Does anyone not take drugs?

[foxbridgeacademy]

I'm on several meds for medical conditions and my bp med definitely alters my mood (I don't feel crazy or like I'm about to have a stroke). I drink tea which has caffeine but we usually do 1/2 cafe. I take ibuprofen pretty much daily but it doesn't alter my mood just helps with the horrible headaches caused by my bp and blood sugar issues.  I do occasionally use a vape pen when not being a smoker (started in 1989 quit in 2014) really starts to get to me.... not daily but probably weekly.  I figure people do what they do and take what they take to get through the day and I don't think there's any shame in it as long as it helps, not hurts, ourselves and our loved ones.

Edited July 23, 2017 by foxbridgeacademy

[SKL]

I think the verb "take" in the title is throwing people off.

 

I don't "take caffeine," I drink coffee.

 

My dad "takes" BP meds.

[eternalsummer]

Well, I could say "use" but I figure that is more pejorative.  Drink wouldn't work because while you drink some caffeine, some of it you eat.  Some other things used to alter mood you drink (st john's wort tea, alcohol) but some you take as pills.  Some medications you inject, I think.  I figured take was the most general term.

[maize]

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.

There's also research tying higher altitude to higher rates of depression--possibly explaining the high suicide rates throughout the Rocky mountain states.

[maize]

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 was actually reading a book recently that pointed to caffeine as a major player in the industrial revolution in Europe. It kept people going during long hours in factory jobs. Edited July 23, 2017 by maize

[eternalsummer]

There's also research tying higher altitude to higher rates of depression--possibly explaining the high suicide rates throughout the Rocky mountain states.

 

 

Now that is interesting, because when I had antenatal depression we were living at 6000 feet up in the Rockies; I had spent the whole previous 30 years of my life at sea level - 1000', give or take.

[melmichigan]

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

This is what I was talking about with my Dad.  He didn't take the meds recommended and died at 55.  My FIL takes a pharmacy and is very active at 70.  Individual choice and all is great, but my Dad was brought up that way, and it impacted his decision making.  

[Soror]

This is what I was talking about with my Dad.  He didn't take the meds recommended and died at 55.  My FIL takes a pharmacy and is very active at 70.  Individual choice and all is great, but my Dad was brought up that way, and it impacted his decision making.  

I know people who have died from refusing to go to the Dr, it is incredibly sad to see the loved ones they leave behind, especially when they spent all this time harping about it is the dr's that kill you. Even sadder is when they finally realize that this woo-woo treatment or special diet isn't working and they start mainstream treatment but it is too late. I know other people that I worry about dying because they are refuse medical care for absolutely everything. I keep my mouth shut because it would do no good but it breaks my heart. If you can't see any of the good that comes from modern medicine you are blind to your own bias. If you think avoiding "drugs" is always the best choice you are mistaken. The continued poo-pooing of medicine just turns my stomach. There are too many that don't have the luxury to consider medicine/"drugs" as something that is optional. 

[MommyLiberty5013]

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

I saw someone else quote you here and I went through the convo to find it so I can quote it too.

 

I agree. 100%.

[Lady Florida.]

OP, I'm curious - Is English your first language? Or American English? I don't mean it to offend, but your use of a few phrases like "use drugs" "take drugs" and "mind altering drugs" to mean perfectly acceptable prescription medications that some people need to take in order to function normally (or to live), doesn't sound like the way anyone I know, from different age groups and different areas of the U.S., would phrase these questions. That's why I'm wondering.

Edited July 23, 2017 by Lady Florida.

[Jean in Newcastle]

In fact, Wikipedia says

 

A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that changes brainfunction and results in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness 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 :)

Antidepressants are not psychoactive drugs. I double checked with the healthcare professional sitting next to me (aka my Dh). Some phrases in English have their own specific meanings that are different from simply taking the definitions of their parts and sticking them together.

[melmichigan]

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.   

I haven't heard anyone use "drugstore" since my grandmother died.  They went out with the dime stores. ;)

 

I say "pharmacy", or label the pharmacy by name.

[eternalsummer]

I am not a medical professional, and English is my first language.

 

Wikipedia says antidepressants are psychoactive drugs.

 

The Journal of Psychoactive Drugs seems to indicate that antidepressants are a class of psychoactive drugs: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4118946/

 

 

science daily (and a bunch of other not-professional google links) also say antidepressants are psychoactive drugs

 

 

Knowledge Based Solutions (a drug manufacturer?  not sure) classifies them that way as well:

http://www.kbsolutions.com/drugsheet.pdf

[extendedforecast]

.

