On a note related to drug use:
Sometime earlier this week, for the second time in my life, a derivative of opiates has laid to rest a friend. Fortunately this friend was more of a rarely seen acquaintance than a friend. The first instance, however, was a very close friend. This death toll doesn't count the numerous people I've known who have, more or less, rendered their lives useless because of their addiction to opiates. We are of course talking about predominantly heroin and oxycontin here.
There is a lot of uninformed talk about drugs going on here so I thought I would bring to light my own thoughts on it. As a person who has both experienced and witnessed the effects drugs can and can't have on an individual.
All drugs are inherently bad, just as anything that reprograms your body to act in an unnatural way would be bad. That's not to say they can't have a positive effect on a person. It all depends on what is being used, how it's being used, and how often it's being used.
Marijuana, for example, is one of the most harmless and potentially beneficial drugs. I happen to know a person, who is bi-polar and smokes to maintain a balance within themself. I was/am very close to this person and have seen them try counseling, prescripted medication, and many other methods to keep a level head and using marijuana as treatment proved to be far superior to the afore-mentioned. This person is extremely is insightful and knowledgeable of themself and could learn nothing from counseling that they didn't already know. Prescription medication just robbed them of all personality and turned them into a zombie. Interestingly enough, there are those who believe that smoking marijuana will turn you into a couch dwelling, video game playing, junkie. I believe that to be a serious misconception derived from what you were taught to believe. That's not to say people like that don't exist but, it might have more to do with their own personality and wants/needs than it does with marijuana.
Ecstasy, acid, and mushrooms fall into a more volatile category, although, they are not without their merits. These drugs have been portrayed in an extremely negative light, one of which I tend to disagree on. I do, however, believe that habitual or wreckless use of these substances is indeed a very bad thing. For those who think that ecstasy will turn you into some sex-craved fiend, or those who think that hallucinogens will have you fending off purple dinosaurs with a kitchen knife; let me tell you that is very far from the truth. As usual, there are exceptions but, it's those who wrecklessly or ignorantly do drugs for all the wrong reasons. To get to my point; these drugs have the ability to bring somebody to a different level of consciousness or perception and good things can come of it. I have seen ecstasy completely erase 16 years of self-esteem issues from a person in one night. Quite literally, this person was a brand new individual the next day and still to this day many years later. I've come to similar realizations and gained a broader, more intellectual view of the world from hallucinogens. I have also seen people become incredibly dependent on ecstasy, assumedly, for the purpose of being able to interact socially. A dependence on hallucinogens is much rarer.
Then there are those drugs which are just downright awful. Meth, cocaine, heroin, crack, all fall into this category. I've seen nothing come from these drugs besides death and death sentences. The idea that a party with marijuana is full of "easy" girls who will do anything for a smoke most likely refers to drugs such as these and not marijuana. These drugs are all highly addictive and depreciate the body both physically and mentally at a much higher rate than any of the other drugs out there. There's not much to expand on here, it's just the way it is.
I've never been fond of peoples ignorance to drugs so I thought I would bring to light what I've seen in the past decade of my life. I no longer choose to do drugs for recreational purposes, short of smoking marijuana, because I've gotten all that I can out of them. I wasn't always intelligent about using drugs and can look back at my life when I used them in a wreckless manner and can see why they are labeled as such bad things. Even if I could, I would never take those experiences back because I am a better person for them.
