Drugs and society

[80watts]

A different topic. Alot of people do drugs, alot socially with either alcohol, soft drugs like marijuana and or hard drugs like cocaine. With marijuana being legalized in Canada and more available then before, what are the consequences for society. I mean not all are going to do it at home, some will do it downtown, some will get into cars and drive, some will show up to work high etc.

The hard drugs are there too. Cocaine, crystal meth, heroin, and opiates like Oxycontin, and others (not sure what they are) but these drugs are addictive. People get hooked on these drugs as a way of coping with today's society's problems (stress, work, family, economy, money etc) or their own personal problems. You always seem to hear the story of the family that has a drug addictive family member, who they had to cut off/out of their lives because the family can no longer deal with that person.

The fentanyl crisis is current. I have seen documentaries where people go out to party and buy some stuff and have test kits to prove its ok/purity (I think that one was molly). I know cutting drugs with other substances increase the profit (for the seller), but why risk your life with hard drugs? I've heard the excuse of my supply is good, but does that really mean anything? A friend of mine actually said the fentanyl crisis was a way to get the drug addicts off the street. I was a little taken back by this attitude. But I can see it as a productive member of society, and you see people wasting their lives, people might just think karma caught up with you...

My drug is alcohol and I don't drink as much as I used to because of age and the next day, but I still have to wonder about how drugs affect our society and I usually think that is not in a good way.

 

[licks2nite]

In my lifetime I've watched an economy deplete jobs that required real skill and the rise of drug use to harder and more dangerous. The prevailing wrong atitude seems to be that if you don't really require the skill and coordination to do anything to earn a living, why not indulge.

 

[Amerix]

In my lifetime I've watched an economy deplete jobs that required real skill and the rise of drug use to harder and more dangerous. The prevailing wrong atitude seems to be that if you don't really require the skill and coordination to do anything to earn a living, why not indulge.

I agree with this. I view widespread drug use as a symptom of society's problems, not the cause. Outside of the mentally ill, of course, who are not a huge population but do comprise a large portion of the homeless and highly visible drug addicts.

Roughly 20% of the population is doing pretty well in the modern economy. For the most part, they marry each other and push their kids to follow in their footsteps. They own virtually all the financial assets and pay 80% of all income taxes. Their kids go to the good schools, play the right sports, and if they do party a bit too much they have good lawyers to make sure that doesn't become a lifelong mistake. While there is rampant drug use in this group, for the most part they don't let it get out of hand.

Another 20% or so are doing not too bad, but not really getting ahead, and they can see that their chances of doing better in the future are shrinking, not growing. They are one divorce or other big mistake away from slipping into the lower classes for good. I suspect this group is actually the least likely to do drugs regularly.

The rest of the population is mired in debt, low-wage or no work, or for far too many of the bottom 20%, they have already checked out and just live on welfare and whatever they can scam or steal. I think when over half your population is pretty much fucked from birth, and they know it, yeah, you can expect people to not take work too seriously and do whatever drugs make them feel better.

 

[apl16]

It's all pretty scary. I've seen enough of the problems of alcohol and illicit drugs. Recently, I've been seeing more people that are messed up by prescription drugs and the lack of our medical community to seriously look at dealing with serious health problems with a lot of pills instead of trying to actually deal with the health issue. I've personally been down that road and have repaired most of my problems with self care and dumping prescription drugs. I haven't felt this good in a long time.

I guess it comes down to understanding your body and taking control.

Whatever substance you put in your body, you need to get the knowledge and be in control of your own destiny.

 

[Miss Hunter]

Overcoming addiction is all about taking your power back. Don't let a substance control your life.

 

[October]

In my lifetime I've watched an economy deplete jobs that required real skill and the rise of drug use to harder and more dangerous. The prevailing wrong atitude seems to be that if you don't really require the skill and coordination to do anything to earn a living, why not indulge.