Edited July 24, 2017 by extendedforecast

[eternalsummer]

http://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/skin-care/g5660/best-drugstore-products/

http://www.ajc.com/business/personal-finance/things-you-should-never-buy-drugstore/gFrpf07843JoIeM32Y36yL/

https://www.bustle.com/p/this-next-level-glossy-makeup-was-created-using-a-drugstore-brand-72012

http://www.allure.com/gallery/4-best-drugstore-liquid-lipsticks

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/26/drug-store-stocks-walgreens-rite-aid-freds.html

 

 

Obviously some people still use the term :)

[eternalsummer]

I don't think psychoactive drugs are a bad thing, per se, even illegal ones.  Maybe that is the disconnect - you think psychoactive drugs means bad and I just think it means drug that affects your state of mind.

[Tina]

Yes, at 60 I have seen the surprise that I don't have prescriptions for blood pressure, statins, etc. Still just on caffeine and ibuprofen.

I'm with you.  Never considered the once or twice a week lattes that have caffeine as drugs tho!

[maize]

Antidepressants are not psychoactive drugs. I double checked with the healthcare professional sitting next to me (aka my Dh). Some phrases in English have their own specific meanings that are different from simply taking the definitions of their parts and sticking them together.

 

Antidepressants are absolutely psychoactive drugs. To ignore that fact is dangerous.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4118946/

 

 

I think I know where you and your dh are coming from, we use the term most commonly for highly addictive and generally illegal substances. But yes antidepressants are psychoactive according to pharmacological classification.

 

I'm grateful they are, if they weren't they couldn't impact a depressed brain!

[scoutingmom]

I am on my device so I can't see the poll. I have read some, but not all of the comments. I do not take any over the counter suppliments or vitamins. No essential oils or anything like that. I am not on any medications (although there have been periods of my life where I have). I do get reactions of surprise over that. No alcohol, drugs, or coffee. I do use chocolate to handle dementors.

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

[LucyStoner]

^^^This^^^ It's an oddly worded question - take drugs and need medication are phrases with different meanings. For that reason I won't be answering.

 

ETA: Also drinking coffee and eating chocolate are not considered "taking drugs". 

 

 

Exactly.  As if not needing any prescriptions is some choice people have.  

[LucyStoner]

I benefit heavily from the mobile pharmacy in my bathroom.  I enjoy breathing during allergy season.  I also enjoy night terror free sleep (summed up as "brain issues" on this poll).  It's fantastic to be able to both sleep and breathe.  I highly recommend it.  

Edited July 24, 2017 by LucyStoner

[eternalsummer]

I didn't mean to suggest that all drugs are voluntary (and I'm pretty sure I didn't suggest it).  "Taking drugs" as a colloquial phrase does generally refer to illegal drugs, I agree.  I am using it in more of a strict definition of the word sense - caffeine is a drug.  If you drink it, or eat it, or take caffeine pills, you are taking a drug.  Prescribed medications are drugs.  If you take them, or inject them, or drink them in a solution, you are taking drugs.  It's not a moral question (at least for me).  Doing it because it is good for you or because it is necessary for you is not, imo, better or worse than doing it because you want to, and pretty much all drugs (legal, illegal, prescribed, etc.) can be dangerous or not dangerous, harmful or not harmful.

[eternalsummer]

Well, I shouldn't say pretty much all - that flakka one in Florida is probably 100% harmful and 100% dangerous.  Nicotine I have trouble seeing the non-harmful side to, but that might be personal bias as my dad died from COPD after smoking 2 packs a day for 60+ years. 

[LucyStoner]

I didn't mean to suggest that all drugs are voluntary (and I'm pretty sure I didn't suggest it).  "Taking drugs" as a colloquial phrase does generally refer to illegal drugs, I agree.  I am using it in more of a strict definition of the word sense - caffeine is a drug.  If you drink it, or eat it, or take caffeine pills, you are taking a drug.  Prescribed medications are drugs.  If you take them, or inject them, or drink them in a solution, you are taking drugs.  It's not a moral question (at least for me).  Doing it because it is good for you or because it is necessary for you is not, imo, better or worse than doing it because you want to, and pretty much all drugs (legal, illegal, prescribed, etc.) can be dangerous or not dangerous, harmful or not harmful.

