On Substance Abuse

Substance Abuse

Any non-clinical essay that dares to tackle the problems associated with addiction and substance abuse, be they in the form of alcohol, tobacco, or other intoxicants, is immediately thwarted by a complex duality of circumstances. Two separate but connected conditions which make such a discussion extremely difficult to conduct succinctly and with clarity. Both mind and body, mental and physical changes and reactions, interact with drugs and other addictions in a type of bio-mythological dance whose steps require no learning or practice. Whose pace and rhythm are autonomous, and one need only “go along for the ride”.

Some people use various substances to alleviate symptoms as powerful as severe mental distress, or as petty as mere boredom. Others to ease great physical agony or simple discomfort. The vast majority of users/abusers fall outside societal recrimination because their drugs of choice, ingested for exactly the same reasons as those prosecuted as lawbreakers, are either legally prescribed by a qualified, often sympathetic physician, or purchased directly off a store shelf.

Due to its wide availability and legal status, alcohol (and alcoholism) involve such a wide variety of factors, including genetic predisposition, that the focus of this essay is primarily on the host of pharmaceutical type drugs, the use of which can lead to a combination of physical and psychological dependencies. For similar reasons, I have not attempted to deconstruct other kinds of addiction such as gambling and other behavioral aberrations that do not involve actual substances. Although many of the same principles are surely in play, enough differences exist so as to warrant a separate discussion and evaluation.

Concerning the degree to which people involve themselves with any number of different drugs, it is the intricate and subtle dialogue between mind and body that complicates an otherwise straightforward understanding. It is why everyone does everything in like fashion, but for slightly different reasons. Akin to a combination lock, each person possesses a unique set of numbers that opens and closes their willingness or refusal to indulge in certain activities. These numbers, however, are not solely an inborn propensity. Rather they are involuntarily calculated, formulated over a period of time, based upon personal experiences and observations.

Aspects of strong or weak character come into play, whereas a person makes a conscious choice to deny temptation simply because it is judged as morally or ethically repugnant. Also a learned condition, but again a situation made nearly incomprehensible by the unknown degree to which we are governed by our nature, versus the extent of our earlier nurturing.

For these and many other reasons, the so-called demand for drugs remains endless and unceasing. To defeat causation would entail a successful assault on mind and body, biology and spirit, all of which are inextricably intertwined and melded as a unified, interdependent whole. No wonder that no single, heavy-handed solution has been found to resolve this plethora of intricacies.

Ultimately the final answers begin and end with the individual, their willingness to learn and understand the consequences of their behaviors, both good and bad, and proceed accordingly. Such answers are only partly under the control of the person, and of those that are, these must include an appreciation for the importance of “price tags”. That nothing in the world comes freely, and the penalty for severe indebtedness is often a nightmare from which many never escape.

Part I

Consider that every moment of living, whether in good health or poor, injured or injury free, involves some level of physical pain. Normally such discomforts are nominal, inconsequential, and remain mostly unnoticed. Add to this the psychological/emotional sufferings of equal degree that affect our daily routines, and pain thus prevails as a significant presence in human life.

Occasional itching, headaches, dental pain, muscle soreness, a bruise, blemish, or other low-level irritants are easily assimilated into the activities which otherwise occupy our full attention. Only when one or more physical pains, either alone or in concert with mental distress, which may itself be the result of some malady, rises above a certain threshold that varies with each individual, do we take sudden and unhappy notice. Do we realize, on a conscious level, an uncomfortable awareness of our discomfort.

For most people, young and old alike, their bodies and minds are peppered with myriad aches and pains existing simultaneously on:

01. A subconscious level.
02. A conscious level.
03. An emotional level.
04. A physical level.

As intensity increases, all such levels, or planes, are affected, then affect one another. A small but annoying problem can quickly escalate in severity due to both the interaction of these four levels, and the general vulnerability/susceptibility of the individual.

As increases in the responsibilities and pressures of daily life impact our well being, usually in negative fashion, an awareness of our miscellaneous aches and pains also intensifies. Ultimately, simply living, in and of itself, immerses us wholly in a shallow wash of countless little agonies. Fortunately these tiny nuisances are largely dismissed or ignored by a busy, engrossed-in-other-thoughts brain.

