Which drugs have you used recreationally?

[htismaqe]

So here's my list. Like Franchise, I'm not proud of it but I also can't say it's not part of who I am now so there's no use in hiding it. If anything, maybe I can save somebody from going through some of the shit I have.

Nicotine/Tobacco/Vaping:
Started smoking cigarettes in HS. Smoked all through college until shortly after I got married the 2nd time. I got into this place where I only needed nicotine to sleep so I got down to 1 cigarette a day, right before bed, for several years. Then I quit altogether, which last about 10 years. I just couldn't shake it though and started vaping a couple of years ago. My vaping habit is pretty bad - I go through a ton of liquid and it's all 12mg which is the highest concentration they sell here.

Alcohol:
Had my first beer in HS. Drank heavily in college, especially when I lived in Germany. But I've never really been "addicted" to booze and I actually don't enjoy being drunk so I drink socially and infrequently now.

Cannabis: My 2nd love after my wife. LOL. I started smoking pot in HS, too. I've smoked it ever since - about 35 years now. I quit or smoked sparingly (and secretly) for 15 years while my kids were growing up but other than that period, I've been a daily consumer my entire adult life.

Cocaine: Snorted my share but that's the extent of cocaine for me. No freebasing, no injecting, no crack.

Meth: This was the worst for me and I already mentioned what it's like. You start out feeling like a super hero and end up looking like Gollum. Fortunately for me, I had an opportunity to move to a country where it simply wasn't a "thing", which forced me to kick it cold turkey. Haven't done any meth in over 20 years and that include ADHD meds, which I have been on.

Inhalants: The extent of my huffing was Whip It's but dear God do I love those things. One, the make everything intensely weird for about 20 seconds. We use to call it "talking to Mr. Wavy Man" because everything had like strobe effect and it wasn't just light, it was sound too.

Shrooms: Yes, please. Actually had a bite of a shroom candy bar recently. It was fun but I don't do shrooms on the regular anymore.

LSD: I've actually done more LSD more than shrooms. Overall, I'd say 90% of my trips were positive, fun experiences. That 10% thought can be some awful shit at the time you're going through it. The hangover usually isn't fun either, it makes your back hurt something fierce. I honestly don't think I could do it at my age and still have fun so I've never tried.

Mescaline: Tried it once, very confusing. Can't remember anything really either.

Prescription Opioids: Hasn't everybody taken them at this point? If not illegally, surely you've had a script. Some doctors still hand them out like candy. Hell, my daughter got 7 days of oxy for having her wisdom teeth out. I've never abused them recreationally but I've taken quite a few over the years.

Benzos: More on this later, but I have taken prescription benzos of every sort. I've abused them on occasion but mostly I've gotten them from docs. I've taken Ativan, Valium, Xanax, and Clonopin that I can remember.

Molly: Only once. Felt too much like meth for me. Not sure I'd do it again.

Speed: As explained earlier, if you've done meth, you've done "speed". Before I was introduced to meth, we used to take white crosses, which I think were pure ephedrine.

Other: So this is where my story really starts. I started having issues at about 13 or 14 which prompted my parents to send me to a shrink. Since that time 37 years ago, I've taken probably 3 dozen SSRI's, MAOI's, antipsychotics, and other "mood" meds, including the aforementioned benzos and Adderall.

MY STRUGGLES WITH DRUG ADDICTION STARTED IN A PHARMACY.\

My very first script was an MAOI - amitryptilene. I was supposed to take it at bedtime but I had insomnia too so many times, I couldn't fall asleep until after it had really kicked in. It was a weird form on euphoria that I felt, I can't really place it now after all these years, I just know it didn't take me long to figure out I could take a couple in the middle of the day and have "fun". With a couple of years, I was drinking, smoking, and smoking weed. A couple of years later, it was coke and then meth. And I continued to abuse prescription psychiatric drugs the whole time as well.

So there it is - my story is an open book.