 

 

I have seen too many lives torn apart by addiction to dangerous substances (some legal, most not) to buy this false equivalency.  Not all substances are equally beneficial or harmful.  Not all substances are addictive.  

 

I am not addicted to anything...nothing I take regularly is habit forming.  The things that I take which can be habit forming...from alcohol to caffeine to benzodiazepines are things that I take periodically as either needed or wanted.  There is a fundamental difference between all of the various things that you are listing on this poll.  I don't see addiction as a moral issue but a health issue but I can't pretend that all substances are more or less the same or have the same risks or cause the same consequences.  My brother's addictions have destroyed his life and left his children with permanent scars.  My husband's caffeine habit has not harmed him or rendered him unable, at any time, to be the parent his kids deserve.  I think the equivalency being drawn here is flip, at the very best.  And, however unintentionally, extremely problematic for those who are constantly told that there is something wrong with them needing a particular medication.  Or for those who have seen the devastation that is caused in the wake of opioid addiction or alcoholism.

 

Ingesting too much water can poison you.  That doesn't make water more or less the same thing as cyanide.   

Edited July 24, 2017 by LucyStoner

[eternalsummer]

Most people take caffeine, which is a drug, because they want to.  they take alcohol, which is a drug, because they want to.  Those things are not worse, morally speaking, than taking prescribed anti-depressants, provided they are not causing other harm via addiction or health complications.

 

Of course taking drugs that are bad for you or taking them in a way that is bad for you is morally worse than taking drugs that are helpful for you or taking them in a way that is helpful.  

 

But just taking a drug voluntarily, even if it doesn't particularly help you or isn't medically necessary, isn't bad, in my opinion.

[ktgrok]

I wouldn't call eating chocolate (and thus consuming caffeine) taking drugs anymore than I'd consider eating a bowl of fruit to be taking a vitamin supplement. 

[jewellsmommy]

Most people take caffeine, which is a drug, because they want to.  they take alcohol, which is a drug, because they want to.  Those things are not worse, morally speaking, than taking prescribed anti-depressants, provided they are not causing other harm via addiction or health complications.

 

Of course taking drugs that are bad for you or taking them in a way that is bad for you is morally worse than taking drugs that are helpful for you or taking them in a way that is helpful.  

 

But just taking a drug voluntarily, even if it doesn't particularly help you or isn't medically necessary, isn't bad, in my opinion.

 

Nope. I drink tea in all forms. I am consuming caffeine, not because I am using or desiring caffeine, but because it just happens to come along for a ride with all the other components in the tea. The only reason I don't buy de-caf tea is because it requires unnecessary processing to remove the small amt of caffeine present -not worth it (and cost more for less quality). I occasionally drink coffee (for the taste) . I looove tea.

 

The one and only time I actually "took" caffeine was when I had a headache and the only headache relief my mother had was the one where acetaminophen is mixed with caffeine (excedrin tension headache).

 

I have never heard someone say, "i need caffeine...quick give me chocolate." I don't know anyone who eats chocolate for the caffeine. They (and I) eat chocolate for the enjoyment of the chocolate. Again, the caffeine is just along for the ride. If caffeine was magically removed from all chocolate and all tea, I would still drink tea and eat chocolate.

 

 

 

 

ETA: replace an s for an f  :lol:

Edited July 24, 2017 by jewellsmommy

[luuknam]

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". 

 

 

As a side note, there are doctors who don't prescribe antibiotics for "every little thing"... and there are some studies that show that not every ear infection needs antibiotics. 

 

Of course, the quack (MD, not a naturopath or w/e) who was my GP from age 6-18 never ever prescribed antibiotics for me, and I needed ear tubes at 10yo because I was almost deaf from... you guess it... recurring ear infections. YMMV. On the bright side, the ear tubes really helped, though at 12yo I was tested to have some mild hearing loss (like, my hearing's similar to that of the average 70yo or something). 

 

Which doesn't mean you shouldn't see a dr. Just that some of these things are complicated, and some doctors overprescribe and some doctors underprescribe meds. I suspect overprescription is much more common in the US, whereas NL might lean towards underprescription. 

[SKL]

I haven't heard anyone use "drugstore" since my grandmother died.  They went out with the dime stores. ;)

 

I say "pharmacy", or label the pharmacy by name.

 

I say drugstore.  :)

 

[katilac]

I say drugstore.  :)

 

 

Me, too, and pretty much everyone around me. No one says pharmacy (here) to indicate the entire store; you might say, "I'm going to the drugstore now, because the pharmacy closes in an hour." In other words, the pharmacy is one part of the drugstore. Walgreens is a drugstore even when the pharmacy is closed. 