No actual divisions or splits exist between body and mind, or among the four levels as described. Like space-time, all are both interactive and interdependent. Every hour of every day, awake and asleep, busy or bored, the human condition as nature intends via design, is connected to reality by virtue of our physical senses and perceptions. What we see, hear, taste, smell, and touch shapes our thoughts and feelings about everything. What we consider as philosophical, ethical, moral and religious truths, are likewise derived from mental processes which are themselves a response to sensory input from an external reality that exists outside ourselves.

Pain is how we know the world, how we sense its presence and our place within it. Consequently when this pain is diminished, either artificially or through sleep, meditation or simple daydreaming, contact with a routine reality, both its joys and sorrows, is reduced accordingly. Since discomforts are predominantly the most persistent sensations, (pleasures tend to be fleeting) their relatively sudden absence or elimination is all the more noticeable and notable.

Pain, either physical or psychological, is remarkable for its specific and unique ability to induce a sense of euphoria simply by ceasing to exist. More to the point, a temporary sense of extreme well being, far beyond the norm, results when pain is affected in two particular ways:

01. The rapid easing of severe, preexisting pain.
02. The total extinguishing of ordinary, negligible pain.

The greater the pain, the more heightened the feelings of euphoria, elation and rejuvenation. An overwhelming, albeit short-lived experience. Similar to the happiness experienced when a specific pain is alleviated, the rapid absence of all pain is itself a source of intense joy.

The mind, however, is never completely liberated due to an infestation of prior memories that recall specific agonies, both mental and physical. Especially their more recent bouts. True freedom, in this sense, only arises from a total loss of low-level, rudimentary pain. It is the source of the “awakening mind”, a truly human experience, both at one with, yet utterly separated from the natural world.

Part II

My earliest recollection of real pain is a childhood memory when, at five years of age, I was stung by a honey bee. An older neighborhood kid suggested that I catch and hold one of the insects in my closed hand. To this day, I vividly remember the shock of what happened a moment later. I also recall how good it felt once the pain had gone.

For me, this was an important first lesson on how life, as part of a very mysterious world, is basically a matter of feeling good or feeling bad. One might feel physically poor, but be happy about something. Or one could feel very fit and well, but be quite despondent over some unhappy event or situation. True happiness was feeling both healthy and joyful. And real unhappiness the exact opposite.

Three vital elements are relevant:

01. If happy, normal physical feelings are largely ignored.
02. If unhappy, normal physical feelings are largely ignored.
03. If unhappy and unwell, normal pain is amplified and exaggerated. Negativity escalates via a preoccupation with how bad we feel as a whole, accompanied by a loss of hope. Thoughts often incorporate related, plus unrelated, sources of anger or sadness.

The entire matter is an extremely complex process of inter-effected, inter-affecting elements, all of which produce at any given moment, an individual’s current state-of-mind. A condition whose further definitions include:

01. Happy, relatively carefree people are generally not attracted to inducements which offer some added level of pleasure.
02. Unhappy people, relatively disinterested in a difficult attainment of status or prestige, are very attracted to enticements which offer immediate thrills or pleasures in a variety of forms.
03. Due either to a lack of personal initiative, or readily available activities with which an individual could involve him or herself, many persons will settle for artificial methods of coping with what is perceived as a confusing, cruel and uncompromising world. These synthetic choices fall into two categories:

a. Pursuance of behaviors that, in and of themselves, produce false feelings of exhilaration/exaltation.
b. Pursuance of behaviors that result in genuine but potentially dangerous and destructive feelings of exhilaration/exaltation.

Part III

Addiction might be defined as the conscious or deliberate, ultimately autonomic choice of one version of reality over another. A comparison between sobriety and an altered state of consciousness whereby artificiality is considered preferable to actuality. Realistic versus reality.

01. Mild forms are reversible, avoidable. Examples exist in the animal world where intoxicants are occasionally indulged, then abandoned.
02. Strong forms cross a natural mental/physical threshold of resiliency, of a resistance to dependency.
03. The absence of pain allows for disconnection from reality, but health consequences are integral.
04. Endorphins pose as clues to natural versus dangerously psychotic addiction.
05. Not the drug that addicts, but the feelings derived. Ingestion of cow dung if results were the same.
06. Usage without dependence.

