Magic or Moronic
I’ve only had a short time in the mental health industry, but that time has completely changed how I view the world, a change that I think is for the better, certainly one that makes me more tolerant of those that a different from the accepted norm. So before I begin this article let me just say that I’ve never been anti-drug, if people want to risk their sanity and their health by engaging in destructive behaviours let them. Now having said that I realise that not all drug taking behaviour is destructive, and many ‘casual users’ can take it or leave it.
I’ve never been pro-drug either, I hate that idiots proclaim that their drug of choice is safe. When addiction sets in, or the usage interferes with the individuals ability to fit in with society, or the body begins to suffer then the user has only themselves to blame. But what if a pharmaceutical company can take the ‘high’ from the shrooms and manufacture it into a life altering drug? What happens now?
So this study on the effects of the active ingredient of ‘Magic Mushrooms’ raises my interest. The preliminary results look very interesting, but even with the largely positive results we reach a philosophical conundrum. If a substance drastically and permanently changes my outlook on life, even if it is for the better, then is this a good thing? The self is the sum of my experiences and thoughts, so an artificial shift in how I perceive the world could be seen as an attack on the self.
[...] [Technorati] Tag results for mental health wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt I’ve only had a short time in the mental health industry, but that time has completely changed how I view the world, a change that I think is for the better, certainly one that makes me more tolerant of those that a different from the accepted norm, so before I begin this article let me just say that I’ve never been anti-drug. If people want to risk their sanity and their health by engaging in destructive behaviours let them. Now having said that I realise that not all drug taking behaviour is [...]
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I completely agree, a difficult issue. Becomes even more difficult if a lack of consent is introduced. At least with these people their decision to take the drug means that the experience is, arguably, an extension of their previous experiences and thoughts that make up the self. However, if a person was forced to take the drug, you wouldn’t have that continuity of self.
Lots of issues: what’s the line between persuasion and coercion, is forced drug administration to prevent suicide acceptable (especially since the effects of a single dose are so long-lasting), if the person is glad they were forced afterwards does that make it ok. Really interesting.
The mind is one doohicky you don’t wnat to go messying around with. Nice article though I did spot this malapropism addition => addiction
or go for the full hog and have
When addition sets in it can be really hard to take-away the substance from the equasion.
Various cultures around the globe use different substances and have done without the ill effects that developed countries experience
I know of patients who are forced to taken medication that prevents them from functioning in society. After a while they decieve others into thinking they are still taking the meds when not – the closer something is to natural the better it will be