Drugs: The new candy?

[deacsoft]

I was just having a conversation with a friend of mine who told a tale of going to a candy store today in downtown Minneapolis. He stated that he went there while on his lunch break and proceeded to purchase copious amounts of candy. It was the tale of the kid in a candy store. However, he's no kid. He's in his mid twentys and after having a few pieces he began to give it away to his co-workers as he no longer desired it and had zero interest in having it in his possession. This got me to thinking.
I remember that when I was younger and I couldn't be in a gas station, grocery store, or anywhere that sold candy without buying or wanting to buy candy. I can't remember exactly when I stopped buying and eating it, but I haven't been doing it so for quite some time now. I wondered why that is. Why don't I anymore? The candy still tastes just as good as it did then. It still costs about the same amount. Why do I not desire it these days? There's only one conclusion I can come to. Drugs are the new candy.
Which or what type of drug may vary. For me it's nicotine. I love to smoke. I love it. And thinking back I can vaguely see a correlation between the time I started smoking and the time I stopped eating candy. To further support this theory, although I admit the figures are quite skewed, a vast number of children enjoy candy as to where adults enjoy smoking, drinking alcohol, etc. Yes, these drugs are readily available to adults and not to children. However, candy is readily available to adults and as a whole I believe they intake far less amounts of candy as they do drugs. Further more, I believe even if they do still enjoy and consume candy they do it far less than they did as children. Are we just replacing on fix with another as we get older? Are drugs the new candy?

[InchoateHand]

"Are drugs the new candy?"

No. Stupid question. Stupider answer.

I outgrew drugs, I'll never outgrow candy.

Believe it or not, most "adults" don't take tons of drugs.

[Klepton]

are you on drugs right now?

[Pat Southern]

maybe candy was your first drug...

[deacsoft]

[ QUOTE ]
maybe candy was your first drug...

[/ QUOTE ]

That's exactly what I'm saying. Maybe candy is nearly everyone's first drug.

[deacsoft]

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are you on drugs right now?

[/ QUOTE ]

If you count nicotine... then yes.

From the OP's post, I don't necessarily believe he means illicit or illegal drugs. I took him to mean caffeine, nicotine and alcohol, in a nutshell. And if that's where the question is heading, I think he's right.

I think that, in general, a person over the age of 18 in the USA is indulging regularly in at least one of those three things. And that's without taking anything illegal into account. Most adults have some form of substance-based vice, I'd wager.

[dblgutshot]

Are you really asking if people's tastes change as they grow up? This is the first time it occured to you?

[MonkeeMan]

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maybe candy was your first drug...

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That's exactly what I'm saying. Maybe candy is nearly everyone's first drug.

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Nah, everyone's first drug is sucking teat.

[xadrez]

Youre right, sugar and high fructose corn syrup to some extent mimick the effects of some drugs.

[ QUOTE ]
Youre right, sugar and high fructose corn syrup to some extent mimick the effects of some drugs.

[/ QUOTE ]

What drugs do those substances mimic the effects of, and to what extent?

I don't want to hear, "well, sugar is a stimulant and so is cocaine," either. Please make a coherent argument.

[mmcd]

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[ QUOTE ]
Youre right, sugar and high fructose corn syrup to some extent mimick the effects of some drugs.

[/ QUOTE ]

What drugs do those substances mimic the effects of, and to what extent?

I don't want to hear, "well, sugar is a stimulant and so is cocaine," either. Please make a coherent argument.

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Maybe some one here can eat a ridiculous amount (like several pounds) of sugar and post a trip report.

[dblgutshot]

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[ QUOTE ]
Youre right, sugar and high fructose corn syrup to some extent mimick the effects of some drugs.

[/ QUOTE ]

What drugs do those substances mimic the effects of, and to what extent?

I don't want to hear, "well, sugar is a stimulant and so is cocaine," either. Please make a coherent argument.

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe some one here can eat a ridiculous amount (like several pounds) of sugar and post a trip report.

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Get someone with diabetes to do it, to make it more interesting.

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Maybe some one here can eat a ridiculous amount (like several pounds) of sugar and post a trip report.

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But after they puked, the geniuses would be telling us that sugar was JUST LIKE alcohol AND heroin, because it has the exact same effect if you consume too much.

[theRealMacoy]

research in the last few years has shown that the areas in the brain activated by such addicting substances as nicotine or heroin are pretty much the same (particularly once you become a regular user).

such "addiction pathways" are also similarly activated in the brains of people who regularly consume significant quantities of fat and sugar.

essentially being "addicted" looks (in a brain mri) very much the same regardless of the particular substance. the variability actually lies in the number of doses required to light up this pathway.