I’m curious about what jobs that require real skill have been depleted by the economy. It seems to me that the economy is favouring more skilled workers. Can you give me an example?

 

[JimDandy]

Can you give me an example?

I have taught kids as young as 9 how to program. No skill required, only some practice. Now shoeing a horse, that takes skill! Not much call for that now days.

JD

 

[sybian]

I have taught kids as young as 9 how to program. No skill required, only some practice. Now shoeing a horse, that takes skill! Not much call for that now days.

JD

You ever tried to hire a Farrier, it's almost impossible .....and its 120 to 140 , cash, to bang on four shoes.
They do have an awful lot of travel time between clients, but most people have more than one horse.
I agree it's a highly skilled profession, and a back breaking way to make a living....it seems any blue collar worker these days is getting paid large, because nobody else wants to drive nails....or thinks they can't .

 

[MissingOne]

....it seems any blue collar worker these days is getting paid large, because nobody else wants to drive nails....or thinks they can't .

I live in a neighbourhood of mixed ages and professions. Most of the younger guys in the neighbourhood are, in one way or another, "banging nails" for a living, and doing darn well at it. Buying shiny new pickup trucks (we generate lots of greenhouse gasses here, folks), starting families, and generally moving ahead with their lives.

I'm an old fart with too many degrees, sitting in front of a computer for most of my working days.

Who's working in the 21st century economy, me at my computer or the young guys around me banging nails for big bucks?

 

[sybian]

I live in a neighbourhood of mixed ages and professions. Most of the younger guys in the neighbourhood are, in one way or another, "banging nails" for a living, and doing darn well at it. Buying shiny new pickup trucks (we generate lots of greenhouse gasses here, folks), starting families, and generally moving ahead with their lives.

I'm an old fart with too many degrees, sitting in front of a computer for most of my working days.

Who's working in the 21st century economy, me at my computer or the young guys around me banging nails for big bucks?

After all the wildfires burned out....you can't get a young guy to drive a nail to save your life around here.
I had / have extensive rebuilding too do afterwards....it's a slow go with just myself and a hammer.
But I'm gaining some ground two years later, working on sheer stubbornness , and a small amount of pride.

 

[licks2nite]

I’m curious about what jobs that require real skill have been depleted by the economy. It seems to me that the economy is favouring more skilled workers. Can you give me an example?

Fabrication of components that are quality controlled on a large scale for an export market that actually contributes to the British Columbia economy. At best British Columbians are installers of components that have been imported. Essentially, acting as selling agents for foreign corporations. Word is that such lost manufacturing jobs that have dwindled slowly 7 decades throughout Canada will not come back to employ the rank and file. All levels of Canadian government bureaucracy regardless of political strip have cooperated serving this global order, particularily the Canadian judiciary. If such work comes back, that work will have to be highly automated to compete with cheap marginalized labour overseas.

 

[ElsiDawson]

After all the wildfires burned out....you can't get a young guy to drive a nail to save your life around here.
I had / have extensive rebuilding too do afterwards....it's a slow go with just myself and a hammer.
But I'm gaining some ground two years later, working on sheer stubbornness , and a small amount of pride.

Sy, you know damned will that if you need someone to come bang some nails for you, I'd be thrilled to do it.
But there's no way in hell you're getting me up in the hay loft. My father's side are ranchers and I'm not that much of an idiot.

 

[luvsdaty]

There's going to be a huge shortage of skilled labour when the last of the boomers leave the trades. Hell I'm gen X and I'll be hanging up my steel toes in another five and a half years. Saw many journeymen make over a hundred grand a year all to blow it away on cocaine ,one ton pick ups and women. Now their kicking stones down the road after Alberta dried up with a bad coke and gaming habit. A few were smart and paid off their mortgages but many didn't.

 

[80watts]

Any eye/hand skill takes time to develop. Like machinists, A Crane operator, a mechanic, a welder, carpenter

Look at any shop that uses mechanics on autos. Most of the staff are semi trained (at various levels of training) and you have maybe 1 licensed mechanic for the shop, its cheaper on the labour.