Part IV

Though drugs exist in many forms, produce a multitude of symptoms, and affect mind and body in varying degrees, both beneficial and detrimental, biochemicals act upon human nervous systems in the following six ways:

01. They cure illness
02. They cause physical harm or death.
03. They relieve pain.
04. They cause pain.
05. They induce hallucinations.
06. They produce sensations of physical pleasure and/or psychological euphoria.

Again, pain must always be considered as an inseparable joining of both physical and mental. Though neither can act independently from the other, each can be affected as a primary source which in turn, “infects” the other.

The elimination of severe discomforts is no less complex than what is accomplished by the most exotic medical cocktail designed to combat or cure any number of pathogenic ailments. It is not so much that a psychopharmacological agent produces an altered state of consciousness, but rather that it induces a condition of being that is, to varying degrees, utterly free of the common aches and pains present on both conscious and unconscious levels.

In addition to the virtual deadening of overall pain, some drugs simultaneously stimulate certain pleasure centers of the brain. In many instances, pleasure and pain may cancel the solitary effects produced each from the other; on occasion, they might well complement one another.

Whereupon the absence of pain is nearly absolute, and the presence of pleasure is maximal, a state of being is achieved whose lasting impact is extremely seductive and often irreversible. It must, however, first be experienced by anyone and everyone who wishes to debate the merits and/or inherent dangers involved. It is meaningless and senseless to argue for or against, when opponents have no actual experience to draw upon. Or by which to make comparisons. Examples are the celibate priest who gives advice on sexual or marital problems. Or the childless adult who discusses matters related to children, or the raw recruit who goes into battle with preconceived notions, the wealthy obese who feign concern for the starving masses. Worse, the reformed abuser who ignores personal lessons learned and prosecutes those who merely mimic their accuser’s own behavior.

Part V

For the majority of people, true bliss and sensual pleasure are rare commodities, with synthetic versions of the same usually affordable and available only in the form of alcohol and tobacco. Many substitute marijuana for either or both, while others indulge in all three.

Far fewer, but still large in number, experiment with and subsequently acquire a taste for more potent substances. So-called “hard” drugs that can be inhaled through the nose, applied to the skin, or injected via a hypodermic needle. These pain-suppression/hallucinogenic agents diminish physical discomfort, plus enhance sensations of pleasure achievable in no other way. It is this “in-no-other-way” where the situation becomes increasingly problematic.

Among various ancient taboos, some warn against explorations that lead to knowledge or visions we are not meant to know or see. That to do so runs the serious risk of never again returning to the world in the same way as before the experience. That one can never regain their virginity, or reacquire their childhood innocence after witnessing the pain in the world. In some cultures, American Indians by example, such experiences are viewed as gaining powerful insights into the deeper meanings of life, of an afterlife, achievable by no other means.

Part VI

For reasons mostly associated with survival concerns, human beings possess certain potentialities that can only be tapped via specific conditions. It is an oddity of nature that under normal circumstances, most people live their lives without ever recognizing the demons and angels who lurk deep within their psyches. Once unleashed, neither devil nor saint can again be ignored or forgotten. A peaceful coexistence is the best that can be hoped for.

Depending on the individual, their overall spirit is usually governed by one or the other, by whichever exerts the greatest influence. When a person enters such intimate territories of the mind, they place themselves at the mercy of their own discoveries. As the saying states, you should be careful about what you wish for; you just might get it. Unaware of our most latent, nightmarish monsters within, one should take equal care about enticing them into the light of day. The higher angels within us may also appear, are certainly sought by most delvers, but it is a risky proposition.

