Drug Use Among Programmers 386
GrokSoup sent us a
story that talks about
Drug use amongst programmers.
The article talks about the high tech industry, stress, and
stimulants (the big ones like Cocaine and Crack, not the
wussy stuff like caffeine :)
Pot Usage != Bad Person (Score:1)
I was 25 when I started smoking pot. My mom and dad had used it a lot all through my childhood, but I never did it myself (probably because I didn't like the smell back then
I sit in front of a computer 10+ hours a day and have realized that smoking this stuff allows me to enjoy the art of programming more than before I smoked it. I program more code, and I do a much better job at documentation when I am high.
It's not for everyone. If you don't like it, don't do it. Pot smokers are different group than the coke-heads. Don't lump the two together.
Good druglinks (Score:1)
http://www.hyperreal.org/drugs/
http://www.maps.org/
http://marijuana.newscientist.com/
http://www.norml.org/
http://www.lycaeum.org
give me my smokes! (Score:1)
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of java that the thoughts acquire speed,
The hands acquire a shaking, the shaking becomes a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
I've never seen the point of nicotine.
Hypocrite indeed! (Score:1)
Tell you what...if it's your life, cancel your health insurance, and pay your own medical bills when the time comes (and it will). Oh...I guess it's only your life until something goes wrong...then it's everyone's problem. A bit hypocritical, wouldn't you say?
Heh. If you're going to pretend to be rational, objective, or honest about this (there's no reason why you should, because you have popular prejudice on your side, but let's just pretend
So.
Let's be adults about this. If we're going to penalize people for things which statistically are likely to have certain effects on peoples' health, let's be even handed about it. Let's give insurers the right to pry into every tiny little corner of your life and bill you for every Twinkie you eat, whether you like it or not. After all, they're paying for your body. They've got a right to decide how you maintain it. Right? That seems to be your point, as far as I can tell: That my smoking may at some point in the future cost you money, so therefore you have some rights in the matter. If you can get in my face about smoking for those reasons, I can certainly get in your face if you skip breakfast or if you neglect to engage in safe, careful low-impact aerobic excercises to ward off heart disease. You're costing me money, my friend. Straighten out and fly right.
(If you object to smoking because of the smell, that's a separate issue. You are sufficiently rude, inconsiderate, and self-righteously arrogant that I'd probably laugh at you -- but if you had even a trace of manners and you asked nicely, I'd put out my cigarette without any argument. A lot of people in this world are well-mannered. I get along very well with them. Then again, that kind of mutual consideration and decency is probably incomprehensible to an morals cop like you.)
If we're not going to condemn ourselves to the hell outlined above, let's behave like civilized people and treat each other decently.
Oh, yeah, one more thing: If I die when I'm 65, I'm not going to be costing you a whole hell of a lot after that, am I? Furthermore, when people die, they usually do it in a hospital. ALL of us. You, me, everybody. We all die, and we all die for some reason. Whatever people die of, odds are it will be treated, and the treatment will cost money. (Emphysema costs a lot more than some things, but then again it's quite rare.) You may very well die of something a hell of a lot more expensive than what I die of. Insurance is a game of averages. Your argument is massively simplistic.
This article is typical anti-drug FUD (Score:3)
It's the usual War on Drugs (WoD) scare-tactic propoganda. Hint: you can spot it when they talk about the general category of "drugs" without differentiating among them, and without acknowledging that many drugs are socially acceptable (caffeine, alcohol, aspirin, meds). Recreational drugs are all different, have different cultures around them, and it's deceitful and dangerous to make blanket statements about all of them.
I know many many people (including many programmers) who celebrate their use of pot, psychedelics, and Ecstasy, but virtually none who use crack, heroin, or even cocaine on a regular basis.
Starting in college, there was always a faction of the programmers who partied hard, including lots of recreational drug use, especially psychedelics. They weren't stupid about it either; they were careful.
One friend who hardly uses any drugs swears she's a better programmer after smoking pot, because she can picture elaborate and intricate structures better. And she is definitely a talented programmer. (I can picture elaborate things when I'm using psychedelics, but I can't keep my attention span long enough to code it in.)