[Guest]

Me, too, and pretty much everyone around me. No one says pharmacy (here) to indicate the entire store; you might say, "I'm going to the drugstore now, because the pharmacy closes in an hour." In other words, the pharmacy is one part of the drugstore. Walgreens is a drugstore even when the pharmacy is closed.

Same here. The pharmacy is juut the portion of the store where prescriptions are filled and distributed. Most pharmacies are in a grocery store, a discount store, or a drugstore (cvs, walgreens, rite-aid, etc), but occassionaly one finds a pharmacist owned store which is just pharmacy. Only in the last is the store hours the same as the pharmacy hours.

 

'I am going to the pharmacy' means I am going to transact business at the pharmacy,.wherever its located. I expect it to take a while. 'I am going to the drugstore' means I need something from the nonpharmacy portion, and I will be in and out quickly.

Edited July 24, 2017 by Heigh Ho

[Guest]

I didn't mean to suggest that all drugs are voluntary (and I'm pretty sure I didn't suggest it). "Taking drugs" as a colloquial phrase does generally refer to illegal drugs, I agree. I am using it in more of a strict definition of the word sense - caffeine is a drug. If you drink it, or eat it, or take caffeine pills, you are taking a drug. Prescribed medications are drugs. If you take them, or inject them, or drink them in a solution, you are taking drugs. It's not a moral question (at least for me). Doing it because it is good for you or because it is necessary for you is not, imo, better or worse than doing it because you want to, and pretty much all drugs (legal, illegal, prescribed, etc.) can be dangerous or not dangerous, harmful or not harmful.

Drinking a caffeine containing liquid such as coffee or mountain dew is not referred to as taking a drug. Nor is ingesting chocolate. Both are simply called eating. Again, the term drug means something taken to alleviate a symptom or cure a disease. Any other usage is given another term. Popping caffeine tablets to stay awake, using something to get high, etc is not called taking drugs. Swilling mountan dew isn't either. Consuming an opiod for the mind effect rather than pain relief isn't called taking drugs, its drug abuse.

 

No one says 'taking drugs' as a casual phrase. One is 'takings meds' or 'taking a prescription' if its a prescribed drug. If its drug abuse, there are many terms, most of the ones I hear (although not lately as the dealers and users in my neighborhood are currently behind bars) relate to the effect seeked. The word drug is only used when referencing the seller or user of the illegal substance.

 

As far as morality, you are entitled to your opinion. I don't know anyone who would say choosing to ingest, say, cocaine daily is highly moral behaviour, due to its effect on the body's health.

Edited July 24, 2017 by Heigh Ho

[Hikin' Mama]

I drink coffee every morning, but no I don't take drugs.

 

Every once in awhile, I have a glass of wine, but I don't consider that taking drugs either.

 

I've been very fortunate in life that I don't have any medical conditions requiring medications. I have several friends who do, though, and I wouldn't classify that as taking drugs.

 

In my opinion, you need to reword your question.

[Laura Corin]

Me, too, and pretty much everyone around me. No one says pharmacy (here) to indicate the entire store; you might say, "I'm going to the drugstore now, because the pharmacy closes in an hour." In other words, the pharmacy is one part of the drugstore. Walgreens is a drugstore even when the pharmacy is closed. 

 

People in the UK traditionally say 'chemist' of which the pharmacy is a part.  Not drugstore.  So you would say, 'I went to the chemist to pick up my prescription, but the pharmacy was shut for lunch so I had to go back later'.  More people are saying 'pharmacy' for the whole shop now though.

 

 

[Guest]

The continued, stubborn insistence that the poll is technically correct, and technically not judgemental, and technically all lumped together because technically it's all the same thing is actually really annoying.

 

I deleted my vote.

[Laura Corin]

I drink a lot of tea and some coffee; I eat chocolate most days and drink alcohol most weekends; I get high from exercise and from cuddles; I don't understand what the poll is for.

[Soror]

  It's not a moral question (at least for me).  Doing it because it is good for you or because it is necessary for you is not, imo, better or worse than doing it because you want to, and pretty much all drugs (legal, illegal, prescribed, etc.) can be dangerous or not dangerous, harmful or not harmful.

 

 

 

Of course taking drugs that are bad for you or taking them in a way that is bad for you is morally worse than taking drugs that are helpful for you or taking them in a way that is helpful.  

