Today’s rant is a bit… saucy; but it’s honest. If you’re the kind of person who things problems can be ignored by not talking about them feel free to avoid this post, otherwise read on to see my opinion about the drug problem the world faces.
Firstly, we have to define what counts as drugs. Well, actually we don’t because the discussion is not about how something is harmful for your health, that we all know. Every single substance you ingest that leads to addiction has some adverse effect on your health over the long run. Now I’m not just referring to the bad stuff like ecstasy or cocaine, but also to stuff you’d normally ignore, like hamburgers, chocolate and especially alcohol; hell, even coffee fits on here. What I think is truly amazing about the way these drugs work is that none of them is based on simply generating a special kind of intake (say giving your body an influx of pleasure) but more complexly screwing with your internal chemistry. All serious drugs target inhibitors and shut them down, basically allowing you to enjoy the drugs your own body creates.
But enough about the scientific boredom. This post is not about that. It’s not even about how drugs are good or bad, that’s a matter for each person to decide as for some people drugs are beneficial. What I want to discuss however is the why.
Why do people take drugs? Why do they get addicted when others simply enjoy them and move on? Why do some people go far beyond the addictive nature of the chemicals and end up worshiping them even when their body has forgotten?
My theory is that people turn to drugs as a form of escapism, at least the ones that get hooked do. People who do the stuff recreationally, under the supervision of their trustworthy friends and so on, tend to have a fling with low risk drugs and nothing more. They try it, have some fun, maybe do it out of curiosity and then move on.
But the tricky bit is most people expect drugs to be the magic pill. They hope their life’s problems will get solved, that that little bit of happiness will resolve all their worries and loneliness and that they will never have to be sad because of it. But they’re obviously wrong, drugs don’t solve anything, they just make you forget and even at that they’re not very good. And this is where the hook comes from: they’re the closest thing to a solution. Psychologically the people who take them for this reason tend to look for something to cling on, and in our alienated and cold world they find something that takes the edge off without judging them, being there all the time when they need it.
Their thinking is flawed, but to them that doesn’t matter because they have a problem and no one out there saves them from it. So you see, it’s not really drugs that make people do crazy things, but their own minds. Their own lonely worlds that seem to have no answer other than ending them, and whose fates are tied to anything that offers them a slither of hope. This sounds massively amusing after this talk but I’m addicted to food. Seriously, I am; when I’m upset or feel lonely and excluded I do the one thing that comes without effort and offers immediate reward: I eat! Junk food, sweets, all that crap, all the garbage I know is bad for me but tastes so good. That’s the premise for all drugs really; here’s something that changes your mood, makes you stop thinking about the people you’ve lost and the way the world thinks about you, it’s readily available and it makes you feel good. Thing is, it doesn’t really deliver. It makes you feel better, but nothing really changes.
Which brings me to this: if an addictive substance is mixed with a person trying to escape reality and their problems, bad stuff will happen. Furthermore, even if someone doesn’t do this but they’ve got an addictive personality or an attitude of chasing the cool vibe, bad stuff will happen as well. Those kinds of people lose it, and they do it for all the wrong reasons.
And now for the sentence that’ll bring me a world of pain from commenters: while I don’t advocate drugs for escapism, being cool or turning into a habit, I do think they’re a nice source of fun. It’s no longer taboo to say that. Hell, even Obama smoked pot. He also did stronger stuff, but that I wouldn’t play with.
It’s fun to eat chocolate, it’s fun to get tipsy from a couple of beers and it’s fun to get high. Of course, not if you’re alone, then it’s just sad; but if you’re with friends, having fun in a controlled environment (i.e. no driving, no operating heavy machinery 
) every drug can be an entertaining experience. While I know this safety talk sounds weird you always need to take some precautions with stuff like this. Just like you wouldn’t touch a pot of boiling water with your bare hands, you need to protect yourself against abusing drugs. That doesn’t mean you should never make tea, just know what you’re up against and make sure the reasons you do it are worth it.
I thought about writing this because there are a lot of people out there who think people with drug problems have a problem with drugs. It’s simply not true, drugs are just a symptom. The problem lies within, don’t try to treat the person by taking their drugs away, treat them by offering a steady shoulder to cry on and an open heart and help them solve their issues. It’s a complicated thing but it’s not such a bad thing. The world is mean so they fight back the only way they know how. Help them find a new one. Oh, and if you have a friend who says he can quit when he wants, that’s a tricky thing, because only an addict would say that. A normal person would just stop and do it now and then, so look out for them, that’s why you’re their friends. And expect to be treated like crap, to be ridiculed and rejected, because you have to understand that if they had the psychological strength to overcome their problems naturally they wouldn’t be using.
The reason why I got into this is, well, my last article, about DJ AM, reminded me of why he went away and I thought I’d share this with you since no one seems to want to talk about things like this these days. They’re not cool, and they’re inconvenient and nobody cares…
Let me know what you think if you’ve read the whole bit and, again, if you didn’t like it, no worries, I’ve taken nothing off you, just perhaps a bit of time. Comment if you wish to discuss, not if you wish to convince me otherwise.
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