Is drug abuse really that prevalent?
Posted by Jay35770806@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 144 comments
I'm an international student, and I'll be moving to Tennessee for college soon. Where I currently live, there's definitely a stereotype that a lot of Americans do drugs like marijuana, LSD, etc. Although I have no idea how true this is, I've also been told that some social events have drugged snacks.
Before I move, are there more cultural things I should know regarding drugs? For example, would it be weird to "identify" as being "drug-free" and ask if any of the stuff at social events are drugged?
Hatweed@reddit
I’m deep in Rust Belt territory, which means a lot of heroin and meth. I know a lot of people who either were or still are addicted.
Flibs-@reddit
A lot of people definitely smoke weed. It's still illegal in some states but nobody gives a shit anymore. It lost an incredible amount of the stigma very fast once legalization medically and recreationally started happening.
It's absolutely not weird to just not do drugs though. It's prevalent but it's not like some mandatory thing you're going to have forced up you.
Alcohol, like most places, is the most prevalent drug you're going to find.
MermaidUnicornKush42@reddit
I've had several doctors see THC pop up on my test results and ask if it has and positive effect on my chronic medical condition, then just bluntly offer to prescribe it to me.
It's not exactly an "abused drug". It's pretty much beer/liquor with a bad reputation. It's also medication for a lot of people.
Alcohol isn't an "abused drug" unless you have an addiction to it. There are people who drink a couple beers on a Friday night, then there are people who drink themselves to death.
FOOD is the same way. There are people who will literally eat themselves to death.
CupBeEmpty@reddit
I volunteer in recovery and a therapist asked me what I thought was the hardest addiction to deal with was. I guessed booze. They told me it was food because it’s the only addiction you can’t quit.
PainInTheAssDean@reddit
Yep. Imagine you’re a heroin addict but you still have to do a little bit a couple times a day. But not too much…
CupBeEmpty@reddit
Yup exactly how they described it to me.
MermaidUnicornKush42@reddit
Yep. I've had trouble with eating disorders and it's hard because it's "ok, I have to eat to survive but I can't eat too much but I can't eat not enough, how do I find the middle ground and stick to it, because eating too much then puking it back up isn't the correct way to do it..."
CupBeEmpty@reddit
Well I hope you find that calm. It’s a hard row to hoe.
I am also just not familiar with it because it’s kind of rare. So I just don’t have any knowledge to spout off about.
QuercusSambucus@reddit
The funny thing is it has much less severe side effects than alcohol, and is much safer. I can smoke weed all night and wake up the next day feeling just fine. Do the same with alcohol and you may literally die.
cryptoengineer@reddit
There seems to be a growing consensus that its a problem for young people (<20) who's brains are still developing. That's with heavy, chronic use though.
QuercusSambucus@reddit
Kids shouldn't be getting drunk, either.
cryptoengineer@reddit
100%, and we've know that for a long time.
The problems with weed are only starting to become apparent, as we now have much larger sample sizes.
zeezle@reddit
Yeah. I think part of the problem is the over-correction to the fearmongering was insisting any amount of use is absolutely beneficial and can never have any harmful effects ever.
I know a heavy weed smoker (and I mean extremely heavy) that after a decade+ is having chronic lung issues. The doctor told them to lay off because their infections are not getting a chance to heal and they keep reinfecting themselves, etc. I have no proof but I'm personally going with the theory that inhaling smoke of any kind near constantly is just not good for your lungs. Some things are obviously way worse than others, but the lungs are the ficklest of body organs and get irritated or damaged by an endless list of things... how can marijuana smoke somehow magically exempt from that when smoke from trees, tobacco, and a bunch of other plants is demonstrably harmful? I don't think cannabis is uniquely bad or anything, I am just skeptical that it's uniquely exempt from all the same issues that smoke from other burning plant material in general creates. (Obviously the dose makes the poison and in moderation or occasionally it's probably not a big deal the same way someone getting mild air pollution from a distant forest fire doesn't have to worry about it the same way a firefighter does, this person is a heavy daily smoker and is uninterested in smoke-free ways of ingesting THC.)
saltporksuit@reddit
I just fully disclosed to my doc about using gummies to sleep with my anxiety. She was completely fine with weed as long as you don’t smoke it.
QuercusSambucus@reddit
I basically never smoke any more - either dabs or dry herb vapes. Doesn't give me the same fuzzy headed feeling that I'm pretty sure was from inhaling smoke.
Substantial_Room3793@reddit
Is it common for doctors to run THC drug tests on their patients? I’ve never seen it show up on any of my annual test results.
MermaidUnicornKush42@reddit
Depending on the condition they are working with, yes. With me they are testing my system for the levels of various prescription drugs, including a prescription daily benzo, and they also test for alcohol and weed while they are at it. I think they just test for every drug that might affect my medication levels/affect my condition. They use this information to see if they need to lower a dose, if I'm at a perfect dose, or if it's safe to increase a dose.
Mine are also anonymously thrown into a "this is how various medication/drug levels are affecting patient XYZ and what her current state of treatment/improvement is", with my consent. They are trying to find better treatment for people with my level/type/status and I want to help as much as I can.
If you're just going in for a basic annual exam, they don't give a fuck.
HorseFeathersFur@reddit
Sadly, weed is still illegal in Tennessee.
