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Responsibilities of the Recreational Drug
User
Duncan, D. F., and Gold, R. S.
Chapter 18: Responsibilities of the Recreational Drug User.
In: Drugs and the Whole Person. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1982.
Every individual has needs, and we recognize that there are many
differences among individuals. There are, however, many commonalities
that make us very much alike. One of these sets of commonalities is
probably a basic set of needs that we all have. How we accomplish or
satisfy these needs varies from individual to individual—that is one of
the things that makes us different. What are these needs, and how do
they relate to drugs?
Abraham Maslow (1908—1970), an American psychologist, developed what has
become known as a hierarchy of human needs. This hierarchy begins at a
low level with very basic human needs that all of us must satisfy in
order to exist; it peaks with a need that only some of us ever
accomplish. This hierarchy is generally characterized in the following
five categories.
I. Physiological needs such as food, drink, and oxygen.
2. Safety needs for protection and security, including things shelter,
clothing, and confidence that one’s physiological needs will continue to
be met.
3. Belongingness and love needs, which require relationships with
others, identification with groups, and affection.
4. Esteem needs, which include the need for self-respect, status, and
prestige.
5. Self-actualization, which is the need to ‘‘be all that one can he,"
to be able to develop oneself to one’s full capacity.
These needs are hierarchically arranged; that is, an individual must
satisfy the needs at the lower levels before accomplishing or satisfying
higher-level needs. Individual behavior is motivated by unmet needs at
each level. Unfulfilled needs can lead to deficiencies in the individual
and, at higher levels, result in what Maslow called metapathologies such
as alienation, apathy, and cynicism.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is only one of several major theories that
seek to explain motivation for behavior and growth of an individual.
There are others, but we choose at this point to focus on the Maslow
paradigm and its relationship to another theory posited by Andrew Weil
in his book The Natural Mind (1972). With some liberty, we would like to
summarize the development of Weil’s theory concerning why people take
drugs.
THE NEED TO ALTER CONSCIOUSNESS
Imagine yourself when you were a youngster 4 to 10 years old. Every
youngster is different and therefore likely to engage in a variety of
activities to satisfy curiosity, to remain active, or to socialize with
others. Think about some of the activities you engaged in for those
purposes. Now take this one step further and try to think about some
specific activities you engaged in that you think all your friends also
engaged in. Now take a giant step forward and try to picture which
activities you may have engaged in that perhaps every youngster who ever
lived probably did also.
If you are stymied, try some examples. Have you ever spun yourself
around until you became dizzy? Of course you have. Well, probably
everyone else has also at one time or another. Have you ever threatened
to hold your breath for a very long time? Probably! Have you ever
fantasized about being somewhere else, or doing something that you will
probably never do? It is very likely that you have done some
fantasizing. These are all examples of activities that youngsters often
engage in and very probably have been done by almost all youngsters who
ever lived. Why do we do these things? What do they accomplish?
Think carefully about what these activities are. They are all means to
alter consciousness. They take us out of our ‘ordinary" consciousness to
what Weil terms ‘nonordinary" consciousness which is presumably
pleasurable. We continue to engage in these activities because we
‘‘enjoy" the results. Now imagine that this motivation or drive to
experience this nonordinary consciousness was a basic need, as in
Maslow’s hierarchy. It seems possible, then, that children engage in
certain specific activities to satisfy one of the basic needs for growth
and maturation—the need to alter consciousness or to experience
nonordinary consciousness.
As we grow older, spinning around until we become dizzy is less socially
acceptable and holding one’s breath for long periods of time seems to be
deviant; therefore we look for more acceptable ways to satisfy the unmet
need to alter consciousness. Some people succeed in experiencing
nonordinary consciousness by
engaging in risk-taking behavior, some of which seems socially
acceptable (mountain climbing, skydiving, etc.) and others less socially
acceptable (e.g. high-speed driving or playing any one of a wide variety
of "chicken games"). Some people succeed by stretching their bodies to
the limits of pain, endurance, or skill (such as training for and taking
part in any one of many sports, some of which involve competition
against others, some of which involve competition against oneself) or by
studying ways to extend our senses through natural means (such as with
meditation, yoga, or the martial arts). Some people succeed in altering
consciousness by using drugs recreationally.
