I ran across this, and found it interesting. It is the Repsonsible Drug Use Oath.



What do you all think about this, and the philosophical ideas behind drug use?

You're right, most drug users aren't the responsible ones. This more than likely stems from the fact that people grow up with "just say no" and are told forever that drugs are bad. It's a lot harder to teach responsibility, so they teach prohibition instead.

I love weed, but alas, have not smoked for some time. I miss it like an amputee misses his limb....  :-(

The philosophical issues surrounding drug use are essentially a matter of ethics.  When under the infuence of 'recreational drugs' (I exclude palliative and therapeutic drugs from all the following), one loses ones normal values.  This has effects in two areas - personal and societal.

The societal effects range from the innocuous but inconvenient to the downright dangerous. (For the purposes of this post, I will have in mind the worst effects of drugs - just to make the points a bit more sharp).  If you believe that your contribution to society is to be disruptive in some way (ANY way, since you probably can't predict the way your distorted persona will act) then you are obviously 'disrespecting' your society.  But given the unfocused, unpredictable nature of your influenced actions, that 'disrespect' has no defence.  Anti-apartheid campaigners did to resort to drugs to combat the evil, they took organised action.  Your 'personal statement of protest' in resorting to mind altering drugs is blind unthinking rejection.  Why be surprised that your society may frown upon it?  Cue discussion of the relationship between individual and society.

From a personal standpoint, messing with your head can be a way of handling peaks of debilitating emotion.  But the obvious thing to do is to work to come to terms with the emotional problems in a rational way.  Self- or group-induced emotion is ersatz and valueless - emotions serve an evolutionary purpose, artificial ones are empty.

Gojira's point "Unfortunately when on drugs, this whole oath goes out the window" is deep.  It obviously points out the paradoxical nature of the 'oath'.  But it draws attention to the fact that a drug user is denying his own character - he is trying to change it, maybe temporarily maybe seeking a long term 'escape'.

This could lead us to a further question that borders the 'Free Will' debate (NO MORE please).  Trying to stay out of that trench warfare, put it another way - is the addicted personality to be judged in the same way as a 'normal' personality.

My own view (as someone who is currently quite probably alcohol dependent - I'm not claiming moral high ground) is that you deserve to treated with all the revenge, retribution and disdain that your actions would warrant if you performed them in your uninfluenced life. 

Hi wigs

I know you have a very specific and focused interest here, but I was trying to get to the bigger picture.  And I'm still considering the extremes here....

"Individually: none of your business."  What is the principle you are invoking behind this?  If you saw someone, say, frenziedly mutilating themselves - would you just shrug and say 'O well, none of my business'.   If you saw someone just sitting in total depression staring at a wall while they dehydrated and starved 'O well, none of my business'. 

I made a distinction between private and public use with the society/individual distinction.  But did suggest a discussion of the relationship between the two would be useful.

'Not taking 50 hits of acid'....  Uh huh. So you can guarantee a level of control that would stop you doing that after the first?

Usually I don't like 'slippery slope' arguments.  But when dealing with mind-altering stuff I am inclined to believe that they have some more power.  This is because SS arguments are usually about public matters, and the mass of humanity can usually be counted on not to go to far to an extreme (usually, not always).  Individuals, however, have no more than their own mental resources, which are unreliable at the best of times, and more so when under the influence.

weed is "better" than alcohol,,, because it's stronger and it's side effects are paranoia instead of vomiting and head aches... person taking drugs is escaping reality hence he/she cannot deal with personal life which is irresponsible by it's own...

now kids,,, i've used to do some of these and look what happened to me,,, ppl have no idea what i'm one about,,, my typing alike serial killer trademark and my nickname is taken from some pedobear fanboy,,,

I wouldn't say its stronger.  Some bad strains can cause paranoia in some people. I smoke the finest weed on that planet. No paranoia.


For some people that is true. The same sort of thing can be said for lots of things like guys that spend all their time fishing or playing golf.