What differentiates the habitual narcotic user and the recreational narcotic user.

People often experiment with illegal narcotics. However, there seems to be a difference in the ability of people to cope with reality after. Some people can use drugs for recreation and the impact on their life is quite minimal. In fact it is possible that some recreational drug use is a positive experience for some people. However, for other people recreational drug use becomes habitual. Once the drug use becomes habitual often it has a dramatic negative impact on their life.

So my question is what factors separates these people apart, the habitual and recreational narcotic users?

Obviously genetics is one main argument but try and be creative while still being logical.

Somebody who is trying to recreate himself isn't looking for losing himself. He is looking for answers, or a way which might help him find answers to questions he isn't able to answer without "help". On the other hand 90% of the habitual narcotic users are trying to escape their life, which results in taking drugs over and over as their life doesn't actually change just for the moment of having taken that drug.

But that is my humble opinion

I think you've got it jadah.

I agree but there are people who simply get stuck in a type of lifestyle that includes heavy drug use but they don't have that desire to forget they simply lose themselves in the "fun".

I've done my share of drugs this summer and I feel like a know a little more about them as a whole. I usually smokepot at least once a day, but I am not a burn out.I'm not a typical movie "pothead". I continue my life as I have before, only know, I occasoinally do things under a new perspective, which is what drugs are. I know that pot isnt physically addicting, as it has no addictive properties, or few, but it can be very mentally addicting because it is so easy to do, and is generally a fun experience, while being about 1 tenth as expensive as dinner and a movie. I do not feel that I need it to be happy, and many days i tell myself, I do not want to smoke today, a clear day sounds really nice. I use the drug for fun, and for intellectual reasons. Well, not so much for the learning process any more, I think ive got about as much as I can out of weed.

I've got a friend named matt, he started smoking around when I did. His life has changed nearluy entirely. There is a whole fucking culture when it comes to drugs. A whole underground society and he chose to embrace those people and let them into his life because he felt lonely. He is now a typical pot head, but he is happier. He feels like he belongs and he has more friends now. HE recently stopped smoking to lower his tollerance and surprise surprise, there was no withdraw. lol.

I have also tried and fully tripped on mushrooms and dxm (cough syrup) and can tell you that those experiences can only be felt on those drugs. I will not say that what I learned or didnt learn from them can only be learned by doing drugs, because there are some things that my friend learned from them that I already know. Like I said, it just put me in different mind set.

I would say that it is a habit of mine to recreational use drugs, but that they do not hurt me in any way.

If a habitual narcotic user is someone who is physically addicted to drugs and chooses drugs over more important things in life, then I am not one of them.

If a recreational narcotics user is someone who has fun with drugs, but does not limit themselves to drugs, then I am one of them.

If narcotics are used to escape the reality of life, is there a way to escape reality without drugs?

Perhaps meditation, passion, World of warcraft haha????

What do non narcotic users do to escape reality? Do you have to love reality?

Since I did not try smoking weed until i was in my twenties I have plenty of practice "escaping." This site for instance was one of the ways I used to escape my reality.

Often times when I smoke weed I feel like when I was a kid. When everything was so easy to go full tilt in. Everything was an adventure when you were a kid. From crossing to the road to eating a popsicle. Soon the full tilt feelings I got turned into a passion for video games, then music, then video games, then girls, then video games, then inteluctual discussion, then video games, so on and so fourth. Weed puts me, or used to rather, put me in the full tilt mind frame because it was new and like nothing id ever done before, and it was fun.

I do think that meditation (forum talking), passion (music and arts, and world of warcraft ( video games) are all outlets of "reality escape." BUt there are many different realities out there. The key is finding a reality that fits you, and yes, I believe you must love your choice in lifestyle in order to be happy with it.

Weed is not part of me in the sense that it is a determining factor in my personality. It is a part of me because I enjoy it, just like sex video games or walking in the park. A negative use of marijuana is choosing to consume yourself in it, in order to feel better about you general situation, rather than using to occasionaly have fun, just like any other addiction.