Drugs and Morality
"Drugs are bad" imposes morality onto the choice of using or not using drugs. I have a moral sense that tells me not to harm other people, but it can also be overactive, perhaps due to my Catholic sins send you to hell mindset, or because of D.A.R.E programs (a U.S. program to prevent drug use), or biology, and/or something else.
I first smoked weed when I was 15. My girlfriend had before & I joined her. It was hella fun. My first drink of alcohol was with my friends in high school, probably 15 or 16.
I had long been opposed to me ever using alcohol because alcoholism runs in my family. But my best friends were drinking, I debated with myself for a bit, then I decided to join, and it was FUN.
Years later, I'm a daily-drinker, an alcoholic, addicted to it. It almost lost me two jobs (but my bosses were forgiving), and helped me do some really shitty things in my teens and 20s, and lost some friends from that. (I also did shitty things without alcohol, but the alcohol made it worse.)
I've been alcohol sober since august 2015, iirc. I've smoked weed since then, and did occasionally when I drank. I'm a daily smoker now, about 3-7 one-hits per night, from about 6pm-1am.
I gave a speech at a DARE conference at my school in 7th or 8th grade. I was one of 3 kids chosen from my class (of 20ish kids) chosen to speak.
I never learned about using drugs responsibly. I learned how sinning will send me to hell (I'm an atheist now), that I shouldn't drink because alcoholism, that drugs will destroy my brain and my life, and other bullshit that didn't work.
So here's what I wish I'd learned about.
What does peer pressure look & feel like? How can I tell if I'm saying yes from peer pressure or yes from my own desire to try a drug? If I want to say no, how? If I want to use the drug, how can I do so safely?
What's it gonna feel like? How long will the high last? What do I do if my mom calls or one of my friends gets hurt? How do I prevent hangovers?
What are the actual, specific impacts the drug will have on my body and brain? How will heavy use or long-term use affect me differently than occasional use or short term use?
What does addiction look like? What does it feel like? How do you get help with addiction if you do have it? How likely is this drug to make somebody addicted? How likely am I to get addicted? How can I use in a way that will reduce my chance of getting addicted?
Show me examples of people who use drugs responsibly. People who go to work, take care of themselves & their kids (and/or pets! or no dependents), are good to their partner, and have friends and hobbies and reasonable mental/emotional stability.
Show me the foundations of a life that I can be invested in, that will protect me from addiction.
I'm not a big fan of moralizing things in general. It is my view that all morality is subjective and that we should educate people about issues such that they can make decisions consistent with their values.
If your values say you shouldn't use drugs, I want to equip you with the tools to not use drugs.
If your values say you can use drugs if you want to, and you want to, then I want to equip you with the tools to use drugs in a way that will work for you.
While I have my own feelings and opinions about different drugs and what usage habits are up to my own values ... I don't desire to impose these feelings on other people.
I do think you should use drugs in a way that keeps your body and mind healthy, your relationships healthy, and your community healthy. But, fuck what I think, it's your life.
(Note: I also care about community impact, so while I do believe that morals are always subjective, I do not find all moral positions to be valid or reasonable, and I find some moral positions to be essential, like "murder is bad".)
Context:
D.A.R.E, a U.S. program to prevent drug use, started in 1983 and continues to this day. I just watched an hour long report (by my favorite YouTuber, Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan) about DARE.
He interviewed dare officers, the president of DARE, a protester who's pro heroin, and quite a few other people. He also talked about the U.S.'s history with drugs & a little bit with violent crime.
P.S. "my favorite YouTuber" should be "one of my favorite YouTubers" but that sounds clunky as hell. Or more accurately, "his videos are my favorite news-type content," which yeah. You get it.