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The OP is way too open, it could mean a lot of things.
I for one would never touch a drug (I even try my hardest to steer clear of legal ones), but thats just me. I like having a clear mind but that is just me, just my choice. On the rare occasions that I drink alcohol, I drink it more for the taste and stop drinking way before I am able to get drunk or anything like that. Again, just my choice.
Taking that into account, I don't really care at all whether or not someone enjoys a joint/shroom/what have you or getting drunk at a party or anything like that. That's their choice and I respect it. Knowing whether that someone uses recreational drugs does not at all (consciously) change my opinion of em. Hell, most of my closest friends smoke weed and drink to excess at times.
That being said, there is also a line to be drawn between using a recreational drug and letting it control your life. While I don't care if someone does drugs, I won't lie, I start to get kinda iffy towards em when I realize that drugs/alcohol is playing a prominent role in their lives, and they depend on it (basically to the point where it is easy to tell that that person uses/relies on the stuff). In my experiences, they just tend to be less trustworthy, have more problems, etc etc.
Just what I think.
What I really don't like is when people are on either extreme side of the spectrum. I'm talking about both those straight-edge kids that you hear about that people the shit out of people for just smoking a cig or having a drink, and I'm talking about those drug users (recreational or hardcore) that think that being against doing drugs is stupid. (and there's a lot of both of them around where I live ~_~)
Edit: Oh and to add another thing, while I said all that above I still don't really fancy being around the people while they are getting high or drunk, because as someone in this thread just made me (and another person :D) realize that they tend to be super annoying when they are lol
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On October 17 2011 13:48 UmiNotsuki wrote:Show nested quote +On October 17 2011 13:36 oldgregg wrote:On October 17 2011 13:33 UmiNotsuki wrote:On October 17 2011 13:29 oldgregg wrote:On October 17 2011 13:22 SpaceToaster wrote:On October 17 2011 12:44 Chargelot wrote:On October 17 2011 12:40 Romance_us wrote:On October 17 2011 12:39 Chargelot wrote:On October 17 2011 12:34 Romance_us wrote:On October 17 2011 12:29 Greentellon wrote:
I know a person who is heavily alcoholic. Alcohol has been compared several times to the mildest of drugs and I have seen from front row how acholos has ruined his brain and life. Perhaps it's not all alcohols fault, but every time I see him wasted, stumbling around there unable to make a coherent thought, I pity him. I can't feel anything but pity towards him.
If I hear you mention drugs I may forgive you if you don't push the issue further, but if you keep at it or you actually whip some out, I will call the cops on the spot. Oh well, maybe I will leave the room/house first. Is that prejudice? No, it's me being smart. If you want to ruin your brain and health, go ahead. But don't drag me into your insanity. Dude, it's you being smart? HAHAHAHA. No. It's you having an irrational (and impulsive) reaction based on complete ignorance. That's quite humorous though I mean just to think you'd call the cops on somebody and negatively affect their life for a personal choice they made that does not directly nor indirectly affect yours just seems a little crazy In America, illegal drugs are illegal. It's insane, I know. But if you flaunt your drug use, you're probably going to jail, one way or another. Sorry that you don't like that. But that's the way it works. Something about crimes being prosecutable in the court of law. who said anything about morals being related to laws? please go away In America, when people break the law, we have this thing we do which we refer to as "calling the police". Equally as insane as my former post. Anyways, the police are readily available, and will report to the location you give them in very little time. They then proceed to arrest the criminals. Is it stupid to call the police when someone is throwing their drug use in your face? Maybe on your island. But here, we call that normal. That is