DrugZ

[SYS]

DOOM Anomaly said:

Your choices are jump off the cliff and be hurt by the fall to avoid being hit by the charging bull, or get hit by the bull. Difficulty? Nonsense!

Life isn't meant to be entirely easy also, everything is different and requires different decisions, some in which aren't what someone wants. Some things are beyond our control. Also many people who resort to drugs do it because they find life difficult. Hmm?

Go and erase your post on me. :(

When did I discuss cliff jumping and bulls? You don't need to use drugs to be stupid. Shit does happen that can be beyond your control, but how you decide to react to it, is still by you and you alone. Difficulty is only determined by either inexperience and/or perception. If your really that slow of a thinker and can't make up your fucking mind to either jump off the cliff or let the bull charge you, fate will make your ever so difficult decision easy for you, and the bull will just hit you.

I don't need drugs, I don't resort to drugs, I don't drown problems into drugs. People don't "do" drugs, they use them. I just use to enjoy. People can enjoy and have fun without them. I still enjoy myself regardless, sober or high as a kite. You can argue drugs are a means to escape. Everybody has a means of escape. Daydreaming, naps, books, videogames, sports, vacationing, DooM, sex, dancing, hiking, tv, movies, concerts, etc. The list goes on. People do these activities all the time and have fun, and forget about their worries, whether they're on drugs or not.

[DOOM Anomaly]

Your choices are jump off the cliff and be hurt by the fall to avoid being hit by the charging bull, or get hit by the bull. Difficulty? Nonsense!

Life isn't meant to be entirely easy also, everything is different and requires different decisions, some in which aren't what someone wants. Some things are beyond our control. Also many people who resort to drugs do it because they find life difficult. Hmm?

Go and erase your post on me. :(

[sargebaldy]

Weed, once. Didn't care too much for it and ended the night getting frisked by a cop.

[Sharessa]

Well, its a lot cheaper than other things that I enjoy doing. List of such things follows:

-Watching movies
-Listening to music
-Playing Warhammer 40k
-Playing video games
-Going to live shows
-Bowling
-Playing Pool
-Going shopping

Alright, lets break it down now.

First off, lets see how much it costs to smoke weed. $20 gets me a small baggie, good enough for 3 possibly 4 joints. I know that one joint lasts me a good 5 hours or so, which is basicaly a day. I wouldn't smoke more than once a week, so that's one month of fun with weed for $20.

Next, watching movies. It costs me roughly $8 to see a movie at a theatre. I never buy any refreshments. I could probably get by with watchign just one movie at the theatre a month, so this would be $8 a month. Unfortunately, all the movies that play in theatres these days suck total ass. Therefore, I'd most likely be watching movies at home. I wouldn't watch anything on VHS because DVDs ahve spoiled me, and I'm not renting anything anymore because whenever I do, the DVD is horribly, horribly scratched. That leaves me with either buying myself the DVD or downloading it off the internet. Downloading is right out, because, for one, I've never had a comfortable desk chair to watch movies in, and secondly I hate watching movies on the tiny screen of my computer especialy since they tend to be low-quality and/or choppy. Also, I tend to be flighty and considering a full-length movie usualy takes me a week to download no thanks to my firewall, I usualy go "nah, I dont want to see that anyway" by the time it's done downloading and I'll cancel it before its finished. Plus, the movies I REALLY want to see are rather rare and I've never seen them on p2p. So that leaves buying a DVD, which is $10 for a mid-range non-special edition DVD. That's fine for me since most of the movies I love are mildly popular and I dont mind not having 700 hours of extra footage. Unfortunately, most movies cost about $15 at the minimum. Plus, I can't watch a movie more than twice in a week or it will bore me the second time so, I'd have to buy 3-4 movies at a time. This would be $30 minimum, and at least $60 maximum. This would probably last me a month, considering I have a library of a dozen or so movies already and there are other things I do anyway. So $30 a month minimum for seeing movies.

As for music, I already have about 80 albums, but most of these were purchased an average of 5 years ago, and my tastes have changed much since then. Only about 15 of the albums I own actualy fit my current tastes, and they are beginning to bore me. To keep me fully satiated, I'd have to buy myself on average 2 albums a month. I usualy try to buy used which usualy costs $10 a piece, though I've found full-length albums for as little as $7 before. Unfortunately, most of what I like is rather rare and I'd have to buy them new or worse, imported. So thats a $20 a month thing if I'm lucky. I could buy myself all the albums I want in one lump, which would satisfy me for a decade most likely, not counting new releases by artists I like. But I currently have 68 albums on my list which is a minimum of $680, though it would most likely be well over $1,000. And that's not counting the albums that I kind of want to buy. There is, of course the good old internet, but I rather prefer the sound of CDs to mp3s and if the RIAA catches me (heh) with my current collection, I'd owe them several billion dollars. Furthermore, music is always better when you listen to it stoned, so it goes hand in hand. So at least $20 a month for music.

