DRUG use

[OnMyWayThere]

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It would be quite interesting to see pecentages of future doctors who have experimented - or are currently experimenting - with drugs and the type of drugs. Since it's anonymous, please post. Multiple selections are also an option.

 

[Brickhouse]

Does trying things a couple of times constitute use? I mean, I took a few hits off a few bongs in my life but I would never call myself a "user" - and it was in Amsterdam where it's legal so if the adcomms are reading this you can't hold it against me....

 

[zinjanthropus]

um, alcohol? the drug with the largest disease burden and most modifiable set of preventable behaviors in this country...and the one we will most likely seen most often as physicians.

 

[Brickhouse]

Originally posted by zinjanthropus
um, alcohol? the drug with the largest disease burden and most modifiable set of preventable behaviors in this country...and the one we will most likely seen most often as physicians.

yes, count me in for that one.

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by Brickhouse
yes, count me in for that one.

yeah outside of the OH i havent touched a thing haha.

 

[DrBodacious]

People arn't voting correctly, used mj + never used mj should = 100% not 36%.

 

[Drakensoul]

Originally posted by DrBodacious
People arn't voting correctly, used mj + never used mj should = 100% not 36%.

The poll percentages are obtained from all of the options. If those were the only two options, then yes they would equal 100% of the votes. There are, however, other choices, and so these two alone cannot add up to 100%. If they did, that would mean all of the other choices were 0%.

 

[Brickhouse]

Originally posted by Drakensoul
The poll percentages are obtained from all of the options. If those were the only two options, then yes they would equal 100% of the votes. There are, however, other choices, and so these two alone cannot add up to 100%. If they did, that would mean all of the other choices were 0%.

what do you expect from someone on crack, tho....

 

[OnMyWayThere]

Originally posted by zinjanthropus
um, alcohol? the drug with the largest disease burden and most modifiable set of preventable behaviors in this country...and the one we will most likely seen most often as physicians.

I think the CH3CH2OH is kinda a given... for the most part at least.

 

[docmemi]

so, what % of med students do you think drink, smoke cigs, and/or smoke pot? i know some friends of mine who blazed with their (med) student hosts.

 

[Spitting Camel]

Originally posted by OnMyWayThere
I think the CH3CH2OH is kinda a given... for the most part at least.

not really 😀

 

[hamhamfan]

Originally posted by docmemi
so, what % of med students do you think drink, smoke cigs, and/or smoke pot? i know some friends of mine who blazed with their (med) student hosts.

Like OMG. How could they be so open about it with strangers? If I were staying over, I'd totally freak out.

 

[Spitting Camel]

Originally posted by hamhamfan
Like OMG. How could they be so open about it with strangers? If I were staying over, I'd totally freak out.

I wouldn't just freak out, I'd freak-ing report them! Some people just never grow up and get their $hit together. L-O-S-E-R-S 🙄

 

[hamhamfan]

Originally posted by AlreadyInDebt
I wouldn't just freak out, I'd freak-ing report them! Some people just never grow up and get their $hit together. L-O-S-E-R-S 🙄

Well, they are the hosts, so it might not be too nice to do that. Anyways, I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to get into too much of a mess in real life...so I'd just let it go.

BTW, please don't consider alcohol a drug. That would screw up my good record. I might have tried a small amount when I was younger, but I can proudly say that I've never been drunk.

 

[Spitting Camel]

Originally posted by hamhamfan
Well, they are the hosts, so it might not be too nice to do that. Anyways, I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to get into too much of a mess in real life...so I'd just let it go.

The law is the law. You can't make exceptions, because that's when society begins to rot. If they aren't taught a lesson, they will never learn and change their ways. I feel I would actually be doing them a favor by reporting them.

 

[irie]

weed....self medication. How else am I supposed to slow my mind down? My mind can't even keep up w/ itself most of the time... The prollem with weed is that is absolutely zaps your motivation. You gotta smoke in moderation or else you end up on the couch with a bag of cheetos for the rest of your life.

Don't do drugs you liberals...


Quik!!! Someone tell us what the bible says about drugs!!!!

 

[DireWolf]

Originally posted by AlreadyInDebt
The law is the law. You can't make exceptions, because that's when society begins to rot. If they aren't taught a lesson, they will never learn and change their ways. I feel I would actually be doing them a favor by reporting them.

and I feel that you are a bonejob.

 

[Eraserhead]

Originally posted by irie
weed....self medication. How else am I supposed to slow my mind down? My mind can't even keep up w/ itself most of the time... The prollem with weed is that is absolutely zaps your motivation. You gotta smoke in moderation or else you end up on the couch with a bag of cheetos for the rest of your life.