There are so many problems with this article, I don't know where to start. I just scrolled my browser to a random screenful:
- "We found regular users who were clinically depressed at some stage during the week," Dr Curran said. "Ecstasy makes your brain spill out huge levels of serotonin, the feel-good hormone, and the brain has to work really hard to get it back."
- They lump ecstasy and cocaine together, as if they're similar cultures. Hel-lo? Big difference.
- "If you give four doses of ecstasy to a monkey it still has brain damage two years later," she said.
- "When it comes to the health issues, people poo-poo all the information pushed at them."
OK, that's half a screenful and it's already too long, so I'll stop now.This interpretation is skewed to fit their desired conclusions. Quite possibly, many people take Ecstasy in the first place to relieve depression. I know it helped me a great deal when I was younger and dealing with severe and depressing loneliness. It gave me the first glimpse of "life can be worth living".
Nothing quantified here, just ominous-sounding words. How much brain damage? More than a beer? Brain cells don't regenerate, so *you* still have a teensy bit of brain damage from your first beer. And giving four HUMAN doses to a little monkey is extremely excessive; no educated drug user would take that kind of relative dose.
They poo-poo information from articles like this, whose main function is to scare rather than educate. Smart drug users take real information very seriously, but can usually spot propoganda.
If we had true dug education, young people would have far fewer problems with drugs. For starters, they would know to stick to the good and non-addictive ones. But since our government is saying "all drugs are bad", which the kids know to be absurd (if they've ever smoked a joint), they don't think there will be any problem with PHP or crack.
I take certain recreational drugs not to "escape" or to "cope", but because they enhance my life in many wonderful and insightful ways. And yes, to improve my relationships with other people. I have strong bonds with many of my lifelong friends, enhanced by various drug experiences.
(I'm anonymous here, until our society gets a lick of sense about this stupid anti-drug thing.)
Re: if (person->smokesweed()) kill person; (Score:1)
Technically, the pseudocode says nothing of the sort. It uses an unspecified "test" to determine whether or not the person "smokesweed", which the most likely definition would be "has smoked weed in the past and is likely to do so in the future". Of course using this as a criteria is just as dangerous as what you interpreted it as. Also, there is no real world test that would cover this interpretation.
The teenager driver facing a "drunk driving" charge because the state's "zero tolerance" policy towards alcohol makes no exemption for NyQuil.
NyQuil is over 60 Proof, almost as strong as hard liquor! On top of that, it includes antihistamines which are notorious for screwing with reflexes and attention span. Driving on NyQuil is very dangerous. Personally, I think that the emphasis that "drunk driving is bad" is dangerous, because it doesn't address all the other stupid and dangerous ways people can drive while unfit. Most cold medicines, most prescription painkillers, lack of sleep, all of these can demolish your ability to drive. People tend to over look that because they aren't drinking. "Zero tolerance" laws are a bad idea in general, but the NyQuil example just doesn't hold water.
Danger to others - the critical difference (Score:1)
I'd elaborate, but I've had this window open that I'm sure somebody else already has
Drunken su - (Score:1)
That's the biggest "oopsie" I've ever performed on my Linux box: I got involved with that other great export from Chippewa Falls (and no, I don't mean Cray) and apparently changed the root password. The next morning, I went to get root to do something or other, and couldn't remember what I'd changed it to.
Maybe someone could come up with a handy-dandy serial breathalizer; when you go to su, you have to blow less than a .15 (hey, you're not driving a car or anything...)
----
E usage... (Score:1)
Wow... all that from a window manager?
if (person->smokesweed()) delete person; (Score:1)
Slashdot Users? (Score:1)
could someone answer? (Score:1)
and 420 is tomarrow (Score:1)
is it just me? (Score:1)
>are there ANY sane coders who DON'T smoke weed?
-I quite firmly believe so... Of course, as for me, I may not be entirely sane - but who is? And I don't do drugs. I don't see why I should, because I'm a programmer? Nah, don't think so.
>anyone who says you can't code while stoned >obviously doesn't smoke enough buds!
I guess I don't...
Forget God -- try real speed. (Score:1)
Goddamn true! Especially when riding the roads on a motorcycle - that makes you feel _alive_!
