Thanks, no I didn't make the wallpaper, I found it on this site, it is scaled and cropped to fit my desktop.

I like it! :-)

Thanks for the link. All the best! :-)

About the subject.
I don't think that people drink alcohol only to make them forget something. Some people drink (well, first time, at least) to get relaxed, to get into the right mood, etc...

I agree: Which could be correctly interpreted as forgetting a part of who they are or how they feel? Indeed. :-) Thanks for the comments!

Hi everyone! Thanks very much for the replies!

If you like, we can carry on now?
I notice that the 3 main issues of the topic where almost avoided like they were lethal drugs:

The purpose of these drugs in our society?
The fact that they are drugs?
The effects they have on the mind and development of a person and of society?

I wonder how these facts were somehow mostly forgotten? Do you think you would be the same person that you are if you had not partaken in these drugs?

I'm still up and boppin' these are genuine questions if you have the interest. I know I do

I am a major and still have no vices. I think it's the best way. Do physical exercise, is the best way to feel that you're a healthy person.

Hmm.. wasn't there a controversial research a while ago that ranked alcohol as the second most dangerous drug, right after heroin?

I drink alcohol about weekly anyway. I smoke from time to time. But I seldomly drink coffee. Strangely it seems like I've got such a genes, thay it's nigh impossible to get addicted to those. I often quit smoking completely at summertime to pursue track 'n field without any problems and while I was studying I never bought coffee.

And I've been doing all those since I was 14.. and I'm 21 now.

I've been drinking since I was 10, and I thank my parents for that. Not for letting me get my hands on the poison, but showing an amount of leniency with it - which has definitely quelled any sort of serious rebellious behaviour (ie. getting completely sh*t-faced).

However, that's not to say I don't go out with friends and get drunk, which I do, I just keep it respectable - never been to the hospital for stomach pumping, and I never plan on it.

Nicotine - every once in a while.

Caffeine - I ingest the stuff like it's going out of style, and I've got a lifetime's supply, left.

As for anything else under the drug category...I called it grade 11. Year of experimentation, and came to these conclusions: hallucinogens are stupid, opiates aren't worth the burn-out, and far too many of my friends are all perma-fried from smoking so much pot over the years (many of them have been smoking since they were 8, 3-5 times a day, every day). On occasion I enjoy a little bit of the green - usually during a vacation of some sort, and never at school (it's Canada, we're renouned for some good bud).

The only reason - I can see - that most intoxicating substances are taken to the concentration of abuse is the reason that they are completely forbidden until certain ages, and anything unlawful, in North America especially, is such a faux pas amongst the Ward Cleaver-type families - and they are more of them than you would believe.

In Canada, Ontario has the highest crime rate per capita, and I'm pretty sure it has the highest Age of Majority (19) in the country. Whereas provinces like Alberta and Quebec's Age of Majority is 18, and I notice far less about "Crime waves ripping through the Plains" and "Killing spree on the St. Lawrence" on national news.

It's all a measure of how socially "evil" it is, and how much each substance is probationed.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: A really wonky law in Ontario, is that it is illegal for you to be given or sold cigarettes if you are under 19, but you can smoke at 16.

And how do you intend to get it if you are 16, steal it?

Exactly.

Or get a girl to buy a pack for you from the sleazy variety store owner, down the street.
HAHAHA. Sad, and yet strangely true.

Indeed! In fact the only difference with alcohol is that it kills thousands of people every year (about 30'000 in the UK). I would say the most controversial aspect of the research is that it was given so little publicity. Hmmm? So how is this effecting individuals and our society?

Thanks for the comments. :-)

Hi indienick!

So I believe, the death-rate from shootings in America is over 11'000 a year! I wonder how much of this could be attributed to legal drugs? It would also be interesting to hear the reasoning behind the bizzare smoking laws in Canada. ? :-)

Many thanks!

Hey, ed-j!

I did a statistics class, last year, and if there's one thing I learned, it is that there's far too much doctoring of stats; attributing one element to another. It's much like saying, if a person died in their car while smoking a cigarette, any anti-tobacco lobby would chalk one up for another cigarette-related death, regardless if the person flew off the road and into a canyon. It's unfair tampering of data.

So, to say that someone got shot by a raging drunkard, does not chalk one up against the alcohol industry, nor should it slander the firearms industry proclaiming their regulations are too relaxed; it only affects the lunatic with the gun. At least, that's how it should, but this isn't a world of honest representation.

To attribute a shooting-homocide to a drug-related matter is silly - it is no one's fault except the person with the gun's, and their own lack of self-control, and lack of mental stability.

As for the wonky smoking laws in Ontario...I have no idea. They don't make any logical sense, and I've asked cozzers (cops) why this law is the way it is, and they could not think of a decent reason why, either. Probably some silly law imposed by a member of parliament with a whiny kid who wanted to have a smoke.

IMHO:
They have no purpose. They were just invented by accident or to achieve some uknown goals, and can't be "uninvented" back. And please note, that all of those drugs are natural substances. Can't say much about caffeine/nicotine, but harm done by alcohol is done by overdozing or drinking too much. I know that in a VERY smal quantities it can healthly for blood system (sorry, don't know correct word for that and my dictionary right now is broken) in human body. Also, alcohol exists in various products (food, some milk-based produts) in a very small amounts. So the people cause harm to themselves, not the drugs do. For example. From what I've heard (Not sure it's TOTALLY correct), to get an alcohol addiction someone will have to be drinking for several years. (Although this period can vary across the world). Drug won't do it. The person will...

And what is a drug? It would be good to have a correct definition. Otherwise, answering can be difficult

I think drugs itself doesn't do anything since doesn't have will/mind/soul It's some kind of tool, or an object (substance/whatever) that can be used in various tasks. Alcohol have certain medical value, since it can be used to clear instruments, etc. When someone start drinking badly, it probably tries to achieve something by doing this. If there weren't alcohol, this person could use something else - with same result...

That's easy. You can smoke a pipe, not cigarettes, right? Anyway, if someone want to smoke badly, it's possible to grow tobacco plant and make cigarettes yourself.

P.S. sorry for any misprints/typos...