Warhammer 40k...oh boy. A hobby more expensive and addictive than crack. I've met people who forgo eating and paying for water (or so my nose tells me) just to buy the miniatures they want. If I were to finish my army it woudl cost me at least $500 for the minis alone, plus the costs for paint and glue and such. And of course, when I finish my current army, I'd likely start a new one, so thats just a huge burning money hole of addiction that I'd rather stay away from.

And on to video games. A new game costs $40-$60 usualy (note: I only play PC games really). Fortuneately, I've never had an up-to date computer, so I mainly buy old games which go for $20 on average, and I often buy Battlechests and the like, which are even better deals. Unfortunately, I rarely find a game that satisfies me for more than a week. So there we go, $60-80 a month if I were to actualy buy video games at the rate I go through them. Fortuneately, I look at gaming as an addiction I need to get rid of, so if I actualy had the money, I'd likely spend it on movies, Warhammer (oh whoops, another addiction), going to Seattle, attending live shows, a girlfriend (haha, yeah right), or stuff I really need, like food, so the actual amount would be $30 a month roughly. Unfortunately, my current PC is a piece of shit and I doubt it will last more than another couple years, so I'll need to buy another one at around $1,500 eventualy. I guess I could buy an X-Box for a lot cheaper, but it doesnt have all the games I like, and I couldnt talk to my friends over it. So $30 a month on that, plus the cost of a new computer.

Next up are live shows AKA concerts. Luckily, I don't listen to the popular bands as much these days, which cost fucking $60-$80 for the entry fee alone, not to mention their $10 hamburgers. Most band I listen to cost about $20 for the ticket. Ad to that the fact that concerts are all but banned in my county so I have to head over to Seattle ($10 for the ferry), plus the drinks and merchendise I'll buy at the concert, plus dinner, and it's more like $75-$100. So, $75 minimum, but, though I'd like to go once a month, I'd be unlikely to afford it or take off work for it, so it would be more like once every couple of months. So that's $75 minimum every time I do that, possibly less if I didn't buy any merchendise, though that would make me a sad puppy.

Bowling...I have no idea how much that costs because I've only gone when other people are paying for it. I think it's like $5 per person per game, probably more, and I can't go alone. Then more money for refreshemnts. Oh Hell, lets just say $20 a month on this.

Playing pool, I've only done twice and other people have payed for it, though if I remember correctly its $10 for an hour...or half hour per table. Hell, I dunno, lets give this one $30 a month cause I like it more than bowling.

Shopping, now that's fun. The places here in town suck, so its back to Seattle again, $10 for the ferry, plus I'm likely to spend a ton fo money in the city. Pike Place Market, where the best incense stores are (THE best one went out of business though), plus its the only place where I know where to get jalepeno jelly, fruit rolls, honey sticks, and several rare italian and asian foods (including the best damn focaccia bread I've ever had). It's also the location of one of the best comic stores ever (they sell stuff like ancient editions of Magic: the Gathering and first edition Star Wars figurines, not to mention all the awesome stuff I'd actualy be likely to buy). Lunch and possibly dinner at Ivar's, the gyros place in Pike Place, or any number of other places. Of course, I'd also have to seek out that CD store I've heard of that caters to the rivethead crowd. Ad in some various instances of window shopping, minus stuff I mentioned previously that I'd be likely to buy and that's probably well over $100. Considering that, it would probably only happen maybe 4 times a year.

In the end, I probably wouldn't spend quite so much on all these, considering the fact that I wouldn't do all of these every month, and budget balancing would limit it further, but still, look at it from my angle. If I'm sitting around with a limited supply of money and I think "hmm, go out and get me a few CDs or DVDs for $40, play pool for $30, or get me some weed for $20", I'd likely go for the weed (then buy a couple CDs and or DVDs with my extra cash anyway).

In conclusion, weed is a poor man's entertainment system.

[Kid Airbag]

Just weed. That is, assuming legal drugs like alcohol and caffeine don't count.

[Gokuma]

Calculator fumes

[Disorder]

Some, not all, but some drugs are for people who seek ways to enrich their lifes.

[Spike]

Danarchy said:

Warhammer 40k...oh boy. A hobby more expensive and addictive than crack. I've met people who forgo eating and paying for water (or so my nose tells me) just to buy the miniatures they want. If I were to finish my army it woudl cost me at least $500 for the minis alone, plus the costs for paint and glue and such. And of course, when I finish my current army, I'd likely start a new one, so thats just a huge burning money hole of addiction that I'd rather stay away from.

Fuck, you're right! You spend all your money on it, you stop seeing your friends cuz you're busy with it, you forget to eat and wash... flipping-bloodyarse, put it up on the poll! And organise some Warhammer Anonymous meeting while you're at it.

Seriously.