|
There's so much that can be said on this subject and I know that I'm going to forget things but I'll try to have some sort of say.
My position on drugs is pretty positive -- the real issue is the distinction that needs to be made in this argument between what drugs we're referring to. There's a gigantic world of difference between all sorts of different narcotics, and I'm referring to the illegal ones.
I drink and smoke marijuana fairly regularly and neither of these things has ever got in the way of living a "real life". Now, I drink only on the weekends and when the day's work has been done (albeit a few slips here and there as it comes with living in university residence). To me, the legal option, alcohol, always scares me a bit more than the illegal marijuana.
I smoke now and then but just like drinking, only when I know it's not going to interfere with anything else that will take priority and could cause problems if neglected.
I do it not as an escape but instead as a method of experiencing reality in a different way. You can understand things in completely different ways when you're high -- see parts of life that normally are not obvious and overall just get a different look at what we take at face value every day. I don't see this as anything destructive if it's used in moderation. Obviously, problems arise if it's taken out of hand but that's similar to a lot of things in life.
I also smoke marijuana for other reasons as well. I have pretty severe acid reflux and smoking a joint, sometimes not enough to even get any real intoxicating effect is pretty immediately effective. I don't do this regularly, but moreso as something that almost always works when it's really painful. I also had insomnia here and there probably due to stress and a few nights here and there I'd smoke a bit to help me get to sleep which is a much better option that the more addictive over the counter aids. This also, I don't do often because I don't like to become reliant on anything as a quick fix.
Personally, I've been using this drug here and there for a long time and it's never presented a problem. I also have friends, however, who smoke so much grass that it interferes with daily activities. But they're the same kind of people who would be wasting time doing something else like playing videogames or watching movies excessively and neglecting important things in that respect if they didn't smoke.
Harder drugs I disagree with quite a bit though. Especially any that are highly habit forming. I won't touch any chemicals but I know many people who do and end up with addictions that cost them a lot physically and financially. When quite a few of my close friends started doing coke a lot I opted out of it and have since watched many of them become pretty useless as a result.
I don't know what else to cover here. All I can say for now is that it's important to look at the different sides of what we're talking about and not make a huge generalization about "drugs". They're not all the same and they cannot be treated as such.
|