Is illegal drug use immoral?

Discussion in 'General Philosophy' started by John J. Bannan, Jun 28, 2007.

  1. Xelios We're setting you adrift idiot Registered Senior Member

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    They do make losers out of people who abuse them, fortunately with most drugs there's a big line between use and abuse. You're right that some people take drugs expecting that they'll suddenly be more creative, that's not true. Some drugs, like LSD and mushrooms, open your mind to new perceptions and new ways of looking at/thinking about things, but they won't make you paint a masterpiece or be the next Mozart.

    In the case of hallucinogens you can look at it this way. Since birth your mind has created all kinds of filters for information to do things like seperate thought from reality, memory from perception, to make sure only what's useful or important reaches your conscious thoughts. Language plays a huge part in this, when you see an object your brain automatically attaches a meaning to it. You can think of language and your senses as a sort of barrier between yourself and the outside world, any information you get about reality must pass through them and it's inevitably "tainted" by them in the process. All of your experiences, memories, emotions and knowledge play a part in interpreting reality, which is exactly why art can have completely different meanings and interpretations for different people. A painting never changes, but what it means and represents changes for every person who looks at it.

    Hallucinogens temporarily dissolve this barrier to a certain extent. If you take enough of them it dissolves completely, you stop distinguishing between yourself and the world around you. Ego disappears completely because everything that makes you who you are, your memories, experiences, personality, emotions... none of them get applied anymore. Nothing has a set meaning anymore and you feel for the first time in your life you are seeing the world around you as it's meant to be seen, without any intrusion from your ego. This is where a lot of people freak out, because while your ego is fading away you could swear that you're dieing, and in a sense you are. Everything that makes you an individual fades away until you're left with the notion that you are everything around you, without any seperation. Most people describe it as a feeling of waking up for the first time from a life long dream.

    Then, a few hours later, the chemical leaves your body and everything goes right back to normal. Except you've had this experience now that you simply can't get anywhere else, an experience you'll likely still be thinking about and trying to digest 6 months later.

    That's about the best I can describe it to someone who's never experienced it for themself. I mean, it's like trying to describe sex to a virgin, you can talk all you want about how incredible it is but at the end of the day it's something you just won't get until you try it yourself.
     
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  3. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    Well said.
     
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  5. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    I just see a whole lot of SUPER fast fireflies.
    And everything is funny, which really pisses my husband off when he drops his pants.

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    I guess I didn't think about it, I just enjoyed it.
     
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  7. brigadeer rico Registered Member

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    Illegal drugs are immoral only in so far as they are illegal.
     
  8. VossistArts 3MTA3 Registered Senior Member

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    Hm,
    I never considered the cost of psychedelics to be high. As far as the artist and that blank canvass go, maybe the person was just really sleepy to begin with and fell asleep. Or maybe they werent terribly creative to begin with. heh. All I know is, psychedelic type drugs have been a useful and meaningful part of my life. I cant imagine becoming addicted to drugs like this, or using them on a regular basis, but no drug is suitable to used on a regular basis in my opinion. To alter ones consciousness like that on a daily or even weekly schedule is not good. You lose track of yourself when you do that, whether you think so or not. And that is with ALL drugs.
    Ill make use of psychedelics until the day I die.. well maybe not on the last day. I find it refreshing. I sort of wonder how a person could not find living for a short time with a modified mindset refreshing. shrugs.
     
  9. Aivar A.R. Registered Senior Member

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    Hm. Hallucinogenic drugs, as enhancers, make everything more exciting. With your being open and all. This can be used as an escape from boredness, which happens to be widespread right now. This could lead to an unhealthy type of addiction (as opposed to the "I'll use it when it suits me and I know what it will do").

    That was just a little sidenote. Other than that, I'm all for them. Hallucinogenics, anyway. Can't be certain about other types, haven't had that much contact.


    It's strange how there's usually no good arguments made against illegal psychoactive drugs. They always try to "shock" people away from it. There's never any content. They're all claimed to be poisonous and mutative. Typical "scare the kids away". And they mention the inescapable addiction that follows immediately, without either them or the kids knowing what addiction is.

    Yet there are more specific things, like some poisonous drugs, dangers of addiction (what type of addiction?), info which would protect against the bad effects of drugs. But no, they have to put all the drugs in the same pot. So that anyone who comes into real contact with the better ones will know that a buncha drugs (still talking about psychoactives) aren't as bad as they're painted out to be. So it's natural to assume that none of them are that dangerous. But unless one knows chemistry or where to get accurate info about specific drugs (usually only available on pro-drug sites), it's easier to have some inner chemical accidents.

    Just felt like elaborating on the misinformation problem.
     
