The Way

In the words of Dr Michael Gossop:

The desire to experience some altered state of consciousness seems to be an intrinsic part of the human condition, and the persistence that people have shown in pursuit of this goal is as remarkable as the diversity of ways in which they have sought such altered states. this same diversity is shown in the range of different types of drug taking.

Whether taken alone or in company, for relaxation or stimulation, to satisfy some personal need or to comply with social pressures, we are surrounded by drugs, some more visible than others - the cups of coffee and tea, the glasses of beer, wine and whisky, the cigarettes, the snorts of cocaine, the joints, the tablets of acid, the fixes of heroin, and the ubiquitous tranquilizers and sleeping pills.

It may be that every drug-induced state has its counterpart in a state of mind arrived at without drugs, but drug taking still remains one of the easiest and most immediate ways of altering psychological states; for some people, the ease and immediacy with which drugs achieve their effects proves particularly seductive. so long as there are drug takers there will be drug casualties.

No form of drug taking is without its dangers, but the quest to eliminate drug taking has proved to be the search for a chimera. Drug taking is here to stay and one way or another we must all learn to live with drugs.

'Living with Drugs' Fifth edition, Dr M Gossop. Ashgate. Page 218