 

But just taking a drug voluntarily, even if it doesn't particularly help you or isn't medically necessary, isn't bad, in my opinion.

You say it isn't moral and isn't bad but that "doing it because it is good for you or because it is necessary for you is not, imo, better or worse than doing it because you want to"

 

So taking "drugs" because you want to is no better or worse than taking them because you want to? Really? That wording lumps people that take life-saving drugs with those who use cocaine. Surely that is not what you mean.

 

And taking "drugs" in a way that are bad for you is morally worse than taking them because they are good for you? Your phrasing implies that even taking drugs that are good for you is morally wrong, just not as bad as taking "drugs" that are good/necessary for you.

 

If you truly mean no offense then you should watch your words because you say one thing one line and another the next. 

[eternalsummer]

I don't use cocaine, nor have I ever, and I haven't researched it, so I don't know how bad it is for you.

 

I'm not sure if you're not reading carefully or if it's just a complicated statement - it seems pretty simple to me.

 

If a drug (or chemical, or substance, or food, or whatever you want to call it - although wikipedia classifies all of these things as drugs) is not bad for you, then why is it wrong to take it?

 

If caffeine is causing no harm, why is it morally wrong to drink it or eat it?  If marijuana (for instance) is causing you no harm, or at least is causing an amount of harm you consider acceptable (much like drinking a soda, I guess), why is it morally wrong to smoke it, or eat it?

 

 

If those things aren't morally wrong, why is it insulting to say that they're not morally wrong?

 

 

If you are taking a medication (a drug, because medications are drugs) because you need to, that is not morally wrong.  It's not morally anything.  It has nothing to do with morality.

 

Neither does drinking caffeine or smoking a joint or eating a brownie (of either variety!) or drinking a beer.

 

 

I do think they are comparable, morally speaking, because none of them is a moral question.

[Guest]

I don't use cocaine, nor have I ever, and I haven't researched it, so I don't know how bad it is for you.

 

I'm not sure if you're not reading carefully or if it's just a complicated statement - it seems pretty simple to me.

 

If a drug (or chemical, or substance, or food, or whatever you want to call it - although wikipedia classifies all of these things as drugs) is not bad for you, then why is it wrong to take it?

 

If caffeine is causing no harm, why is it morally wrong to drink it or eat it? If marijuana (for instance) is causing you no harm, or at least is causing an amount of harm you consider acceptable (much like drinking a soda, I guess), why is it morally wrong to smoke it, or eat it?

 

 

If those things aren't morally wrong, why is it insulting to say that they're not morally wrong?

 

 

If you are taking a medication (a drug, because medications are drugs) because you need to, that is not morally wrong. It's not morally anything. It has nothing to do with morality.

 

Neither does drinking caffeine or smoking a joint or eating a brownie (of either variety!) or drinking a beer.

 

 

I do think they are comparable, morally speaking, because none of them is a moral question.

Wiki definition of drug is something taken to alleviate symptoms or cure a disease.

 

You are trying to make a logic chain. Its not working because common terminology wasn't borne out of logic. It is also not working bc your set theory is wrong.you argue: Caffeine is a drug. Food contains caffeine. Therefore food is a drug. Nice try, but the quantity of caffeine needed for food to have an effect on symptoms is not what is found in food. And all foods don't contain caffeine.

 

You also sound like you are trying to understand why some religions ban ingesting certain products...you need to sit down with one of their members.and follow their reasoning.

 

You ask, if a drug is not bad for you, why is it morally wrong to take it. The answer is that drugs are a scarce resource, and so is your time..you waste the effort going to make the drug by not giving it to someone that needs it and you waste time that you could have spent on other things. Moral choice is certainly not to.deny a sick person their drug by consuming it yourself..you leave it for them. Wasting your time is considered immoral by many cultures, surely you have other things to that would benefit society or self.

[eternalsummer]

Wiki definition of drug is something taken to alleviate symptoms or cure a disease.

 

 

 

 

Are you serious?  What do you mean by "Wiki definition of drug is something taken to alleviate symptoms or cure a disease."?

 

Wikipedia says:

A drug is any substance (other than food that provides nutritional support) that, when inhaled, injected, smoked, consumed, absorbed via a patch on the skin, or dissolved under the tongue causes a physiological change in the body.^[2][3]

 

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug}

[eternalsummer]

regarding the rest - I don't think all food is a drug.  I do think caffeine is a drug, even the caffeine naturally present in tea leaves or cocoa beans.  Wikipedia says it is a drug.  

