What is a drug?
Physiologically, a substance that alters the way in which the brain releases/reuptakes/produces certain neurotransmitters which act on a brain pathway. I.e. serotonin for mood, dopamine for mood and addictive behaviour (mesolimbic), GABA for sedation.
Socially, any "illegal" government controlled substances. Any substances that are shunned upon for use.
What I think, if indeed by the physiological definition, then sugar, sex, meditation, being alive is a drug. Stress is a drug, it alters the way in which you react to a situation, cortisol triggers irrationality and fear. Sex dopamine and oxytoxcin, bonding. All have potential addictive properties. Sugar is addictive, your body rewires itself to become dependent on glucose for fuel and forgets how to use lipids. (Blood sugar crash = mood swings, then you need more sugar etc.).
A wild tangent here. But I believe the meaning of life is to find the meaning of life. There is no answer. How can one possibly know there is a God, or a Heaven, or Recarnation? They can't. We can only speculate on what we experience and unfourtanetly, what we are taught (you should experience the teachings yourself, rather than listening to them and believing what you hear, why not try it out and see how it works for yourself? Thou shall not lust for others? (I have tried that out and it made me depressed and machine like, not human, always guilty, not for me).
Indeed, by achieving altered states can one find a deeper meaning in things that were not found in a "normal" state? An answer cannot be solved in a same state which created the question.
I have experienced depressed due to stress, euphoria due to actions (breaking comfort zone), retrospection due to meditation, exercise, sleep, Alcohol (and LSD)
Social awareness (aniracetam/phenibut/knowledge)
End point is, that a drug can be brought about through "natural" means such as movement, actions, and “legal" foods.
However "illegal" drugs can bring about that feeling/perspective as well.
Now I am not condoning certain illicit substances such as meth or cocaine, I have yet to do my fair share of research on them. However my gut feeling from what I have seen so far in reality (people who are fucked up from them, scars etc...) is that it's not worth the risk to take. Always research the risks, would they outweigh the pros? And also heed that most information is fear mongering, see for yourself what the drug does to people who use it.
Also heed the science. Anything can cause tolerance/dependence. The brain has a set default to regulate itself to a certain "normality'
A constant use of a drug causes down regulation hence a usual dose won't work anymore.
I have yet to find stuff that up regulates receptors, however I do know that exercise enhances neural circuitry, making them more sensitive, more productive. Brain derived neuro trophic factor for example promotes neurogenesis. Nootropics are speculated to enhance synaptic plasticity as well.
Use what is useful to you. That is part of the human experience. Do your research, judge for yourself as a human being, it is your body. Fuck it up or enhance it, nobody else can make that choice. Take the risk knowing what it can possibly do to you. Don’t be lazy and just do it, do the research. But heed nocebo and placebo effects. Not everybody needs to take “drugs” (but they already are perhaps not knowing it, I see McDonalds and refined sugar as a “drug”), however when used in moderation and intellectually, I find it to be quite a useful ally.
The secret is taking how you felt and acted under the influence into the state of “normality/sobriety”, taking what is useful and transferring it into your normal state without the help of the substance. Is this possible? Personally I have found the effects of LSD still changes the way I think 1 year later, I am more open to ideas knowing that there is a world out there that is way more complicated than what people presume to know. Alcohol/phenibut has shown me how to relax during a stressful situation, modafanil has shown me the potential of my mind.
What are your thoughts on drugs? Do you think the beneficial effects can be transferred over and utilized to a sober state?
Edited by Pallas, 30 October 2014 - 08:01 PM.