really concerning to me. I'm not a drug user but I've been around enough to have a fairly informed opinion, and to me the absolute worst thing you can do to a regular drug user (not a dealer) is call the authorities on them, at least not as a first option. Jail time, even a brief stint with no prison sentence, tends to lead to more drug use, and from what I've seen also can create feelings of paranoia and depression that last for an extended time afterwards. Do I think you should not be prejudiced against drug users? I don't know - if you don't like drugs, then be prejudiced and don't hang out with drug users. But on the other hand, if you care about someone and they become a drug user or you find out that they use drugs, it should not drastically change how you perceive them. If you are concerned the best thing you can do is express your concern, and if that doesn't work try to get other people close to them to express their concerns as well. Of course that all goes out the window when you're dealing with an armed drug dealer or someone who is violent and on PCP/coke/crack/etc. If you feel threatened then absolutely call the police, but if you are non-threateningly offered drugs, as the original post in the quote tree seemed to mention, then calling the cops is a seriously irrational first impulse. Drug users are not out to get you or make you use drugs, and if they offer it is because they honestly (and possibly not rationally, but sometimes they are fully rational about it) think that you would enjoy them or that they would help you in some way. Getting them into legal trouble is repaying their perceived kindness by negatively influencing their lives - sometimes permanently depending on what the police find. Yet again though, if you're aggressively being pushed to do heroin (for instance) by a drug dealer that just wants another customer, that's a different story from being offered pot at a house party. You, like so many people in this thread, are lumping all drugs together and saying that they are all equally bad. This is just silly. Not all drugs harm the individual and society I would argue that it's not important whether all drugs are equally bad, or even whether all drugs are bad at all. Rather, I'd encourage you to express your opinion on whether or not it's okay to judge people based on drug use. Perhaps you think that it's okay for some drugs you think are bad, but not okay for other, less harmful drugs? Vote "other" in the poll and tell us why! I already voted 'Yes' in the first poll, and my reason is posted further up on ths page  Ack; this is embarrassing! o.o; You're right, you did. And, after reading your conversation with SpaceToaster I see there's no derailment to worry about. Carry on! In reply to your opinion, Show nested quote +On October 17 2011 13:05 oldgregg wrote:
Of course its bad to discriminate against drug users. Not all drug users are dirty criminals, most of them are just average people who go home and smoke a joint at the end of the day Isn't it true that the act of going home and smoking a joint at the end of the day is a decision that could possibly negatively impact them? Am I not justified in not wanting to spend time with this person because of it? More importantly, am I to trust my best friend in the arms of this person, at the risk of exposing her to drugs and allowing her to use them too? She's extremely important to me!
You have to look at the particulars of each drug. You can't overdose on marijuana and it isn't physically addictive. It would probably be best for you to just tell your friend that you are concerned about her exposure to drug use, but you shouldn't jump to conclusions about negative impacts to her life, even if she also smokes. Even drugs that are addictive, such as alcohol, can be used responsibly.
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On October 17 2011 14:02 UmiNotsuki wrote:Show nested quote +On October 17 2011 13:56 oldgregg wrote:On October 17 2011 13:48 UmiNotsuki wrote:On October 17 2011 13:36 oldgregg wrote:On October 17 2011 13:33 UmiNotsuki wrote:On October 17 2011 13:29 oldgregg wrote:On October 17 2011 13:22 SpaceToaster wrote:On October 17 2011 12:44 Chargelot wrote:On October 17 2011 12:40 Romance_us wrote:On October 17 2011 12:39 Chargelot wrote:
[quote]
In America, illegal drugs are illegal.
It's insane, I know.
