<p>I’m very glad that your H found relief through MM, SLS. </p>
<p>The problem with OxyContin for pain relief is that there is a fine line between relief & overdose.</p>
<p>But just as people who actually need ADHD meds don’t get “high” off them, people who need opiates for pain relief aren’t getting a buzz either.
Hard to get addicted if you aren’t getting off.
If your dose is getting you high instead of just relieving pain, it sounds like the dose is too high.</p>
<p>“I can’t tell you how many people I know who’ve started with a hit of weed as a kid and have eventually ended up full-blown heroin addicts.”</p>
<p>This is my original comment that has resulted in folks getting riled up and tossing around all kinds of accusations and assumptions. Please note the words “as a KID.” The point of my post was to echo EPTR’s post about the wisdom of discouraging KIDS from trying substances, even once. The fact that I referenced marijuana users who became heroin addicts is really irrelevant. I could have substituted weed for alcohol or cigarettes and the message would have been the same. I’m sorry if I didn’t make myself clear and that folks may have misinterpreted my post to imply that ALL people (kids or adults) who smoke weed (or drink alcohol, etc.) will end up as full-blown heroin addicts (or addicts of any kind, for that matter). That would have been an obviously absurd and inaccurate generalization.</p>
<p>Fact: KIDS, adolescents in particular, who experiment with substances are at greater risk to develop addictions, versus adults who do so. </p>
<p>I hope that the kids from the high school forum don’t stumble upon this thread in which some are sending the message that weed is so benign that smoking it will in all likelihood never lead to anything more dangerous. While that may be true, particularly for adults, is it the right message for kids? Kids’ experimentation with substances CAN lead to addictions. Why risk it? </p>
<p>P.S. For those who have posted personal experiences of substance-related tragedies, I am so sorry. </p>
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<p>Now you know of two - I’m the other one. I was too afraid of breaking the law! I didn’t drink until I was 18, either, when drinking was legal in 1980. </p>
<p>Whether you did or didn’t use pot, you used alcohol even though it is legal. There are a lot more deaths associated with alcohol which is addictive than probably all other drugs cojmbined not including tobacco. Anybody who thinks discouraging kids from trying pot is going to stop them must be smoking the stuff themselves. Many kids will be more inclined to try it because an adult is discouraging it.</p>
<p>Agree with those who say marijuana being a “gateway drug” is a myth. </p>
<p>The heroin addicts in my old NYC neighborhood were very different from the chronic pot smokers. </p>
<p>The latter were pretty mellow and weren’t preoccupied with "getting their next fix whereas the former were extremely obsessed. That obsession was to the point that even as a young elementary schoolkid, that obsession combined with their exceedingly disheveled dirty appearance and them being frequently arrested by local cops for burglary/theft/muggings/trespassing in parks when there were PAL youth games really creeped me out enough to never want to start. It was the same reaction I had with the crack addicts I saw in my neighborhood as well in the midst of the epidemic in the '80s. </p>
<p>Not to mention that if that myth was true, a sizable portion of my LAC’s alum base would have become hardcore addicts of harder drugs which doesn’t seem to be the case judging by alum publications, my college alum friends and acquaintances, and lack of news stories highlighting my LAC as graduating folks who go on to do “harder drugs”. </p>
<p>And I don’t know about actingmt’s area, but heroin addiction and its addicts are still heavily stigmatized in many parts of NYC. </p>
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<p>I did recall someone telling me getting an prescription opiate for wisdom tooth extractions. He took it as directed (not getting high on it); after finishing it, he got weird unpleasant effects. Later he realized that they were withdrawal symptoms, indicating that physical addiction was just starting to set in.</p>
<p>ML, now there are 3. I never tried pot either. </p>
<p>“But just as people who actually need ADHD meds don’t get “high” off them, people who need opiates for pain relief aren’t getting a buzz either.