Again the majority of people, given a choice, refrain from investigating their innermost thoughts and feelings, either sober or while intoxicated. Among those who choose to be “explorers”, they do so for one or more of the following reasons:

01. Minimum skills, aptitudes, lack of motivation or religious convictions which produce a self-loathing, self-destructive boredom with life, which is seen as tedious, monotonous, dishonest, corrupt, perverse.
02. Hedonistic risk-takers who must make life interesting via dangerous, suicidal thrills and activities. The opposite of the former, but shares the same conclusion about life in general.
03. Genuinely unhappy people who are philosophical about their own unhappiness.
04. Genuinely happy people who yearn for truth, knowledge, and wisdom that, whenever possible, are achievable, accessible, through first-hand empirical revelation. An opportunity to easily and quickly gain unique forms of knowledge, of both the world and oneself, that can be attained only by the use of mind and body-altering chemical agents. Ancient cultures whose religious practices include the use of drugs, by example.

One of the reasons societies limit drug use is determined by outdated survival imperatives, and not simply a matter of moral choice. The manner in which some animals only flirt with occasional intoxication, serves as an example. Any species would otherwise be quickly doomed to extinction.

Part VII

In summation, simply being human is, in and of itself, very seductive in nature. Possessed of enriched and enhanced faculties, life is especially appealing if and when our worries and concerns are suppressed. Temptations and appetites normally restricted, restrained by consequences of real life survival matters, can easily be entertained as possible indulgences (acting out fantasies). Unrestricted, the human animal slips willingly into an uninhibited, hedonistic pursuit of constant and immediate gratification. Though fun, it is anti-survival, anti-evolutionary and above all else, insatiable.

Though a return of hunger follows feasting, the persistent craving to feed other, less vital needs is in the worst interest of the individual. Striving for what is in our best interests, plus that of society and the world, ought to be the singularly golden rule by which our fragile lives are led.

Lastly, most addictions can be "cured" in much the same way as they were acquired. Dependence is typically the result of dosages of one thing or another taken over a long period of time. The process is gradual and cumulative, usually necessitating a steady increase in the amount of intoxicant required to produce the desired effect first obtained with lower doses.

Weaning is the conscious (or forcible) act of reversing the very mechanism by which addiction happens in the first place. Gradually reducing the quantity, potency, and number, or a combination of all three factors as they might relate to one substance or another, can be an effective, long-term solution to addiction. Unfortunately the remedy is not foolproof. Alcohol and tobacco (nicotine) are two of the more problematic drugs where gradual reductions in quantity seem to have little or no effect. But this gives us insight into the deceptive nature of substance abuse itself, which cannot be defined -- or cured -- based solely on singular factors alone. It would appear, however, that in those cases where weaning is ineffectual or unproductive, that strong psychological components are responsible. Likely the same mental states, when sober, that found numbing relief via intoxication originally. This latter condition is generally referred to as an "addictive" personality.

It is also possible, if not probable, that genetics plays a role in the process of substance abuse, just as an inborn sensitivity may make one allergic to a drug, so might a propensity for pleasure derived from various and altered states of consciousness be hard-wired into a person's brain. How obnoxious, ludicrous, and insane is a law-enforcement system that defines drug abusers as criminals? When in reality, these are people who in most cases, had no more control over their congenital weaknesses than do the obese over what foods they eat.

This story is far from over and utterly incomplete. I hope my menial summary has a certain value for some, maybe offers a new perspective for others. The whole subject of drugs and dependency is certainly one of the defining issues of our age. And will be for decades to come. So what is the ultimate resolution as I see it? Were someone to ask me? Many will not like my answers, but I stand behind them.

First would be a rational (meaning government regulated) legalization of all drugs. All of them. The worst and the best of everything. Pretty much a libertarian position, with very harsh penalties for violators of the few laws that would remain. Secondly, the situation is largely a health issue, first and foremost, where people not only endanger themselves, but others as well. Resolve the negative health effects and the biological dependency factors, and 90% of the problem will disappear very quickly. Such solutions represent technological advancements which should become available in the near future. Mental illness is its own dilemma and will always manifest itself in any number of ways, only one of which includes drug addiction. Too often are the two things confused and allowed to represent a cause and effect relationship.

My final word on the subject is that given the steadily increasing pace of the world, the rapidity at which all things are changing, adapting, and improving, it is only a matter of time -- and not that much -- before many of the current social ills that plague us the world over, will soon be yesterday's news.