Leading a Better Life Through Chemistry (a subjective view of drugs) Usually, by the time they're in high school, people realize a basic concept: You really CAN live a better life through chemistry. But there are a few issues that need to be addressed. Many, many people have created "rules" and regulations for the drug lifestyle. Most of these rules are absurd. In fact, if you think this document is gonna describe those rules, you're miserably wrong. This text file is based on my experience and my experience alone. I am trying to describe the method that allows me to lead this lifestyle without major consequences. Whether or not these tips will be useful to you remains to be seen. So here are a few suggestions: 1- There is nothing wrong with using drugs to escape. Tehcnically, the whole point of using narcotics IS to escape. However, you should never escape the fact that you use drugs to escape. Meaning, at the point where you become a heroin addict and you use more heroin just to forget the fact that you're a heroin addict, you can be safely labeled as an unintelligent user of drugs. 2- There are two things you should mainly avoid above all: The two A's - Arrest and Adddiction. Both of them are extremely easily avoidable, you just need to be moderately smart. You will not get caught if you don't over-publicize your use, be dumb about where, when, and around whom you use drugs, or overdose and have to be taken to a hospital. You can easily avoid addiction by using safety nets [described below] to help you use addictive drugs intelligently. Remember, when you become addicted to a drug (speaking from experience here), you won't enjoy it anymore, you'll NEED it. These safety nets will also help you not get caught. 3- A "safety net" is necessary. This "safety net" can potentially be anything, but in most cases, it is the friends with whom you often use the drugs. Most heavy drug users have a community of anywhere from 5 to 15-20 people that they use drugs with the vast majority of the time. These safety nets have many functions. First of all, most drugs are more enjoyable when used in social situations with people you trust. Secondly, this network, probably spread out over a large amount of territory, will be where most drugs are shared. Say you have a friend who, thanks to her/his geographical location and acquaintances can get LSD. Then she/he is responsible for introducing the drug to the rest of the group, and she/he will most often do it. Another function of this group is to provide the support all friendship circles provide. The circle should obviously be made of people who have no problem helping each other. Most of the members of these groups believe in "all for one; one for all". If one person is in deep shit, everybody better dive into the deep shit if they're not already in it. But the two most important functions of these circles should be not allowing any member to become an addict, and making sure everybody has a safe, friendly environment where they can use drugs. 4- Ideas like "I'm gonna stick to soft drugs" work for some people. For most, they don't. According to statistics, 60% of all drug users stick to pot. But if you're in the rest, you're not gonna stick to soft drugs, eventually, you're gonna move on. It's a simple idea, the concept behind most human desire: "The more you have, the more you want". That can be translated to "Once you get the better shit, you'll want the best". Understand that the line between "soft" and "hard" drugs can be drawn at different points by different people. Try not to label drugs as "soft" or "hard". Labelling them more scientifically, as in "addictive" and "none-addictive" is simply more practical and more useful. I mean, Cocaine is considered one of the hardest drugs. But seriously, would anybody who's not an addict choose coke over LSD? 5- Exhaustively research every drug you do. Use Erowid on a more-than-occasional basis. Understand that no matter which "safety net" or "drug circle" you belong to, there is one very large circle of all drug users who are helping each other through the internet. Technology has made drug use much more relevant, and possibly even easier. Research basically allows you to find information about the prices, the side-effects, the normal effects, the signs of overdose, the addictive properties, what might or might not happen when you take the drug, what should and should not happen. This basically means you'll never be taken by surprise. Facing an effect of a drug you did not expect can DEFINITELY ruin your experience. 6- People will tell you things like "Draw the line at heroin", "draw the line at cocaine". Sure, these are personal suggestions, but there's nothing wrong with trying everything at least once. There really isn't. NO DRUG WILL TURN YOU INTO A PHYSICAL ADDICT THE FIRST TIME YOU TRY IT. The concept of addiction is based on so much intake that your brain chemistry does not return to normal, and to stay at abnormal levels, needs more of the substance. Besides, most people who say thigs like "NEVER DO COCAINE" have never actually done cocaine themselves (most, not all). If, say, I have never played basketball, I hardly have the right to actually give an opinion about it. Accepting other people's opinions blindly can be pretty dumb because most drugs affect people differently. Research, evaluate the cons and pros, make a serious risk-benefit evaluation, then make a decision whether or not it's worth it. 7- "Everyone gets caught" is a myth. There are many ways not to get caught. One method is always being very paranoid. Most moderate drug users are very relaxed. Both novice users, as well as expert users, are usually paranoid (this is based on personal observation of drug users I've known). This is why seasoned users do not get caught, even though they use very large amounts. This is why most people who get caught are moderate drug users. 8- Understand that once you're in the "pudding", you can't get out. It is VERY, VERY hard to stop using drugs and go cold turkey when you've been smoking pot 7 times a day, tripping on some kind of hallucinogen at least once a week, using opiates on a virtually daily basis and using hard drugs like cocaine, meth and heroin more than once every two weeks. So choose to be in the "pudding" with the right people. [The word "pudding" was coined by a friend of mine after doing large amounts of cocaine and topping it off with 5-6 bowls for just the two of us]. 9- Doing drugs without really wanting to, as in, by giving in to peer pressure, is the absolute lamest thing you can do. Not only will it not make you look cool (I'm talking to 13 year old kids here), it'll make you look VERY lame and everyone will avoid doing any kind of drugs with you. 10- Get a job. You'll need the money. Don't steal. Everybody who does drugs on a daily basis, as well as hard drugs occasionally, steals from parents and others. That's just not nice. Get a job. I wish you good luck as you fill your life with drugs. They will soon become the most important aspect of your life, what everything else revolves around. There is nothing wrong with that. For the great majority of the population, life revolves around material posessions, money, fame, dreams that probably won't be realized. We have had such lives that drugs are the one thing we can base everything else around. Oh, and the most important suggestion I can make: 11- NEVER, EVER rip off anybody, or act like a jackass to anybody in your drug circle. Those are the people with whom you have the closest friendship, because a friendship based on drugs is a friendship based on emotional openness, exploration of the mind & soul, escape from the realities of life, and generally being somebody that society does not consider "proper". That circle of friends you have is ALL you have, because by now, most of the straight-edge friends you used to have have probably abandoned you. And as a conclusion, think about this - have you ever met very unintelligent drug users? The answer is probably yes. Some hardcore stoners tend to be stupid, but usually those people don't mess with other drugs. Users of street drugs like crack might not be the most intelligent people in the world, but that's because crack is basically designed to be used by poor, uneducated young adults. Think about LSD. Did you know that some of the world's most famous philosophers were LSD users? I'm not talking about Timothy Leary, I'm talking about people like Michel Foucault and Jean-Paul Sartre, two of the most famous and respected philosophers of the 20th century. Think about artists, people whose creativity is exceptional. How come the great majority of musicians use drugs? Did you know that the ancient Greek used to sit around drinking wine and then discussing philosophical issues? So be smart.