Hard to get addicted if you aren’t getting off.”</p>
<p>Huh??? Since ADHD is probaby over diagnosed, there are plenty of people who have had ritalin and adderall prescribed for ADHD who have become addicted to them</p>
<p>I’m not sure it’s accurate to say that one cannot get addicted to a substance if they are not getting high off ot but only getting pain relief. </p>
<p>People don’t get high on cigarettes, do they. Are they addicted? Yes, of course.</p>
<p>Having grown up in the 70s, and being fairly convinced that I was one of a very few who didn’t try marijuana in my high school, I dismissed the “gateway” theory for a long time. Until the son of a friend of mine died of a prescription drug overdose. He started with pot. Here’s my theory. Tons of people will try pot, get over it and never try harder drugs. For some, the initial step of trying something that is against the law (in most states and in all for children) may make it easier to take that next step. This being the case, alcohol for teens can also be a “gateway” drug.</p>
<p>Marijuana may very well have some beneficial effects. However, to say that it is not harmful to teens disregards evidence. See <a href=“Marijuana Users Have Abnormal Brain Structure and Poor Memory - Northwestern Now”>Marijuana Users Have Abnormal Brain Structure and Poor Memory - Northwestern Now;
<p>If you think “poor memory” equates to “thinking better,” power to you. Maybe you think you’re coming up with original ideas because you can’t remember that you heard it before.</p>
<p>The gateway theory has been proven to be bunk.</p>
<p>“For some, the initial step of trying something that is against the law (in most states and in all for children) may make it easier to take that next step. This being the case, alcohol for teens can also be a “gateway” drug.”</p>
<p>It is my experience that this has some validity but again in most cases no matter what is used pot, alcohol, coke etc, many do not become addicts and I don’t think anybody knows ahead of time if someone will or won’t.</p>
<p>The gateway theory seems backwards. People who have addictive personalities and embrace risk are more likely to try both pot and other drugs, and to start drinking alcohol early as well.</p>
<p>People who have addictive traits but do not embrace risk in that way may be the ones who get hooked after being prescribed prescription drugs. They think the pain pills are safe because they were prescribed, and then things start to spiral.</p>
<p>The kids and I were prescribed vicodin after we all got our wisdom teeth out over a period of a couple of years. I think 4 pills were taken out of the 30 prescribed for the first surgery, the rest were eventually turned in at a community drug collection. </p>
<p>I got hooked on cigarettes as a young teen, and decided if I could get hooked on something that didn’t get me high then it would be crazy for me to try anything else. Except alcohol, of course. I quit the cigarettes 30 years ago, and still have no idea how anyone quits any way except cold turkey. Pull that band-aid off as fast as possible, every other option is harder. No cravings any more, but every now and then I dream of smoking.</p>
<p>“People who have addictive personalities and embrace risk are more likely to try both pot and other drugs, and to start drinking alcohol early as well.”</p>
<p>Seems right. Those addicts who I knew, were extreme risk takers including being entrepreneurial and thrill seekers.</p>
<p>First of all: Teriwitt, your cavalier is gorgeous!!! I know one personally and as pretty as she is, her personality and intelligence are even better.</p>
<p>Drugs: I have had several surgeries for breast cancer. I have been diagnosed with other stuff. I was given serious meds which didn’t work for me. They just made me sleepy. Aleve and/or ibuprofin worked. Since my last diagnosis I am on a mood elevator. I have also had, xanax for 7 years. I have never increased my dosage. I am convinced that there are people with addictive personalities. I know what I need.</p>
<p>Oh, the last time I smoked pot was when I was going through chemo. One hit and I began to fall asleep, a good thing. Next day, my lungs were raw. </p>
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I wouldn’t expect it to be any other way. </p>
<p>Luckily, bev, MM does not need to be smoked. My dad prefers the edibles because he hates smoking. He hates every thing about it. </p>
<p>I do hope you’re healthy now! 
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<p>I recall from my Pharmacology class that tobacco and its drug…nicotine is as addictive as heroin. It’s a factor in why so many who start smoking have such a difficult time quitting and so many who try quitting go back to smoking. </p>