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Part 2 of things we consume


Drugs! The sexy step-sister of food. Whose reputation always precedes her, she taunts and teases, promising a good time when you know she's just a few fleeting good moments and a boatload of trouble. She's the girl your parents warned you about, which only makes her all the more alluring. A temptress, you feel more depraved with her every kiss. But once you start, she's almost impossible to resist.

What is it about drugs that fixates us so. Well, technically, I know the answers. And I'd like to explain them in this post.

The experience of life is an ongoing production painted by the colours of the chemical cocktail in our brain. Without our brain to perceive the world around us, we would "exist" in a void. The emptiness experienced by those who lack a certain sense. What the blind person sees, and the deaf one hears: nothing.

Without the chemical reactions in the brain, we would be but organic robots. Monotone, unfeeling, placid beings passing as a sad excuse for "living". We should take a moment to be grateful for the existence of the hormones that make life so vibrant and exciting. Oxytocin, adrenaline, dopamine, melatonin, serotonin, and insulin, to name a few. Because of these behind-the-scenes major players, we feel things like alertness, fear, and sexual satisfaction. They often get a bad rep, what with teenagers and pregnant women and such, but they really are SO very necessary to life.

I'd be lying if I said that the brain was the only organ involved in this hormone business. There are a number of elusive organ's in the body that play a key role in hormone production, including: the adrenal glands, the thymus, the thyroid, the ovaries/testicles, and the pituitary gland, to name a few. But the brain is also not the only organ affected by drugs, we just tend to think it is because, well, I don't know... I've digressed.

It's when our hormones go "out of whack" that problems arise. We lose sleep, can't eat, can't "get it up", and become hopelessly sad. These are all telltale signs of hormone imbalance. And you know what has a habit of imbalancing hormones? Drugs. It's drugs' habit.

It is in the brain that drugs work their magic. Opening doorways to perceptions we never knew possible. Creating mysterious sensations, even hallucinations right before our open eyes. Drugs do this by fucking with the neurotransmitters, the brain's communication system, and tamper with the messages being sent, received, and processed. Ideally, these effects are limited to the duration of the "trip", but often there are lingering side effects with mostly undesirable features. Memory loss, depression, anxiety, bad dreams, the list really does go on.

You'll notice by now I'm not talking about specific drugs, but basically all drugs. I'm painting them with one brush because I'm explaining their nature, and not their specifics. Yes, obviously some drugs are worse than others. There's sub classifications of natural and synthetic, uppers and downers, etc. that all make them so obviously different. But my focus is on what makes them the same. And as someone who used to dabble in the world of drugs, and still sometimes does, I say to you: I get it. But I also get WHY drugs are to be avoided. I understand how they affect the brain, the body, the hormone cocktail, and what the subtle to gross consequences are, for the most part.

To me, and I'm sure many of you would agree, the biggest drug problem we have is the pharma kind. Synthetic recipes and bastardizations of natural remedies that were used for centuries before the "Man" decided to turn a profit on illness. These pastilized potions, candied decoctions, and sinister syrups promise to ease our symptoms, but at the cost of something much greater. The list of side effects rattles on, the fatal details are in the fine print, but hey, at least it will get rid of that pesky cough.

At the end of the day, do what you want. I'm not going to sit here and say "Don't do drugs", of any kind. But maybe think once, twice, even three times before consuming ANY drug that finds its way into your life. What are the merits of this elixir? What is the potential damage of this powder? Consider what it is that drives you to indulge in their "promised" power. And if you are actually ready to take that trip, are you prepared for the places it could be taking you?

There's always a seemingly justified reason, one way or another, to go down that rabbit hole. But what I will say, is NEVER let someone else make the decision for you. Never let someone convince you it's the right choice for you, or the cool thing to do. And don't say yes if you really mean no, or even I don't know. Think twice, have a back bone, because, more often then not, it'll take you places you can't come back from completely.

Ok, I think I've said my piece.

All my love, G

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