do you judge your peers who drink/smoke/do drugs?

<p>Can anyone give a good reason why you shouldn't judge someone who is using drugs?
And by judging I mean thinking "wow, that person is stupid" etc.</p>

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<p>Well, because if the quote you posted is the way you judge them, you're probably wrong, because in many cases they're probably smarter than you. In fact, grabbing your stats from a chance thread, I know that if you told me I was stupid, baed merely on the fact that I have used drugs, it would be objectively false - and relatively, would make you stupider than me.</p>

<p>So that's why you shouldn't think everyone who does drugs is stupid. The other reason is that many drugs are very innocuous if used in a careful way, and if you do a marginal utility analysis (difficult) of drug use, for many people it suggests that the choice that they enjoy most is that in which they do in fact use drugs occasionally.</p>

<p>I know it's hard to look past the NIDA/DEA misinformation and general stereotypes of drugs in American culture, but eventually you will realize they aren't accurate. A couple of cases in point? Bill Clinton, who though obviously sexually deviant was and is highly successful, who I guarantee smoked a lot of pot in his youth (if he'd only done it once he wouldn't have even bothered to admit that he had tried it, the fact that he did indicates he did more) and Obama, who appears to have had extensive experience with drugs including cocaine. Two people who obviously used drugs during their youth, and went on to become incredibly successful. And if you judged them, you'd be doing something very stupid.</p>

<p>^^
Well, drugs shouldn't all be lumped into one category, and some of them produce much less negative effects than others (including legal ones like alcohol) and can even produce positive effects.
The only thing wrong with them is their legal status'.</p>

<p>Yes, that would be the other reason - if you use alcohol and tobacco as a cutoff below which any drug less harmful should be allowed, you allow a large number of illegal drugs, including almost all psychedelics, a number of stimulants... basically anything other than heroin, cocaine, street methadone, and methamphetamine.</p>

<p>ALL my friends do drugs now EVERYDAY... it's ridiculous. like, my entire social circle. it's just weed, though.</p>

<p>1of42,
Please read my post next time ;)</p>

<p>thesmiths,
Just weed? lol... am I mistaking or isn't weed pretty bad for you?</p>

<p>Eh, my friends drink and I don't really. They kind of just act like idiots for a few hours. I think I have a higher opinion of those like me, who don't partake, but knowing that someone drinks doesn't necessarily lower my opinion of them. Most other drugs I'm not as comfortable with. I mean seriously, why would anyone start smoking today? And I know a few people whose lives have been totally screwed up by harder drugs like crack, even in the hands of others. I can't really respect anyone who does stuff like that.</p>

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<p>dude, there aren't any detrimental effects that i know of. you'd had to take COPIOUS amounts of it to get "hurt", much more than is humanly possible.</p>

<p>i usually don't do it, because, it's much more entertaining to observe my friends while they're high... :)</p>

<p>Health</a> issues and effects of cannabis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>

<p>I kind of do but I don't. </p>

<p>A lot of my friends smoke cigarettes. I don't smoke at all though I would kind of like to try to confirm the fact that I would rather not smoke. But when they decide to smoke, I don't say anything bad about smoking or not: they know the effects of smoking and they don't need someone to tell them of the negative consequences. Plus, it's not really all that big of a deal. </p>

<p>I don't normally judge if my friends drink or smoke weed RESPONSIBLY- in fact, I completely called out a friend for smoking pot in a crowded mall parking lot and then driving. Obviously, not the grandest of choices that she made, but I felt the need to tell her. </p>

<p>I do judge if others do hard drugs (i.e. meth) simply because I've known the effects firsthand through a certain relative.</p>

<p>I used to be extremely critical and judgmental of people who would smoke, drink beer (wine was fine, lol), and do any sort of drugs. And since I'm only 16, below age for smoking or drinking, I would naturally judge anyone who breaks the law. And no, I'm not a goody-too-shoes, but it just disgusts me how people love disobeying authority and then end up dying of cancer or whatever they get themselves involved with in the end because they were nonsensical. Please people, get some sense. And if you have an addiction, at least make the effort to get over it.</p>

<p>Yeah, but not as evil people. Just unfortunately unintelligent. There's nothing good/evil to this whole argument, just smart/dumb. Killing someone because you were sippin on booze in the house of blues isn't evil, it's just stupid decision-making. Just like how abstaining doesn't make you a man of virtue/character/etc., just smart.</p>

<p>Although, the reason you'd be an idiot in my book is if you say any of the stuff should be legalized before steroids...anyone who says steroids are just as bad or worse than your typical alcohol/nicotine/weed is plain ignant, case closed.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Although, the reason you'd be an idiot in my book is if you say any of the stuff should be legalized before steroids...anyone who says steroids are just as bad or worse than your typical alcohol/nicotine/weed is plain ignant, case closed.