Let us summarize briefly at this point. There are many ways that human
growth and development have been studied and explained. One of the most
widely accepted paradigms used to explain motivation for certain
behaviors and drives is that of Maslow (1976), who proposed that all
individuals have sets of needs that must be met. These needs are
arranged in a hierarchical structure, so that before higher-level needs
can be addressed, the more basic needs must be satisfied. Before we can
satisfy our needs for self-esteem, we must first make sure that our
basic physiological needs for food and water, our safety needs, and our
belongingness and love needs are satisfied.
Without placing it anywhere in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Weil (1972)
proposes that an additional need not identified by Maslow may be the
need to experience nonordinary reality—to alter consciousness. This
need, like many other human needs, is satisfied in different ways
because of individual differences among those seeking to satisfy this
need. Some people satisfy this need by using drugs recreationally.
Taking a drug is a relatively easy, rapid, and effective way to alter
consciousness. It is therefore a widely accepted approach among many
individuals. We must, however, carefully make an important point here.
Drug taking is not a basic need. It is only one means by which some
people satisfy what has been proposed as the basic need to alter
consciousness.
Although Weil’s theory may be controversial, it does seem to explain
reasonably why some people use drugs recreationally. We believe that
recreation is a legitimate reason to use any of a wide variety of
psychoactive drugs. Making a responsible decision to use a drug
recreationally, however, is only the beginning point of our major
responsibility, that is, to use the drug responsibly and in a manner
warranted in the particular situation. These responsibilities will be
discussed in the remainder of this chapter.
RESPONSIBLE USE OF PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS
The focus of this chapter will be responsible use of psychoactive drugs
for recreational purposes. We now redefine the term drug use as it has
been used throughout the text. Drug use refers to the use of a drug for
the purposes for which it was intended and with minimal hazard. Earlier
we defined social-recreational use of drugs as drug use that occurs
within social settings and is motivated by a desire to share pleasurable
experiences among friends.
Both definitions imply that the person choosing to use psychoactive
drugs in a social-recreational context has the responsibility of using
the drugs with minimal hazard and of contributing to the pleasurable
experience of being with friends in a social setting. These are
important responsibilities that should not be overlooked. However,
understanding those responsibilities and being able to live up to them
requires knowledge about drugs and a commitment to their responsible
use. Based on the work of the Education Commission of the States, Task
Force on Responsible Decisions About Alcohol (1975b), we have adapted
the following discussion of responsibilities in three areas: situational
responsibilities, health responsibilities, and safety-related
responsibilities.
Situational Responsibilities
There are many social-recreational situations in which psychoactive
drugs are available for use and a decision must be made concerning such
use. It is impossible to define the scope of possible situations in
which drugs may be used recreationally but, regardless of the situation,
decisions must be made about whether or not to use drugs recreationally
and in what manner these drugs can be used recreationally. It is with
this in mind that the following responsibilities and behaviors’’ are
identified.
1. Provide a variety of alternative models of acceptable
social-recreational behaviors within a group. All individuals within a
group setting deserve the right to choose alternatives and still be part
of the group. This might involve making available a variety of
recreational activities to your peer or social group. Among these
activities might be the option for recreational drug use as an
acceptable group activity.
2. Respect an individual’s decision concerning drug use. Providing
options means that we should also abide by an individual’s choices.
Several decisions can be offered in this light: the choice to use or not
to use a recreational drug, and the choice of which recreational drug to
use in a particular setting. Unfortunately, we occasionally attempt to
coerce group members with subtle pressures to get individuals to do
something the other group members are doing. For example, we might
suggest that someone have an alcoholic beverage and then not take "no"
for an answer. If an individual chooses not to use a psychoactive drug
in a recreational setting, that is a choice we should support. On the
other hand, if an individual chooses to use a psychoactive drug
recreationally and within the acceptable limits of the social group,
that decision should also be supported by the abstainer, as long as he
or she remains a part of the group.
3. Recognize that recreational drug use may be a social lubricant, but
it should not be the only motivation or focus of the social situation.
It is quite acceptable to use a socially approved recreational drug
within the context of most social settings; however, when the use of the
drugs themselves dictates the context of the setting, we have moved from
the realm of recreational to intensified or compulsive drug use. Drug
users, you will remember, focus only a small percentage of their time on
actual drug use, and that drug use does not play a central role in the
drug user’s life. When the user’s life or lifestyle is determined by the
necessity to use a drug or not, this person is no longer a user, but has
lost control of drug taking.
