How'd Trick or Treating Go?

[chrisname]

Lumpkin wrote:

I don't do drugs, and none of my friends do. That's going to far as well.

That's entirely dependent on what drug it is. There are dangerous drugs like cocaine and heroin that are highly addictive and easy to overdose on, and then there are drugs like THC (found in marijuana), psilocybin (found in magic mushrooms) and ketamine, which are non-addictive and impossible or almost impossible to overdose on. Take ketamine, for example; you can't really overdose on it by yourself because even if you were injecting it, it would knock you out long before you managed to take enough of it to harm you -- it's a very strong sedative, but it has a very high toxic dose (by which I mean you have to take a lot of it for it to have toxic effects). For that reason, it's carried by ambulances in the UK to anaesthetise people involved in, for example, road accidents, and it's used surgically as a general anaesthetic in the US. Other anaesthetics that are used, like barbiturates and benzodiapedines are addictive, and benzo withdrawal can even kill you (AFAIK, the only other drug with potentially-lethal withdrawal effects is alcohol). As for THC (marijuana/cannabis), I don't think there has ever been an established toxic dose, and I can say with certainty that there are no records of anyone ever dying from overdose.

Of course, that's not to say you can't or won't get hooked on those drugs, or suffer side-effects. I personally know a guy who spends nearly all of his time and money on marijuana, and another guy who on several occasions has snorted enough ketamine to knock himself out and give himself a nose bleed. Moreover, almost all psychoactive drugs temporarily reduce your cognitive faculties meaning you make dumb decisions and react more slowly, and are thus more likely to hurt yourself if you're not in a safe place or with sensible, sober friends; although stimulants like caffeine and amphetamines have the opposite effect, which is why adderall is used by ADHD patients and students). Also any drug that artificially induces happiness (including marijuana) has the ability to cause long-term side-effects like depression and short-term memory loss with heavy, frequent use over a long period of time because overexposure to dopamine, a neurotransmitter that, amongst other things, regulates mood and memory, and is released by mood-enhancing drugs, can lead to dopamine insensitivity in much the same way that overexposure to insulin caused by overeating can lead to insulin insensitivity and thus diabetes.

To summarise, if you're sensible enough to take drugs infrequently and in sensible doses, and you avoid genuinely dangerous drugs like most opiates (heroin) and cocaine, then you have nothing to fear. It all depends on you -- people with addictive personalities will usually end up addicted to something, be it something legal like gambling, alcohol or even caffeine, or something illegal. Others don't. One of my friends has a "try everything once" mentality and has taken heroin once, enjoyed it, and never taken it again. There's no one-size-fits-all solution to the issue. That being said, I don't want to encourage you to take any drug, especially at the age of 12. I just want to provide an informed counterbalance to the ridiculous level of drugs alarmism in western society.

[edit]

Computergeek01 wrote:

I'm sorry guys but I have to laugh at this forum using Peer-pressure to tell Lumpkin how evil Peer-pressure is.

Peer pressure is another thing that is often warned against but has its good and bad sides. You can be peer pressured to drink or steal, and then you can be peer pressured not to. Whether it's good or bad is contextual.

[jwkNwA7f]

Not trying to bring this part of the argument out farther, but...

I am still surprised no one said anything about this:

Fred wrote:

This one house had a brand new Cadillac and didn't give out candy. They deserved it. Lucky I didn't have eggs...

EDIT: This can really mess up the paint on a car and can cause the owner to spend lots of money to fix, just because they didn't give out FREE candy.

[naraku9333]

This is becoming a mob attack on Lumpkin who, lets not forget, is 12 or 13 years old. Maybe I'm the only one that remembers doing stupid shit at that age.

[BHX]

@chrisname
Caffeine and sugar is considered drugs too. If you drink too much coke daily for several months and then go off it, your body will react to not having it and you will get sever headaches from it.

[jwkNwA7f]

This is becoming a mob attack on Lumpkin

Agreed. I am normally against it, since it does happen a lot is always unjustified, except this time.

who, lets not forget, is 12 or 13 years old. Maybe I'm the only one that remembers doing stupid shit at that age.

So if u did something sh*tty when u were that age too, that makes it justified for others to do it too?

EDIT: My 777th post!

[Computergeek01]

@ BHXSpecter: Wrong Computer****, I'm not offended but I wouldn't want my stupid comments and opinions changing your view about the other guy :P. Also reread that wiki entry, you seem to be seeing something written that isn't there. Peer-pressure is a social mechanism and, despite the connotation, it in it self is not positive or negative.

@chrisname: I would expand that concern about heroin to all opiates. The idea that red rock is somehow less addictive because you smoke it or that oxy is better because you don't shoot it up is nonsense. They all end up with you hooked on suboxone for the rest of your life.