[/quote]
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<p>Hmm. I think that the point of steroids is less about "enjoyment" like the other substances. Though all have their drawbacks, the point of steroids is to bulk up and you carry lots of side effects long term. Your overall mental condition can change drastically for the worse long term, plus tons of medical crap, so it's kind of like "I'm getting plastic surgery and the surgeon didn't perform the operation correctly, so let's try to prevent that." I don't think it's necessarily worse, but I can understand why some steroids are illicit. </p>

<p>Of course, we live in a hypocritical society in the first place. I'm PRETTTTTTY sure more guns kill people than weed, yet some continue to want less and less limitations.</p>

<p>Not going to lie, I did judge up through junior year of high school. I mean, I still hung out with people who I knew drank occasionally, but the overall stigma attached to drinking until the class of '06 graduated was very negative in my school. Most didn't drink until they left, surprisingly enough. Most of the "popular" kids in that grade didn't (i.e. star quarterback, homecoming queen, etc.) so no one else did. We did have some FCA officers drink though, and that hurt our attendance just in time for the year that I became captain of it.</p>

<p>I didn't drink at all even through senior year of high school, but most of my friends who went off to college while I was still in high school started doing so, and I began to realize that my turn was imminent. I really had no desire during HS since none of my friends ever did. I even went on a recruiting trip for college and denied anything that was offered to me. During this time though, I was exposed to it more and more, and realized how much it didn't matter and shouldn't affect my perception of people at all.</p>

<p>Now that I have also been exposed to people with pot in college (didn't know anyone who did it, and was simply disgusted by it in HS since it always stunk up our bathrooms) I don't think any less of people who use that either. Or salvia. Or some lesser hallucinogens. Coke and heroin are still both a problem for me, and I'm glad I didn't receive a bid from the fraternity I wanted since they frequently use cocaine. I don't doubt that the people who use it, though, could become amazing people later on in life. Or that drinking/smoking all the time in college is a prelude to a crappy future.</p>

<p>It's not really my business, but I can't help some kids a my high school look trashy when they brag about all the alcohol they had or the drugs they took. It's not something to be proud of. They feel the need to share with <em>everyone</em> though, even if the person doesn't want to hear it.</p>

<p>"Hmm. I think that the point of steroids is less about "enjoyment" like the other substances. Though all have their drawbacks, the point of steroids is to bulk up and you carry lots of side effects long term. Your overall mental condition can change drastically for the worse long term, plus tons of medical crap, so it's kind of like "I'm getting plastic surgery and the surgeon didn't perform the operation correctly, so let's try to prevent that." I don't think it's necessarily worse, but I can understand why some steroids are illicit."</p>

<p>Steroids are only bad if taken in excessive amounts. They're far better for the body than THC though.</p>

<p>i mainly judge smokers. the kinds who do it to look cool.</p>

<p>I don't judge myself. In my opinion it's a matter of personal choice in much the same manner as one's sex life (or the lack thereof)</p>

<p>"The man with no vice has no virtue."-I forgot who said it, must be that damn alcohol eroding my memory...</p>

<p>"Steroids are only bad if taken in excessive amounts. They're far better for the body than THC though."</p>

<p>Umm....you obviously know nothing about weed or steroids. People who take steroids are MUCH more likely to have testicular cancer, heart attacks, strokes, and other terrible conditions. Also, much of the steroid market is not what you see in MLB, its not all glorious. People take steroids, which are injected via hypodermic needles, from back alley dealers (i actually know a dude who used to get it done in a sketchy inner city project). Can you say AIDS? How bout HEPATITS?</p>

<p>THC has been proven to cause memory loss and a decrease in male virility. Thats about it. So, AIDS, Hepatitis, heart attack, testicular cancer, and strokes or memory loss and less potant man-milk?</p>

<p>I dont smoke, ne more (i have been sober for two years now :D go me!) but you can't possibly say that weed is more dangerous than steroids</p>

<p>btw thesmiths: lol. "copious" hahahhaha</p>