4. Recognize a responsibility for the health, safety, and pleasure of
both the drug user and the abstainer by avoiding severe drug—induced
intoxication and by helping others do the same. Whenever psychoactive
drugs are available for use, the possibility exists for overstepping
one’s own limits as well as the limits of the group in that setting. In
a recreational setting all members share in the responsibility for the
behaviors of the group and should be supportive of each of the members.
Group norms should be clearly understood, and the group should exert
pressure to maintain them, including norms related to drug use and its
limits. We should recognize that drug misuse and abuse is neither
healthy nor safe and will not be excused or accepted among peers.
5. Have contingency plans for severe intoxication if it occurs in spite
of efforts to prevent it by assuming responsibility for the health and
safety of others. Once again, if we provide psychoactive drugs as an
acceptable recreational alternative, we should be prepared for all
possibilities, ranging from being prepared to escort a person home to
being prepared to provide emergency first-aid measures and/or consult
with professional medical personnel in extreme situations.
6. Be aware of the influences of set and setting on psychoactive drug
experiences. This is a very involved and sometimes complicated
responsibility. Remember that set refers to the total internal
environment of the individual at the time a drug is ingested and that
setting refers to the total external environment of the user at the time
the drug is ingested. For set we are generally concerned with an
individual’s state of physical and emotional health at the time the drug
is used, what their previous experiences are with a particular drug, and
what their expectations for that drug are. For setting we are most
concerned with whether the physical environment an individual is in, and
the people the individual is with at the time, are conducive to a
pleasurable experience. Given this, you should make decisions regarding
recreational drug use with the following thoughts in mind.
(a) Only use recreational drugs when you want to use
them. Do not be coerced into using a drug you do not want to use or when
you do not want to use it.
(b) Understand your own rationale for using any recreational drug. Make
sure that your motivations and rationale are appropriate to the drug,
yourself, and your situation.
(c) Use psychoactive drugs recreationally only in the company of others.
Do not take sole responsibility for your actions and do not leave
drug-induced outcomes to chance. Being in the company of others is
comforting, sociable, and responsible if anything should go wrong.
(d) Provide or use recreational drugs only in environments conducive to
pleasant and rewarding experiences. Hazardous or threatening
environments can, of course, influence the outcomes of a drug experience
and make them less pleasurable.
7. Encourage your peer group to set reasonable rules and
rituals surrounding the use of recreational drugs. As discussed in
Chapter 15, it is important for groups to set rules and rituals for
psychoactive drug use. These rules help an individual learn when and how
to use a drug and when not to use a drug and how not to use it. Rituals
involve stylized interchanges between people. These rules and rituals
set constraints on the drug experiences and tend to reduce the hazard
potential.
Health Responsibilities
The original task force report (I 974b) that provided the impetus for
this chapter indicated that responsible decisions regarding the use of
psychoactive drugs required some consideration for the implications for
personal health. It is with this in mind that the following
responsibilities and behaviors are identified.
1. Choose to abstain from social-recreational drug use when appropriate
for reasons of health and physical fitness. There are many times when it
is inappropriate to use certain psychoactive drugs. Among these are
times when a person’s physical health is impaired due to illness or
injury or when a person is under severe stress or is emotionally
distraught. There are other times when abstaining is appropriate, even
though we may not be ill (e.g., during pregnancy).
2. Avoid the frequent use of recreational drugs for the purpose of
coping with problems. When we begin to use drugs habitually in any
specific situation or circumstance, we have moved from recreational to
intensified or compulsive drug use. Once again, the user is someone who
controls their use of drugs, not the person whose actions are dictated
by those drugs.
3. Heed the advice of a physician either to avoid the use of a
particular recreational drug or use it only as suggested. There are
occasions when we are not the best judge of our own state of health.
During these times, we must defer to the advice of others who may have
our best interests in mind.
4. Recognize that social acceptability does not require drug use. As
discussed before, each member of a social group should understand the
boundaries
of acceptable behavior. In reasonable situations, that might include the
use of recreational drugs and the right to abstain from the use of such
drugs. Drug use is not an unimportant decision and should be made
because you want to—and when you want to. Do not allow yourself to be
put in a situation wherein you must defer to group opinion in order to
be socially accepted. Conversely, do not contribute to a situation where
you do the same to others.
