Why do writers need drugs?

[TG1]

For the record ...

I've never done meth (methamphetamine). And I would not.

The "speed" I've done was amphetamines in the form of prescribed diet pills, "bennies" (a term used by truck drivers), and, rarely, something our local pusher man sold in the early 1970s that was simply called "speed." I have no idea what was in that.

My only stimulant these days is coffee. It's still pretty good.

 

[Panda Termint]

I witnessed a guy on Meth tinkering with/working on a bicycle. The intensity and focus was amazing to see. Scary almost.

There was a great story in Rolling Stone way back about a study done where they compared stoned dudes to straight dudes. They had (maybe) 20 in each group and the gave them all hoes and got them to till earth in rows.

The straight dudes got more rows done but the stoned dudes had much prettier and more exacting rows!

To me, that was it in a nutshell.

 

[degraded being]

For the record ...

I've never done meth (methamphetamine). And I would not.

The "speed" I've done was amphetamines in the form of prescribed diet pills, "bennies" (a term used by truck drivers), and, rarely, something our local pusher man sold in the early 1970s that was simply called "speed." I have no idea what was in that.

My only stimulant these days is coffee. It's still pretty good.

Thank god for that. I only associate with high class druggies.

 

[uniquemand]

For the record ...

I've never done meth (methamphetamine). And I would not.

The "speed" I've done was amphetamines in the form of prescribed diet pills, "bennies" (a term used by truck drivers), and, rarely, something our local pusher man sold in the early 1970s that was simply called "speed." I have no idea what was in that.

My only stimulant these days is coffee. It's still pretty good.

I have tried meth, and I'm really certain I would again, if it was near me. It was fantastic. However, the problem is that if it were near me, I'd do it again, and it would not stop there. The allure of peak performance is too strong. I end up going sleepless and the effort to maintain the high turns into not eating, not sleeping and nervous tics. Meth is best done with no access to more of it, or not at all.

 

[Sindy]

Writers don't need drugs. No one needs drugs.

However, their performance can certainly be enhanced by them and apparently, especially, amphetamines:

What stimulants seem to do is stimulate and increase the release of certain neurotransmitters, most notably dopamine and norepinephrine, and block or slow up how much of these chemicals are being reabsorbed back into the neuron from which they were released. As a result, more of the neurotransmitter is held in the synapse space between neurons long enough for it to properly bind to the receptor, thus messages within the brain are more effectively transmitted and received.

Developmental pediatrician, director of the National Center for Girls and Women with AD/HD, and internationally recognized ADHD expert, Dr. Patricia Quinn describes the joining of the neurotransmitter to the receptor as akin to a key fitting into a lock. “When the neurotransmitter (key) fits into the receptor (lock), it opens the door for messages to get though,” writes Dr. Quinn.

Research suggests that methylphenidate (a stimulant which includes the brand name medicines Ritalin, Metadate, and Concerta) primarily blocks the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine – that is, slows up how much of the neurotransmitter is being reabsorbed back into the neuron so that more is left in the synapse. And secondarily, methylphenidate seems to facilitate the direct release of neurotransmitter from within the neuron where it is produced and stored therefore sending more out into the synapse space.

Amphetamines (another type of stimulant that includes Dexedrine and Adderall) mostly increase the release of dopamine and norepinephrine from their storage sites into the synapse. A less significant mechanism of amphetamines is slowing the reuptake of the neurotransmitters. The differences in the way these stimulants work may explain why some people with ADHD respond to one type of stimulant medication better than another.

Dopamine and norepinephrine seem to play a key role in the areas of the brain responsible for regulating attention and executive function. The reason the stimulants are helpful in reducing symptoms of ADHD appears to be that they make these neurotransmitters more available, therefore improving activity and communication in those parts of the brain which operate on dopamine and norepinephrine and signal for specific tasks.

Brain imaging studies have demonstrated that when an individual is on stimulant medication there is evidence of increased metabolic activity in the prefrontal cortex, specific subcortical regions, and the cerebellum - all important centers for executive function. Thus, these areas of the brain appear more active and “turned on” to cognitive tasks when neurotransmitter levels are elevated.

^^^So that's long and involved but the bottom line is that they bring about alertness, a bit of euphoria and attention is locked. I can attest to it aiding my writing tremendously. I find that disappointing though as they are not good for you.

 

[TG1]

^^^^ What Sindy said.

Amphetamines teach your brain to want and then need more stimulants.

Bad.

Then very bad.

Then very, very bad.