But if you flaunt your drug use, you're probably going to jail, one way or another. Sorry that you don't like that. But that's the way it works. Something about crimes being prosecutable in the court of law. who said anything about morals being related to laws? please go away In America, when people break the law, we have this thing we do which we refer to as "calling the police". Equally as insane as my former post. Anyways, the police are readily available, and will report to the location you give them in very little time. They then proceed to arrest the criminals. Is it stupid to call the police when someone is throwing their drug use in your face? Maybe on your island. But here, we call that normal. That is really concerning to me. I'm not a drug user but I've been around enough to have a fairly informed opinion, and to me the absolute worst thing you can do to a regular drug user (not a dealer) is call the authorities on them, at least not as a first option. Jail time, even a brief stint with no prison sentence, tends to lead to more drug use, and from what I've seen also can create feelings of paranoia and depression that last for an extended time afterwards. Do I think you should not be prejudiced against drug users? I don't know - if you don't like drugs, then be prejudiced and don't hang out with drug users. But on the other hand, if you care about someone and they become a drug user or you find out that they use drugs, it should not drastically change how you perceive them. If you are concerned the best thing you can do is express your concern, and if that doesn't work try to get other people close to them to express their concerns as well. Of course that all goes out the window when you're dealing with an armed drug dealer or someone who is violent and on PCP/coke/crack/etc. If you feel threatened then absolutely call the police, but if you are non-threateningly offered drugs, as the original post in the quote tree seemed to mention, then calling the cops is a seriously irrational first impulse. Drug users are not out to get you or make you use drugs, and if they offer it is because they honestly (and possibly not rationally, but sometimes they are fully rational about it) think that you would enjoy them or that they would help you in some way. Getting them into legal trouble is repaying their perceived kindness by negatively influencing their lives - sometimes permanently depending on what the police find. Yet again though, if you're aggressively being pushed to do heroin (for instance) by a drug dealer that just wants another customer, that's a different story from being offered pot at a house party. You, like so many people in this thread, are lumping all drugs together and saying that they are all equally bad. This is just silly. Not all drugs harm the individual and society I would argue that it's not important whether all drugs are equally bad, or even whether all drugs are bad at all. Rather, I'd encourage you to express your opinion on whether or not it's okay to judge people based on drug use. Perhaps you think that it's okay for some drugs you think are bad, but not okay for other, less harmful drugs? Vote "other" in the poll and tell us why! I already voted 'Yes' in the first poll, and my reason is posted further up on ths page Ack; this is embarrassing! o.o; You're right, you did. And, after reading your conversation with SpaceToaster I see there's no derailment to worry about. Carry on! In reply to your opinion, On October 17 2011 13:05 oldgregg wrote:
Of course its bad to discriminate against drug users. Not all drug users are dirty criminals, most of them are just average people who go home and smoke a joint at the end of the day Isn't it true that the act of going home and smoking a joint at the end of the day is a decision that could possibly negatively impact them? Am I not justified in not wanting to spend time with this person because of it? More importantly, am I to trust my best friend in the arms of this person, at the risk of exposing her to drugs and allowing her to use them too? She's extremely important to me! Haha no worries mate. In reply to your first response; Yes smoking a joint could potentially harm them, but then again so could smoking a cigarette or having a beer or eating a hamburger. Would you not want to spend time with a person who did any of these things? As to whether you would trust your best friend in the arms of the drug user; Well that all depends on the drug. For weed, I would say it is pretty safe to trust your friend with them. All of the pot smokers I know (I used to smoke too), are normal, responsible people. There is no reason not to trust them just because they smoke weed, as for Heroin or crack I don't personally know, but I would be less inclined to trust them! In all fairness, yes, I know plenty of people who smoke pot and who manage to lead perfectly good lives in spite of it. For some reason, though, there's something within me that says "this is wrong" and doesn't want to be within a thousand miles of even a drop of alcohol. Also, I feel like I may have external troubles with trusting her with him, so I may very well just be looking to scapegoat his drug use as a legitimate reason not to want her to be with him. I really don't know!
Ok well it seems you have an irrational fear of drugs then 
Oh were you talking about a real life situation that a friend of yours is in?
Does they guy just seem like a dodgy character? Remember that just because some drug users are dodgy characters it doesn't mean all of them are!
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On October 17 2011 14:02 DeltruS wrote:I am against any drug that "takes away the dignity of the user" in exchange for whatever benefit the drugs produces. There are better options to be happy that let people not only retain their dignity, but also improve the world and themselves. For example, instead of getting instant pleasure by drinking and acting like a drunk person, I could be exercising, creating things and learning things I like in my future career path. There is no way I will ever reduce myself to a spaced out stoner, getting joy out of thin air. What is the difference between that and becoming a vegetable in exchange for an ample supply of artificial happiness? Sure, there are very few downsides to alcohol and marijuana, but the state that people are in while doing them is what I care about. Drunk and high people are annoying, and the pleasure that they can get is often seen as a replacement for the pleasure of a job well done, resulting in alcoholics and those "hippies" that are constantly rallying for the legalization of marijuana. If someone can somehow do a drug while retaining their dignity and receiving the benefits, then I fully support it. For example, low amounts of alcohol or caffeine. Definition of dignity, because I used the word so much :
That's a really interesting (and pretty mature imo) view on drug use, fairly similar to my own views, though you seem to have a stricter view of dignity than I do. To me getting wasted in public is losing dignity, but getting wasted with friends in private is not. Recreational drug use is fine as long as you can keep self respect, hold a job/do well in school, and be a functioning part of society.
