I have encountered several engaging debates about the role of drugs in the lives of individuals and society. Such debates open up questions about free will, society and culture and interpersonal relationships.

They also call into question the legal practices in our country, the role of the media, and the unavoidable impacts that drugs have on our health and wellbeing.

As a result, I feel like I am getting closer to being able to make my own comments on the use of drugs in society, and come up with a pretty concrete opinion on this topic.

After much hesitation and indecision over the last few days, I have forced myself to come to a broad and potentially controversial conclusion that I would like to share with this community.

So here it is: I find it difficult to justify the use of drugs on a regular basis among individuals, but have no problem with the existence of drugs in society.

There are some things that I appreciate that may not have come about without the use of illicit drugs. These include experimental and psychedelic art, about a hundred bands on my iTunes list, The Mighty Boosh, warehouse parties and face paint, and the hilarious conversations and dance marathons that occur when people are on drugs.

There are also some less superficial things that I appreciate about drugs, including their influence on countercultural movements, their encouragement of artistic expression, the notion of decadence that is associated with drug use, and the ways in which drugs can alter one’s perception of the world around them.

I believe that drugs loosen the collective top button of society, and that they can be instrumental in pushing the boundaries of conventional society.

However, I do worry about the risks to physical and mental wellbeing that are increased with regular drug use, and for this reason, find regular drug use among individuals unjustifiable.

I would like to see an overall reduction of harms in relation to drug use, and hope that young people will become more critical and cautious of their drug habits.

Whilst some great and exciting things have come about as a result of experimentation, we can’t forget about the unlucky ones, those who generated a media storm like Anna Wood and Gemma Thomas, and those who quietly lose their focus, their friends and their minds.

I think there is a conflict between the concept of harm minimisation, which promotes safer drug-taking practices without passing judgement on drug use, and the unavoidable fact that drug use isn’t complete without elements of risk-taking and exploration.

Is the appeal of drugs tied up with this concept of risk? If drugs were legalised, and one could go to the pharmacy and buy a pill or some powder that would give the user a completely regulated and predictable high, where would the appeal be?

I think a lot of drug use has to do with experimentation and the unknown. It isn’t enough for some people to take the same pill every weekend; they eventually combine their drug of choice with other substances, increase their intake of the drug, or try different types of ingestion. 

I genuinely would like to know what makes people take drugs regularly, what makes them take calculated risks that could end in disaster.

What are your opinions on drug use? Do you think that harm minimisation and experimentation can find common ground at all? And finally, what would you like open and honest discussion to achieve?