People who do drugs are losers and schmucks. (Score:1)
Aren't we being a bit pessimistic here? To relate to earlier posts: I am a programmer, I don't do drugs, I don't have a girlfriend, I have no trouble in interacting with people. But: I don't consider drug users to be morons/losers/whatever, it's your choice, goddammit! If you want to make that choice, do so, I am happy with my after work-beer, and if you are unhappy about your decision, choose again - life doesn't stop just because you do something wrong.
if (person->smokesweed()) delete person; (Score:1)
I too am annoyed by dopeheads while they spout their mid-stupor drivel, but I see it more as a freedom issue. If you want to smoke something that'll make you stupid for 4 hours, you should be able to. I'd prefer a beer anyday.
As for the issue of Toxins, there is nothing that you do that is not bad for you in some way. Breathing exposes you to environmental pollution, eating cooked food exposes you to aeromatic hydrocarbons which are known carcinogens. Eating uncooked food exposes your body to microorganisms.
Smoking dope isn't good for you, but don't give me that "it's too bad for you" line.
LK
Boring - ageism . . . (Score:1)
golden oldie, to be rediscovered every 4 months or so, . . .
Guess what - - - intellectuals/dummies/programmers and even regular people experiment, sometimes it is not good for them.
I did my experimenting, life in the fast lane, after 4 years at the UofM - A2, then as a COBOL programmer for the AF in Berlin, Germany 20 years ago.
Freud did Cocaine, there is an impressive amount of research going on into native peoples and shamanism. Drug use / lifestyles outside the norms / age groups and rebellion / too much money at too young an age ? I don't think there is anything really new in any of this - or does someone else see something I missed?
A2, we used to ask is it real or chemical (The joke is mushrooms were just as chemical as the LSD, but were grown in manure rather than local labs). Now, we can probably expand
those categories by real/chemical/electronic - soooo - basic parameters and reactions stay about the same.
There are other experiences out there - some will experiment. Some will try to control.
It has been just as interesting and rewarding as an oldster, who survived and fortunately wasn't caught or punished (except by my own mind and body), to explore 'recovery' on the web ! Never found a drug I could do socially other than chocolate - ah well - the addictive personality - is that why I'm here ?
Now, if I could just stay off the nicotine and relax my cramped back . . .
God shaped hole in your head. (Score:1)
That troll makes the wrong assumption... (Score:1)
Granted, I do roleplaying games, so I avoid reality too, but I *use* my brain to do it, instead of destroying my brain as I do it.
Hell, I don't even drink alchohol, except when I take cold medicine. The strongest thing I 'do' is Mt. Dew.
Re: (Score:1)
Cocaine image from the 80s... (Score:1)
This article reeks of 80s anti-drug hype. For the most part, the drug users I know stick to psychedelics, empathogens, and pot.
This article doesn't belong on Slashdot. Anyone can do drugs, and anyone can have a drug problem. Techies aren't more or less vulnerable.
(BTW: Someone please tell the walls to stop breathing; they're freaking me out. NYAR!)
--Threed
Does not sound right. (Score:1)
It is a neat
( giggle giggle )
Does THC count? (Score:1)
If I remember my psych classes, where we talk about the chemical reactions in the brain and how drugs work chemically, the way that _most_ drugs work isn't all that different. It is easier to get to the same level of 'high' and sustain it with drugs. Many drugs boost the production of certain naturally created chemicals in the brain. And the 'high' actually comes from these chemicals rather then the drug you are taking. So it is possible to get the same highs naturally, but not as easy. Once again as far as I can remember.
Later,
Xamot
What about afterwards? (Score:1)
Yup, sacramental wine. Or kosher wine...
Those "old-time" religions have their drug too.
Hmm, big stinking deal (Score:1)
Yep, when you get to be my age, you don't do anything that might result in the loss of brain cells!
I'll stick to Coke, Dew, Dr. Pepper, and Becks and Corona in moderation. :-)
TedC
See what happens... (Score:1)
TedC
Motor City Madman (Score:1)
"Jimi did drugs, and Jimi's dead; I went hunting, and I'm still Ted!"
if (person->smokesweed()) delete person; (Score:1)
drugs are for weak minds (Score:1)
"There is no spoon" - Neo, The Matrix
What about afterwards? (Score:1)
...if they weren't sorority sisters.