That said I believe in widespread legalization of all but the most harmful substances, but I am also in favor of drug tests for welfare and government assistance. I guess to be short about it, getting fucked up is a privilege, not a right. Just one possible way you can reward yourself or relax after being an employed, successful human being.
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People don't exist in a vacuum, if it hurts you it hurts some else as well. Friends, family, the society which has to feed and clothe you while you waste away, whatever.
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I'm only prejudice about tweakers (because they do shady shit and steal a lot). If anyone else is using recreational drugs or smokes weed it doesn't bother me (except when they try and get me to smoke or act like i'm stupid when I don't smoke).
I'm actually starting to be prejudice about people who drink all the time though. Most of the people I meet at bars and parties and shit are really superficial and pretty much are boring as fuck unless drinking. Need to find a better method to meet women
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Do you mean sober women or ez women?
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On October 17 2011 14:09 UmiNotsuki wrote:Show nested quote +On October 17 2011 14:02 DeltruS wrote:I am against any drug that "takes away the dignity of the user" in exchange for whatever benefit the drugs produces. There are better options to be happy that let people not only retain their dignity, but also improve the world and themselves. For example, instead of getting instant pleasure by drinking and acting like a drunk person, I could be exercising, creating things and learning things I like in my future career path. There is no way I will ever reduce myself to a spaced out stoner, getting joy out of thin air. What is the difference between that and becoming a vegetable in exchange for an ample supply of artificial happiness? Sure, there are very few downsides to alcohol and marijuana, but the state that people are in while doing them is what I care about. Drunk and high people are annoying, and the pleasure that they can get is often seen as a replacement for the pleasure of a job well done, resulting in alcoholics and those "hippies" that are constantly rallying for the legalization of marijuana. If someone can somehow do a drug while retaining their dignity and receiving the benefits, then I fully support it. For example, low amounts of alcohol or caffeine. Definition of dignity, because I used the word so much : Bearing, conduct, or speech indicative of self-respect. The bolded text, is so, SO true. That's something I haven't personally considered. I know some drug users smoke only in private situations, but when I've experienced high or drunk people around me it's not once been anything less than extremely unpleasant for me and every sober person with me. Maybe this contributes to my bias. Is that wrong? EDIT: Next time I make a double post I'm going to force myself to reveal an embarrassing secret about myself, complete with pictures, and post it as a blog. That'll set me straight in no time.
Of course it contributes to your phobia. You've not tried any drug, and yet you are making opinions with 0 experience. You're also trying to control someone elses life, because of your irrational fear of something you have no experience with. In a normal circumstance, someone would be pointing you to a psychologist, however this is a forum and those with your same opinion will support your assertion. Every person reacts to each drug differently, so to create a single notion about these drugs is completely irrational. The first step is to try a drug yourself, or with that person who you're trying to "protect" and see how you respond, this way the phobia is either confirmed or denied, rather than just confirmed out of fear. Your fear may even be stronger than the drug, but that is for you to find out.
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It depends on the person, but typically it won't affect my opinion of them or it will slightly increase it. If they can be a a regular functioning member of society and they use drugs then by all means I have no problems with it. If they are a "junky", then I won't approve of their drug habits. As for prejudice, I think it is wrong for people to just consider anyone who uses drugs a junky and look down on them. Prejudice against it as a blanket is wrong, but of course there are individuals who make it easy to overlook.
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i hold it against people for playing starcraft, so yeah i can hold it against people for doing drugs
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On October 17 2011 14:06 UmiNotsuki wrote:Show nested quote +On October 17 2011 14:01 SpaceToaster wrote:
While the morality of the decision is debatable (everyone has their own opinion) you are correct in stating that smoking pot is a decision that could negatively impact a person. There are possible legal ramifications in most counties. I think you're justified in making a decision to avoid possible harm that could come from hanging out with this person, though almost nothing can happen to you just by being around the person. You'd have to actually use drugs to get in trouble for using drugs! I would at least get to know the guy before you passed judgement on his character, though obviously his drug habits are a part of who he is - it wouldn't be fair to judge him as a whole just based on that.
