I’m someone working towards sobriety from hard drugs who has spent the last 8 years in and out of sober spaces such as 12-step programs, Recovery Dharma and their secular alternatives (SMART and LifeRing).
I presently attend a harm reduction program full of people trying to reach abstinence goals from a variety of substances.
I’m literally just telling you what actual people have said in my presence (obviously paraphrased since I didn’t write that shit down).
The problem with the way drugs is talked about in general is they’re all lumped together.
Weed is not going to be nearly as harmful or addictive as opiates for example, I can definitely empathize with people addicted to harder substances (including Alcohol IMO) and the definite harm it causes.
I just don’t like when weed or psychedelics are lumped in under the “drugs” banner and are treated just as addictive or harmful when they simply aren’t.
Not to mention I personally believe that most drugs should be legalized and regulated because the way we deal with them (criminally) causes so much more harm to the people stuck in addiction, much less likely to seek help out of fear.
The line I specifically didn’t like was when you said, “and can keep a job too!” As if people who use drugs recreationally can’t keep a job.
It’s a challenging conversation to have with nuance. I meant to emphasize that I was talking about people who had crossed the line from casual use to destructive use with my “addictive cycle” phrasing, and I agree that not all drug use is equal or bad.
My boyfriend is a regular pot user. He’ll take a gummy once per week and go on hikes with his friends and come back on time for dinner all chipper. It’s adorable and not remotely a problem.
That isn’t to say that pot can’t be a problem. The specific person I was channeling from my current harm reduction abstinence group IS someone who is there because pot is a problem for him. He’s the most recent to have talked about how much easier it was to be creative when he’s sober but it’s a thing I’ve heard quite a few times in the past.
My boyfriend’s brother is also someone who struggles to keep down a job and as far as I know pot is his drug of choice.
Conversely, my drug of choice is crystal meth and I’ve maintained my career, never having lost a job. I’ve even excelled at my job through my hardest using (thanks covid wfh!).
And nobody in their right mind would say that meth use of any kind is better than the hardest of pot use.
At the end of the day, I don’t think that pot use harms creativity, but I don’t think it helps it either. And the people who think they NEED pot to be creative I do think are potentially hurting themselves.
Man this is such a reddit moment.
I’m someone working towards sobriety from hard drugs who has spent the last 8 years in and out of sober spaces such as 12-step programs, Recovery Dharma and their secular alternatives (SMART and LifeRing).
I presently attend a harm reduction program full of people trying to reach abstinence goals from a variety of substances.
I’m literally just telling you what actual people have said in my presence (obviously paraphrased since I didn’t write that shit down).
The problem with the way drugs is talked about in general is they’re all lumped together.
Weed is not going to be nearly as harmful or addictive as opiates for example, I can definitely empathize with people addicted to harder substances (including Alcohol IMO) and the definite harm it causes.
I just don’t like when weed or psychedelics are lumped in under the “drugs” banner and are treated just as addictive or harmful when they simply aren’t.
Not to mention I personally believe that most drugs should be legalized and regulated because the way we deal with them (criminally) causes so much more harm to the people stuck in addiction, much less likely to seek help out of fear.
The line I specifically didn’t like was when you said, “and can keep a job too!” As if people who use drugs recreationally can’t keep a job.
I appreciate the thoughtful response.
It’s a challenging conversation to have with nuance. I meant to emphasize that I was talking about people who had crossed the line from casual use to destructive use with my “addictive cycle” phrasing, and I agree that not all drug use is equal or bad.
My boyfriend is a regular pot user. He’ll take a gummy once per week and go on hikes with his friends and come back on time for dinner all chipper. It’s adorable and not remotely a problem.
That isn’t to say that pot can’t be a problem. The specific person I was channeling from my current harm reduction abstinence group IS someone who is there because pot is a problem for him. He’s the most recent to have talked about how much easier it was to be creative when he’s sober but it’s a thing I’ve heard quite a few times in the past.
My boyfriend’s brother is also someone who struggles to keep down a job and as far as I know pot is his drug of choice.
Conversely, my drug of choice is crystal meth and I’ve maintained my career, never having lost a job. I’ve even excelled at my job through my hardest using (thanks covid wfh!).
And nobody in their right mind would say that meth use of any kind is better than the hardest of pot use.
At the end of the day, I don’t think that pot use harms creativity, but I don’t think it helps it either. And the people who think they NEED pot to be creative I do think are potentially hurting themselves.