Dr_Watson349@reddit
Technically its still illegal in every state.
stroppo@reddit
Weed is completely legal in Washington and Colorado. I live a ten min walk from two "pot shops" where I can go and buy readymade joints or loose weed, edibles, etc.
Dr_Watson349@reddit
It's not.
Weed is a schedule 1 drug as classified by the DEA. A federal agent (DEA, FBI, etc) could arrest you and charge you with having it in Washington, Colorado, or anywhere else in the US. They don't because the last few presidents have stopped enforcing it.
Don't believe me? Try and bring weed on a flight. See how TSA reacts.
stroppo@reddit
Yes, it's still a federal offense, so you can't bring it on planes. But you're not going to be arrested for using it in the privacy of your own home. Heck, even though it is illegal to smoke it publicly, eg, walking down the street smoking a joint, I have yet to see the police arrest anybody for doing that, even when they walk by the police station! And there would be no way to enforce someone eating an edible in public (also technically not allowed).
https://lcb.wa.gov/education/using_and_having_cannabis
Dr_Watson349@reddit
Maybe I am misunderstanding you, but I think you are getting some things confused.
Police in states where weed is legal per state law are not going to arrest you, not because they are super fucking nice guys but because local police generally don't enforce federal law.
Police in states where weed is illegal per state law will abso-fucking-lutely arrest your ass for smoking weed. 200,000 people were arrest for marijuana related crimes in the US last year. That's arrests, not tickets.
HorseFeathersFur@reddit
Yeah you’re right, it’s stupid
UltraShadowArbiter@reddit
"It's absolutely not weird to just not do drugs though."
It certainly feels like it is sometimes. As someone who doesn't drink, smoke, or do any kind of drugs, it feels like literally everybody around me does at least one of those things.
Ceorl_Lounge@reddit
That seems more like a function of age. As I've gotten older I judge that kind of thing far less. It's easier to assume someone has really good reasons for abstaining and that it's really none of my business.
Captain_Chipz@reddit
Just cuz it's not common doesn't make it weird. Teetotaler is an old fashioned word for the kind of person who doesn't do drugs or drink. It came from a time when people casually did opiates and cocaine came in soda.
Zaidswith@reddit
Don't forget the straight edge punk scene. That was still popular when I was younger in the 00s.
Flibs-@reddit
It can feel weird because lot of people do partake, but I've yet to meet anyone who was like "WHAT A FUCKIN' LOSER" or something because you're like "I don't do that"... And I've hung out with some pretty questionable people back in the day.
UltraShadowArbiter@reddit
I've met those people. They don't call me a loser though. They say I'm boring.
Dr_Watson349@reddit
You might just be boring.
wawa2022@reddit
Or a narc
UnfairHoneydew6690@reddit
That’s says more about them than you though
Purple-Mud5057@reddit
I’ve always thought people that need to drink to be interesting must be pretty boring
mechanicalcontrols@reddit
Once alcohol and tobacco are accounted for, yeah likely "doesn't do any of it" is ever so slightly outnumbered by "does at least one."
After typing that out I went to Google the numbers and according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the number of adults 18 to 65 that drank at least one drink in the last year is 62.5%.
Smoking is about 12% and numbers for weed are likely somewhat less accurate because it's still illegal in some states but the sources I could find say about 17%
Other drugs are gonna fall way off from there and the last I checked it's something like only one out of twenty people has ever tried LSD
Wyzard_of_Wurdz@reddit
Right. I do smoke weed but I don't drink.
People constantly make comments about my NOT drinking.
They either assume that I have never ever drank in my life or they think I'm a recovering alcoholic. Neither of those is the case.
SnarkyFool@reddit
In college, not drinking is really the difficult one of the three.
Most people don't smoke anymore and I still believe a majority of people don't smoke weed. Even if you're in a place where a lot of people DO smoke weed, it is not hard to find people who don't.
Sabertooth767@reddit
Drinking is odd because it is very, very highly concentrated into a certain percentage of the population.
About 1/3 of Americans either do not drink or drink occasionally (an average of 0 drinks per week). A little over 2/3rds have 2 drinks or fewer per week. But the 90th percentile is 11 drinks per week. And the 99th? Sixty-nine drinks.
https://arg.org/news/drinking-norms-in-the-us/
Lugbor@reddit
Yeah, I've straight up said that I'm never attending events with certain relatives because they can’t comprehend the fact that I do not drink. Mainly because I've seen how the alcohol makes them behave and swore not to inflict myself on people like that.
Nash_man1989@reddit
Marijuana is definitely very common but not the rest of those drugs
soap---poisoning@reddit
It’s easy to avoid drugs and find friends who stay sober, even on a college campus.
TheBimpo@reddit
How prevalent do you believe it to be?
Where are you coming from? Marijuana is decriminalized in many states, I can walk into a store on Main Street in my town and buy it. If I’m not mistaken, it is still illegal in Tennessee. Can you still find a joint? Absolutely. Marijuana has widespread social acceptance pretty much everywhere. Other drugs, not so much.
A party with drugged snacks, like as a surprise, would be very poorly received…most people would consider that a criminal act. There would be a very small subculture of drug users who would be interested in things like this.
I’m going to guess that you’re basing some of your estimation from social media. You need to remember that if you were watching content where people talk positively about drug use, it’s going to feed you more of the same content. This will skew your perspective. If you watched content creators who were anti-drug and talked about straight edge lifestyles, that would be prominent in your algorithm.