(hmm. Coding nubile women. Sure beats coding drugs. Atheists playing God, yeah, baby...)
Excuses... (Score:1)
Seems like you're trying to prove your justification in saying "drugs are bad". Uh huh. Emotional benefits may only be temporary, but if that's what they feel they need, then go for it. (I don't trust therapy too much - my mom was in therapy some years ago, and from my POV, it doesn't seem to have helped things much. And no, it's not due to my dad that she was in therapy.)
What about afterwards? (Score:1)
Temporary patches aren't going to fill up that God-shaped hole in your heart. Only one thing can fill that hole.
Sounds like another poll idea to me... (Score:1)
4:20pm EST (Score:1)
Pulp Fiction (Score:1)
I used to do drugs, now I just have sex (Score:1)
Don't get me wrong, I had girlfriends during that time, but they all smoked, too. What i have now is a partner, and she doesn't do drugs, so I don't either. I have lots of sex.
Okay, that's true, but not the main point. The main point is, she is a real partner, she draws me out, listens to me. Real emotional support, being close and connected with another human being, it's better than any drug out there, and better for you.
Nicotine, Alcohol (Score:1)
Drug Culture in the UK, not IT. (Score:1)
Another interesting aspect of UK/US comparison is that notions of privacy make it virtually impossible for employers in the UK to use drug testing on employees. Considering the hypocrisy of drug testing this is probably not a bad thing - I'm sure that far more money is lost to firms by employees being hungover than smoking a joint over the weekend.
Nick
Drug Culture in the UK, not IT. (Score:1)
Yes Virginaia, there are street McLarens (Score:1)
Good point about RICO (Score:1)
Now they target investigations by how much $$$ they'll get in cars and homes instead of by the crime. A local car dealer suspected his half-partner of shady dealings, so he bugged the guys' office. It was found, and he was charged with an illegal wiretap. Then the cops found some pot in a shoebox in his closet at home, and they tried to get him to forfeit his $500K house AND the car dealership that he had run for 20 years. Like he paid for the house by selling pot to his friends, and not from the proceeds of his $2M/mo dealership. When I told this to a Russian friend, he said "But no, that can't be. That's what they did in Russia!"
Yeah, we know.
IT/Admin types use drugs more than programmers (Score:1)
Home of the Free? Not for Mr. Evil smoker! (Score:1)
We all die, and few of us ever choose when. No point in arguing about how.
Does THC count? (Score:1)
I used to smoke pot, hell I used to do many other chemicals too. I don't anymore.. why? I don't need that high anymore. There is a lot of stuff you can do that's legal, and puts you in a much better mood then any drug.. and on top of that it's possibly even "good" for you.
However it's not the same thing.. it never can be.. but it doesn't mean it's not as good or better as a drug high.
Though I do agree with you.. if you haven't tried don't judge those who have and do. You may not agree with their choice, that's your right.. , but that cuts both ways.
Ex-Nt-User
Does THC count? (Score:1)
Perhaps that was a bad choice of words.. I've never needed to be high either. A need is a symptom of addiction. But I chose to use it because I enjoyed the experiance. I used it socially, I used it by myself if I was in a bad mood sometimes. I don't do it anymore because I found different things that I enjoy more that high, and that pot interfered with.
What have you found Jesus?
No I did't find Jesus, I'm atheist if you must know. And since when does religion and drug use have anything to do with each other?
All I was saying is that there are other things in life that can be just as enjoyable as a high, mabey even more so, just because YOU haven't found them doesn't mean they DON'T EXIST. I'm not saiyng you are an idiot for using drugs or even that you are wrong for doing so. As far as I'm concerned you can do what you want because it's YOUR choice! But don't come off calling everyone that doesn't use drugs or finds other things that they enjoy more then drugs as some kind of nut just because YOU don't enjoy them.
A lot of people have had bad experiances with drugs does that give them the right to slam you because you have had a GOOD experiance with those same drugs?
It's about choice. And that one person should not frown upon anothers choice without checking it out for themselves.