[Dy7SLyTq]

I don't do drugs, and none of my friends do. That's going to far as well.

no its not because i never said you did. i said that i didnt, giving an example of someone saying no to bad peer pressure

@chrisname: your right i should have been more specific... drugs that are illegal to take. other wise i would be in jail for too much caffiene ;)

This can really mess up the paint on a car and can cause the owner to spend lots of money to fix, just because they didn't give out FREE candy.

i dont think he said he did anything to the car...

[jwkNwA7f]

No, but he basically said that he would have if he had eggs.

[Dy7SLyTq]

yeah... to egg the house... the car was mearly to show the status of his wealth and that he wouldnt dare use any of it to buy candy to hand out

[Computergeek01]

_{retsgorf297 said:}

So if u did something sh*tty when u were that age too, that makes it justified for others to do it too?

To think otherwise is hypocrisy. It would be good for him to learn from others mistakes but ridiculing him like this won't do him any good. His biggest problem isn't that he's doing these things, it's that he doesn't seem to know what 'tact' is. Yet nobody here is pointing that out to him.

[BHX]

@Computergeek01
My apologies, human error on my part. I went back and fixed it.

[EDIT] And now punctuation typos.

[jwkNwA7f]

@DTSCode Sorry, misunderstood.
@Computergeek01 I was actually quoting Disch on that.

[BHX]

DTSCode wrote:

yeah... to egg the house... the car was mearly to show the status of his wealth and that he wouldnt dare use any of it to buy candy to hand out

Yep.

Yeah, but everyone knows that egging a person's house makes them want to run out and give candy the next year. Everyone loves cleaning up egg, toilet paper, and whatever other pranks people think of, and want to reward such idiocy ingenuity with candy the following year.</sarcasm>

[N36fSL3A]

EDIT: This can really mess up the paint on a car and can cause the owner to spend lots of money to fix, just because they didn't give out FREE candy.

Yea, I meant the house. Egging a car is going overboard.

I have a line which I do not plan to cross with pranks.

I also don't understand what's so bad about a pumpkin, people smash mine every Halloween. This one dude left a rotten pizza infront of one guy's home.

We wont do anything absurd like steal kid's candy or whatever, only harmless things. No one wants to spend thousands repainting a car, we understand that; However no one would really pay attention if we took a small squash. Egging would probably be a last resort type of thing. (Like if the person in the house did something over-the-top.)

[Dy7SLyTq]

However no one would really pay attention if we took a small squash

technically its a gord. and it breaks my heart whenever someone steals/smashes/or defaces my pumpkin because i spend a lot of time on it, so that way other people can appreciate it, not for someone to smash it

Egging would probably be a last resort type of thing. (Like if the person in the house did something over-the-top.)

it shouldnt be a resort at all. you arent even technically supposed to be on their property

[BHX]

Lumpkin wrote:

We wont do anything absurd like steal kid's candy or whatever, only harmless things

You just are too young to get it. There is no such thing as harmless pranks. If you egged the house, then that guy would have to spend money to clean his house exterior and any stains caused by the eggs sitting overnight would cause him to pay to have the house resided if it has siding. I used to do house construction, remodeling, additions part-time, and there is really no way to just side a section that is stained, if you want the house to look right you have to reside the whole side and if you can't find the same color of siding or the siding is faded due to age you have to redo the entire house.

[N36fSL3A]

I don't take carved pumpkins. That's a D move.

There is no such thing as harmless pranks.

Well, we like to blow out the candles in the pumpkins. I'd say that's pretty harmless.

[Disch]

naraku wrote:

This is becoming a mob attack on Lumpkin who, lets not forget, is 12 or 13 years old. Maybe I'm the only one that remembers doing stupid shit at that age.

Yes kids do stupid things... but being a kid does not excuse them. Nor should people look the other way just because they're "just being kids". Kids need to learn from mistakes -- and they can't do that if people don't call them out on their mistakes.

Lumpkin announced the actions without the slightest pause... to indicate that not only did he lack remorse, but that it was 'part of the fun' of trick or treating and/or hanging out with his friends. Read the post again:

Lumpkin wrote:

I honestly don't find Trick or Treating itself fun, but I like hanging out with my friends, the candy part is just a plus. We end up messing peoples stuff up if they have decorations with no candy though. Two years ago we stole their pumpkins, this year we fraked the decorations up.

This does not illustrate guilt to me. Which tells me Lumpkin doesn't see this as 'wrong' -- at least doesn't see it to the severity which he should. Though granted it's hard to tell with certainty from a internet forum post.

Regardless... now that he sees all these people grilling him about it... maybe he'll make that connection and will think twice about doing this in the future.

[Dy7SLyTq]

I don't take carved pumpkins. That's a D move.

so is pretty much everything you have said you did and then didnt do. its still stealing and if its not carved then (well at least where im from) that means theyre saving it for thanks giving. and i wouldnt want to have to drive all the way out again to get pumpkins

[N36fSL3A]

No, I take the small ones.