About addiction and "being high"

[Conan The Librarian]

In the news there is the story of an actor that killed himself with heroin. It reminds me to ask something I've often wondered about. Do people on booze and drugs frequently engage in dangerous behavior that they ordinarily would not do? Is it normal to do that? For example, we had a pretty shocking story about a year ago where a guy shot a man with a .22. This shocked the community. The guy was sentenced to about 30 years. From following the case, it looks like the shooter was just a drunk that went wild while he was boozed up. After he was sentenced he asked to address the court and told the family and everybody how much he regretted what he had done, and that he liked his victim and did not believe he could have done such a thing, etc, etc, etc, and it looked like genuine remorse. At that point all the remose in the world would not have helped him get a lighter sentence.
 
I wonder if this heroin guy just kept taking more and more to keep getting higher.
 
I'll be interested to know any insights you have.

[FPH]

I believe you do build a tolerance for the drug which requires more product to maintain a high.  I know I had a high school friend who was a heroin addict.  He was always in search of that first high.....Finally killed him.

[guzzijohn]

Booze seems to depend a lot on the person. Booze tends to amplify negative behaviors that may already be present. The worst are those drinkers that regularly have their mind pass out before their body.
GuzziJohn

[FPH]

I have one friend who is a "mean" drunk.......always remorseful the next day, but a snake when he drinks.

[DDZ]

I do believe people that drink often built up a tolerance and don't get drunk as easy. I knew I guy I used to work with that could drink a case of 16 oz beers in an afternoon, and still function well. 

[Conan The Librarian]

How many in a case? More than 6. I'm guessing 12. That's well over a gallon. I'll bet he never gets too far from a bathroom (or a stand of bushes.) That much alcohol would make be sick. Very sick.

[ironglow]

   I was a soldier stationed in Germany for about 2.5 years.  Since I neither use or abuse the stuff, I had a good opportunity to observe those soldiers who did.  Of course those who were inclined toward drunkenness went out on a bender the night following pay day.  They were also the same ones who toward the 4th week after payday, were seeking loans of $10 for $20 or $20 for $35..

   I noticed 3 general types of drunks, and I thought they could be sorted by what they got drunk on, but I could be corrected of course:

1)  If the soldier came back to the billets in a jovial, friendly mood, he usually had been drinking that German beer..

 2) If he came back in a fighting mood, chances are he has been drinking cognac..

 3) If he didn't come back, he was likely drinking something called Steinhager

         ...Comedy theatre...

[Bugflipper]

I watched a documentary once on heroin. They followed around addicts for some time and showed their lifestyle. One of the junkies on there said your 1st high on heroin is the best, you will never be able to attain that again. It sounded like the more they shot up the less effect it had on them so they would have to increase the doses every time. I guess eventually they just overload their system chasing that perfect high? Not so sure it's an overdose on purpose a lot of times. It's probably more like well I took this many cc's last week and it was fine. They take the same load again but didn't factor in not eating for 3 days or something similar that has their strength or immune system down. From what I saw they put themselves into a comatose state with the shot. Then wake up some time later after it wears off. An overdose is just not waking up from what I gathered.

[ironglow]

The part which really puzzles me is; with what we already know about such addiction (e.g. that actor), why would anyone in their right mind even consider trying the stuff?

[DDZ]

How many in a case? More than 6. I'm guessing 12. That's well over a gallon. I'll bet he never gets too far from a bathroom (or a stand of bushes.) That much alcohol would make be sick. Very sick.

That is a 24 can case and 3 gallons of beer. This guy is a professional beer drinker. Great guy though, he would do anything for you. He did some time in Nam, and his hobby become drinking beer, and lots of it. When he was still working he would have a cooler under his truck bed cover. Near the end of the day he would drink a couple of beers in seconds, then leave and stop at a bar about half a mile up the road. He would down a 40 ouncer in the bar, buy a six pack and finish it before he got home. He lived 15 minutes from work. This was a daily routine. As far as I know he never had a DUI.
 Before he retired he had some liver issues. He would have a test scheduled for his liver, and he would quit drinking beer a few days before the test. He would pass the test then back to his normal routine. He is around 62 years old still living and still drinking beer. Although I don't think as much. His wife now can keep an eye on him. Anybody else that consumed that much, for as long as he did would be dead. Most of the time you can tell a heavy drinker. The end of their nose will be a purplish color, and maybe some yellowing around their eyes, which means not real good liver function.   

