Drugs!!!

[Anduril]

I find it funny how I've heard people openly talk about taking a Xanax, Lortab, what have you, to de-stress at the end of the day. I guess it's more acceptable to admit that you abuse prescription drugs than illegal ones. Rarely have I heard, "I can't wait to get home to do a line!"

Just irks me.

 

[od0_ital]

But ya have heard, "Damn, I need a drink!" or some other variation, right?

Same sort of thing. There's a reason Happy Hour doesn't start 'til the end of a normal office job work day.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I find it funny how I've heard people openly talk about taking a Xanax, Lortab, what have you, to de-stress at the end of the day. I guess it's more acceptable to admit that you abuse prescription drugs than illegal ones. Rarely have I heard, "I can't wait to get home to do a line!"

Just irks me.

I get your point about how abuse is abuse regardless of whether the drug is legal or not, but at the same time nothing in your post necessarily describes abusing those drugs. Both Xanax and Lortab can be prescribed on an as-needed basis for anxiety and pain relief, respectively (and chronic migraines or body pains can be a significant source of stress), so taking one at the end of the day to "de-stress" doesn't have to mean the person is abusing it. You shouldn't jump to the conclusion that any use is abuse.

 

[Anduril]

That's not what I was implying, my apologies if it came across as that. What I was getting at is the hypocrisy involved. It's ok for people to talk openly about taking LEGAL drugs, but not say, marijuana.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Depends on the crowd you're with. If people I'm with started talking about abusing drugs, I'd give them funny looks. If they started talking about using marijuana, I wouldn't think twice about it.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Yeah, I got that that's what your main point was, I just wanted to clarify.

 

[LitmusDragon]

America: Home of the "War On (Some) Drugs"

 

[RoJoHen]

I know plenty of people who have no problem talking about the drugs they do, legal or otherwise.

 

[Kestra]

I don't think it's that weird for people to be less reluctant to discuss illegal activities as opposed to legal ones.

 

[lurok]

I have to keep my ketracel habit hidden. I just don't think people would understand.

 

[Holdfast]

Lots of people pop a xanax or two (and other benzodiazepines) as a drug of abuse. It has street value as a result. I don't see any reason to view this use as any more legitimate (or illegimate, depending on your perspective) just because it also has prescription uses.

On a personal note, I hate prescribing any benzo. Frankly, I think they're overprescribed and often used as an easy option (because patients get instant relief, and so pester their doctor less) instead of the drug-of-last-resort I prefer them to be used as. The kind of symptomatic relief they offer pales in comparison to actually treating the underlying cause (either by different psychotropics or talking therapies or both). Benzos are horrid, horrid drugs for a large number of different reasons in my opinion. They have their uses, but only when nothing else works or you desperately need to prescribe something for temporary relief or containment of a risky situation while waiting for something else to kick in.

 

[Jadzia]

Benzos are horrid, horrid drugs for a large number of different reasons in my opinion. They have their uses, but only when nothing else works or you desperately need to prescribe something for temporary relief or containment of a risky situation while waiting for something else to kick in.

I know someone who was prescribed these, but all they seemed to do was transfer their anxiety onto the drug: On appearances, and in their own opinion they were no better, but they had become very anxious about being taken off those tablets.

 

[Anduril]

My wife was prescribed Klonopin (which I believe is a benzo) for her epilepsy. Long story short, after taking it for four years it was starting to lose it's effectiveness. If she was caught a day or two without them, the seizures would return. Thankfully, she is now taking Kepra and has it under control.

I have seen videos of people who have taken Klonopin long term and after they stopped taking them, well...it wasn't pretty.

 

[Holdfast]

My wife was prescribed Klonopin (which I believe is a benzo) for her epilepsy.

I should point out, just for clarification, was that my personal commentary on their usage was for their psychotropic, not anti-epileptic, effects. I wouldn't presume to comment in that area, having only bog-standard professional's knowledge about benzo use for epilepsy.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

People at my job openly talk about getting high.

 

[Kestra]

I got off Xanax awhile ago and I was surprised by the lack of side-effects. I don't know what hidden effects it had on my body, of course, but it was remarkably easy to get off of.

 

[Anduril]

I was on Paxil for a while. I stopped taking it cold-turkey when I lost my job and health insurance. It's not a fun withdrawal.

 

[thestrangequark]

I got off Xanax awhile ago and I was surprised by the lack of side-effects. I don't know what hidden effects it had on my body, of course, but it was remarkably easy to get off of.

I had a different experience. I took Xanax and Ativan without a prescription as a way of self-medicating before I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I was in my early 20s, the disorder had just manifested, and on top of that I was going through my teenage rebellious phase a little late. I took it for about 3 months off and on, usually 1 or 2 a day (though I did take a handfull once with a bunch of whiskey and danced for 3 hours with a positively acrobatic gay guy). I realized pretty quickly that I was becoming dependent upon them and so I stopped cold turkey. The withdrawal wasn't too bad, but it was definitely there. My insomnia was terrible and I was really depressed for about 3 days.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

...(though I did take a handfull once with a bunch of whiskey and danced for 3 hours with a positively acrobatic gay guy)...

Oh TSQ I'm seeing a totally different side of you now, and I like it

 

[thestrangequark]

...(though I did take a handfull once with a bunch of whiskey and danced for 3 hours with a positively acrobatic gay guy)...

Oh TSQ I'm seeing a totally different side of you now, and I like it

You should've seen what I was wearing! I was head to foot in silver lame! Silver lame halter dress, silver lame leggings, and silver lame pumps! Hon, I have more faces than my avatar.