...thus i think what you are saying is essentially supported by the research.

as a whole, we tend to underestimate the power of sugar or fat related addiction versus more conventionaly known addicting substances such as nicotine.

....on a side note, deacsoft it seems fairly likely that if you were to give up smoking you would find yourself replacing the nicotine with sugar once again (especially in the absence of other nicotine delivering products).

cheers,
sean

[xadrez]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Youre right, sugar and high fructose corn syrup to some extent mimick the effects of some drugs.

[/ QUOTE ]

What drugs do those substances mimic the effects of, and to what extent?

I don't want to hear, "well, sugar is a stimulant and so is cocaine," either. Please make a coherent argument.

[/ QUOTE ]

I didnt phrase this correctly, sorry. What I meant to say was that sugary products can be addictive, and in that sense mimic drugs in your brain.

Of course sugar has no psychotropic effect, neither do cigarettes, and people are addicted to those as well but nobody would assert that smoking 10 butts at once will get you as wasted as doing an eightball. That being said nobody would argue that just because nicotine isnt getting you "wasted" it isnt forming a dependence just as heroin or cocaine would.

[soko]

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Of course sugar has no psychotropic effect, neither do cigarettes

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This is by far the most uneducated responce thus far.


EDIT:

psy·cho·tro·pic
adj.

Having an altering effect on perception, emotion, or behavior. Used especially of a drug.

EDIT2: You can trip off nicotine, i've done it before. Ever heard of a sugar-buzz?

[InchoateHand]

"research in the last few years has shown that the areas in the brain activated by such addicting substances as nicotine or heroin are pretty much the same (particularly once you become a regular user). "

Uh, no. You are a [censored] moron.

"Addiction pathways" have nothing to do with effect jackass.

Heroin and Nicotine have nothing in common other than the fact that they are "addictive," as is, of course sugar.

Oh no!

[xadrez]

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EDIT2: You can trip off nicotine, i've done it before. Ever heard of a sugar-buzz?

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lightweight

I hate all the [censored] money we pour into research on things like fat & sugar addictions. It always strikes me as trying desperately to tell the fatass american public that its ok to be fat, because its not their fault - after all, they're addcited. Its similar to the problem I have with the approach AA takes to alcoholism. You have a disease, its not your fault. Yup.

This reeks of the kind of people who would sue McDonalds for making them fat. Bleh.

IH is the man atm.

[mmcd]

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EDIT2: You can trip off nicotine, i've done it before. Ever heard of a sugar-buzz?


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As I suggested before, get a 5lb bag of sugar and a spoon. Report back later.

[xadrez]

This doesnt make sense. We should not call something addictive, or research these matters because it might give someone an excuse to use that fact as a crutch or an excuse?

[theRealMacoy]

[ QUOTE ]
"research in the last few years has shown that the areas in the brain activated by such addicting substances as nicotine or heroin are pretty much the same (particularly once you become a regular user). "

Uh, no. You are a [censored] moron.

"Addiction pathways" have nothing to do with effect jackass.

Heroin and Nicotine have nothing in common other than the fact that they are "addictive," as is, of course sugar.

Oh no!

[/ QUOTE ]

hello?
reread [censored], i said nothing about effect...simply the areas of the brain that relate to addiction.

obviously the initial "effect" of nicotine / heroin / sugar are markedly different....although many researchers are proposing a "pleasure pathway" that is common to all and plays a major role in addiciton.

thus what i was getting at is that addiction to a drug relates to very much the same areas of the brain...regardless of the drug.

this is one reason why many drugs that were originally developed to treat a specific drug-addiction were found to be useful in the treatment of many types of addiction....often this is because they neutralize the effect of the drug on the pleasure pathway.

let me try and put this another way....
in the past it was thought that different drugs (e.g., nicotine, alcohol, heroin) had different pathways within the brain relating to addiction/pleasure.


today we know this is not the case in that if you compare the mri's of various types of addicts (with regard to the areas causing addiction NOT the specific short-term effects) they tend show activities in very similar areas of the brain.

cheers,
sean

[craig r]

[ QUOTE ]
"research in the last few years has shown that the areas in the brain activated by such addicting substances as nicotine or heroin are pretty much the same (particularly once you become a regular user). "

Uh, no. You are a [censored] moron.

"Addiction pathways" have nothing to do with effect jackass.

Heroin and Nicotine have nothing in common other than the fact that they are "addictive," as is, of course sugar.

Oh no!

