They are bad! They kill you! They make you addicted!
That’s the way we are told about drugs as kids. And we believe it until we first come into contact. There comes a point in life in which you can decide to engage or walk away from a substance. Those who walk away, undeniably do the right thing. Those who engage, encounter something impactful.
Why one takes drugs
When you ask someone who consumes drugs regularly why he does so, he most certainly answers with plausible-sounding arguments. Answers like:
“I like the effect.”
“It helps me relax.”
“To socialize.”
What all of them say essentially is: “I alter reality because I am not okay with it.”.
Now, this can be a deep philosophical question, so let’s just scratch the surface here:
Most drugs that act psychoactively are the same. Yes, they defer in way and extent of their effect but each mutes or reinforces your thoughts and emotions.
There are the following categories:
Depressants – They slow down the function of the central nervous system. They mute unwanted thoughts, which makes the use so attractive.
Stimulants – Speed up the function of the central nervous system. They make you feel strong, energetic, and confident, which makes the use so attractive.
Hallucinogens/Psychedelics – affect your senses, enhance entropic information exchange, and consciousness.
Depressants & Stimulants provide instant relief to your problems. They can be used to fix your insecurities in a second. Which is why they are so addictive. Who would not want to end pain without any present risk?
Hallucinogens, on the other hand, provide a deeper insight into your mind. They do not necessarily provide you with unreasoned happiness. Essentially, they enable you to find reasons behind your restricted thinking and provide you with long-lasting insights. As long as they are used as a tool to do so. Now, this is obviously one side of the whole. As with the other types, here are serious risks at hand.
What one wants to achieve through drug consumption, one can achieve without. But it is hard and very exhausting to do so. Though it retains your ability to enjoy peacefulness over the long-term. Psychedelics can eventually speed that up. Here’s a great resource about that fact. Depressants and stimulants do the opposite. If ever, they can be used as an enhancement to what is already good, which should not remain unquestioned. They make you feel like everything is okay when it’s not while reducing your time to fix that with every dosage.
If you are at peace, you wouldn’t want to alter reality.
Disclaimer:
This article is based on research, observation, and a price of experience
Update 22/12/2020:
I just read an unbelievable story of drug abuse, that basically approves my point. Check it out here.