A Story About Drugs and Our Relationship With Them

Boy, this has really been an opinion filled day for me. This time however I am going to talk about #drugs and #addiction, and some of the recent changes that have taken place in our country. Oh yea.. and I'm going to throw some hashtags in for good measure.

It is sort of funny that when you discuss drugs around people you get some of the most polarized viewpoints. It is almost as if you were discussing religion or politics. Maybe it is because of all the deaths that have come as a result of drugs. Or maybe it is because of all the money spent fighting the #war on drugs or possibly the money spent to buy them. I think however the reason for it is this. If you take 100 people and put them into a room. You can, to a man, determine that each of the people within that room has either used drugs, know someone who uses drugs, know someone with a drug problem, or know someone effected by drugs in some way.

This is a topic that has a great deal of varying opinions, even amongst the government. Just look at the #marijuana laws and how they have changed over the last decade. Twenty years ago #pot was illegal everywhere. Now it is legal for recreational use in two states and legal for medical use in many others. Those who cannot count themselves amongst the legal states are probably in legislation to do so right now. This was an easy one however and something that should have taken place long ago. Marijuana should be as legal as alcohol in my opinion and trust me, I am not the only one who thinks so.

The Gateway Drug?

People just love to call #marijuana the #gateway drug. They say it leads people to try other, more powerful drugs. This is not true. People lead people to try more dangerous and more powerful drugs. It is not the fact that they might smoke some #weed that they one day decide they will shoot up smack. Just does not happen like that. See, people like to deal in absolutes, especially when talking about drug use. They say, "you cannot have one drink if you are an addict. Even if you are addicted to cocaine you cannot have one drink because that will lead you back to cocaine."

For anyone who has spent any time whatsoever in a #12 step program will know that "one is too many and a thousand is never enough!" Now I am not purposely trying to knock the #bigbook or the 12 steps or any of the programs. Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, all of the anonymouses are just fine with me. And if they work to keep a person off of drugs because drugs have become a problem within their lives, that is fucking fabulous! There are people out there who need programs like those. That is for sure.

The Philosophical & (to some the crazy) Side of Drugs.

People look at drugs in a lot of different ways. Let's first start by breaking people up into groups so as to have a better idea of what we are looking at. In the upper levels of society you have your company executives and CEO's. You have politicians and other high ranking government officials. Below them is the upper middle class, the people who basically run everything that the people below them use. Then you have the regular middle class people. These are the people in society who work their tales off to provide a good living for their families and they are successful at it. So while they are not typically rich, they have money.

To most of these people drugs are something that "other people" do. But not them. Of course there are a few exceptions to that rule and within these groups of society you will have a decent amount of users  but they are secretive about it. Thing is, from within this group also comes the so-called champions of the anti-drug movement. The mothers with the power to head a committee or chair one. These are the people who according to them, drugs are evil and anyone who does any kind of drugs is leading themselves down a path of doom and there is no hope for them anymore. However, after these types of people give a rousing speech about the dangers of drugs, they will promptly pick up their wine glass.

I brought this up to illustrate a point. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I am not trying to talk about anything beautiful however that particular quote is comparable to what I am really trying to say. That is, that to each and every one of us, drugs have a very different look, feel, smell, name, etc.. we all see the drugs themselves and the feelings they bestow upon us in a very different way. Let me take this a bit further to help explain.

Coffee.

That's right, coffee. Coffee is filled with caffeine and it is that caffeine that we so crave. Every morning when we wake up we go right for the coffee. At least I know I do. I am useless until I get that first cup in me. The effects of coffee are so sought after that there is an entire market that has sprung up around pills and things to give you caffeine without having to drink the coffee. But let us not stop there. Oh no. The Energy Drink market has been booming over the last few years. People seek energy for getting through their every day lives. We have taken the vitamins and various other extracts and made them into a drink that when ingested will give you almost boundless energy.  You know, cocaine does the exact same thing.

This is where we start to approach my point. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For those who see the energy drink as just a drink. Or just a drink filled with some vitamins and root extracts and caffeine, it is not bad nor is it a drug. Right? Wrong!

These things are drugs just like #cocaine or #heroin or anything else sold illegally. So why is it ok to manufacture, sell and buy these drinks? Oh.. and let's not forget coffee. It does the same thing. Shouldn't we arrest people who sell and drink coffee? Our society has a very strange way of looking at things. This is ok yet that is not. At some point in our history someone decided that cocaine for example was a bad thing to have around. For whatever reason someone in government decided that it was evil, and dangerous and it should be made illegal. After all, it was in many over the counter remedies and yes the famous story about why Cocoa Cola has the name it has is true. There used to be cocaine in the original recipe for the drink. I mean c'mon, a pharmacist invented it.