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought both effected your dopamine levels (of course that just may be uppers such as coke and speed).

craig

[theRealMacoy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
"research in the last few years has shown that the areas in the brain activated by such addicting substances as nicotine or heroin are pretty much the same (particularly once you become a regular user). "

Uh, no. You are a [censored] moron.

"Addiction pathways" have nothing to do with effect jackass.

Heroin and Nicotine have nothing in common other than the fact that they are "addictive," as is, of course sugar.

Oh no!

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought both effected your dopamine levels (of course that just may be uppers such as coke and speed).

craig

[/ QUOTE ]

you are correct

specifically, cocaine attaches to the same neurostransmitter binding sites as dopamine.

when cocaine is introduced, dopamine cannot bind to the transporters and is stranded in the synapses, whic leads to increased dopamine levels.

...interstingly it is dopamine that is thought be primarily
responsible for the pleasure pathway (it is at least quite clearly a pleasure chemical).

release of dopamine is enhanced in a brain system called the limbic system (which is basically the emotional brain).

....(as i mentioned above) ALL ADDICTIVE DRUGS have the common ability to increase dopamine activity within the limbic system in some way.

finally, for those of you wondering why not to do cocaine consider that diseases such as parkinson's and schizophrenia are characterized by abnormal dopamine levels (the former with elevate levels and the latter with depressed levels)....

cheers,
sean

[craig r]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
"research in the last few years has shown that the areas in the brain activated by such addicting substances as nicotine or heroin are pretty much the same (particularly once you become a regular user). "

Uh, no. You are a [censored] moron.

"Addiction pathways" have nothing to do with effect jackass.

Heroin and Nicotine have nothing in common other than the fact that they are "addictive," as is, of course sugar.

Oh no!

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought both effected your dopamine levels (of course that just may be uppers such as coke and speed).

craig

[/ QUOTE ]

you are correct

specifically, cocaine attaches to the same neurostransmitter binding sites as dopamine.

when cocaine is introduced, dopamine cannot bind to the dopamine transporter and is stranded in the synapses.

this blocking action leads to an increase of dopamine levels

cheers,
sean

[/ QUOTE ]

Which is why the comedown is so rough I assume and why it is so psychologically addictive. Plus, the depression, when you quit, is really hard, because the body is very stingey (sp?) when it comes to releasing dopamines and restoring dopamines. What tends to happen is that things that would usually make you happy does not, because the body will not release any dopamines. Once again, I could be wrong.

craig

[InchoateHand]

Dopamine activity has nothing to do with heroin jackasses, its a tangential effect.

You guys just make this [censored] up right, because anyone with half a clue disagrees with your gross mischaracterizations. I would hate to think this is being taught in health classes somewhere.

I just ate a 5oz resees santa filled with peanut butter.

I was buzzing, but now I am coming down, and I have a tummy ache.

[theRealMacoy]

[ QUOTE ]
Dopamine activity has nothing to do with heroin jackasses, its a tangential effect.

You guys just make this [censored] up right, because anyone with half a clue disagrees with your gross mischaracterizations. I would hate to think this is being taught in health classes somewhere.

[/ QUOTE ]


jackass smackass...

now you are simply illustrating your lack of even a rudementry understanding of brain activy associated with addiction.

let me restate in case you missed it:
ALL ADDICTIVE DRUGS (including heroin) have some effect on the limbic system of the brain (the so called pleasure pathway).

dopamine is the main neurotransmitter in the limbic system.

mri's of an addict using an addictive drug will basically always light up the limbic sytem of the brain.

that's strike two......

cheers and thanks for playing.

sean

ps. if you don't believe me why don't you try and googling it (i'll even help you out: brain + "pleasure pathway")

....if you didn't act like such a beligerant ahole i would provide one

[InchoateHand]

Asshat, know what a tangent is? How about a tangential effect?

There you go.


I am far, far, far more enlightened as to the functioning of the limbic system than you. The fact that there is dopamine activity is...


wait for it....



A TANGENTIAL EFFECT.



Nobody keeps using heroin to light up that "pathway." Learn about a little guy named enkephalin mu if you are interested in the feedback mechanism most directly associated with heroin use.


Asshat.


Glad google is your source. Pharmacology is mine.

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Learn about a little guy named enkephalin mu

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So I googled this and I was surprised to find that it wasn't a person, but instead something involving opioid receptors. I was expecting it to be some Siberian dude who did massive amounts of heroin. Am I dumb?

That being said, Mr Hand, your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. You've been absolutely on point for the last week. Good stuff.

[theRealMacoy]

okay, okay mr.hand.

i can admit when i am wrong.

clearly your knowledge in this area is superior.

i tip my hat with respect. well played.

cheers,
sean