After one weekend on Monday I asked him how his weekend went, and if he did anything exciting. He said nothing much, and went on to say he cut some fire wood on Sat, and drank a case of 16 ouncers, then when mom (wife) got home I cooked dinner. I had no reason to doubt him, because I have seen him in action. I had heard many of his drinking stories, and never heard one from anyone that said he was to drunk to stand. He was so practiced at it, I don't know if he could drink enough beer to put him down. He amazed me of what the human body could withstand.     

[Tommyt]

What is sometimes real sad is
The Junkie or heroine user is on x amount
Now take into consideration he is not buying at the local
Pharmacy he's buying from a Dope Dealer who doesn't,t give two shats about
anything but cash,
Now when the gangs want to make a move or the big Head pin dope
dealer wants more action
 He will put out HOT dope which will be more potent than the norm
 doesn't matter to him who dies ( it's just a junkie)
 [size=78%]what happens is the HOT dope now becomes the HOT item, everyone wants to [/size]
get their hands on the good stuff


 There was a show on this a while ago and the dealer admitted doing it
Was proud to say it was a great way of marketing his product

[Conan The Librarian]

DDZ,




T.t.t.hree g.g.g.gallons? Ho lee sh...! Did he ever eat anything? I just looked up calories in beer, and even if it was light beer, it would be at least 3200 calories, which is about 900 more than I get in a day from eating and drinking combined. Just the cans would fill a large trash barrel every week.


Closest thing to that I recall was a man who drank himself to death. He drank vodka all day, and kept it in a milk jug on the floor of his car. He drank a gallon a day, if you can believe that. I learned about him from his widow, who we let stay with us until she got back on her feet. She said that they didnt figure out he drank so much until it was too late. They would dilute his booze with water, but he only drank more. In a younger and stupider incarnation of myself I tried vodka, a lot of it, like 12 ounces. I puked my guts out and I never did anything like that again. A gallon surely would have killed me.


The lady told me her husband was never mean or bad and he always had a job until he collapsed.

[Larry L]

The different drugs makes for different reactions. A girl I was dating, her brother was a sports anchor on TV here and he decided on his own to see what the cocaine habit was all about. So he tried it thinking he could just walk away from it. He was wrong. After a few years all of the lies caught up with him and he lost his job and wife. His dad put him thru rehab and he eventually got another TV anchor position in Florida. He met a beautiful girl and they got married. It wasn't long and he was back using again. He again lost everything and came home where his dad now suffering from cancer put him back thru rehab again. I asked him what was so strong that he couldn't leave it alone. He said when you do coke that there's nothing you can't do. You feel like Superman and being alive was extremely intense. He's now a news anchor up north in a fairly large market and his sister thinks he's hooked again only this time the family doesn't have it together to pick him up.
I had a guy that worked for me that we remained friends after he left. He got involved with heroine. Said while doing heroine that it was like a non stop orgasm. So apparently this is the attraction for these folks- feeling like superman and non-stop orgasms. I kinda tried pot at one time-it was the 70's. I was dating a stripper (didn't we all at one time or another) and she smoked pot. I didn't smoke at all but she wanted to supercharge me. It happened once and only once. Felt like I needed to be on the end of a string for about a minute. That's not my kinda fun. A drug addict knows before he eve gets involved with drugs what he is getting into. There's no oops involved, just bad judgement. I personally have no sympathy for them.

[Bigeasy]

Most of my career, I had a front row seat to what substance abuse can do to people.  Its not pretty.  A lot of folks have dependent personalities, and its not always as easy as saying "Im just gunna quit".  And not everyone is your classic, steryo typed drug user.  How many posters in this forum need a drink, or 3 to "relax" after work?   How many take pain pills for that "sore back", you know, even when it doesn't really hurt that bad?

A good friend of mine has a 25 year old son who lives at home, has been in and out of state prison for heroin possession.  Really a nice guy, smart, and would just about give you the shirt off his back, but just cannot kick the habit.  Last summer, his mother found him the bathroom with a needle in his arm, not breathing.  Luckily, she is a nurse, and gave him mouth to mouth until the paramedics could arrive and inject him with Narcan.  He still cant stop.

