LogFAQs > #888568172

pizz posted...

The people saying that it goes down have never been a drug addict. I have been. It never goes down. You get ruined for life. It feels like it goes down because the first time after a long break feels amazing but yeah.

Even as a previous drug user I can tell you that drug tolerance goes down. Your brain has the ability to bounce back after long stretches of drug use. Obviously, the longer you use affects how long it takes you to bounce back but it does happen. Though your tolerance can return to the level that it was at much faster than it previously did if you start using again. To suggest that your tolerance can't go back down at any point again is simply untrue. lol

TheCyborgNinja posted...

GunslingerGunsl posted...

helIy posted...

pedro45 posted...

TheCyborgNinja posted...

GunslingerGunsl posted...

Yes it goes down. It's partly the reason why those who are drug addicts accidentally OD after a long period of abstinence. They use at their previous level and their bodies can't handle the same amount as it previously could.

They're a brilliant lot, honestly.

Sarcasm against people with a disease. If you ever question why you have poor occurrences in your life, look back on how you think of others.

he says, completely serious, as if drug addicts were forced to become addicted through no fault of their own

Drug addiction IS a disease. I work with drug addicts. A lot of them are good people that were in unfortunate circumstances or who made some poor decisions. Depending on your genetic and environmental influences, you may be more at risk for addiction.

Small pox is a disease. Cancer is a disease. Drug addiction is a symptom of either mental illness (which is a genetic defect, not a disease - I hate it when hippies mislabel it) or poor life choices (well, and stupidity, I guess. I've seen documentaries where people just took a "why not try it?" approach for no reason). As somebody with bipolar 1, which can often lead to substance abuse, I can say with certainty that "there is a choice" and some people are simply weak of character and take the bad path and use lots of excuses. That lack of conviction is why addicts to tend to replace their vice with Jesus when they get clean; it's simply trading one obsessive distraction for another.

The disease model of addiction is currently widely accepted in the medical field.

Disease: a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment.

It doesn't take much to see how addiction falls under this definition. The brain is the organ that is incorrectly functioning. There have been studies that show addiction has a genetic basis. One's genetics may put someone at a higher risk for developing an addiction just like someone may be more at risk for developing diabetes if it runs in their family. Obviously environmental factors have a role to play in drug addiction as well. Drugs would be the toxins that affect the brain in such a way that hijacks our ability to make clear decisions. By repeatedly ingesting these substances, it has a long lasting effect on neurotransmitter pathways essentially affecting our pleasure/reward systems. At a certain point it can affect your ability to decide between things such as either going to your kids baseball game or shooting up some heroin in a back alley.