Ex-Nt-User
When Jesse & Eric grow up, they'll do crack to (Score:1)
--
Timur Tabi
Remove "nospam_" from email address
What about afterwards? (Score:1)
Pool Suggestion (Score:1)
caffeine is not a toxin? (Score:2)
Toxic dose
The LD_50 of caffeine (that is the lethal dosage reported to kill
50% of the population) is estimated at 10 grams for oral
administration. As it is usually the case, lethal dosage varies
from individual to individual according to weight. Ingestion of
150mg/kg of caffeine seems to be the LD_50 for all people. That
is, people weighting 50 kilos have an LD_50 of approx. 7.5 grams,
people weighting 80 kilos have an LD_50 of about 12 grams.
In cups of coffee the LD_50 varies from 50 to 200 cups of coffee
or about 50 vivarins (200mg each).
One exceptional case documents survival after ingesting 24 grams.
The minimum lethal dose ever reported was 3.2 grams
intravenously, this does not represent the oral MLD (minimum
lethal dose).
In small children ingestion of 35 mg/kg can lead to moderate
toxicity. The amount of caffeine in an average cup of coffee is
50 - 200 mg. Infants metabolize caffeine very slowly.
Symptoms
+ Acute caffeine poisoning gives early symptoms of anorexia,
tremor, and restlessness. Followed by nausea, vomiting,
tachycardia, and confusion. Serious intoxication may cause
delirium, seizures, supraventricular and ventricular
tachyarrhythmias, hypokalemia, and hyperglycemia.
+ Chronic high-dose caffeine intake can lead to nervousness,
irritability, anxiety, tremulousness, muscle twitching,
insomnia, palpitations and hyperreflexia. For blood testing,
cross-reaction with theophylline assays will detect toxic
amounts. (Method IA) Blood concentration of 1-10 mg/L is
normal in coffee drinkers, while 80 mg/L has been associated
with death.
Does THC count? (Score:1)
Don't get me wrong. I think it is stupid to prohibit pot and simultaneously permit alcohol, which is argably more harmful. But you are a fool if you think pot is harmless (much less shrooms or LSD!!).
just say no to PHP? (Score:1)
McLaren F1 (Score:1)
(sniff)
A book you should read... (Score:1)
Wow, impressive. (Score:1)
If teenagers were to be drug checked, watch out...
Nicotine, yeah! (Score:1)
That was my only experience at a bar where people didn't light up. The staff may have thought something was odd.
"Experience and opinions" clarified (Score:1)
You don't have to have personal experience to understand a lot of problems. But you do have to have facts. Experience is not the only way to gather facts, but facts are required.
For some reason, the drug issue is unique in that people don't seem to think that facts are required to solve the real problems that are associated with drug use. "Drugs are bad, m'kay?" is considered a solid enough fact to dictate public policy.
So, you're right, you don't need experience. That said, I certainly haven't seen you or anyone else in your camp offer up and kind of insight or information that contradicts my broader point about the superficiality of anti-drug arguments.
God not required! (Score:3)
No, all that's required it to make judgemental, sweeping statements about experiences you haven't had. For example:
- I think drugs
... are ... an attempt to avoid reality because it 'feels good' to do so.
Now, you can't get in the club unless you openly admit you don't know what you're talking about.- I don't even drink alchohol, except when I take cold medicine. The strongest thing I 'do' is Mt. Dew.
Attaboy!- Bill Hicks
I am a smug anti-drug moron (Score:4)
The boundaries of my experience are the boundaries of a complete and all-encompassing experience. Anything outside of my experience must suck because I haven't deemed it worthy of my effort. Or it's too scary.
I'm not perfect. However, any flaw I do have is fixed by an invisible, magical being to whom I devote a great deal of time and energy. If people would believe that this magical being would fix their lives, they wouldn't be druggy losers.
Re: (Score:1)
Serotonin is NOT a hormone (Score:1)
> of serotonin, the feel-good hormone, and the
> brain has to work really hard to get it back."
I find it hard to take an article seriously if they use an "authoritative" source on neuropsychology who states that serotonin is a hormone. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, NOT a hormone. Second, the output of serotonin from the presynaptic neuron is NOT hugely affected by MDMA (X), it is the reuptake that is affected. Plus, "the brain has to work really hard to get it back"?! Yes, X and coke inhibit the reuptake of dopamine and serotonin, but the body has no problem generating more, or reuptaking it once the drugs affects have worn off. The problem the body encounters is the post-synaptic receptors adaption to the large levels of serotonin in the synapse.
