When you reach the point in your life where you believe that you are
complete and can grow no further, then it is time to become worm food.
So perhaps using a phrase like 'grownup' may be considered pejorative,
but it ignores the principal attribute about this: that it indicates a
process of growth.

The undeniable fact is however that substance experimentation while not
excluding older folk, is very much a feature in youth culture. Perhaps
it's because older folk are more discreet (secretive might be a better
word here) about their substance use. Whatever; it becomes an easy hook
on which to hang a criticism of substance use (as being immature). But
it is faulty logic to attribute substance use as an immature choice
because some people who are immature choose to use substances.

Pinker makes the point that one of the commonalities of cultures across
the world is to use some technology (drugs, dance etc) to induce
changes
in consciousness. What I think might be responsible for the negative
view of drugs in general is the prevailing Western concept of the
relation between child and adult. Most cultures have some kind of
marker
that separates child and adult. In Xhosa men for example this is their
initiation ritual which culminates in their circumcision. In Jews it is
their bar mitzvah.

Almost all cultures have such a symbolic shift from child to adult.
What
this means is that beyond this point you are responsible for your own
decisions. It implies that any decision you make after this point is
taken as given that it flows from an adult's understanding of the
consequences, rather than an immature, and by implication limited,
understanding of what the possible outcomes are.

What is intriguing is that no such significant event can be said to
characterise such a shift for the modern Western world. But instead of
creating a culture where we are all considered adults, it has retarded
our sense of responsibility. This is echoed most strongly in the USA
where landmark litigation continues to emphasise the need for greater
patriarchal behaviour by the organs of state and business. No one is
ever responsible for their actions; it is always the fault of someone
else. McDonalds for making their coffee too hot. Microwave
manufacturers
for not telling people they couldn't cook their pets. Car manufacturers
for not telling their customers that a cruise control is not an
autopilot and cannot steer for them.

In any case, what I was saying earlier before I got distracted is that:
recognising that substance use (for you) may have been a period of
growth, but that at some point it outlives its usefulness; or has
become
a negative force in your life, is a mature act. To continually engage
in
behaviour which is self-destructive on a small or large scale is the
action of a child, petulantly breaking its toys. This could be couched
in the annoying terms of parental units as growing out of a phase, but
it does not undermine the essential truth of it.

It also does not necessarily follow that all substance use is of this
nature, hence my qualification of the statement (for you). But it is to
be ignoring a pragmatic insight that for most substances there is
threshold (of time used, frequency and amount ingested) beyond which it
becomes diminishing in its returns, and possibly harmful(physically,
psychologically etc). And as much as the pro-dope lobby would like to
deny this, I believe it to be true for marijuana too.

Which by itself does not imply that the decision to take substances is
one which has to be reversed at some point, but at some point I think
you begin to run out of substance options. To put it another way,
eventually the drugs no longer work. I am increasingly of the opinion
that drugs are crude instruments of self-discovery. I think that one
can
very easily begin to rely upon them to indicate when you are having
fun,
instead of just having fun.

What I think is that none of us started off as willing drug takers. At
some point you make a decision to take the first
pill/powder/drink/snort/drag. To believe that you will continue to do
so
for ever is at best hubris, at worst self-limiting and possibly
destructive. The decision to start taking these things indicates some
curiosity and openness; in that spirit hopefully one can concede that
it
is possible to maintain these characteristics without the substances
themselves. Otherwise we are truly in trouble. And that means that you
should admit that it is possible that eventually you will choose to
stop
taking, hopefully before the decision is made for you.

Excellently writing, well done Murray. I completely agree, and you've summed up all my thoughts and put them down much better that i could've done

Thanks Laz, much appreciated.

./Steve aka Soma

interesting point Murray, that all cultures have ways for changing consciousness. I wonder why changing consciousness seems such a necessity, or at the very least, a desirable thing to do. The love of novelty does not completely explain this. Or perhaps it's the love of novel states of mind, but again, it comes down to, why do we love experiencing novel states of mind? Is it because that's one of the things that makes life exciting? Perhaps.

I find this post to be very reflective of an indeterminte aspect of my life as of present. In the US of A when one is labeled an adult, they are of age, this would be known as, 18 recorded years of life. I as you know am 18 however, this sociological pull on my mind to become an adult feels unatural and pointless. If we as the human race wanted to give justice to the many different mind sets and recognize the growing of humans justly, we would have a label for every progressed week of our lives. So the idea that drug use should end when one becomes an adult is just as erroneous, as saying when you become an adult you turn 18.

I totally agree. Not just in relation to drugs, but everything. We have this idea somehow that because someone is an adult, they are automatically more mature and intelligent than every child/teenager out there. So many people think that because they've "become an adult" they've hit the plateau of existance and have no desire to continue to improve their minds, so they simply live in ignorance. This causes endless problems for our society.

Dear Murray,

I agree in principle with the majority of your post, but I would like to address the meaning of the word "adult".

As a European I was led to believe children look up to adults for guidence. The age at which this momentous stepping stone in a persons life actually happens has become synonymous with the right to vote.

As a researcher I have given this question to many age groups and found that ,15-18 yr olds cannot understand why they can be tried as adults in a criminal court yet do not have the right to vote. Yet again, the question of when a person becomes an adult is drawn into question.

As for being an adult, I really do not think there are many adults in this world. If a child is a child because they seek guidence from those who are older, does it relate to supposed adults looking for guidence in thier faiths ? Are we not all children when it comes down to it ? They say the only difference between a boy and a man is the price of his toys !

On the question of drugs and controlled substance use and/or abuse I believe that experimentation with such a medium and the consequencys thereof are soley in the realms of children of all ages. The fact humans think they need a crutch within their lives only proves the discontent they are experiencing. An escape from reality is also an escape from responsibility, but never an escape from self conscienceness.

J

Murray! This piece I love... Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. Here is mine.
Whatever one is taking be it food (fast or home cooked), coca-cola (diet or straight), ciggaretts (regular or menthol), alcahol (too many to break down), or drugs (too many to break down) I can go on, we must see the person and not the state that person is in. We live in a world of stress and ever changing world-shapping events, and most people who do not have stable influences, and most of us do not, tend to fall back on some crutch.

I really think that you are right in saying young people experiment with these things, but as adults we choose to linger in these artificial states of euphoria. Not so much as to escape reality but to better cope with it. Look into the ghettos at the single-parent homes, look into the third-world countries at the living conditions, look into the eyes of the children and see the fear, where there should be brightness and promises of the future.

Some people say the church is our only hope, but I beg to differ because in the church you will find those who perpretrate and exploit. I do not condem the bible or the God behind and in front of it, but we must seek personally our own salvation which begins in the mind. Because all roads lead to God, it is just that all roads must first go through hell.
blaksurfr