Jay35770806@reddit (OP)
I'm from South Korea, and I've definitely been fed a lot of anti-drug media. I was basically brainwashed to think that drinking (and tobacco to some extent) is fine, while other drugs are absolutely horrifying.
About how prevalent drugs are, my thinking was that most people would smoke marijuana just like they would cigarettes, and be frequently hanging out with friends eating drugged candy.
I just hope I'm not pressured to taking drugs I'm not ready for when I'm in college.
CalmRip@reddit
Doesn't Korea have laws that criminalize any use of drugs by citizens, even if it's overseas? I know that's true for gambling, and that people have been caught and prosecuted for foreign gambling. If it applies to drug use too, you can always use that against anyone who might be pushy about doing substances. As others have noted though, drugs are expensive and it's not likely folks will try to force them on you.
phantomofsolace@reddit
You'll be totally fine. There might be a similar number of people consuming marijuana as smoking cigarettes but they happen in very different contexts. Cigarettes don't get you high, so you can smoke them in different settings. Marijuana does so you'd only do it in a more relaxed setting. It's also expensive by college students' standards, so people can't throw it around too casually.
You won't need to ask if every snack has drugs in it. You'll know if you're in a situation where the snacks or drinks are spiked and it would be considered extremely rude, even criminal, for people to give someone drugged snacks without telling them. You can just say "no thanks" and people won't push the issue any further.
TheBimpo@reddit
If I’m not mistaken, more Americans use marijuana than tobacco. We have had a decades-long, anti-tobacco campaign that has led us to have lower smoking rates than many other countries.
I would not expect you to be “pressured” into taking drugs, that is more of a movie trope from the 80s than something that really goes on anymore. It’s very easy to just say no and be yourself. If you find yourself in a situation you’re uncomfortable in, leave
ferret_80@reddit
This guy has it right.
Im sure people will offer you drugs, from a puff on a joint to offering to sell you cocaine in the bathroom. A simple "no thanks" will end it 99% of the time.
TheBimpo@reddit
I’ve spent hundreds of nights in bars all over the country and have never been offered drugs. I don’t think the “bathroom cocaine guy” is a typical experience, but rare.
ferret_80@reddit
I'm thinking OP will be in college, in my experience people are more likely to offer drugs at a college frat house/house party than the random dive or club bathroom.
Zaidswith@reddit
I don't and never have done hard drugs, but my father died of a fentanyl overdose.
My experience is that regular drug users are very good at spotting each other and those who would be interested. If you don't seem like their type you're not going to get the offer. You'd need to be in a very sketchy place indeed to get it pushed on you.
sir_psycho_sexy96@reddit
If you're around people who are smoking they may ask if you want some out of politeness. Just politely decline in return.
But also you can pretty easily just avoid associating with people who do drugs if that's what you prefer.
wrosecrans@reddit
I wouldn't worry. In my experience, "drug pushers" are almost entirely a fictional invention of anti-drug PSA's to try to get people to over-react. If the anti-drug PSA's started with "this is something that a lot of people enjoy with their friends and seek out," it sounds a lot less scary than some tough kid trying to force you to do something.
A far more realistic scenario is that you are at a party and somebody is smoking pot, and they offer you some because it's polite to share, and you shake your head or say "nah I'm good" and nobody thinks anything further about it. Even people who do like to smoke pot sometimes don't want to smoke pot right this second and nobody cares. Potheads are a famously mellow group of people.
The only real social pressure around something intoxicating I know of in real life is alcohol. Some dumb frats will have drinking competitions or aggressively cheer people on to chug beer, etc. Even in those cases it's generally fine to just say no. But I've never seen any actual social pressure about smoking pot anything like the films they showed us in school.
Lamballama@reddit
We're more uptight about tobacco and alcohol but more relaxed on Marijuana.
Smoking marijuana is more like cigars, where you have your one a night, rather than a cigarette. People will let you know if something is spiked
QuercusSambucus@reddit
I don't think cigarettes or cigars are a good comparison at all. That's like comparing coffee to whiskey, just because you drink them both.
Alcohol is a much better comparison for weed. Some people have a glass of wine with dinner (smoke a joint or bowl). Other people like to drink low alcohol beers all day while doing chores or hanging out (hitting your vape pen). Some people like to get totally hammered (bong hits or dabs).
Weed doesn't have nearly the physical side effects, though. Get too high and you may get paranoid and nauseated, which isn't super fun, but it's not doing damage to your body (poisoning, really) like alcohol. At 42 I smoke weed nearly every day with no particular ill effects, but drinking will wreck me if I'm not careful.
The other thing about inhalation in particular is that it doesn't last that long. I can get myself totally incapacitated through smoking and I'll be safe to drive in about 2 hours. It takes effect pretty quick (seconds to minutes, with peak effects after about 20min) so it's pretty easy to tell when you've had enough. Worst case you might "green out" and puke, but that's easy to avoid.
(Edibles are a different story. They can take hours to take full effect and can be very powerful. Tread very carefully!)
Timmoleon@reddit
OP appears to be Korean. Not really sure how common drugs are there.
Jay35770806@reddit (OP)
Basically, only alcohol and tobacco are common. Marijuana is a huge taboo, and there's a joke (that is somewhat true) that a person caught with weed will go to jail longer than someone who committed murder.