5. Use drugs in the manner intended so as to minimize the potential
risks. We have spent a great deal of time describing how drugs have been
used and in what ways they may be used. This may provide some useful
guidelines for you.
6. Recognize that recreational drugs are DRUGS and understand what that
means. Recreational drugs are substances that have a broad range of
potential effects. The determinants of the outcome of the recreational
use of drugs depend on the combined effects of set and settings, the
quantity of drug taken, and the manner in which it is taken. The effects
we come to expect from a recreational drug do not always happen. Perhaps
more than most other situations in which drugs are taken,
social-recreational settings may be the most variable; therefore our
expectations are more often chance than certain.
7. Set reasonable limits on the consumption of recreational drugs that
are well within your own capacity, which can vary from time to time.
Here, too, the consequences of set and setting become obvious. Everyone
has their own limits. We learn these from experience. But even in one
individual, the limits vary from time to time. The classic example is
seen with alcohol. Almost everyone has experienced a situation in which
they have had a few drinks, certainly less than they have many other
times, and yet were more intoxicated than at any other time. We change
over time, and that affects our reaction to drugs. Certainly everyone
would agree that different individuals have different limits. The key
point here really has two elements. First, you know your limits better
than most others; therefore you should set your limits on consumption.
We are occasionally poor judges of our own limits, but it is our
responsibility to become more responsible judges. Second, just as you
would not want others to set your limits, do not set limits for others
who are acting responsibly in their own behalf.
8. Be particularly careful of using combinations of drugs in
recreational settings. A substantial portion of this book was devoted to
the dangers of drug interactions. This point should be carefully heeded
because we know that some interactions are potentially dangerous and
because we do not know all of the potentially harmful combinations of
drugs.
9. Remember that the use of some psychoactive drugs may mask some signs
and/or symptoms of serious illness or injury. Avoid continued use of any
psychoactive drug for long periods of time. All drugs have several
effects. In a recreational setting we are most interested in the
psychoactive effects, but many drugs kill pain, slow responses to
stimuli, and affect our interpretations of stimuli. Constant use of a
drug may hide pain or discomfort. We sometimes forget that pain and
discomfort are important to us. Without them we often do not know about
illness or injury, and perhaps the most effective way to complicate some
illnesses and/or injuries is to ignore them.
Safety-Related Responsibilities
Just as decisions regarding recreational use of drugs should consider
the health aspects of such decisions, so should the potential user
consider the safety aspects of such decisions. The following is a list
of safety-related concerns.
1. Avoid performing complex tasks while using recreational drugs, such
as driving a motor vehicle or operating any large or complicated
machinery. Response time, perceptions of time and space, and the normal
reasoning process are all affected by psychoactive drugs. Alterations in
any one of these elements may mean the difference between our ability to
operate a vehicle or machine safely and our inability to do so.
2. Avoid riding with a driver who is using recreational drugs and
discourage that person from operating a motor vehicle. Which are’~ not
you are the driver, the use of psychoactive drugs and driving do not
mix. Do not allow yourself to be coerced into a motor vehicle when the
driver is intoxicated. Do not encourage others to drive when they are
intoxicated by accepting rides from them.
3. Recognize that one’s own drug-taking behavior and attitudes will
influence others, especially children. Whatever we do in the presence of
others affects them in some way. Drug taking is no exception. Therefore
we should be careful about our actions—particularly with substances that
have the potential for doing harm. Our own responsible use of
recreational drugs will foster responsible use by others. Indiscriminate
use encourages others to do the same. This is most apparent in
impressionable children. We should not be cavalier around youngsters
when we are exercising our rights to use drugs.
4. Use recreational drugs only in relaxed and responsible social
situations. Here, again, setting is important. Even if we use a drug
that we have had a great deal of experience with, altered consciousness
is inappropriate in potentially dangerous or unknown settings.
5. Use recreational drugs in moderation, even though you may think your
tolerance is high. As we now know, one’s tolerance for psychoactive
drugs is not at a constant level. It changes with the set and setting.
It is important to use whatever drugs we choose to use in moderation. To
exceed our tolerance, even accidentally, increases the potential for bad
reactions to the drugs themselves or for being in a potentially
dangerous situation from which there is no easy way out.
