An altered state of mind

I’m sure some of you have noticed that drug use keeps popping up in many of my columns. I guess partially it’s because during my youth it was such a big part of my life and partially it’s because I feel nostalgic about them and my youth as well. Recently I was talking with a pillar of our community who in referring to my openness about my drug use said they could never publicly be as open and then proceeded to tell me how much they used to love Cocaine and how they met their future spouse while buying coke. I could definitely hear the nostalgia in their story. I think one of the reasons I have always been open about my drug use is that I never had children and never needed to set a good (if dishonest) example for them. Many of my generation have white washed their history for the sake of the children, the boss, or even the nation as in Bill Clinton’s “I didn’t inhale” story.

Before I go on with the unwashed story let me be very clear, I have not used any illegal or “prohibited” substances since one second before Midnight on August 29^th, 1985. That’s over 26 years ago and shows how important it was to me that I remember my last toke, not coincidently that was the night before my first wedding anniversary. Marijuana was my drug of choice, I started smoking when I was 15 and pretty much never stopped until I was 28. Through most of my 20’s as an employee and business manager I was a functioning Pot-aholic, I smoked everyday and even rationalized it by saying that no one knew me straight and I had to stay stoned so they couldn’t tell the difference.

I think its way too extreme to say that drugs ruined my life because I don’t have a bad life. What I can say with all honesty is that drugs changed my life and put me on a different path. As an adolescent I was curious about things, I liked to read even if it was mainly science fiction and comic books, I liked sports even if I was chubby and not very coordinated, and I had friends that I played and learned with. Once I started getting high, life just became about getting high. I lost interest in learning, my shyness was exacerbated, I became less physically active, and my social skills stagnated. Sure, my life went on and there were so many other social and family factors that also contributed to my development (or lack thereof) but in the end I didn’t fulfill my potential. I had the intelligence and the opportunity to go to college and become anything I wanted to be, I just didn’t know what I wanted to be other than high.

All that being said, it may surprise most of you but I think the Prohibition on recreational drug use should be lifted. That’s right; I think pot, coke, psychedelics, and just for arguments sake maybe even heroin should be legalized. Let’s wave the white flag and end the war on drugs once and for all because the reality is that we can’t win. Let’s face the fact, human beings like to alter their state of consciousness, they like a feel good buzz. The only problem is that some of us like it a lot more than most.

For perspective let’s start with a little history from Wikipedia. Alcohol (beer and wine) the grand daddy of mind altering substances: “The discovery of late Stone Age beer jugs has established the fact that purposely fermented beverages existed at least as early as 10,000 BC.” Marijuana: “Evidence of the inhalation of Cannabis smoke can be found in the 3^rd Millennium BC, as indicated by charred Cannabis seeds found in a ritual brazier at an ancient burial site in present day Romania.” My point is that humans have been using and in some cases abusing mind altering substances for thousands of years and I think the desire for the pleasure it gives us is somehow ingrained in our genetic makeup.

I don’t have enough space here to go through all the pros and cons of lifting the prohibition on recreational drug use but I would like to say that the economic and social cost of drug related crime (85% of all crime) is more than our country can afford. Those monies would be better spent on substance abuse counseling and improving the social, physical, and economic health of those most in need. Also just like with the current safety laws on alcohol use, I would say don’t drug and drive, wait to use until your old enough (stay out of your parents stash), and most of all know your limits.

So what about all the addicts or abusers like me? In my opinion it’s all about personal responsibility, if I need help you can suggest it or I’ll ask for it. Otherwise it’s my problem, let me deal with it.

To view the column in it's original form go to page 13 of the following link. Winters Express 12/1/2011