I personally think that alcohol and tobacco aren't any better than some of the other drugs, and I don't know if I necessarily agree with the anti drug stigma in Korea. But I promised to never smoke, and I don't think I'll be doing drugs beyond alcohol.
gleaming-the-cubicle@reddit
Honestly, alcohol is a bigger danger than marijuana
Seen plenty of kids taken away in an ambulance from alcohol poisoning, car accidents, physical fights, etc
UnfairHoneydew6690@reddit
Not common but alcoholism is socially acceptable.
CupBeEmpty@reddit
Surprise dosing wouldn’t be just be “considered” a criminal act. It’s just a straight up crime.
THE_CENTURION@reddit
Well yeah but in a discussion about drugs, almost everything is a "straight up crime", but isn't considered as such. So I get why they'd phrase it that way.
CupBeEmpty@reddit
Yeah I know Bimpo so I’m not criticizing but just rephrasing. No one should be drugged unknowingly even if it’s just weed.
TheBimpo@reddit
Oh of course. But there’s a distinction that needs to be made for our friend asking about prevalence and acceptance of drugs in the US.
In someplace like Tennessee, marijuana may be illegal to purchase or consume, but it is still socially acceptable. Dosing people with drugs is neither legally or socially acceptable. This social taboo would make it far less prevalent for a person to be given a snack lace with LSD then to be offered a hit from a joint.
And being offered drugs is not viewed as pressure in most cases. It is inclusionary, no different than somebody asking you if you would like a beer or a soda. You’re welcome to decline. Somebody may be curious about why you’re not participating, but it’s extremely unlikely that you’re going to face actual pressure or some form of threat to consume drugs that cost somebody else money.
CupBeEmpty@reddit
Oh for sure and here in Maine getting weed basically at the corner store is just a thing. But no one is so stupid to just have pot brownies out where someone might get dosed accidentally.
I’d be furious and it would be a big problem for me.
Kids getting accidentally dosed is even worse.
If it’s consensual amongst adults then I don’t really care.
OldDatabase9353@reddit
Not weird to identify as drug free, although probably better to say that you just don’t want to do drugs. It would be a little weird to go to a party and ask if anything is drugged
Most people in college drink heavily—especially at parties, although there are groups that don’t drink very much if you want to avoid it. Many college students smoke weed. Some college students will experiment with hard drugs, but the people that become addicted to them don’t last long in college
tsukuyomidreams@reddit
I've lived in the West and the southeast. Lots of drugs. Everywhere.
I haven't done them, but I've never lived somewhere that there aren't druggies everywhere. Fancy or rural. Doesn't matter.
Meth in the south, heroin in the West
Zaidswith@reddit
Meth is not a common drug among college students. I can't imagine how an international student at Vanderbilt would end up in any scenario involving meth unless they were purposely trying to sell it.
Everyone I know who ended up on heroin started with prescription opioids. I think OP can avoid it.
Druggies everywhere but only half of all Americans have ever used marijuana. 2/3rds don't even drink regularly. These things are easy to avoid.
tsukuyomidreams@reddit
I guess you don't live in the south or California. Heroin and meth were popular even back in highschool.
Zaidswith@reddit
I grew up in GA and live in AL. No, it's not normal for a college student to use meth. Not even at a state school and OP is going to a school vastly more expensive. Coke is going to be the stimulant of choice, but adderall or one of the other stimulant prescription drugs will be the most commonly abused.
Numbers. We're talking single digit percentages of high schoolers that have ever tried meth these days. It's not popular by any definition and even at its peak in 1985 it was less than 20%. It hasn't exceeded 10% since the 80s. That's an era when something like 90% of teenagers drank and nearly 3/4 drank regularly and a similar amount smoked.
OkYam7163@reddit
Yes:
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/drug-use-by-country
I can't stand it either. So many Americans just can't attend an event or go through daily life without getting fucked up allllll of the time. Weed use is absolutely out of control now. The highways and roads reek of people driving while smoking weed all of the time now, even on like Monday and Tuesday mornings at 8 AM.
America is the land of excess and an attitude that my personal pleasure and rights trump all. It definitely has negative impacts.
ProfileSimilar9953@reddit
Weed is the most common, and hardly taboo at this point. I know a lot of friends that have, to my surprise, turned out to have smoked multiple times before. Very prevalent, but for anything harder you’re probably gonna have to find yourself a hotspot, or get yourself in that crowd through a friend in the know.
NikkiBlissXO@reddit
No one is going to give you edibles for free, drugs are expensive and it would be weird to ask if everything is laced every time. People will tell you prior to offering
Littleboypurple@reddit
Fucking $20 for a thing of Edible THC gummies that has like 4-5 gummies in the packet. I'm not some goddamn trust fund baby that can freely piss away money without consequences. I sure as Hell ain't giving shit away for free
NikkiBlissXO@reddit
Seriously. And if OP finds themselves at a party where every single snack on the table is an edible. Please, call me next time.
jpallan@reddit
Right? There was paranoia that hippies would use their LSD, combined with DMSO, and paint it on the doorknobs of government buildings.
No one is going to waste their drugs on people who don't want them.
OP, the only side note is that if you visit nightclubs and are a young woman, there is a non-zero chance of having your drink drugged. This is something rapists do as GHB has effects not dissimilar to large amounts of alcohol. However, Americans know to keep their drinks with them after ordering.
Padgetts-Profile@reddit
It’s less prevalent, but guys get drugged too. Happened to me once and it wasn’t even at a night club, I was just shooting pool at a local dive bar.
