Drugs?

[Letxuma Swizaw]

I hate that I have to use a word with such a negative connotation but it really is the only one available for this topic.

I want to know, from those who are serious about this, what are your stances on drug use? Now I'm talking natural here none of those man-made killer drugs.

I find psychedelics and euphorics to be a large part of my spirituality. I have experimented with what i would call "gate ways to understanding" that the earth provides and i find that, with the right attitude, these can lead one to a higher (pun unintended) state of consciousness. The specifics would be: Mushrooms, Cannabis, Peyote, and similar natural stimulants. I know this is a rough subject and i probably won't be held so high in standing for bringing it up but i think it is something that must be set strait for the tribe.

I would also like to note that many tribal communities use similar drugs in everyday life along with even the Na'vi. whom i believe have some kind of "dream hunt" similar to many Native American tribes.

I'm not trying to agitate anyone's personal opinions, we are all entitled to them, i just want to know if my (i don't know what to call them) will be held in a low regard. I want to join the tribe very much so and this wont hinder me from joining, but it's something very important and sacred to me. And though i feel we can all benefit from these provisions i would never push anything on anyone.

Take mind, though, that I'm not suggesting we all become burnt out hippies or anything . I just think the occasional inward glance is good for the soul.

But that's all opinions so... I don't know. And if this kind of discussion is off-limits I apologize ahead of time, ma aysmuk.

ngengeyä aytìFpìliri, Irayo, ma aysmuk.

[MOUNTAINBANSHEE]

I do not care about people using drugs (i hate that word too) but I wouldn't use drugs. But I am open to coprimise.

[Letxuma Swizaw]

+1 cookies for an open heart and open mind, ma tsmukan!

[Txontaw]

This is totally off-limits! BANHAMMA!

I dunno, I personally am opposed to all drugs, as pretty much all of them screws something up in your body.

I think it would be best if we didn't really do that in the tribe, as it is easier for people that have done those things to not, then to force people who haven't to do it.

[MOUNTAINBANSHEE]

hey, you don't need to take the drugs. They only screw the people using them!!!!

[Letxuma Swizaw]

I'm sorry to sound like that! I didn't mean it to sound like we would all be drugged out. i was simply asking the opinions of others concerning members use. not actually turning into a tribe thing.

I also find that most peoples ideas on drugs are derived from a greedy governments description of them as destructive and disruptive because of their lack of tax yield while one of the worst drugs available is available in your local quick-e-mart. guess what it is

I do not feel like trying to convince you that these are truly safe as that is usually the pathway of someone who is addicted and in denial so if you feel it necessary look them up your self.(kinda sounded mean but not supposed to)

edit: I guess that makes me in denial. no i just feel like i must educate people on things they only think they know about. when really all they have been taught is the surface level of these things.

[Txontaw]

I'm sorry to sound like that! I didn't mean it to sound like we would all be drugged out. i was simply asking the opinions of others concerning members use. not actually turning into a tribe thing.

I also find that most peoples ideas on drugs are derived from a greedy governments description of them as destructive and disruptive because of their lack of tax yield while one of the worst drugs available is available in your local quick-e-mart. guess what it is

I do not feel like trying to convince you that these are truly safe as that is usually the pathway of someone who is addicted and in denial so if you feel it necessary look them up your self.(kinda sounded mean but not supposed to)

Ah, yes, but you forget; no one knows that the worst drug is available for $5 at your local quick-e-mart. And the descriptions of the drugs are accurate. Heroin will screw with you. Marijuana will screw with you. Sure, mild euphoric drugs won't screw with you as much, but they still screw with you. So, best to let be.

[Letxuma Swizaw]

Lets further define Screw shall we?

[Txontaw]

Lets further define Screw shall we?

Do I really need to?

-Decrease memory

-Decrease coordination

-Burn holes in your brain

-Mess with your vital organs (smoking? lungs?)

-Hallucinations (even when not taking said drug anymore)

This is not for the specified drugs, it's more of a general list.

Even mild euphoric drugs do things on that list, though slower.

So, taking a euphoric drug will kill you? No. Will it mess you up, even to the smallest degree? Yes.

[Letxuma Swizaw]

These smaller drugs can affect you yes i'm not going to argue with you there. But i will point out that most chronic effects are probably nothing compared to standing next to a running car for more than 10 minutes a day.

oh and my previous post wasn't supposed to be snide. it sounded like it though. sorry.