Look around you city for heavy industrial work/manufacturing. Anything you find most likely to be a garage that does replacement parts. It doesn't build those parts.

For a backyard mechanic, you need a battery tester (midtonics) and electronic code machine to hook up to car's computer at minimum for todays cars (both run around 200-300 dollars), a voltmeter dosen't cut it anymore, but is helpful with electronic troubleshooting.

The battery tester tells you to follow certain steps (etc) to determine if your battery is good. It dosen't tell you what its checking or how it reached those conclusions....Which could tell you other things about the battery and car....

So any job where you are required to be alert and/or think straight, doing drugs/alcolhol is not a good thing.

But it seems everywhere I look and see drugs there is a general disregard by everyone that the drugs are there and they don't care that people are using them.... nobody says anything anymore.....Parents will allow their grown kids to use pot at home, why? better pot then hard drugs, or be a hypocrite because they smoked pot when they were younger.

Is it stress? Pressure of todays culture to succeed and make money? Is that a reason to take drugs, to let loose, to forget, to relieve life's pressures....

The lines are getting blurred for the hard drugs too. Free injection sites, and its even been suggested free drugs for the addicted.... Who wins, not society in general, maybe the sellers of drugs who make profits from the addicted, not the addicted person, not their family or community.....

I just feel that society has lost the battle to the drugs and they have reached the point of no return....... In the kinder gentler world, they just give you drugs so that you float away without a word of protest, as the world drowns in sleepy mellow drifting shades...... until oblivion....

Time to go have a stiff drink....

 

[October]

Fabrication of components that are quality controlled on a large scale for an export market that actually contributes to the British Columbia economy. At best British Columbians are installers of components that have been imported. Essentially, acting as selling agents for foreign corporations. Word is that such lost manufacturing jobs that have dwindled slowly 7 decades throughout Canada will not come back to employ the rank and file. All levels of Canadian government bureaucracy regardless of political strip have cooperated serving this global order, particularily the Canadian judiciary. If such work comes back, that work will have to be highly automated to compete with cheap marginalized labour overseas.

Huh? Are we being assimilated by the Borg?

 

[licks2nite]

Huh? Are we being assimilated by the Borg?

Last time that I met Borg, I was told to leave the premises for asking too many questions.

 

[AA_Train]

Overcoming addiction is all about taking your power back. Don't let a substance control your life.

So true. It is also about finding constructive ways to deal with the trouble and strife in your life and not turning to a substance to medicate yourself.

I say this somewhat ironically as it was an illicit substance that helped right my own ship. I was at a low point in my life and started REALLY overdoing it with alcohol and pot. I'd always enjoyed both with some regularity but started going overboard when things in my life took a downturn. I just wanted bad feelings to be nullified as opposed to dealing with them.

Fast forward to the spring and I decided to get back into psychedelics. I had read articles about the positive results the had produced with people dealing with depression and trauma. At first I tried mushrooms and had mixed results. I found the potency of each dosage varied too much even amongst the same strain. So, somewhat hesitantly, I turned to LSD.

Now, I had tried LSD before a few times when I was younger but was underwhelmed by it. I never tripped out or had any crazy experiences, but was just left with a bit of a light head and a case of insomnia. I thought with time things might changed and boy, howdy, did they!!! Again, I didn't really hallucinate or anything but I find it help focus and organize my thoughts and it allowed me to find a mental state of balance and to really examine my perceptions of myself. by doing this, I regained my confidence and focus and now I am on an uptick in my life and finding and creating much more joy.

I'm not saying this method is for everyone but it awoke a strength inside that was dormant inside of me and has allowed me to take more ownership in my life. I still smoke some pot and very occasionally have a drink but I do it from a place of enjoyment as opposed to medicating my sorrows.