Dear Ann:
Is there such a thing as responsible drug use?
It depends.Alcohol, nicotine and caffeine are all drugs although many don't consider them that way.
I am both an alcoholic and drug addict.I once argued with an alcoholic who told me alcohol was not a drug.I asked what it was. It's just alcohol, he proclaimed.
"That's ridiculous." I said. "It's like saying a rose is a rose but not a flower."
People tend to sanitize personal drug use.They don't like to think they are consuming a drug.Every night when you drink a glass of wine, you are engaged in actual drug taking. Cigarettes kill and alcohol is a poisonous substance.Drink too fast and too much alcohol at one time and you most certainly will die.Yet because alcohol is socially acceptable, we tend to think it is OK.
"Two glasses of poison with my meal if is fine," we tend to say. Try saying that about two lines of cocaine. Both substances are drugs. One is socially acceptable, the other is not. Yet we look at the person consuming cocaine as deviant. Cigarettes were once considered healthy for us so everyone smoked. Our personal beliefs is what makes the decisions about what is good for our taking.
Remember the days of Reefer Madness? Today when looking back upon that we tend to laugh. Our social views have undergone tremendous change. Alcohol prohibition is another example.What is deemed unacceptable or not socially OK is not the drug but our biased and personal beliefs.
Back to the question about responsible use. With illicit drugs such as meth, heroin, or MDMA, my question is why a person is even taking those drugs. Addiction is cunning, baffling and powerful. You start using without suffering any consequences but if you have the genetics of this disease by the time you try to stop and find you cannot it is already too late. If you have the genetics for addiction and engage in responsible use, over time you will find you have crossed the line from recreational use to full-blown addiction.
Behaviour is what defines an addict, not how often or what substance you use. If you are only able to relax, have fun or not be anxious while taking a drug (including a drink), you are exhibiting warning signs that addiction may come. True addiction is defined by continued use despite negative legal, social or health consequences.
I recall a story about a woman who regularly consumed five mg of Valium each night. Now as a hard core prescription addict myself I couldn't understand why she'd consider herself an addict. It took sometime to understand it wasn't the amount or the type of drug but what it did to her life. She suffered tremendously from this single nightly dose. Retrograde amnesia was her biggest concern (like blackouts -- look at what happened to Rosanne Barr). This lady did things which hurt her life but the next day she couldn't remember.
When she tried to stop, she was unable.
So remember this: the next time you imbibe in a drink you are consuming poison. If you wouldn't drink Lysol or mouthwash. then why are you consuming alcohol? It is the same thing, a different chemical composition but essentially the same poison. If you think it is healthy because it comes from grapes, a natural ingredient then think poppies for heroin, plants for marijuana, coca leaves for cocaine. These are natural as well.
Thus you are taking poison when taking a drink. One day we will look back on alcohol as we have cigarettes and pot. We will laugh at our stupidity and how we could have even considered taking this drug.
- Questions for Ann? Send your submissions (anonymously, if you choose) to columns@pgcitizen.ca and we'll pass them along.