 

[Udarnik]

^^^^ What Sindy said.

Amphetamines teach your brain to want and then need more stimulants.

Bad.

Then very bad.

Then very, very bad.

Then very, very bad for your teeth:

Kids, the word for today is tachyphylaxis.

 

[The_Fixer]

Then very, very bad for your teeth:

Kids, the word for today is tachyphylaxis.

Yuck.

I remember writing stuff sometimes when I used to smoke weed and hash.

Had to give up writing, it was utter crap! It was either that or the weed.

So I shot my pen.

On a more serious note, being in Scn saved me from doing down skid row with the drugs.

It wasn't scn or the tech that did it, it was just being busy doing other things with no time or leeway for drugs that gave me the time to get it out of my system as a new habit.

About the only positive thing Scn gave me, and it wasn't scientology!

 

[Cattack]

Provigil is an interesting drug. It's, technically, not an amphetamine but rather a "wakefulness promoting agent". It is given to astronauts, pilots, special forces operatives, narcoleptics, people with multiple sclerosis (for energy), people with work-shift sleep disorder, and is now in trials to determine its effectiveness for A.D.D. and depression.

Also, it has remarkably few side-effects and most people only experience a headache if anything negative at all.

If you ever saw the movie "Limitless" it may be interesting to know that Provigil inspired the film.

The video below is less like a news story than excellent propaganda... That being said, I will likely find a way try it at least a couple times to see if it lives up to all the hype surrounding it.

Oh yeah... One other thing I heard about it that raised my interest was that at 24 hours past the time of ingestion cognition showed no signs of diminished function.


http://youtu.be/PAKS0aVhGto

 

[Lord Xenu]

Some of these indulgences can help you with a different perception of situations. I smoked my first joint for 14 years recently, really enjoyed it and got heavily into some creative activities (that I was already involved in). However, if you do this regularly, you lose focus. I think pot helps you look at the minute details but you focus on them so much that you miss the bigger picture. Relating this to scifaggery, I have seen it said that marijuana is a deprogrammer and it is less likely that you can be hypnotised as per the TRs if you partake or have done in the past.

 

[Lermanet_com]

Writers don't need drugs. No one needs drugs.

However, their performance can certainly be enhanced by them and apparently, especially, amphetamines:



^^^So that's long and involved but the bottom line is that they bring about alertness, a bit of euphoria and attention is locked. I can attest to it aiding my writing tremendously. I find that disappointing though as they are not good for you.

Sindy,

Some perspective. Chemicals created by man which do not exist in the natural order on their own are one thing...however our prisons are filled with mostly other things....that is the CRIME/

The word DRUG as used in today's politically correct cesspool of deceits we call civilization, is often used to demonize useful extracts of plant life. While non-coperating cartels are dosed with agent organg the 'company' fields get processed and were flown into Mena Arkansas, google Whitewater Investigation.

Doctors are being leaned on to be strict with pain medications by the DEA because their brothers-in-arms in the CIA are flooding US markets with cheap heroin from all those fields in Afgahnistan...they are even ducting their commercial 'pot' with heroin to increase repeat business...

The western half of the trans continental railroad was built on the backs of Chinese coolies, who used opium to get through the backbreaking days.

Sir Winstom Chuchill would sometimes get a shot of morphine in his rump before he addressed parliament

I describe opiates this way: God created opiates so that old farts could bounce their grandchildren on their knees without wincing.

And perhaps God created mushrooms to remind us he had a sense of humor

The nutritional value of the hemp seed, which doesn't get you 'high' is so high, and the plant is so prolific that we might end hunger and the need for food stamps just by letting one of God's own creations do it's thing by the sides of the road...but if the public at large starting consuming the wonderful omega3,6&9 fatty acids in Hemp seed the phamaceutical companies would scream bloody murder, (cutting into PROFITs) cause there IS something in that oil that prevents and cures CANCER.

If I were called to argue my fate before jury of my peers in the Bible belt, I would close with:

Please tell me just who it is that has the authority upon this earth to make one of God's own creations a CRIME for me to hold??

Then I would slap a shiny copper penny on top of the bar in front of them and tell the jury to read the fine print.

IN GOD WE TRUST

Liberty

 

[He-man]

Writers don't need drugs.

If you need to take speed to be able to have a high writing capacity - You'r not an efficient writer.

If you need to go tripping to get ideas to write in your book - You'r out of ideas, I
suppose

A friend once said bored people do drugs because they don't know how to get their asses out of the sofa. :confused2: