Talk:Recreational drug use

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Valerian minor issue

Near the bottom valerian is mentioned and the active chemical constituent is listed is "valerian (chemical with the same name)". But there is no such chemical this is a mistake. The chemicals in valerian that could be placed here are valerenic acid or valepotriates. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:602:8900:a25:293e:3465:14c3:750a (talk) 05:12, 27 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Proposed merger

I think the page Drug harmfulness should be merged into this page's "Health risks" section. There were concerns about the neutrality of the drug harmfulness page and as the offending material was removed, the page became shorter and shorter, to the point that it is just a stub now. The material could easily be added here without causing any problems with WP:DUE. I will place templates on the two pages proposing the merger in a moment. Gazelle55 (talk) 18:31, 1 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Gazelle55: I agree with you that Drug harmfulness should be merged into this article, there's no point in keeping it as a stub. GenoV84 (talk) 01:03, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"Getting high" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect Getting high has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2024 April 11 § Getting high until a consensus is reached. Steel1943 (talk) 03:12, 11 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Concerns with Definition

I had some good faith concerns about the neutrality of the definition of "recreational drug use." They were summarily deleted. According to Wikipedia policy:

"Avoid stating opinions as facts. Usually, articles will contain information about the significant opinions that have been expressed about their subjects. However, these opinions should not be stated in Wikipedia's voice. Rather, they should be attributed in the text to particular sources, or where justified, described as widespread views, etc. For example, an article should not state that genocide is an evil action but may state that genocide has been described by John So-and-so as the epitome of human evil."

Currently, the article defines recreational drug use as drug use that is "either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime."

Miriam-Webster has a few definitions for casusal. The most relevant one seems to be "done without serious intent or commitment."

The contention that some drug use is less "serious" than others is your opinion and not a fact.

If you think some drug use is "serious" and some is "unserious" (or "recreational"), you are welcome to your own personal opinions. Please avoid presenting those personal perspectives and opinions as facts. It is against Wikipedia policy.

Chomps123 (talk) 18:39, 14 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"Hard drugs and soft drugs" - a topic that is living a life of its own on at least another wikipedia

I have suggested that the corresponding(?) article, on another-English version of wikipedia, gets deleted.--Feel free, if there is any information at all, that could be valuable for the English-wiki article, to copy such. (Please see simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_and_soft_drugs ). 2001:2020:345:8F5E:894E:A82B:A393:40D3 (talk) 14:51, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Erroneous Citation and Injection of Personal Opinion

Near the top of the article is the line:

"In popular practice, recreational drug use is generally tolerated as a social behaviour, rather than perceived as the medical condition of self-medication."

The "evidence" for this assertion is a Motley Fool article that is unrelated to this topic. The statement is someone's opinion. The framing is pejorative rather than neutral, as well. ('People "tolerate" recreational drug use.'). There are many different cultures with many different attitudes towards drug use. Which culture is Wikipedia written for - or about? Chomps123 (talk) 20:13, 24 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Re: "Drugs and alcohol"

I've been making edits to update the phrase "drugs and alcohol" to "alcohol and other drugs" (or, sometimes, just "drugs" where appropriate) across several articles related to substance use. This change reflects the scientific consensus in the field that alcohol is pharmacologically classified as a drug, and the growing agreement among many drug policy experts (myself included) that this erroneous (although frequently encountered) exclusion of alcohol from the category of "drugs" is not only false but harmful to greater dialogues about addiction, public health, and so on.

Several such edits were systematically reverted by Magnolia677 this morning with repeated comments that they found these edits "silly" and "unnecessary" because, in their own words, "most people--myself included--separate drugs from alcohol." As I disputed this sentiment on my talk page, Schazjmd suggested that this mass-reverting would not be an instance of "Hounding" under WP:HOUND as a "correcting [of] related problems on multiple articles" and recommended I bring this up on a talk page in an attempt to achieve consensus.

I believe these edits should be retained for two main reasons:

1. The scientific and medical communities explicitly classify alcohol as a drug, e.g.:

Governments and NGOs: National Institute on Drug Abuse, World Health Organization, SAMHSA, Australian Department of Health
Mental health professionals: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center for Addiction and Mental Health
Academic institutions: Williams College Health Services, Rutgers University
Policy organizations: Drug Policy Alliance, Students for Sensible Drug Policy
Doctors and other biologists: Psychopharmacology Today, Alcohol, Clinical & Experimental Research

2. The historical separation of alcohol from other drugs is not based on pharmacological differences but on cultural and political factors:

3. Excluding alcohol from the category of "drugs" increases stigmatization and thus negative outcomes for users of other drugs:

Per WP:ACCURACY, while the phrase "drugs and alcohol" is still found in parlance, Wikipedia should reflect scientific consensus rather than common parlance when the two differ.

I'm thus seeking consensus on this talk page before continuing to make these edits to ensure they align with community standards.

Velveteen Saint (talk) 22:32, 25 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]