NikkiBlissXO@reddit
When I lived in Louisville there was this dive bar that was notorious for it. Guy, girl, didn’t matter. Equal opportunist I guess.
We think it was a bartender
Padgetts-Profile@reddit
That’s even shittier behavior if it was a bartender doing it.
NikkiBlissXO@reddit
Yeah I agree.
I bartended at the place next door and was alone cleaning up. We closed at 2 and they closed at 5 and a ton of co workers would go there after work.
I had someone knock on my side door (wall windows so I could see) and it was one of my serves and a kind stranger who noticed him.
Said the only coherent thing he could get out of him was that he worked here so they brought him there.
I got ahold of his sister thankfully.
Padgetts-Profile@reddit
Damn that kid got lucky. I’m grateful that I was out drinking with a coworker when it happened to me. We were drinking pretty heavily so he didn’t realize what had happened in the moment, but got me home when I started becoming incoherent. Shit at one point I fell asleep standing up in the middle of the bar.
NikkiBlissXO@reddit
Jeez that’s so scary!
People suck truly
anclwar@reddit
There was a video of a young woman going around and Swedish Fishing her friends' drinks at clubs and house parties to show how easy it can be to get roofied. More than half the time, her friends didn't notice until she pointed it out, and a Swedish Fish is much more obvious than a tab of GHB. Women may be the frequent target, but it can absolutely happen to anyone.
Hoosier_Jedi@reddit
Today in “Foreigners will believe anything about Americans so long as it’s negative.”
People might think you’re “weird” because you don’t use drugs?. 🙄
Jay35770806@reddit (OP)
That's precisely why I'm posting here, cuz my parents would believe anything they see in the movies, and they're scared as hell I'll turn out like Jesse Pinkman or smth.
Hoosier_Jedi@reddit
If you got into Vanderbilt, you should know that Reddit is a poor source.
Jay35770806@reddit (OP)
I'm just here to see what more of the "cultural" aspect might be. I think it's helpful to hear other ppl's experiences.
MrLongWalk@reddit
I hope you understand that locals would find this idea funny
MoonBasic@reddit
I'll say some of our media doesn't help sometimes lol. Foreigners see partying in movies and TV shows where the main character has to prove themselves and get hammered/high or they have a bad trip and they think that's happening at every campus house in the country.
Reality is more often than not 5 dudes sitting on a couch drinking beer and watching basketball. 2 of them smoke, 2 of them sometimes, 1 never (statistics pulled from my ass).
Technical_Plum2239@reddit
It's college and some people are testing boundaries and many may have had little freedom - it means kids can go a little wild.
Alcohol will likely be the drug of choice but there will be kids that use pot and other illegal drugs. There's lots of risky behaviors in colleges but so easy to avoid those kinds of party/partiers.
Depending on the school, many kids will be there to study, socialize a bit, and wont touch any drugs or alcohol.
What college is it?
Jay35770806@reddit (OP)
I'll be going to Vanderbilt, hopefully I don't find myself testing my boundaries 😬
agsieg@reddit
Just remember it’s 100% okay to remove yourself from a situation you don’t feel comfortable in. No one is going to judge you and anyone that does isn’t someone you want to be around anyway.
maestro_rex@reddit
As a Vandy alum I can comment more on the party scene there (or at least what it was like pre Covid). Marijuana is still illegal in Tennessee, but rarely enforced on campus if people aren’t being obnoxious about it. If you go to enough parties, you will probably be offered other drugs, but it will be a “hey do you want to try this?” You say no and that’s that. The vast majority of parties will have alcohol, but it seems like you’re not worried about that. Overall, it’s not weird to not do drugs, but you’ll get some weird looks if someone’s eating a bag of candy and you ask them if it’s drugged.
sundial11sxm@reddit
You'll be fine.
wrosecrans@reddit
In six months, OP will be cooking Supermeth in their dorm.
ayebrade69@reddit
Lmao
GoodbyeForeverDavid@reddit
Hopefully you do test your boundaries. Not with drugs... But with most things. That's how we learn and grow.
Technical_Plum2239@reddit
You are going to a serious college that will be filled with very serious students. Stay outta Fraternity parties and you'll be fine.
slingshot91@reddit
My drugs abused me hard today. So hard I had to take a nap.
PapaJohnyRoad@reddit
The people who smoke weed and take lsd aren’t they ones to worry about
Zaidswith@reddit
It's not weird to be drug-free. You can tell people that.
There should never be any drugged snacks just laying about. Everything that is sold from a dispensary (it's not legal in Tennessee afaik) will be labeled. I wouldn't be surprised to find out college students make a quick run to a place like Missouri to buy weed though. If someone is making pot brownies or whatever you can smell it.
Don't drink anything that you didn't open yourself and don't drink anything that was left unattended for any length of time. If you go to the bathroom have a friend you know you can trust hold your drink. Or just throw out any drink when you come back. This is not because it's normal to drug people, but it is a known method to assault women.
It would not be normal or appropriate to be given something without being aware of it. That would be a crime. You have be 21 to purchase anything in states where it is legal. You also have to be 21 to purchase alcohol or tobacco products. Whatever city and county you end up in might have even more laws. Like no alcohol being sold on Sundays or after 11PM or other laws like that. It's very local.