Josh
Maybe it's true... (Score:1)
There is the anual trip I make with a SysAdmin friend, and I've taken stuff with her I never even knew existed.
Then I get home, put on the tie, and it's clean and sober for another year.
Unix geeks are the devil's flunkies. I'm sure of it.
The situation is bleak (Score:1)
Killing brain cells - but only the weak ones (Score:1)
Maybe these 'IT professionals' they interviewed were actually full time graphic artists, web designers, or mostly management and marketting people with spare cycles to burn.
Oh thanks. I'm a graphic artist/web designer (and coca-cola addict). During my idle time at work (waiting for Photoshop to do something, usually) I like to balance my checkbook, doodle, or talk to my co-workers.
In the future, I'd appreciate it if you reserved comments like that for mangement and marketing. I don't care about any of their feelings ;)
Opinions and experience (Score:2)
It's nonsense, of course.
For instance, I believe very strongly that the absence of civilization is bad and to be avoided, even though I have never experienced the absence of civilization and even though there are lots of movies that make the absence of civilization look appealing.
Anything? (Score:1)
What about Cthugha [afn.org]? 8-P
Get a clue? Nope, narrow logic. (Score:1)
So does that make me an exception?
No, of course not! It takes more effort to take delight in life sometimes, but if an individual has got what it takes, they can squeeze water from a rock.
It's much harder to sailboard than to operate a jet ski. Think about that one!
give me my smokes! (Score:1)
Lucky Strikes, unfiltered sticks 'o' doom for me, thanks.
Smoking crack (Score:1)
There's a local employer who some friends of mine and I have had an interesting evolution for their level of crack usage. It started out with them smoking crack, but eventually they got to the level of taking crack in a suppository form.
Now the OpenSound guys... THEY have got to be smoking some serious crack.
See, it's an expression. I'm sure they don't, but they just seem to.
---
"'Is not a quine' is not a quine" is a quine.
if (person->smokesweed()) delete person; (Score:2)
Gah. I know very few people who do smoke weed, and they're Mac users. That doesn't say anything about people who use various OSes as it does for statistical clustering. I can't stand pot. It smells nasty, makes me nauseous (I've never smoked it, but have had plenty of second-hand exposure), and tends to make the people who use it, well, stupid.
I had a roommate once who was a major pothead and, as such, had a major pothead entourage. They would always listen to reggae really loud while smoking weed, and have conversations which, although maybe enlightened in their minds, went something like this:
Heh, that's cool.
Uh huhuh, yeah, huh, like, totally.
Yeah, man, like... heh, that was funny when, huh, pfffffft, yeah, this is good shit!
Huh, dude, like... yeah.
Pfffft, bitchin'.
These are, of course, the same types who use Bob Marley as a martyr for the cause of smoking weed. Wow, some cause. So this guy apparently died for their right to smoke a drug which makes them stupid and hungry all the time. Great. What a thing to be remembered for.
Myself, if I want to get high, it'll be on an adrenaline rush from some good ol' FPS gaming. Hell, even a CTF botmatch (CRbot is fun to play with, even if the bot isn't all that lifelike or good; it's fun to have bots which talk smack and actually use the gestures).
I also like getting high on music. Some music, such as Cibo Matto's album "Viva La Woman," have this effect of putting me in a wonderful trance.
There are so many good things to get high on which don't involve introducing toxins into your system. Okay, sure, I abuse caffeine just as much as anyone else, but I'm trying to cut down, and caffeine doesn't affect the brain (at least, aside from being addictive).
Gah. Potheads just make me sick.
---
"'Is not a quine' is not a quine" is a quine.
Yes Virginaia, there are street McLarens (Score:1)
Drug Use? (Score:1)
Pot and Coffee - Contact with Client = Great Zone (Score:1)
"Work from home" - I'm unemployed and live with my parents
"Have cool management" - My mom washes my clothes and vacuums, even though I'm 25
"Open source our bongs" - We pass the bowl, like every other pothead in the world
"The only thing that falls off is customer service" - Whenever I order Domino's I'm too scared it's the cops to open the door and get the pizza
So there you have it. Pretty cool job until your mom dies or dad kicks you out.
