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{{Main|Responsible drug use}}
{{Main|Responsible drug use}}


The concept of responsible drug use is that a person can use recreational drugs with reduced or eliminated risk of negatively affecting other parts of one's life or other peoples lives. Advocates of this philosophy point to the many well-known artists and intellectuals who have used drugs, experimentally or otherwise, with few detrimental effects on their lives. Critics argue that the drugs are escapist--and dangerous, unpredictable and sometimes addictive, and have negative and profound effects in geographic areas well beyond the location of the consumer. It should be noted that these criticism can apply to a number of non drug related addictions and behavioral abuse disorders. According to medical literature, responsible drug use only becomes drug abuse when the use of the substance significantly interferes with the user's daily life.
The concept of responsible drug use is that a person can use recreational drugs with reduced or eliminated risk of negatively affecting other parts of one's life or other peoples lives. Advocates of this philosophy point to the many well-known artists and intellectuals who have used drugs, experimentally or otherwise, with few detrimental effects on their lives. Critics argue that the drugs are escapist--and dangerous, unpredictable and sometimes addictive, and have negative and profound effects in geographic areas well beyond the location of the consumer. It should be noted that these criticism can apply to a number of non drug related addictions and behavioral abuse disorders. According to medical literature, responsible drug use only becomes drug abuse when the use of the substance significantly interferes with the user's daily life.blaze it!


==Drugs popularly used for recreation==
==Drugs popularly used for recreation==

Revision as of 20:09, 28 April 2009

Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational purposes rather than for work, approved medical or spiritual purposes, although the distinction is not always clear (often spiritual use is considered recreational). Since more and more forms of recreational drug use are being discovered to be self-medication (including much "recovered knowledge" which was well-known 50, 100 and more years ago), including using opioids sourced from illicit or other channels for pain and its related problems as well as depression, social phobia and other recognised disorders, terms such as "unsupervised drug use", "non-, semi-, and sub-therapeutic drug use", and "allotherapeutic drug use" may be more exact terms to cover the range of activities under discussion. Also since not all nonsupervised drug use is illegal or illicit, these two terms are subsets and often misused.

Psychopharmacologist Ronald K. Siegel refers to intoxication as the "fourth drive," arguing that the human instinct to seek mind-altering substances has so much force and persistence that it functions like the human drives for hunger, thirst and shelter.[1]

Distinctions

Responsible drug use

Main article: Responsible drug use

The concept of responsible drug use is that a person can use recreational drugs with reduced or eliminated risk of negatively affecting other parts of one's life or other peoples lives. Advocates of this philosophy point to the many well-known artists and intellectuals who have used drugs, experimentally or otherwise, with few detrimental effects on their lives. Critics argue that the drugs are escapist--and dangerous, unpredictable and sometimes addictive, and have negative and profound effects in geographic areas well beyond the location of the consumer. It should be noted that these criticism can apply to a number of non drug related addictions and behavioral abuse disorders. According to medical literature, responsible drug use only becomes drug abuse when the use of the substance significantly interferes with the user's daily life.blaze it!

Drugs popularly used for recreation

The drugs most popular for recreational use worldwide are:[2]

Other Psychoactives

Other substances often used (street names in italics):[3][4][5]

Barbiturates, including
Benzodiazepines, including
Nonbenzodiazepines, including
Deliriants, including
Dissociative anaesthetics, including
Opium (Papaver somniferum) and opioids, including
Phenethylamines, including, but not limited to

For more information see: PiHKAL.

NOTE: Several stimulant substances are also classified chemically as Phenethylamines, including amphetamines and ephedrine.

Stimulants, including
Indole alkaloids, including, but not limited to

For more information see: TiHKAL.

NOTE: In regards to chemical classification, several psychoactives without effect-based classification also fall into this category including yohimbe and 7-hydroxymitragynine, the active constituent of kratom.

Inhalants, including
Unclassified

Demographics

Smoking any tobacco product, %, Males[6] (See the same map for female smokers.)
Total recorded alcohol per capita consumption (15+), in litres of pure alcohol[7]

Ireland

A study in Ireland found that for teenagers aged 15-19:[8]

  • 86% Drink alcohol (the legal alcohol purchase age and public drinking age is 18.)
    • 51% binge drink (defined as five drinks or more at occasion) at least once a month.
    • 19% Binge drink once a week.
    • On a typical drinking occasion, the average amount of alcoholic beverages consumed is 5.75 pints.
    • The average age for taking a first alcoholic drink is 13½.
  • 50% Have used illegal drugs at least once.
    • 41% Have used cannabis at least once.
    • The average age of first illegal drug use is 14½.

United States

Drug use has increased in all categories since prohibition.[9] Since 1937, 20% to 37% of the youth in the United States have used marijuana. One in four high school seniors has used the drug in the past month; one in ten 8th graders has done so.[10][9] Between 1972 and 1988, the use of cocaine increased more than fivefold.[11] The usage patterns of the current two most prevalent drugs, methamphetamine and ecstasy, have shown similar gains.[9]

Recently, new methods for reporting drug use statistics in near real-time have been made possible for over 300 substances in the 3,140 US counties.[12]

Worldwide

Usage rates around the world:

See also

References

  1. ^ Siegel, Ronald K (2005). Intoxication: The universal drive for mind-altering substances. Vermont: Park Street Press. vii. ISBN 1-59477-069-7. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |nopp= ignored (|no-pp= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Lingeman, Drugs from A-Z A Dictionary, Penguin ISBN 0 7139 0136 5
  3. ^ Lingeman, Drugs from A-Z A Dictionary, Penguin ISBN 0 7139 0136 5
  4. ^ a b Erowid.org, Erowid Psychoactive Vaults, http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/psychoactives.shtml
  5. ^ DEA Drug Database, http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/concern.htm
  6. ^ WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008
  7. ^ Global Status Report on Alcohol 2004
  8. ^ RTÉ News - Half of young people use drink, drugs
  9. ^ a b c Monitoring The Future
  10. ^ Charles Whitebread: The History of the Non-Medical Use of Drugs in the United States
  11. ^ Controlling Cocaine: Supply Versus Demand Programs
  12. ^ DopeStats
  • Walton, Stuart (2002). Out of It: A Cultural History of Intoxication. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-027977-6. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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