Americans smoke and drink less than a lot of other countries, but college is the time in your life that regular drinking isn't really seen as an issue. So you'll see that. You'll also see vaping more than smoking. Marijuana use isn't rare, but it's not everyone. You'll be exposed to it, you might be offered something out of politeness. It goes as far as you want it to.
If you lean into that world you could easily be offered harder drugs. They won't pressure you if you say no. The average American isn't doing hard drugs regularly.
A recent problem with the drugs in the US is that quite a lot of recreational drugs are laced with fentanyl. That makes overdosing very easy and problematic. As a side effect, I don't think that type of recreational drug use is common among young people these days. Abusing prescription meds was common 20 years ago and now you can't trust anything you buy off the street.
It is very funny to me that we have half the world talking about how drug abuse is rampant and we have the other half of the world complaining about how prudish we are with our over 21 purchasing laws. The truth is somewhere between the two.
Outside of the college years the majority of Americans drink less, but 1/3 of young adults use marijuana regularly so you will come across that one. Smoking hasn't been the norm in a long time.
Angsty_Potatos@reddit
Everyone smokes weed. But when they talk about drugs in America...they are talking about hard shit like heroin, meth, pills, etc.
And yes. It's extremely prevalent
Traditional-Job-411@reddit
You might get a friendly marijuana offer but if you say no they are also really friendly. 🙃 if you say not to that, you very rarely get offers outside of it
1313C1313@reddit
If you actively identify as being drug-free, nobody will feel it’s a weird lifestyle, but it would be strange to make not doing drugs that much of a part of your personality. Not using drugs is the default.
I have seen one person eat a THC cookie and not realize it, but they weren’t laid out for a party. Someone clearly stated what they were, and passed the plate around, but someone who didn’t hear that ended up eating one. If you happen to know someone is a big pot fan, and they offer you a baked good, double checking “Are these regular brownies or ‘special brownies’?” is fairly normal.
ibugppl@reddit
Drugs cost money, nobody is going to be just drugging snacks.
stroppo@reddit
Depends. I've been at parties w/drugged snacks (like pot brownies) but the hosts were polite and left little notes saying the items contained drugs.
Simple_Assignment283@reddit
It absolutely is in Texas.
Next_Firefighter7605@reddit
Rural Texas is meth-ville.
MoonBasic@reddit
I'm a Korean American and I went to school in the midwest. So as someone who has Korean parents, I totally get the stereotype and worries.
I'll just flat out say no. You could actually go your entire college experience without seeing drugs in-person.
If you join a couple of clubs that have friends who host parties and hang out, among the liquor and beer, you might see someone pull out a joint to pass around to a group of friends. Or you might go to someone's house and you'll see a pipe/bong. A lot of people are nice enough to offer you a "hit", but in my experience no one is weird about it or thinks less of you if you say "I'm good!"
Drugged snacks? Highly unlikely unless you explicitly seek them out or go to a party where the explicit premise is "hey everyone, these are the brownies that have weed in them".
Yes it would be kind of weird to flat out declare that you're "drug-free", not because everyone does drugs, but just because you don't need to say it. Like I mentioned earlier, you can just say "nah not today, I'm good".
By far the most prevalent "drug" is going to be alcohol and nicotine. Just people getting hammered on beer and smoking vapes/Zyn pouches. But in general, no one forces you to do anything you're not comfortable with.
There's that movie moment where someone's like "you NEED to smoke this joint or everyone will think you're lame and hate you!!" peer pressure. 99.9% of the time the attitude is "ok this guy doesn't want some - more for me!"
FunkySalamander1@reddit
As an American who has been out of college for a long time, I wouldn’t know where to get illegal drugs if I wanted them. Going to a shady neighborhood and asking around seems like a really bad idea. It will be easier on a college campus, but no one is going to be trying to trick you, for the most part. It is advisable not to accept drinks from strangers and to keep your eye on your drink if you are in an environment where someone might want to take advantage of you, but this is still unlikely to happen.
visitor987@reddit
Most people do not abuse drugs but those that do tend to be friends with others that abuse drugs. Hollywood and some parts of NYC have a lot of drug abusers
Wielder-of-Sythes@reddit
So long as you don’t go around lecturing people all the time on how they’re evil for doing drugs and stealing peoples stuff to throw it away most people won’t mind that you don’t do drugs.
Cobblestone-boner@reddit
Drinking and recreational drug use is common in many parts of the country.
That being said, nobody is going to spike the punch with drugs, if people use drugs at a social event they generally go off in groups to smoke weed (you'll smell it), or will do cocaine in the bathroom discreetly.
You can tell people that you're sober and no one will care or pressure you.
LSD is not a drug of abuse either, no one gets addicted to taking LSD everyday, it's a powerful psychedelic that gives some people a near spiritual experience.
MoonBasic@reddit
LSD and other psychedelics is such an ordeal to obtain and consume, with people planning their trips meticulously days in advance too. Highly unlikely you will encounter it in the wild like at a party where people are offering it to you. It's more of a "chill with your friends in your room and avoid strangers" drug for sure.
219_Infinity@reddit
I love drugs. Also I assume all party snacks are drug free unless someone explicitly tells me otherwise. Giving people intoxicants without their consent is fucked.
ehunke@reddit
Yes and no. Its not widespread but its bad
DFMNE404@reddit
When my dad moved to America on a whim in 1986 the first thing he was invited to was a drug party, cocaine and heroin everywhere. He spent the next couple years being broke as shit and having drug dealers as friends. He even had to each one for a day after the poor guy got AIDS from a used needle (he was trying to drink himself to death). He grew up in a small town in another continent where drug abuse was near nonexistent and whike he went to college in a larger city he still never saw it really.
