The Effects of Illicit Drug Use Should Not Be Generalized

The most intense response I have had since the last exam was to a comment made in class stating that “a drug is a drug, is a drug”. This was said during the chapter on substance abuse, and was (in context) explicitly stating the opinion that not only is all substance use hazardous, but also strongly suggests that all substances are comparable in the nature of harm they induce. If this was merely presented as opinion, I would not mind, it would just be an opinion I disagree with, but this was presented as fact, which I think makes the strength of my reaction more reasonable.

What I disliked about this comment is that it grossly over-generalizes a multi-faceted, multi-dimensional issue. There is such a large and objective scientific base of knowledge that conveys the reality of this issue (from which opinions and discussion can develop), and to ignore this base of knowledge to revert to opinionated views simply diminishes the possibility for quality discussion. There are so many ways to look at this issue and contrast substances. The nature of physical and psychological addictiveness is highly important. Some substances can induce severe dependence of both types, others substances can cause only one type of addiction, and there are those that are neither psychologically nor physically addictive. LSD can not meet the requirement for dependence, while food, exercise and sex can. Additionally, to consider the extreme nature of some dependencies, such as heroin, ice, alcohol, or crack, to substances like marijuana and the serotogenic substances (like LSD and Mescaline) that usually inflict moderate or no dependence, the absurdity of stating ‘a drug is a drug’ becomes more apparent.

Furthermore, the sociological impact of different types of use and dependence varies enormously. Due to the racist, arbitrary, and self-justifying history of politics involved with drugs laws designating some substances as legal, and some as illegal, I think judging the severity or negativity of a person’s use based upon the legality of the substance as very narrow. Surely the legality of the substance