Don't do drugs you liberals...


Quik!!! Someone tell us what the bible says about drugs!!!!

ITs so sad when you see those cheeto eaters. There's nothing else to define their existence by. Seriously people need to learn this moderation concept.

 

[DrBodacious]

Originally posted by Drakensoul
The poll percentages are obtained from all of the options. If those were the only two options, then yes they would equal 100% of the votes. There are, however, other choices, and so these two alone cannot add up to 100%. If they did, that would mean all of the other choices were 0%.

OK I now see that all the % add up to 100, but people still are not answering correctly because (as of right now) 63 people answered questions about pot, 43 people answered questions about coke, and 74 people answered questions about other drugs.

In other words, the questions regarding pot shoule total 33.33%, the questions regarding coke should = 33.33% and the questions regarding other drugs should = 33.33%.

Therefore, the % for each category is meaningless, or at least not very precise, for showing what % of the people who did the poll did the drug in that category.

 

[Cerberus]

People should be able to do anything they want to their body, no matter how stupid it is. That is how a free society works.

 

[U4iA]

mushrooms should be on this poll rather than cocaine. cocaine is so addictive and unfullfilling whereas shrooms can be spiritual and life changing. i think people who are interested in medicine would be more likely to experiment with drugs that can convey more benefit than damage. i am also curious about stimulants (more controled than cocaine, perhaps the ones prescribed for ADD such as amphetamines, strattera, adderall, ritalin, maybe ephedrine (an over the counter asthma medication mostly used by truckers/ravers), etc).

accessability is an issue here as well. most people don't have access to cocaine - anyone can get a prescription of the drugs mentioned above (shrooms excluded =).

 

[DrBodacious]

Originally posted by irie
weed....self medication. How else am I supposed to slow my mind down? My mind can't even keep up w/ itself most of the time... The prollem with weed is that is absolutely zaps your motivation. You gotta smoke in moderation or else you end up on the couch with a bag of cheetos for the rest of your life.

Don't do drugs you liberals...


Quik!!! Someone tell us what the bible says about drugs!!!!

I would say that with any drug problem involving dependence and constant use, that people build their life and their reality around the world as they see it when they are stoned. Then, when people stop using and step back into the real world, it takes some realizations about just how much the drug has had an impact on how they've lived their life over the past X years.

These people may or may not be a "out of the loop" for a long while, depending on how effective they are at switching back over to real life.

I think it is a myth that pot smoking turns someone into a unmotivated person for life. Usually the motivation problems were there before the drug problem, hence the drug problem. I've seen this in the instances of people who haven't been able to snap out of the haze and get back to real life.

 

[evines]

Originally posted by Cerberus
People should be able to do anything they want to their body, no matter how stupid it is. That is how a free society works.

Only if the rest of us don't have to deal with them. Unfortunately one person's actions affects another's well-being. For example, my drunk neighbors keep me up at night. Anarchy is not cool.

 

[raspberry swirl]

Originally posted by U4iA
accessability is an issue here as well. most people don't have access to cocaine

you're kidding right? where do you live, under a rock?? (no pun intended)

 

[Cerberus]

Originally posted by evines
Only if the rest of us don't have to deal with them. Unfortunately one person's actions affects another's well-being. For example, my drunk neighbors keep me up at night. Anarchy is not cool.

Well, I agree to an extent. I don't think you have any right to bother me with your bad habits - hence i think smoking should be banned in public places. And you don't have a right to keep your neighbors up under the excuse of being drunk. But just because something has the potential for abuse doesnt mean it should be banned outright. Fast food is horrible for people and makes the costs of healthcare go up. This affects me even though I work out nonstop and eat a very healthy diet. That doesnt mean I want to see fastfood banned however.

 

[medic8m]

Originally posted by U4iA
mushrooms should be on this poll rather than cocaine. cocaine is so addictive and unfullfilling whereas shrooms can be spiritual and life changing. i think people who are interested in medicine would be more likely to experiment with drugs that can convey more benefit than damage. i am also curious about stimulants (more controled than cocaine, perhaps the ones prescribed for ADD such as amphetamines, strattera, adderall, ritalin, maybe ephedrine (an over the counter asthma medication mostly used by truckers/ravers), etc).

accessability is an issue here as well. most people don't have access to cocaine - anyone can get a prescription of the drugs mentioned above (shrooms excluded =).

Yes mushrooms, even LSD, can be life changing..