He told me “If I was any weaker, I would’ve taken the drugs.”
Drug abuse is preventable and if you don’t want to take drugs yiu have to stick by your beliefs and not do them. It only takes one shit for addiction to begin.
Also if you don’t want your drink drugged just don’t accept drinks from strangers at weird parties and don’t leave your drink unattended.
devnullopinions@reddit
I really doubt people are drugging snacks, but if they are I’d love to know where… So I can avoid them, of course.
Imaginary_Ladder_917@reddit
I’m not sure if you’re male or female. It is important to be very careful with ALL drinks, even just a Coke, in a college situation or other place when you are with people you aren’t totally sure of. There is an issue with drugs being placed into open beverages that aids in woman being raped because it basically knocks them out. Not to freak you out, but it is a known thing especially in a university environment
Odd-Help-4293@reddit
Cannabis (marijuana) use is fairly common. It's not as common as alcohol, but it's not taboo or weird to use it.
Edibles (candy or baked goods with cannabis in them) do exist, and you might be offered them at some point. The person offering them to you will tell you that they're "special"/edibles/etc, and it's perfectly fine and acceptable to say "no thank you".
Witty-Actuary299@reddit
“Special” is the keyword here. I used to make weed edibles a lot, and once (while stoned on edibles) offered my neighbor (who I know likes weed) a “special cookie.” When she said “all cookies are special in my book!” I thought it was a tongue-in-cheek joke about how much she likes cookies. But when she told me a few weeks later that she took the cookie unknowingly, until a few hours later she realized she had eaten a high-dose weed edible, I felt SOOO bad!! Suffice it to say, I no longer say “special cookies” but “high-dose THC edibles” haha. And yes, drugs are common, in that they are absolutely everywhere in America, but you probably won’t see anything more than weed and alcohol unless you go looking for it. Nah, it’s not weird to say no or stay sober. In college I used to accept shots in a group and then just throw them over my shoulder instead of drinking them when everybody in the circle took the shot together 😜 No one ever knew I wasn’t drunk.
gibsonstudioguitar@reddit
None of my friends take drugs.. some people do though. Some drugs aren't considered drugs anymore, like marijuana.
I remember when my kids were in college and one of them didn't get a job because they failed a drug test. I threw a big fit and my oldest child rolled her eyes and said "dad it's marijuana "
whosudady@reddit
80% of college students do drugs. If you want to avoid it, hang out with Asians.
trinite0@reddit
Generally speaking, unless you're hanging out with a bunch of weirdos, nobody is going to give you "drugged treats" without telling you first. It's impolite. Plus those things are expensive!
Most normal people don't do any kind of hard drugs, and wouldn't even know how to get them. They're more common only in certain specific social communities, such as musicians or dedicated drug heads.
There are plenty of people who smoke weed, and of course there are plenty of people who drink. But most people would never pressure anybody else to do those things.
I've lived a pretty normal life, and I enjoy a drink or two on occasion, and I've tried weed a couple times (my verdict: fun, but not worth the money). I've never had anybody pressure me to do either of those, and as far as I know I've never been around anything harder.
dopefiendeddie@reddit
Drugs are generally too expensive to be offered unless 1. A good friend offers you an edible or 2. You’re buying drugs. Alcohol and caffeine are the only two drugs you’re going to consistently run into and you’ll maybe be offered for free.
Complete_Aerie_6908@reddit
Don’t ask those questions. I am From TN and it’s not necessary to ask. There’s the hard core addicts and there’s the occasional marijuana users and there are those who don t do any. I think it’s pretty much like most states.
Sweet_Cinnabonn@reddit
There are two answers.
Many or even most people you encounter at school will have tried drugs.
You can safely operate without fear that food or snacks will be drugs.
Drinks are more likely to have unannounced alcohol. Punch or juice at a party should be assumed to be alcoholic.
A sealed can or bottle of soda pop is your safest bet at a party.
People will offer, you aren't weird to just decline. "No thank you" is enough, you don't have to explain.
kobayashi_maru_fail@reddit
Drugged snacks at parties, not common, but it’s worth asking before you eat from a platter of brownies set out at a party.
Drugged drinks because some rapist wants to take advantage of you, all too common. Watch your drink carefully.
fakesaucisse@reddit
Being sober has become pretty popular, especially among younger adult populations who don't have a lot of money. It's also becoming more common among GenX/Xennials because of health concerns. So, you really won't stand out in most settings you will encounter and generally nobody is going to try to sneak it into food or drink without telling you.
Laughingfoxcreates@reddit
Have a feeling you’ll be seeing meth more than LSD…
c3534l@reddit
Its not something you really need to worry about. Alcohol is common. Marijuana is common, especially in my state where its legal. Beyond that, you're not going to encounter drugs day to day unless you have a lot of homeless people in your city. People aren't going to show up to school drunk or high. In fact, some Europeans might be shocked how conservative we are about alcohol. If you have a beer on your lunch break, for instance, you might get fired, depending the place. No one is drugging anyone at events, that's absurd. there are no drugged snacks. If you go to a lot of parties or dance clubs or stuff like that, you might encounter it. Just don't use it and you'll be fine. No one is forcing drugs down your throat. You might get peer pressure for alcohol, though.
sweetEVILone@reddit
You don’t have to ask to not be drugged. Everything’s illegal in TN anyway, so it’s not like there’s gonna be weed or anything else openly available or at university sponsored parties. It will be a down low thing. If someone offers at a house party, just like, say “no thanks” and that will be the end of it. Nobody wants to share their drugs with someone who doesn’t want and won’t enjoy it; good drugs are expensive.