Sleep Deprivation (Score:1)
Once past 72 hours (after watching the third consecutive sunrise), things start getting weird. The fourth night is when things just start falling into place, though hopefully, as you said, the bulk of the code is already written, simply because the typo frequency starts to get out of hand.
David Gould
I have never hired . . . (Score:1)
Where do we send the resumes?
Schwab
WSB (Score:1)
Pool Suggestion (Score:1)
Nitrous
K
LSD
Smack
GHB
and many others....
I know (different) people who've done them all....
Article mistake: Drugs, depression, and causality (Score:1)
I have personally experienced this after taking 'shrooms, and it wasn't fun, but like they say, knowing that it's chemically induced does help.
What about afterwards? (Score:1)
A three-way with a couple of nubile sorority sisters looking to broaden their horizons?
I am a smug anti-drug moron (Score:1)
Hey! Who knew Nancy Reagan read
What about afterwards? (Score:1)
For fun (Score:1)
Have you ever had those evenings when you're just sitting around doing nothing - maybe watching TV or flipping through old magazines? These are the times when you should try smoking pot. If you've nothing better to do and want to see things from another point of view, or just feel really good. Clearly, however, you've already made up your mind; but I would invite to experience what it is like before dismissing it or passing judgement.
Incidentally, I don't smoke up on anything even approaching a regular basis - maybe two or three times a year.
blah blah blah (Score:1)
Drugs are bad when abused but they're worse when they're illegal.
Article mistake: Drugs, depression, and causality (Score:1)
drugs are for psychologically weak minds (Score:1)
Being able to ingest more toxins than most people is a pretty pathetic thing to brag about. Is that the best thing about you, the thing you want everyone to remember? But, hey, cheer up: if the world turns into a radioactive, ozoneless wasteland, we're going to need big, strong burnouts to fill the worker castes, living and mutating outside the domes, while the smart folks get things done in safety and comfort. Your descendants and clones should fit the bill nicely!
And remember (while you still can), Linux is for smart people; just imagine how you're going to feel when you have just enough smarts left to figure out the basics of MS Bob, and maybe AOL, but anything beyond that just slips your mind every time. You can remember doing all those cool things in Linux, but now you can barely remember how to get rid of that damn Paperclip thing. And then you smell something funny, and realize you had to take a dump 30 minutes ago, but it's no longer a problem...
Taking drugs is "hacking" like throwing iron filings into your monitor is hacking... they're both using tools to make things behave in unintended ways. Of course, the resulting lump isn't worth a crap, but hey, weren't you cool the night you did THREE eight-balls and a quart of tequila... *and* got the worm at the bottom?
zero tolerance == intolerance == zealotry (Score:1)
Heh... remember the news stories about the kids (in different states, at different times, but all were apparently elementary-school age, around 9 years old) who gave a classmate an aspirin/cough drop/whatever and were *expelled* from school??
Wanna know what the latest cool gang thing apparently is to do here in California? The gang is called "Straight Edge", and they don't drink, do drugs, or smoke... and if they come across anyone who DOES drink, do drugs, or smoke, they'll beat you into a bloody pulp (or until you're dead). Doesn't matter whether you're talking to them, or if you even see them. If they see YOU doing any of those things, they'll pound your face into the pavement. After all, if you'll do something that horrible, god only knows what else you'll do. You deserve whatever happens to you, right?
EXTRA!!! Some cab drivers also use drugs! (Score:1)
This proves that politicians, church members and military forces are the only clean people in the country.
Drugged GeeKs... (Score:1)
You gotta remember that while geeks are a subculture (of sorts), there is still a lot of variation inside the group. Some people will abuse, some won't use at all, and some will use a bit.
Patch released today... (Score:1)
What about afterwards? (Score:1)
what about noah's ark? if that isn't proof i don't know what is....sheesh.
I hope you weren't being serious.
if (serious) {
sarcasm(on);
Yeah, boy... What was I (and the many other non-religious people in the word) thinking?
That proves the existance of god beyond a doubt.
sarcasm(off);
}
NYQUIL!!!!!!! (Score:1)
Not even drowsy.
