<p>I hate to even have this "battle" in my head about this stuff, but I always seem to. I, personally do not drink or do drugs. The biggest reason is I feel I'd likely have dependency issues, at least with drinking I feel. I know some great kids from high school who have started, and I knew it would happen, I just feel sad about it for some reason. I just hate thinking that people honestly have little to no control of what they are doing. I hate that so much. It just made me sad when I emailed my ex girlfriend letting her know we should patch up our friendship in the summer, and I get a drunken message back that she never remembered sending. That's coming from someone who never drank in high school. I know it's the fact that people are changing, but it's painful to see how few people are very easy going and don't mind drinking. </p>
<p>At the same time, I do have curiosity, but I don;t really want to try it. Am I the only one in limbo about this garbage?</p>
<p>Just do it responsibly. It’s fun.</p>
<p>No, I kind of feel the same way</p>
<p>I don’t have a problem with drinking one or two beers once in a while but I don’t identify people who purposely have a goal of getting smashed and wasted.</p>
<p>OP: I felt the same when I was young, especially the fear of dependency. There are alcoholics in my family and both my brother and I are afraid to drink. Now I’m 46 and I still don’t drink except for once every year or two when I’ll have one of the yummy ones. My brother doesn’t drink either. You can live a full and happy life without it. It is possible to have friends, socialize, etc. without it, even in college.</p>
<p>Whatever you decide, good luck!</p>
<p>I drink. I have a 4.0 and will be applying to medical school. If you actually look at the scientific data around drinking light to moderate amounts of alchohol it really isn’t harmful as long as you don’t get addicted. Seriously, your only young once, go for it!</p>
<p>I drink lightly. It’s no big deal to get a bit buzzed (alliteration ftw!); counter to what you might think, you still have a large amount of control over your actions.</p>
<p>Brett,</p>
<p>Sorry if this sounds like I don’t understand your situation (Cuz I do) but I think ya gotta lighten up a little? Just bcuz students drink/get crazy/do things you don’t expect them to do it doesnt really mean they changed / changed negatively. They can still be the same great people you knew in the past, but just more open to new experiences.</p>
<p>Before I got into college everyone I saw drinking I thought how those people didn’t give a crap about education/future/job/life, etc… but I got to know some of those people better and got into the experience myself I realized it’s just a way of socializing and trying new things. By the way, I still don’t do any drugs and never will; I only drink</p>
<p>I felt that way like my senior year of high school, by college I stopped caring what other people did. I did have a period of intense depression where I stopped caring about everything and in that period I drank a few times, but after that couple month period was over I never drank again. It’s not for everyone, and it’s definitely not for me. If you’re curious, it’s okay to try it as long as you are safe about it-- it won’t make you a bad person, and it doesn’t make you like all the embarrassing drunks on campus who can’t find anything else to do with themselves. 
You won’t spontaneously morph into an out of control alcoholic with one drink. If you like it, you can still do it again in moderation without letting it absorb you’re life. If you don’t, you never have to do it again. What you think and what choices you make are entirely up to you, and as long as you are not hurting yourself or anyone else it’s okay to think what you want.</p>
<p>I certainly support not drinking because you don’t like the effects of alcohol. I do recommend you at least try a couple drinks to at least understand some of the reasons people drink first hand, but I wouldn’t fault you for not doing so. Alcohol is okay in small amounts and is a part of many social functions/traditions. Drinking need not involve large amounts of cheap beer and drunken antics afterwards. Think champagne on New Year’s, fine wine with dinner, or a fruity drink on a tropical beach, among other things.</p>
<p>“I still don’t do any drugs and never will; I only drink”</p>
<p>That’s akin to saying: "I impair my perception with substance “a”, but never will I with “b”</p>
<p>Sorry to bother, but when people have a double standard concerning drugs and alcohol, it annoys me.</p>
<p>Well, one poses significant legal risks that the other may not dependent on circumstances, and given that you can only acquire one of them illegally you run the risk of buying something completely unregulated and therefore have very few ways to know if you are even getting what you think you are, which is dangerous.</p>
<p>
Most people, when they refer to “drug”, mean “illegal street drug, often highly addictive”. Yes, we can classify alcohol as a drug, but then we also have to classify other things as drugs, such as medicine we buy at a drug(!)store, etc. Many of these “drugs” affect our judgment and alters the functions of our organisms if taken in high enough doses. So, are you also annoyed by people who take medicine? I am one of those people who really enjoys drinking alcohol when socializing but would never take any of the “street drugs”. Yes, I think there is a BIG difference.</p>
<p>Back to the op:
I also hate the people who have little or no control of what they are doing. But until you reach this state by drinking beer/wine/etc there’s a long way to go. I’ve been drinking regularly for more than 3 years now and I have NEVER been “wasted” (in terms of losing control or not knowing what I am doing).</p>
<p>I extremely enjoy drinking with my friends who know their limits. These are some of the best times I had in my life: The conversations we had, things we laughed about, how to get to know each other better, etc.</p>
<p>It’s a great feeling after a few beers or some glasses of wine. You come to talk about topics you wouldn’t have thought of before, people open up and share their feelings with you and you can a sides of people you didn’t expect. Some people even say that one’s “real” personality will shine through when drunk and I definitely agree with that to some extent.</p>
<p>My recommendation:
Find people who are mature and think the same way you do. Don’t drink with these “I wanna get wasted”-people, that I hate. Buy some drinks (maybe nothing strong, start with beer and/or wine) and just enjoy and talk. Then watch each other and take care that no one drinks too much.</p>
<p>TwistedxKiss, </p>
<p>What you said is certainly true, but if you look above his (or her?) comment, read the text, and understand the context in which the comment was made, I really do not think legality was being focused on. I could be mistaken, however.</p>
<p>Thomas,</p>
<p>All I am implying is that many substances are used to deliberately impair one’s judgment. To say you will use one socially, but not another, even if the latter has lesser effects (referring to alcohol vs marijuana here), is arbitrary at best. </p>
<p>“So, are you also annoyed by people who take medicine?”</p>
<p>“Also”? I never even said alcohol users annoy me…</p>
<p>“I am one of those people who really enjoys drinking alcohol when socializing but would never take any of the “street drugs”. Yes, I think there is a BIG difference.”</p>
<p>Besides legality, what?</p>
<p>The difference is one of them is a lot worse for you. I’m talking about alcohol of course.</p>
<p>It would take someone with the username “Experiment” to back me up :)</p>
<p>how about the drug czar of the UK to back you up… sounds qualified enough right?
[Scientists</a> rebel at sacking of drug czar David Nutt - Times Online](<a href=“The Times & The Sunday Times: breaking news & today's latest headlines”>The Times & The Sunday Times: breaking news & today's latest headlines)</p>
<p>FTA: "The big problem, as he sees it, is that while politicians love to be “tough” on classified drugs, their response to the far greater danger posed by the most dangerous drug of all, alcohol, has been “puny”.</p>
<p>"We are not taking the tidal wave of damage seriously enough. If we want to reduce deaths, alcohol and heroin are the issues. I have four children, now aged 18 to 26, and at almost every party they went to in their teenage years, a child was taken to hospital with alcohol poisoning.</p>
<p>“Liver disease will become a worse killer than heart disease within twenty years. Scotland already has the highest proportion of people with sclerosis of the liver in the world. There are hundreds of kids lying in hospital beds waiting for transplants that will never come. But when Sir Liam Donaldson [the Government’s chief medical adviser] put forward a radical approach to reduce alcohol consumption by increasing the price, within seconds the government rejected his proposal.”</p>
<p>Nutt is not a puritan. He confesses to “liking” alcohol, to having binged occasionally when he was young, and to having tried some drugs as a student – but not cannabis, because he has never smoked. The worst problem with alcohol, he says, is that it is “insidious”: people develop a strong head and aren’t aware of its toxicity. But the main issue is that moderation doesn’t seem to be possible for many people, especially the young. "</p>
<p>Too bad he was fired for publishing an article on his research… unfortunately, there are just too many people that ignorantly assume marijuana is so harmful simply because it’s not legal.</p>
<p>Wow…
well first off, even though I supported drinking a bit, I also support not drinking. Drinking is not for everyone, and if you don’t enjoy it, it’s fine! You don’t have to drink to socialize and make friends. All I’m saying is be a lil open minded bout it</p>
<p>@NonAntiAnarchist: like Thomas said, but not doing drugs I’m saying I don’t smoke, do weed, xtc, hard substance drugs, etc. But let me get to the point: I’m not saying that I’m a goody goody because I drink and not do drugs, I’m just simply saying that I don’t do drugs. If you were anti-alcohol and anti-drug, wouldn’t you rather meet someone who just drinks and doesn’t do drugs? What I’m saying sounds confusing but I hope you understand what I mean</p>
<p>“What I’m saying sounds confusing but I hope you understand what I mean”</p>
<p>That you were only noting that you don’t do drugs, but not necessarily saying drugs are worse than alcohol?</p>
<p>“If you were anti-alcohol and anti-drug, wouldn’t you rather meet someone who just drinks and doesn’t do drugs?”</p>
<p>Depends on the substance, but I’d certainly rather everyone smoke pot than drink alcohol.</p>
<p>All this being said, I’ve never tried an illegal drug in my life :p</p>
<p>Well, okay let’s just put it this way. I don’t know where this dicussion’s going but in MY opinion, drugs are worse than alcohol.</p>
<p>All this being said, I too have never tried an illegal drug in my life - never smoked, taken pills, etc…</p>