I think the danger in using drugs comes only if you are trying to use it to escape reality rather than explore your conciousness.

BTW, I make no distinction between legal and illegal when I use the term "drug".

Actually cocaine is not as dangerous as you might think when used appropriately. It does have medical use!

 

[thewebthsp]

Wow, a lot of people have tried cocaine...

Only thing I've had is the ETOH and a little cigar smoking from time to time

 

[Eraserhead]

Cocaine is mostly about showing off how much money you have, how cool you are, and all of that stuff. Its really less exciting than a cup of coffee I think.

 

[OnMyWayThere]

Originally posted by U4iA

accessability is an issue here as well. most people don't have access to cocaine - anyone can get a prescription of the drugs mentioned above (shrooms excluded =).

In So. Cal, it's the other way around. Wow, some crazy doctors we're gonna have in the future

 

[hamhamfan]

Originally posted by OnMyWayThere
In So. Cal, it's the other way around. Wow, some crazy doctors we're gonna have in the future

Are you serious? I haven't seen any drugs on sale ever in my life (not including prescription, alcohol, etc...)

 

[OnMyWayThere]

Originally posted by hamhamfan
Are you serious? I haven't seen any drugs on sale ever in my life (not including prescription, alcohol, etc...)

Yep! I could be hanging out at all the wrong places but I've seen it done all the time in clubs, specifically in bathrooms and been offered it quite a lot. I haven't been to any clubs for quite some time due to hectic studying, but that's L.A. for ya.

 

[evines]

I've also never seen anyone do illegal drugs, nor have I ever seen illegal drugs in person. But of course I know people that smoke pot, etc.

 

[hamhamfan]

Originally posted by OnMyWayThere
Yep! I could be hanging out at all the wrong places but I've seen it done all the time in clubs, specifically in bathrooms and been offered it quite a lot. I haven't been to any clubs for quite some time due to hectic studying, but that's L.A. for ya.

Wow, I considered going to UCLA for quite a while. Unfortunately/fortunately, I've never been to a club so I wouldn't know about people in restrooms selling stuff.

Wouldn't police figure this out and then start raiding restrooms?

 

[docmemi]

many med students get drunk. they go out after tests and get drunk. not a big deal.

i dont know about cigs and pot though?

 

[OnMyWayThere]

A close friend of mine MS4 just got an Anesthesiology residency. I was quite surprised to see him pull out a pipe in his car and smoke pot. I personally couldn't handle it - but no judging on his personal choices as long as it does not interfere with his professional work in any way.

 

[evines]

Originally posted by OnMyWayThere
- but no judging on his personal choices

I'll judge him . . . He's a *****.

 

[Trekkie963]

Originally posted by docmemi
many med students get drunk. they go out after tests and get drunk. not a big deal.

i dont know about cigs and pot though?

A friend's brother, who is a resident now, tried pot with his wife for the first time last year. I imagine med students and doctors are just as curious about this sort of stuff as anyone else, and probably just about as likely to try it. Long term use may be another story, though...

 

[DireWolf]

Originally posted by evines
I'll judge him . . . He's a *****.

and I'll judge you... you're a sheltered, pathetic, narrow-minded, ignorant, out-of-touch asshat.

 

[Eraserhead]

Originally posted by DireWolf
and I'll judge you... you're a sheltered, pathetic, narrow-minded, ignorant, out-of-touch asshat.

i second that. grow up people, drugs are everywhere.

 

[Trekkie963]

Originally posted by Eraserhead
i second that. grow up people, drugs are everywhere.

That's right, and when you are a medical student, I guarantee you that some of your friends will do drugs, just like a good portion of the people on this thread have at least experimented with drugs.

Even more importantly, some of your patients will do drugs, and making judgments on whether they are *****s or not is not part of your job description, nor is it of any help to them.

P.S. "Asshat" is an awesome term. I respect those who use it.

 

[OnMyWayThere]

Originally posted by DireWolf
asshat.

 

[evines]

Originally posted by DireWolf
and I'll judge you... you're a sheltered, pathetic, narrow-minded, ignorant, out-of-touch asshat.

Speaking of asses, what's up yours? 👍?


I forgot I was posting in pre-allo.

P.S. And even though I was joking, anyone who's not on pot should be able to figure out that lighting one up while driving around (which is the scenario potentially in question) ain't a good idea. So I'm not afraid to take the jump and say this guy has some ***** blood in him.