What does bother me a bit is that you are trying to pass judgement for your friend on this person, but thats a little off topic. You should trust your friend to make her own decisions, even if you don't approve completely. I wouldn't strain your friendship over one facet of a guy that you don't seem to know all that well (though I don't know the whole situation, thats what I can gather from your writing). Get to know him and decide if she could do better based on all of his qualities rather than just the one that's been analyzed in this thread. I did say I'm not sure what it is that makes me uncomfortable! But you're very right. I think the thing that most worries me about his drug use is not HIS drug use, but hers. She's never done drugs and that's always made me a lot more comfortable spending time with her (I come from a town where more than 50% of the teenage population smokes pot.) But she's always had this curiosity for smoking pot, since a lot of her friends do it too, which I've been very keen on trying to kill. I sometimes question if I'm doing it not because I want to keep her safe, but because I'm unthinkingly biased against drug use.
Whew, cleaned out all the nested quotes - god when that opened up it was like 3 pages long!
To me it sounds more like you don't want the nature of your friendship to change, it doesn't sound like its drug related, but just that her not using drugs is a quality you admire that you don't want to change. I'm in the don't knock it till you try it crowd (I've tried a lot of things and I don't like much and I don't want to get addicted to the things I do like - cigarette addiction is bad enough and I can't kick that - so I don't do drugs), so I fully understand the curiosity. Most towns have about that ratio of pot smokers, favoring poor groups and artistic groups, with business or science minded people tending to stay away from pot, but its that common almost everywhere. Its your personal relationship so I don't really know what to tell you to do about it, but I can share about different people I know that have tried pot or smoke regularly.
The bottom line about it is that everyone is different, and the amount of use is really affected by the company a person keeps. One group I know smokes every day, but they are all very career minded and stay out of trouble. They know the risk but the relaxation is worth it to them. Some people try it, and just don't like it, or judge that its not worth the risk of legal trouble to use with any frequency - which is where I sit. Then there's the people who try it and think they have found the answer to life, the universe, and everything and don't have any desire to do anything else but finance their drug use. I don't like these people, and I won't hang out with them, but their way of life is fine, just lazy.
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since these drugs are bad for you.... nothing wrong with painting them in a bad picture.
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On October 17 2011 14:03 Synwave wrote:
This thread makes me giggle. So many have opinions but they keep "but"ing everything they say so basically its cool but its not. Its not cool but in some circumstances under these predefined terms its cool. How is that even an opinion?
I think alot of that comes from the fact that we are discussing 'drugs' as an umbrella term, and trying to makes generalizations about them
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I used to be on of those people who judge drug users immediately. I thought all of them were fuck ups and that they were going no where in life. Then one time one of my best friends (so i guess peer pressure) said to me "I don't know why you judge us if you never experience it" so I went for it and what do you know, it'snot that big of a deal. If you let drugs define your life then ya, I understand a prejudice, but those who do it once in a while (like fast food) they can definitively be the same as people who don't do anything, or even better.
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On October 17 2011 11:47 jdseemoreglass wrote:
It's clear that half the people in this thread think that the word "prejudice" is synonymous with "looking down on people." Just like most people think "prejudice" and "racism" are the same thing, when clearly they are very different things.
I guess I would be wasting my time trying to swim against the current...
Exactly. For those raising their eyebrows at the semantics here, prejudice means literally 'pre-judge', with no indication as to the connotations or positivity/negativity encapsulated by those judgments.
Some prejudices can be positive, like the common stereotype that asians are good at math.
For the sake of clarification, 'prejudice' means to feel differently about someone for whom environmental or developmental conditions differ than your own in some significant way.