  10. Wisdom_Seeker Speaker of my truth Valued Senior Member

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    What about Prozac, Valium, etc... that are usefull for some people, but very damaging for most. Those are legal drugs, are they inmoral? At the same time, some illegal psychoactives like shrooms are harmless...

    I think the only thing inmoral about illegal drugs is the fact that they are illegal.
     
  11. Sci-Phenomena Reality is in the Minds Eye Registered Senior Member

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    DMT is a chemical found in many plants which can give visions and hallucinations to the user, this drug is illegal in the United States, the only problem is that every human brain has DMT inside the pineal gland, this DMT is released durring dreaming, durring birth, and durring death of each human.

    In short, everyone should be in jail.
     
  12. Aivar A.R. Registered Senior Member

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    so that means someone could, say, steal or siphon it from someone else's brain?

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    Come to think of it, we don't need Sandy. At all. In fact, she's more harmful than useful with that kinda text.
    (What, the pharm industry? They went back in time and taught Indians to eat shrooms? Invented unnecessary antibiotics? Whilst a prayer is a real healer and could by no standard be considered a hoax? Too many things wrong with that post... )
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2007
  13. Klippymitch Thinker Registered Senior Member

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    Jesus gave a special healing oil to his people. Do you know what this was? It was a potent oil extract made from cannabis.
    Even to this day Cannabis has been shown to do some amazing things in terms of health and can replace alot of Pharms and do so more efficiently.

    Drugs are not immoral because they effect no one except the person that is on the drug. There are good drugs and bad drugs, but just because one enjoys to experience a different feeling every once in awhile to liven things up a little does not make it immoral.

    An immoral act is where one does harm to another while knowing so.

    Drug use does not fit this term.
     
  14. Steve100 O͓͍̯̬̯̙͈̟̥̳̩͒̆̿ͬ̑̀̓̿͋ͬ ̙̳ͅ ̫̪̳͔O Valued Senior Member

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    Drug use is NOT immoral. 0% immoral in fact.

    Drug use can only contribute, or be aid in immoral behaviors or ideas etc.

    Drug use can be used for very good reasons also.


    As such I believe the drug use itself cannot possibly be immoral in its own right.
     
  15. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    so if I have an endless supply of money and use it to buy an endless supply of meth, its not immoral to slowly kill myself that way?
     
  16. Steve100 O͓͍̯̬̯̙͈̟̥̳̩͒̆̿ͬ̑̀̓̿͋ͬ ̙̳ͅ ̫̪̳͔O Valued Senior Member

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    Depends if you see killing yourself as an immoral thing. Even if you do, it was not using the drug that was immoral, it was the choices you made that were immoral.
     
  17. shichimenshyo Caught in the machine Registered Senior Member

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    Morals are relative....-takes a nice hit of crack-
     
  18. RoyLennigan Registered Senior Member

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    Any substance that alters the chemical composition of the brain has the ability to allow the user to experience new ways of perceiving the world around them. In other words, drugs give you the ability to step outside of your normal thought process and think more abstractly. A more diverse viewpoint lets one perceive the world around him more accurately. That is, of course, as long as the person retains their reasoning skills through the experience (which isn't too hard if you are intelligent and aware enough).

    Someone who eats a piece of chocolate might enjoy something afterwards that they normally would not like so much. This is because chocolate (generally) makes you feel happy.

    One of the scientists who discovered the structure of DNA said that he had taken a small dose of LSD beforehand, which he usually did in order to have a more clear mind and heightened focus.

    Many writers and artists use drugs to see things from another perspective, therefore allowing them to come up with such abstract and original ideas.
     
  19. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    Most morals are destroyed with any drug you take that is illegal.
     
  20. shichimenshyo Caught in the machine Registered Senior Member

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    Ive taken Illegal drugs, and I fond that my morals have not changed much, in fact i found that certain drugs made me realize that I should have more compassion for thse around me

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  21. RoyLennigan Registered Senior Member

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    Inanimate objects cannot have moral standing. Morals derive from intent. Intent derives from complex and self-aware processes. End of argument.
     
  22. RoyLennigan Registered Senior Member

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    describe these drugs that are illegal. because there can be as much difference between cinnamon and caffeine as there is between Mushrooms and cocaine.

    There are drugs that mess up your body, ones that mess up your mind, and ones that do both. Generally, people who do drugs because they are depressed do drugs like alcohol, cocaine, meth, etc---the ones that mess up your body as well as your mind. Drugs like LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline, are generally used by people looking to expand perception because they have imperceptible effects on the body and speed up or randomize the actions of the brain. This randomization is good for creativity and also figuring out solutions--because the mind then works by relating the problem with many more different aspects of your memory than in normal operation.
     
  23. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    agreed. That's why the question was "Is illegal drug use immoral?" and not "are illegal drugs immoral?"
     

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