*grumble*
if (person->smokesweed()) delete person; (Score:1)
Some Drug Use, Yeah, but... (Score:1)
Which reminds me... the article forgets one thing. Most techies voluntarily work the crazy hours. The love for the work is the curse of the business.
In order, the drugs that are probably in heaviest use among techies are: caffeine (it's not even close), alcohol, herb, (insert prescription antidepressant/psychotropic here), nicotine (used to be much higher), psychedelics (LSD, psilocybins, etc.), milder downers (tranq's, ludes, etc.). Really heavy, hacksaw grade uppers like crack or crystal meth, honestly, I've never even heard anecdotes about a professional techie who's been around for a while using any of those.
Oh no, not.. drugs! (Score:2)
I personally don't do drugs, but I also don't give a damn whether anyone else does either, as long as they keep their drunken/stoned/whatever nonsense at a reasonable distance.. I think that if this article wanted to have any sort of impact on anyone, it maybe should have told the story of someone in the IT industry who, altho brilliant, is now manning some crap win95 phone desk somewhere because of a felony possession charge.
Said person now gets to spend one day a month for the next, oh, 10 years peeing in a cup and telling her PO how much she likes her job.
And, never, ever, will she get a nice, comfy corporate desk job.
Marijuana is Relaxing...I sure could use a Hit! (Score:2)
I personally have used cannabis and experimented with LSD. I found for me that low doses of LSD was useful for some tasks (at high doses is totally useless since one can't concentrate nor even grasp reality). Cannabis is primarily good for relaxation; certainly far better and safer than alcohol.
Anyways, I beleive that as society becomes more advanced drug use will become more prevalent (and legally tolerated - ie. Ritalin). Drug use dates back to the beginning of civilization (over 10,000 years) and is just a reality of life.
Lastly, I generally feel drug testing is a bad idea and it's no one's damn business what people do with their bodies as long as they don't hurt others directly. And note that if Microsoft or Apple had drug testing policies in place back when they started, the founders would've FAILED and there would be no MAC and no Windows
Ron Bennett
Creeping generalization (Score:2)
I'm a computer programmer in Santa Cruz. Surprising fact: about half of the programmers I know here smoke marijuana, use hallucinogens, or both. But that's not a good sample for the industry as a whole; it's too tied up in the side-effects of our local culture.
Same for the UK. It's not possible, yet, to make industry-wide generalizations --- we're too young an industry, and in some sense, too rooted in whatever area we call home, for that to work.
Programmers smoke more ganja than use cocaine (Score:2)
In boulder, if you sell smack, they will send you to prison for life but if you sell pot or mushrooms you just have to be quite and give the cops a price break... and nobody will ever give you a hard time. On the hill there are some dealers who even put signs up (you know how it works if you've been there, back on pleasant street where the deals go down you can often see a vintage bus with a "kind bud" sign in the back window... )
Also, Boulder was a radical place in the 1960's, it was totally a hippy town. I've been approached at work (the largest employer in Boulder... I won't say any more being as how we're talking about drugs) by 40 year old babyboomers who wanted me to hook them up before.. I'm not really even a user but since I'm younger they expected me to be able to get them some good stuff without having to risk a bad deal. In a lot of towns, pot is something you just sort of grow out of once you get out of college but in Boulder a lot of older people are still users.
From my own perspective, and while I know a lot about the drug culture in Boulder I'm not really a user, pot users are recreational drug users. You work a long hard day writing code and you want to come home and relax so you smoke a bowl and chill out. Coke, meth, ice, etc. users generally aren't rec. users. There are definitley some people who like to snort some coke from time to time just for fun but the industrial programmer types aren't them. I think it is much more habitual usage. If you're a programmer I can't think of any reason why you'd want to sniff coke except to stay up and stay alert for coding, after work I would much rather mellow out with some pot, but that' just me.
Smug you certainly are (Score:2)
Further, to say that having not 'experienced' drugs disqualifies these arguements is tantamount to dismissing the dangers of smoking or drinking and driving by claiming that those who recognize them have never smoked or driven drunk.
My apolgies for spelling errors (When do we get real-time spell-checking?
Hmm, big stinking deal (Score:2)
Drugs...Hmmmm (Score:2)
Or, put another way, is this a fad??