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On October 17 2011 14:38 Bandino wrote:
I used to be on of those people who judge drug users immediately. I thought all of them were fuck ups and that they were going no where in life. Then one time one of my best friends (so i guess peer pressure) said to me "I don't know why you judge us if you never experience it" so I went for it and what do you know, it'snot that big of a deal. If you let drugs define your life then ya, I understand a prejudice, but those who do it once in a while (like fast food) they can definitively be the same as people who don't do anything, or even better.
That... Is the most retarded argument ever used... And I am sad to say that it works...
Because that argument means only murderers and crime bosses can try and convict each other. Somehow I don't see that working out too well for society in general. But what do I know, I haven't done <insert activity here>, so I can't judge them!!!"
By the way, have you tried non-consensual bondage sex yet with a stranger of the same gender yet? No, then I guess you can't be a juror then!!! *facepalm*
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To the OP: You cannot change being asian, or being black, or having a life changing disease, or being mentally challenged.
You can, however, stop drug use, especially if it's hurting you. There are NUMEROUS programs around the world to stop drug use. The prejudice I have against people who use drugs is because they obviously made a bad choice in life, and refuse to accept/cbf/don't have the willpower to fix their mistake. So yes, I do have a problem with drug users.
If you have prejudice against someone because of their sexual orientation, their skin colour, or even because their retarded makes you a bad person. To have prejudice against someone who uses illegal drugs is perfectly acceptable.
but you know what, thats just my opinion.
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If you are judging someone negatively because they use a drug than you are being prejudice for sure. You are judging them on something that really doesnt say anything about the person.
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On October 17 2011 14:48 Hattori_Hanzo wrote:Show nested quote +On October 17 2011 14:38 Bandino wrote:
I used to be on of those people who judge drug users immediately. I thought all of them were fuck ups and that they were going no where in life. Then one time one of my best friends (so i guess peer pressure) said to me "I don't know why you judge us if you never experience it" so I went for it and what do you know, it'snot that big of a deal. If you let drugs define your life then ya, I understand a prejudice, but those who do it once in a while (like fast food) they can definitively be the same as people who don't do anything, or even better. That... Is the most retarded argument ever used... And I am sad to say that it works... Because that argument means only murderers and crime bosses can try and convict each other. Somehow I don't see that working out too well for society in general. But what do I know, I haven't done <insert activity here>, so I can't judge them!!!" By the way, have you tried non-consensual bondage sex yet with a stranger of the same gender yet? No, then I guess you can't be a juror then!!! *facepalm*
You are making the assumption that 'all drugs are bad mkay' because we are constantly told by the media that they are. How do you know that all drugs are bad? Have you ever tried any drug? Open your mind and try something before you judge it
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As for whether or not I'm prejudiced about drugs and/or drug users: I come from a rather large family of people who have extensively experimented with and used drugs. I myself have only drank a little (not enough to get drunk) and smoked/ate weed a few times to varying levels of intoxication.
Personally, I've been around stoners a lot, and know the cultural underpinnings well. For example, I knew a certain player/caster smoked weed before the subject ever came up in any of his casts, and the fact that the subject came up at all is proof positive that the 'stoner vibe' was detected by a lot of other people besides myself.
For all the positive and medicinal aspects of casual (as in, not lifestyle forming) cannabis use, those who do form a lifestyle around it suffer from varying extremes of consequences for doing so. Those who don't think it's addictive would be really wrong, reference any one of literally hundreds of references to the contrary by Dr. Drew on the subject (as a specialist in the area of addiction medicine). When it's available, people will smoke all they have, and then oftentimes literally spend hours in a day trying to procure more. You can't say that's not an addiction. And, should their weed quest prove futile, oftentimes people get irritable and cranky. My own older brother would basically be a huge dick to his family until his (then) wife would go buy him some. His situation wasn't unique.
Most of the people crusading for weed specifically that cite the positive aspects of casual/rare/occasional/social use are themselves in the lifestyle category anyways and are lying to themselves about whether or not they suffer any of the negative consequences of its use.
...And that's just marijuana. The softest-core drug there is. I don't even need to get into amphetamine/opiate/euphoric abuse, or alcohol.
It's totally okay to judge someone for substance abuse. The likelihood of someone using substances without abusing them is abysmally low.
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EPT