And TommyT is right, street level smack comes mixed with all sorts of strange stuff, and sometimes its so potent that a batch will kill dozens or more in a day.  That's happening right now in Harrisburg, PA - over 20 dead.  Mostly college kids and decent working people with a problem they cant kick.  Its easy to just say screw em, they deserve what they get, but if it was your 17 year old daughter, or some other loved one, would you feel the same way?  Not trying to preach, but a lot of people just don't understand how complicated addictions are.

Larry

[nw_hunter]

Your right on Larry! It's easy for people who aren't subject to addiction to judge.Especially those who have never done alcohol or any of the mind altering drugs. I knew a guy years ago who was quick to judge some others he knew who had drinking problems. After being in a bad auto accident, and placed on narco drugs, he became hooked and had one hell of a time getting off. He had to go away for a while for treatment.

He lost his kill-em all attitude

[ironglow]

I am well aware that such habits may be hard to kick...but I believe it would be far easier to say.."no, I won't even consider trying it!"

[Empty Quiver]

My take.

The high is used as an excuse to do whatever in the H you want to do. Ex., you are a piece of crap wife beater, period. You then go get drunk and beat your wife, then claim its the demon rum made me do it. Sorry I ain't buying it, you're simply a piece of crap wife beater who went to the bar first.

The part of you that is evil is always evil it is always there. It does not show up and ring the doorbell only when high.

[Tommyt]

My take.

The high is used as an excuse to do whatever in the H you want to do. Ex., you are a piece of crap wife beater, period. You then go get drunk and beat your wife, then claim its the demon rum made me do it. Sorry I ain't buying it, you're simply a piece of crap wife beater who went to the bar first.

The part of you that is evil is always evil it is always there. It does not show up and ring the doorbell only when high.

So you where brought up in an abusive family
Now the entire population is wrong

[ironglow]

  I guess I missed the part where EQ said he was brought up in an abusive family!  Where did he say that?

[rkeltner]

I can count on one hand the number of times that I've been drunk, and being aware of the things that would have been 'easier' to do when drunk, is just one of the reasons I make the choice not to get drunk. the stuff [drugs and alcohol] blurs ones sensibilities, and makes it a lot easier to do the wrongs that you would not do when sober. that said....it still does not excuse the evil done when under the influence!!!

[SHOOTALL]

With regard to the op , I knew a man who would listen to races on Saturday afternoon while consuming Colt 45 malt liquor . About the time the race was over he was plenty drunk. He also thought he was Richard Petty. He owned a Cornet 440 magnum RT . He would have a second cooler in the front seat of that RT ready to go. He would go racing after the race  often going over 100 miles . Sometimes he would get caught others he would pull over and go to sleep. The last time he clipped off the top 4 feet of a power pole . When he hit he broke his pelvis , leg and several other bones. He was never allowed to drive again . In fact he was on a restricted lic. when he wrecked.
 Yea there is an effect.

[Old Fart]

I drank like a fish when I was a kid. On our farm in the summer when you were working you had two choices. Luke warm water in a jug or ice cold beer. You know which I drank.

After I moved out I developed a bad drinking habit. But my sweet little wife told me I had to quit. So I did. Now my only addiction is my sweet little wife.

[SHOOTALL]

After working in the trades for 40 years I can assure drugs , smoking and booze all cost in the millions each year with lost production and mistakes while influenced.

[Empty Quiver]

My take.

The high is used as an excuse to do whatever in the H you want to do. Ex., you are a piece of crap wife beater, period. You then go get drunk and beat your wife, then claim its the demon rum made me do it. Sorry I ain't buying it, you're simply a piece of crap wife beater who went to the bar first.

The part of you that is evil is always evil it is always there. It does not show up and ring the doorbell only when high.

So you where brought up in an abusive family
Now the entire population is wrong

Far from an abusive family. The entire population of what, a penitentiary? I'm not even sure what needs to be explained here, it is as if fifteen words were randomly selected and you were tasked with stringing them together to convey two ideas. No periods were supplied?