Weil is open about his past use of illegal substances, claiming, "I think I've tried about every drug," in his book From Chocolate to Morphine. He is equally open with his views on ending the War on Drugs, citing the benefits of many banned plants. In fact, the opening paragraph of From Chocolate to Morphine reads: "Drugs are here to stay. History teaches that it is vain to hope that drugs will ever disappear and that any effort to eliminate them from society is doomed to failure." Weil claims that humans have an innate need to alter their consciousness, and that there is no such thing as good or bad drugs, merely that some individuals have good or bad relationships with certain substances.
interesting isn't it? there is a question about how much drugs hurt people. Caffeine, sleep aids, nicotine. There are tons of drugs out there. Every drug has been used and abused by somebody, and every drug has been responsibly used by someone. I am sure that even heroine has been responsibly used... probably. So what is so terrible about altering consciousness? It can make things prettier, or scarier, or god only knows what. But, I maintain that it is not bad if it is not hurting people.
Now when a drug does hurt people, then action needs to be taken. Family and friends need to help people who can't help themselves. Sometimes interventions are best.