 

I don't care why certain religions ban ingesting various products - I am not religious.  I never expressed any curiosity about it.  I did postulate that maybe the reason the rates of antidepressant and opioid use are very high in Utah is because Mormons cannot (as far as I understand) drink caffeine or alcohol - so they don't have access to the milder forms of stimulants or depressants.  I have no idea if it is causative or just correlated - I think Maize suggested that it could just be the altitude, as that has been correlated with higher rates of depression.  (although, do depressed people use opioids?)

 

I don't think caffeine is that scarce a resource, nor is marijuana.  Do you really think it is wrong to drink tea or smoke weed because it is wasting time and resources?  Do you read books for pleasure?  That is such a strange argument.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I'm looking forward to finding some helpful drugs for whatever is afflicting me.

 

:laugh:

[eternalsummer]

I'm looking forward to finding some helpful drugs for whatever is afflicting me.

 

:laugh:

 

I'm looking forward to this for you too :)

[Hikin' Mama]

Are you serious?  What do you mean by "Wiki definition of drug is something taken to alleviate symptoms or cure a disease."?

 

Wikipedia says:

A drug is any substance (other than food that provides nutritional support) that, when inhaled, injected, smoked, consumed, absorbed via a patch on the skin, or dissolved under the tongue causes a physiological change in the body.^[2][3]

 

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug}

So what is the point of your OP? (I admit I haven't read all of your responses, but the ones I've read sound like arguments one of my teens used to make when he was trying to get people all worked up.) Do you just want to know who takes what? Please clarify. I have seen posts here before where someone asks a question and when enough people respond that the wording is weird, for lack of a better term, the OP will go back and edit the wording. Maybe you could try that. :)

[eternalsummer]

I made the poll anonymous; I don't care who takes what.  I was just curious (as stated in the OP) if there was anyone who didn't take any drugs on a regular basis.

 

What wording would I change, and what would I change it to?

[Wheres Toto]

It sounds to me like you are trying to justify illegal drug use "just because you want to" by making it seem like everyone "does drugs" because everyone has tea or coffee or chocolate or whatever and it's all the same whether it's legal or illegal, needed medical or just for fun.

 

If you're okay with illegal drug use and it's not hurting anyone else, just own it.

 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

I've never once had a doctor ask me if I'm taking drugs if he's asking about normal prescriptions or caffeine intake.  They will ask if someone is taking drugs (and give you reasons why they need to know and won't turn you in) but that is talking about illegal drugs or the use of prescription drugs specifically for the purpose of getting high (as opposed to therapeutic purposes).  I have never taken illegal drugs but they still ask because it is important. 

[SKL]

Yes, caffeine is a drug and most people ingest it often.  And some people do not.

 

Is that all you wanted to know?

 

If you go more than a few weeks without "taking any drugs," including chocolate, feel free to let us know how that changes your life.  I'm sure many will find it interesting.

 

(I didn't eat chocolate for a couple decades because it gave me acne.  It can be done, but until you try it, you don't realize how many things have some form of chocolate in them.  On the positive side, it makes it easier to lose weight.  :P)

[Guest]

Are you serious? What do you mean by "Wiki definition of drug is something taken to alleviate symptoms or cure a disease."?

 

Wikipedia says:

A drug is any substance (other than food that provides nutritional support) that, when inhaled, injected, smoked, consumed, absorbed via a patch on the skin, or [/

 

 

font]dissolved under the tongue causes a physiological change in the body.^[2][3]

 

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug}

You are correct, I defined medicine, as stated in wiki para 6.

My apologies.

 

However, look at definition you quoted.drug is...a substance that causes a physiological change. You are not going to see that with a food unless you consume large quantities quickly or you have another health issue. In that case, it isn't normal behavior. We still don't call swilling mountain dew or eating a pound of chocolate 'taking a drug'.

 

I agree you seem to be justifying recreational drug use. Are you writing a paper?

Edited July 24, 2017 by Heigh Ho

[SKL]

Yeah, when I went in for what "might have been" a heart incident, they asked about drugs, and then they specifically asked about cocaine, because I guess there have been a lot of people harming themselves with cocaine these days.  Then when I talked to the "regular doctor" to whom I was assigned, I was asked specifically about caffeine.

 

When asked by a health professional what drugs I'm taking, I always include OTC (if any), prescription (if any), and coffee.  I don't include chocolate or vitamins.