 

[Cerberus]

Originally posted by evines


P.S. And even though I was joking, anyone who's not on pot should be able to figure out that lighting one up while driving around (which is the scenario potentially in question) ain't a good idea. So I'm not afraid to take the jump and say this guy has some ***** blood in him.

word, I have zero respect for anyone who endangers the life of others because they are "high".

 

[lukeday99]

Wow, I've been watching this thread for a couple of days and I cannot beleive how sheltered and out of touch some of our future physicians are. We need to take a step back and look at this empirically.
A segment of any population does drugs. This will include future physicians, some of whom will eventually develope a dependancy and even an issue with their drug use, some of whom will not. Furthermore, these future doctors will be in a position to grant access to drugs, many of which are chemically similar or the same to the drugs we are discussing in this forum. We must remember this. As physicians we must have compassion for people, but we cannot Big Brother their choices. Who ever made the statement about turning in the pot smoking student hosts is, in fact, an "asshat", as our friend said. I'd like to turn in alot of people who I see drinking. I also want to pull into the take-out lane at McDonalds and scream at them that they are moving towards obesity, cardiovascular disease, and an increased incidence of Type-II diabetes. This is not my place to do so, nor should anyone consider it theirs concerning drugs. The only exception to this is if they feel the ability to participate in their own lives is compromised. Some people can both smoke pot and eat McDonalds, and some can't. As physicians, we need to be able to make compassionate decisions concerning this, not moralistic decisions.
The law of the land determines which drugs are legal, and which are not. In Muslim society, alcohol is forbidden but the use of THC-containing hashish is common and accepted. In the Netherlands, they seem to have a lower incidence of drug abuse (and for that matter, STD's), despite having legalized both pot and prostitution. This shows that we must not be too America-centric. There are many views on this issue, and as ussual, we are being a bunch of redneck USA'ers.
I've smoked a ton of pot and I don't like it, I don't like where it takes me. I've also tried coke once. But I'm aware enough of myself to know why I don't smoke pot or do coke anymore, and I don't feel this calls my ability or judgement into question. I consider alcohol to be a far greater evil in our society, but that is neither here nor there. I'd rather have a physician who is the way they are because they have really looked inside of themselves and understand their motivations, and even their prejudices, not someone who has been closed off their entire life. I'm not saying try drugs, but know why you don;t, rather than because Nancy Reagan told you to just say know as a kid.

Long post, sorry. I tend to get myself going and can't stop.

 

[lukeday99]

You mean about the post, or the length?

 

[Cerberus]

Good post luke

The level to which Americas future physicians have been sheltered from reality really makes me worry about my career choice. My bro in HS seems to have a better grasp on reality than a lot of people that post here.... Medicine favors sheltered wealthy kids i suppose🙄

 

[lukeday99]

Cheers, then. Jolly fine cheers!

 

[medic8m]

Sheltering may be part of the issue. In addition, I believe some students are bothered by the academic success of a "drug user". Many students gave up partying, etc. to get good grades. It bothers these people when fellow med students, who did some experimenting and partying, succeed. Some students get upset when they learn that all those commercials about drugs rotting your brain and ruining your life don't apply to everyone. People who smoke weed aren't SUPPOSE to succeed in life. After all, they are dope-heads, druggies, loosers, blah blah blah. I think all the stimga results from the indocrination of our youth by the D.A.R.E. mindset. Instead of teaching the risks of drugs, we stigmatize the drug user.

 

[MoCookiess]

interesting thread... especially since I'm working on a project for my neurobiology of addiction class. I would say that drug use is coorelated with what group/culture/etc. you identify with -- if your friends in high school smoked alot of pot, you likely did too, same goes for cigs, shrooms, acid, and other recreational drugs. Of course there myriad exceptions to this, but does little Suzy validictorian wake up one day and decide to try acid? I think not.

Are america's future physicans sheltered? Probably to an extent, the same socioeconomic groups that go to/can afford postsecondary education are not as highly associated with drug use as those that do not/cannot.

I would be interested in other polls to see how many of us(premeds) smoke cigarettes, cigars, drink occasionally, never, or regularly.

Sorry this post is so disjointed. That's what you get when you're playing poker and posting at the same time. Don't even get me started on gambling addiction. 😍

 

[medic8m]

Interesting: I read a study on nurses and which drugs were more frequently abused. The type of drug, including alcohol, they abused varied with specialty. ER nurses more frequently abused cocaine and stimulants. Oncology/hospice nurses more frquently abused opiods. I think it was the psych nurses that abused marijuana more often. The same study pointed out that nurses were more unhealthy and abused drugs at a higher rate than the general population. I have heard doctors do to but I've never read a study.