[Letxuma Swizaw]

i'm not an avid peyote user but i found this interesting.

A 2005 paper published in Biological Psychiatry outlines research into peyote use conducted by Dr. John Halpern. He found that peyote users scored significantly better than non-users on the "general positive affect" and "psychological well-being" measures of the Rand Mental Health Inventory (RMHI), a standard instrument used to diagnose psychological problems and determine overall mental health. By contrast, alcohol abusers did significantly worse than the control group (non-users) in all measures of the RMHI.

a list of positively affected disorders due to cannaboid consumption:

alcohol abuse,  attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or AD/HD)  amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, collagen-induced arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis,  asthma,  atherosclerosis,  autism,  bipolar disorder,  childhood mental disorders,  colorectal cancer,  depression,  diabetic retinopathy,  dystonia,  epilepsy,  digestive diseases,  gliomas,  hepatitis C,  Huntington's disease,  hypertension,  urinary incontinence,  leukemia,  skin tumors,  morning sickness,  methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA),  Parkinson's disease,  pruritus,  posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD),  sickle-cell disease,,sleep apnea,tourette syndrome,  and anorexia nervosa.

The problem with these drugs arises when one takes abuse and unintentional consumption of controlled substances laced with in the drug itself into account.

[The old Uriuujìn]

I think that this thread has almost become hostile in nature. Not the subject, but the people who are participating, and that's a fact. If you cannot be civil about this discussion, then I will without hesitation delete your posts as you write them, and that, too, is a fact.

Please try and be less... blunt about your opinions ^_^ Continue as you were

Eywa ayngahu

-Uriuujìn

[Txontaw]

Hehe, I admit I am a pretty fierce debater.

I will try and tone it down a bit, though.

[Letxuma Swizaw]

the chronic issues of the chronic (sorry couldn't resist the pun).

Cancer-low levels of carcinogens only taken in if drug is smoked and are otherwise insignificant if abuse isn't an issue. Also some cannaboids have been shown to slow the effects and spreading of some cancers. i vaporize personally.

Memory loss- blocking of the neurons necessary for memory occurs with overuse and saturation of said neurons with cannaboids. again only an abusive problem.

but I'm done explaining myself as I don't do these things often enough to be bothered by not having them anyways. and i feel that this might raise some hostilities. But if I start growing no one can yell at me.

I think that this thread has almost become hostile in nature. Not the subject, but the people who are participating, and that's a fact. If you cannot be civil about this discussion, then I will without hesitation delete your posts as you write them, and that, too, is a fact.

Please try and be less... blunt about your opinions ^_^ Continue as you were

Eywa ayngahu

-Uriuujìn

i apologize for my aggression. and i still can't stop laughing at blunt.

[bagget00]

I don't mind drugs. I don't do them personally and I don't think I will, but I don't condem others or taking them either. And yes, some of the drugs are bad but some are mild and some are used by the same type of people that we all emulate on this board. The tsahik uses them especially in her/ his rituals to gain a better understnding of Eywa and her will.
I say if they are not addictive and they do not bother others in the short run or more importantly, in the long run, then we shouldn't ban them. Most of the problems come along when the Government tries to control it.
LCD was made by psychologists, and Marijuana may be legal soon if they learn how to tax it right. It's really all a matter of perspecxtive and the accepted norm.

[d5ive]

I am against drugs, smoking and anything like that. All it's doing is killing you slowly. There is a guy down the road who goes out for a walk every morning and sometimes gets so tired he has to get people to take him home in a car, all because of his smoking addiction.

[bagget00]

So will we not let someone join if the smoke cigarettes? Or maybe we could try and help them kick the habit while they are living with us.

[Txontaw]

So will we not let someone join if the smoke cigarettes? Or maybe we could try and help them kick the habit while they are living with us.

Well, they'd have to, because cigarettes certainly won't be allowed in camp. Na'vi tribe is a no smoking zone! I will not have someone be polluting my fresh clean air!

I think this thread is more focused on euphoric drugs, and the ones that are for "phsycological" use anyway.

['Itan Atxur]

I agree that cigarettes are a no go for the tribe. But the things listed in the OP, I really don't have an issue with. I personally don't do drugs, but don't feel that all drugs are truly bad and don't look down on people who use them.

[Txon Taronyu]

No smoking its just plain stupid

Drugs only in like shamanic cerimony like once a year mabey but still problely not