6. Take the smallest dose of a recreational drug that will produce the
desired effects. The concepts of one’s own limit, or one’s tolerance,
are again important here. In addition, we are adding a new
element—effective dose. It is not important to use a psychoactive drug
to our limits every time we use it. We are better off in the long run if
we minimize the dose we take, If we take just enough to cause the
desired effects, the potential side effects are minimized, as is the
potential for dangerously compromising situations. We should try to
remember at least four crucial questions when we are using drugs
recreationally.
(a) What is the effective dose of the drug we are
taking? In other words what is the smallest amount I can take and still
get the effects for which I am looking?
(b) What is the lethal dose of the drug? Theoretically, every drug has
some legal dose level. That dose level is known for many drugs, but not
for all psychoactive drugs that may be used recreationally. Regardless
of what we think our own tolerance may be, we do not want to chance
taking a dose level approaching lethal limits.
(c) What is the margin of safety for the drug of choice? The greater the
difference between the effective and the lethal dose levels, the less
likely we are to have toxic or fatal reactions to a drug when we use
one. This is the concept of therapeutic index, which was discussed in
Chapter 3.
(d) At the effective dose level, what effects other than those that we
seek will also occur? We have said many times that all drugs have many
effects, some of which we are aware of, and some of which we are not.
Sometimes the effects that occur are inconsequential. At other times,
they are potentially very important. You must be aware that multiple
effects is a given in any drug experience. You must also be aware that
even at low dose levels, some effects that may be potentially dangerous
can occur along with the desired effects.
7. Learn the usual side effects that can occur with the
recreational drugs of your choice and be alert to any expected or
unexpected side effects that pose a potential threat to yourself or to
other users. Be aware of situations that require assistance from trained
medical personnel.
8. Know basic first-aid techniques and take responsibility for applying
them appropriately in cases of drug emergencies. Although these
techniques are beyond the scope of this book, be aware that there are
times when unconsciousness can occur when using drugs. These are times
when we must be particularly alert to the needs of the unconscious
person. This may mean anything from providing a safe place to "sleep it
off" to performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for an unconscious
person who is not breathing spontaneously. Be alert and take
responsibility for preventing such occurrences; if they are needed, take
responsibility for first aid in drug emergencies.
9. Know your source. There are many stories about the black market for
recreational drugs. Be aware that among the greatest ‘horror stories’
are those related to the content of the drugs sold on the black market.
Many of these stories are untrue or exaggerated, but there are also many
cases of potentially dangerous black market deceptions. Often the drugs
sold are not what they are purported to be. Occasionally, they are not
only not what we thought, but they also contain very dangerous chemical
mixtures. Your ‘source" is the person who will be providing you with
chemicals that you are going to put into your own body. Do not assume
that the quality of those drugs is high, and do not take your own safety
for granted.
10. Avoid unfamiliar drugs. Do not trust someone else with the
responsibility for your health and safety. All of the factors that we
have outlined thus far imply that safe and responsible drug use requires
respect for drugs and knowledge about them and about yourself. Do not
compromise these requirements by using substances with which you are
unfamiliar and for which you have no respected role models or guides.
11. Avoid mixing drugs, particularly unknown drugs. More dangerous than
trusting your safety to unknown drugs is trusting your safety and
well-being to mixtures of drugs, particularly if some of the drugs in
the mixture are unfamiliar. Predictable drug outcomes are the result of
responsible use of those drugs. Using unknowns minimizes the
predictability of outcomes and therefore increases the potential for
hazard associated with such use.
12. Avoid injecting drugs.
YOUR RIGHT TO DECIDE
The choice of whether or nor to use a recreational drug is yours alone.
However, when considering your options, understand your responsibilities
as well as the other elements in your decision process. We have outlined
many such responsibilities in this chapter. We have focused on three
main dimensions: situational responsibilities, health-related
responsibilities, and safety-related responsibilities. There is some
crossover but, where there has been duplication, it is by design.
Remember, it is the whole person—you—who makes the decisions and takes
the responsibility to make them rational. You cannot make these
decisions in a vacuum. They affect you
and also others. You have the right and the responsibility to decide, if
you choose to use drugs recreationally, to use those drugs with minimal
hazard to yourself and use around you.
Summary
This chapter outlined the basic responsibilities that accompany
responsible recreational use of psychoactive drugs. Rational decisions
concerning drug use can be made if these responsibilities are
considered. We understand that the right to decide rests with the
individual, but the individual must also understand the rights of others
in considering a course of action relative to recreational drug use.
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