Several people from my youth never made it to adulthood to regret the things they did as a result of drugs. Even "harmless" drugs like MDMA have consequences.
I’d agree that discussing only the upsides in a general debate would be stupid, even unethical. But on a personal account? Probably not.
Believe it or not, some people can have very positive interactions from regular drug use.
I’ve used E and mushrooms maybe a few dozen times each and I don’t have anything bad to say except the brutal comedowns with E the next day, and an upset tummy with shrooms. Can’t say the same with weed or alcohol - plenty of bad interactions with those.
Some people are high-functioning drug users. Look at Joe Rogan, whatever you think of the guy, it’s difficult to object that he’s productive, fit and family-orientated while consuming copious amounts of weed.
I would become lazy, unmotivated and depressed if I smoked 1% of what Rogan or other high-functioning stoners smoke, but I think it’s as interesting to know about their stories as it is to hear about people whose lives have been sadly ravaged by drugs.
Also, would you hold the same standard to drug-negative articles? Must they cover the positive side of drugs in a way that's realistic?
It's would be weird to drop in figures about drug deaths in this article or something like that. I don't see why that would be relevant.
But it'd be good if there was some more critical reflecting done. Perhaps your drug days would be remembered less fondly if a friend died of an OD? Or maybe you were shielded from the criminal elements of drugs. Perhaps you avoided catching any of the lifechanging STDs that run rampant amongst drug users.
It's the "it can't possibly happen to me" mentality that these nostalgia-fueled articles have that rubs me the wrong way.
With that said, I do think anti-drug messaging needs to confront other positive aspects of drug use, particularly in controlled clinical settings. Many staunch anti-drug people haven't even heard of it because they simply don't encounter it in their usual reading material.
Perhaps having a friend who died of an OD isn't actually that common amongst MDMA users on the dance scene?
Why does it rub you up the wrong way that this person has positive recollections?
Drug deaths from MDMA are not very common, certainly compared to drug deaths from (for example) alcohol. As such, someone who did ecstasy at dance clubs in their youth may be less likely to have lost a mate than those who drink. Maybe that’s why she doesn’t talk about that?
> it can't possibly happen to me
But there's the rub - 'it' didn't.
Are we all supposed to be sorry for having had a good time and come away happier for it?
Of course everything has risks. But nobody demands an article about the pleasures of equestrianism to include a warning about traumatic brain injury and paralysis risks.
[0] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/feb/11/drugs-...
Edit: btw I think all drugs should be decriminalised.
Drugs effect everyone differently. People use them for different reasons. People experience different outcomes from taking them.
You can talk about 'appropriate' but you're assuming that they must talk about the negative aspects. Why? If some people have a positive experience with drugs why do we need to pretend they're lying?