What a weird question
MysticMarbles@reddit
Drug use is incredibly prevalent. Drug abuse is rare.
HorseFeathersFur@reddit
I haven’t seen anyone drop acid since the 80s.
HorseFeathersFur@reddit
West, middle, or East Tennessee? The answer will depend a lot in which part of the state you go to. Memphis, Nashville or Knoxville?
MmmIceCreamSoBAD@reddit
Yes it would be extremely weird to assume anything at a social event had drugs in it, people would look at you like youre crazy. Drugging people without their knowledge is a very serious crime and people with drugs don't tend to want to give them away for free by randomly getting other people high with them anyway (drugs are not cheap). Im sure this has been used as a plot device in movies but it makes no sense in real life.
Marijuana is now legal in much of the US, though not in Tennessee, but at any college it's going to be around. Its not like everyone walking to class is smoking a joint though. But, if you want to find it and make some friends you can probably find it if you really want to.
But no one is going to be trying to drug you against your will. You're probably unlikely to come across anyone offering you anything but weed as well. Certainly way more drugs are done at colleges than weed but these people tend not to advertise it much cause its not really socially acceptable to do things beyond alcohol and marijuana. So someone who has no interest in drugs is pretty unlikely to come across them (except for marijuana)
TheExquisiteCorpse@reddit
Yes it’s pretty common for Americans to use drugs. Not anywhere close to everyone does but you will know people who do, especially as a college student. I don’t know about Tennessee but marijuana is legal in over half the country, most younger people don’t see it as any worse than alcohol. In general no one is going to try super hard to get you to take something if you don’t want to. Especially with anything “harder” than weed it’s basically something you have to seek out.
“Drugged snacks” exist but the odds of accidentally having some without realizing it are pretty low. Serving something like that to someone without making it clear what it is would be considered a really shitty thing to do. I’ve never seen like a bowl of marijuana gummies or something just lying out at a party unlabeled, that sounds like a massive waste of money and a recipe for a terrible time. Unless you’ve ended up in what’s obviously a sketchy situation being concerned that food has drugs in it would usually come off as a bit paranoid or sheltered.
Bricicles@reddit
It depends on your definition of prevalent, plenty of people smoke weed, some do other stuff like LSD or party drugs depending on the demographic but no one is going to care if you don’t do anything at all and you’re not likely to consume anything that’s drugged. Worst case scenario would be a weed brownie or something but it wouldn’t likely be like an “oopsie, surprise”. If you go over to a new friend’s house or something and ask them if their food is infused they will probably look at you weird.
freshboss4200@reddit
People will drink alcohol and smoke Marijuana, but that's probably all you will come across naturally. And I would say no, drugged snacks are not likely,but I guess people do make a edible Marijuana snacks sometimes, so maybe at a party you'd see those but they should be pretty well marked as THC or weed or cannabis or something. This isn't the 60s with LSD in the kool aid
Ryclea@reddit
Accidentally injesting drugs is pretty unlikely. Nobody really bakes with marijuana anymore, and the gummies and weed-infused products are clearly marked. If someone you don't know offers you a snack, especially a gummi-type candy, it's perfectly okay to ask if it has weed in it.
Harder drugs and illegal drugs are rarely done openly. Even in the worst ghettos, people usually sneak off somewhere to avoid being seen.
If you see a lot of clearly intoxicated people hanging around an area, it's best to just stay away.
1chomp2chomp3chomp@reddit
Marijuana/cannabis is probably as prevalent as alcohol around colleges but the harder stuff is much more behind the scenes so to speak. Cannabis is decriminalized or legalized in much of the country, so it's not really seen as a hard, street drug like it once was. I know in some countries it's seen as being up there with heroin or cocaine but on a scale of harm is just nowhere near as harmful.
You'll probably smell weed in public at college or around cities and towns but it's fairly benign except for the people who make it their only personality trait.
I think America has a drug problem in the sense that drugs are not hard to find and our hustle culture/grindset lifestyles are pretty stressful, pushing a lot of people to drugs and alcohol to function (for a time) and cope. A lot more people than you'd think are taking recreational drugs but it's not most people.
cometshoney@reddit
I think alcohol is still far more prevalent than drugs, but they're definitely out there. I think pot still reigns supreme among the drugs, though. Just be careful, and don't take pills from anyone other than an actual pharmacist in an actual drugstore.
SeaRevolutionary1450@reddit
No
Yeah
Recreational drug use is relatively common but it’s not really gonna sneak up on you. If it’s that kind of social outing it’ll be very easy to pick up on and you won’t need to ask. If you go around asking if anything on the charcuterie board is laced with anything you’ll come off as a paranoid weirdo.
FitProVR@reddit
Extremely. Even casually. Coke and weed are very common.
SheketBevakaSTFU@reddit
Marijuana is legal in many places. “Drugged snacks” yeah edibles are pretty common.
Asparagus9000@reddit
Secretly rugging women's drinks is more common. They openly sell weed gummy bears and brownies where I live.