So we go along in society picking and choosing what is wrong and what is right and then we make laws based on those choices. For the most part the choices made are correct and the laws that we have make sense and do the people good. But where, I ask you, where is the sense in making a smokable plant illegal when there are things much, much worse that marijuana being sold everyday. Have you ever wondered how dangerous some of the energy drinks are for your heart? Sure, marijuana has some bad effects concerning your lungs and other smoking related problems. But I don't think anyone has ever been reported dead as a direct result of THC, the active ingredient in the drug. On the other hand, people have died and had heart attacks because of energy drinks.

It is all about the perception of the drugs themselves. Someone will consider marijuana dangerous but caffeine is not? There have been multiple reports that discuss the dangers of too much caffeine. However it is those in power who fight to keep weed out our hands. What about some of the other drugs? Sure, there are some that are truly dangerous and people should not be messing around with.

Where Do the Rights Start or End?

It is often said that your rights stop where those of another begin or you can do whatever you want providing it does not effect another person's right or well being.

These statements are largely what our laws are based off of. So then, when we are talking about drugs, we must be obviously putting laws on the books for the protection of other people right? We must be of the mindset that when people are using drugs for a recreational purpose they are a danger to those around them. Because all of the laws that say essentially, "You shall not use drugs of any kind!" We must be saying this because we are trying to protect the people who are not using the drugs. Makes sense, right?

But is that truly the case? I do not think so. Most laws that target the use of drugs seem to be enacted because those drugs are a danger to the person using them. So the government is stepping in and trying to tell us what is good for us, bad for us, and what we should and should not do to ourselves. Seems a little like our government has overstepped their bounds. Then again, that is something we should be used to in America. I love my country deeply, but just like any relationship there are faults. I have broken laws throughout my life and the country has done things to me (unrelated to the laws) that have upset me deeply. So like I said, all relationships have "issues".

So where do we go from here? Do we break up? Nah.. there has to be a better solution. Sadly the only solution that I can see to this entire mess is for those in charge to re-evaluate the drug stance in America. To re-evaluate how they are perceived and how people who use them are treated. Unfortunately even if this was to happen it would take years and years. Just look at how long it is taking for the states and Federal government to play nice with the Marijuana laws. Also take a look at how long it is taking the other states to jump on board. It has been a few years since pot was decriminalized in various states.

I live in Illinois, one of the states who still do not have laws on the books freeing marijuana users. They have passed #medical marijuana through the House but there are still various steps and hoops for the laws to go through before becoming official. Even when it does, government officials here are boasting about how restrictive the laws will be. They like to say, "we are not California and we will not be as lax as the rest of the country..." so are they doing anybody any favors?

 Who Is Really Getting Hurt?

It is sometimes hard to tell who the real victims are here. Everybody points to a different group of society. Hell, I have done it in this article as well. But when you think about it, I mean really think about it, who is getting hurt? Does the drug user get hurt? Do others get hurt because they know a drug user? Or does the drug user hurt other people because of their drug use. The answer.. in my opinion is YES.

All of the above get hurt to some degree. The reason is our humanity. We are animals and we want what we want. If we find something that makes us feel good, for whatever reason, we will continue to do it because we want to continue to feel good. Just like the stereotypical story of the girl who gets emotionally hurt by a guy and then goes home to eat chocolate ice cream. She is doing something to make herself feel good. Should she be put in jail?

We are going to do what we think is best for us and what we think will make us feel good or take away pain, whether emotional or physical. Are we wrong for doing so? Just like the person who drinks coffee on a regular basis (myself included). Waking up and running right for the coffee pot to get that first cup of the day. I do it every morning because without it I am as useless as a rock. So I am doing something that changes my mood or my physical state, or at the very least something that makes me feel better. Should that be considered something bad or something that is or should be against the law? Is it any different from a cocaine user doing a bump in the morning to be able to get their head straight? I really don't think so.

Sure, there is always a line that you can cross. A line that differentiates between ok recreational use and going overboard. We all should know where that line is and when we forget about it our friends or loved ones will generally step in to let us know. Anyone who uses any drug has the risk for potential over-use or abuse. But just because that risk exists is no reason for someone else to step in and tell you that you cannot do it and you are not able to control it or handle it. Especially not the government or anyone associated with it. It should be a decision that we make on our own or with the help of people who know us and who we love.

Drugs are all around us. In our coffee, in our cigarettes, and in our energy drinks. These are no different that the drugs that the government has deemed illegal. President Kennedy would get shots of amphetamines on a regular basis so he could, "do his job and fulfill his duty".  Whether we are exposed or use drugs like caffeine or drugs like cocaine or #opiates there is always a line. It is up to us to recognize that and be able to locate that line. We also need to know when to stop. If we cannot then we should not even start. No matter what you decide to do it is YOUR choice and yours alone. It should not be up to the government or anyone else to force you to make choices based on their opinions for what is right for you and your body. That is something that you must decide.

No matter what your choices are, remember; you have to live with the consequences of your choices and you alone must fix any damage caused. Do what you want to do but at the same time make damn sure that you remain aware of those around you and do not hurt the ones you love.