofen: God's gift to women with period cramps; also I nearly always get a painful stitch in my side when running without prophylactic ibuprofen.

 

Bluegoat, I thought your lot drank plenty of gin. ;)

 

Yes, it's true.  And sherry.  I've a few pints of sloe gin I made sitting on my sideboard right now. 

 

My Catholic ancestors, however, were whisky drinkers, and my Lutheran forebearers liked beer.  It might be interesting to contemplate the role of alcohol in the Reformation.

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I'm not sure why you quoted me to say that. I was half silly and half serious in my statement that you quoted, but it doesn't really have anything to do with being controversial or w/e. 

 

I did get that you were not entirely serious - but it seemed to me you didn't think it ws a very sensible question.  Sorry if I misunderstood!

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My Catholic ancestors, however, were whisky drinkers, and my Lutheran forebearers liked beer.  It might be interesting to contemplate the role of alcohol in the Reformation.

 

:My Catholic family have roots in Ireland and Italy. Growing up there was either beer and whisky from one side, or wine (dry and red of course) and anisette or galliano from the other at all family gatherings. :D

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I just realized I don't know anyone outside our immediate family who doesn't take any drugs on a regular basis.  Is there anyone like this?

You should run another poll that does not include chocolate. I would be curious about prescription and illegal drugs. But when you add in chocolate, well, just leave out chocolate, LOL. Make one poll for chocolate, coffee, and another for drug types. I am quite curious but did not want to step on toes by making an additional poll.

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If I recall correctly, Mormons aren't supposed to use caffeine (including chocolate), nor alcohol in any form.  I used to have a client in Utah and I had to plan my day carefully or I'd have no coffee at all, which is not conducive to my productivity.  :P  I found this out the hard way.  They didn't even serve tea at the local PF Chang's.

 

So I'm guessing that in areas like that, there are plenty of people who don't "take drugs" as defined by the OP.

 

More power to 'em.  I've gone without my caffeine for short time periods, but I'm in no way convinced it makes me a better person.  There is also a ton of research showing that coffee, tea, and chocolate are good for health (assuming no individual reactions / allergies).

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I've read that prescription drug use rates (mind-altering ones like antidepressants or sleeping pills, not sure what the official term is) are higher in Utah; I always assumed that was at least partially because Mormons who cannot use caffeine or alcohol can use antidepressants and opioids.

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I've read that prescription drug use rates (mind-altering ones like antidepressants or sleeping pills, not sure what the official term is) are higher in Utah; I always assumed that was at least partially because Mormons who cannot use caffeine or alcohol can use antidepressants and opioids.

Are you a Mercola fan? I don't know of anyone outside of his devotees who would call antidepressants "mind altering " drugs. Most people equate mind altering drugs with psychoactive drugs. Antidepressants work by boosting the amount of natural neurotransmitters that are deficient in some people.

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I don't know what Mercola is.  I meant really quite literally just that the purpose of the drug is to alter your state of mind - as opposed to say an antibiotic, whose purpose is to fight a bacterial infection.

 

Whether it's to take a "normal" (whatever that means) state of mind to a different one or to take an abnormal state of mind to a normal one, the purpose is still to change the way the mind is working, right?

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In fact, Wikipedia says

 

psychoactive drugpsychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that changes brainfunction and results in alterations in perceptionmoodconsciousness or behavior.[1] 

 

 

I think what you might be referring to is hallucinogens, which are certainly psychoactive - but not the only pharmaceutical (or other chemical) way of changing the way your mind works :)

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I think this is what is causing the confusion:

 

Some of you seem upset that I am lumping caffeine in with pharmaceuticals like opioids or antidepressants and calling both of them drugs, because in your usage (or maybe in common usage), drug means things like marijuana or heroin.  So there's a feeling that I'm equating caffeine and medications with street drugs, or whatever.

 

This is upsetting, I guess, because you (general, undefined you) view marijuana and heroin and etc. negatively.

 

For me, there is no problem lumping them all in together because

 

A.  I wasn't wondering how many people use OTC painkillers or caffeine or prescribed opioids or anything else - I just wondered how many people used any of the above.

B.  I didn't realize lumping them in together and calling them drugs would upset anyone, largely because I don't see most illegal drugs as negatively as many of you do, I think.

 

I wonder if in your dialects you say "drugstore" or "pharmacy"?  

 

I say drugstore.   

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