About this site
Now this is junkie.com.au - an Australian site - so it is tempting to say it is dedicated to a uniquely Australian behaviour - chemical alteration of mood. But let's not kid ourselves, it's a typically human behaviour. Poppyseeds found in the campfires of stone age man indicate a long history between substances and humans. Legal frameworks come and go, but our basic neurochemical makeup doesn't change on anywhere near the same timescale. So this site has been set up, in part to demystify the myths, legends and downright bullshit around what are commonly termed 'drugs'. I'm using the word substance rather than drug, to try to avoid stigma and assumptions. Note that in the 'usage tracker', a key part of this site, I include alcohol and benzos, two currently legal substances used for mood alteration. I would like people to use this site for lots of things. Firstly, to keep a track of their usage, so that over time you can review what you've used, when you've gone overboard, and especially what has triggered the usage. There's a 'reason for using' field you can fill out each time you use, and that can be very handy looking back at events. I've been tracking my usage for seven years, and just having a record of the hundreds of thousands of dollars I've wasted is justification alone for tracking. The fact that I'm using about a tenth as much as I used to use makes my mind boggle at where the dollar count would be up to had I started at Day One. More than my hopes for this site, I would like the using community to feedback and let me know what they want. I am only one evolved ape, so change won't be fast (unless there are some other coders out there who would like to help, hint hint), but I am always keen to take on ideas. Felix
Comments
A uniquely Australian behaviour?
I am of the opinion that Australia is a world leader in the drug abuse stakes with a firm lead in alcoholism. Maybe not unique to Australia, the use of substances is common to many members of the animal kingdom not just the human ones. It is worthy of note that Australia which per capita has one of the highest rates of this activity and the U.S.A. which was the spear head of prohibition in the last century and still is are both new countries in that both have little in the way of tradition due to their youth. Maybe there is something to respect for one's elders here and that an upstart like the US which like Australia has never suffered at the hands of an aggressor should look to the places which have a history of such stuff. Easy to go off half cocked in an effort to put humanity on the right course, maybe they should look hard at what got us on the wrong course.