It's A Trip

I'm still busy, busy, busy, painting and helping a friend move. I'm grateful on both counts that the weather is staying good here in "winter rain central," but it's not leaving me much time to read and write. I am going through a bit of withdrawal, but hope to catch up soon. Speaking of withdrawal, I did read this one rather trippy article from New Scientist, by Gaia Vince (because it came to my email inbox, and it was a quick fix.) It was about legal highs, all the recreational designer drugs that are just a step or two in front of the laws in many parts of the world. Apparently, as soon as one drug becomes illegal, there are a couple (or a couple dozen) more to take its place.

I actually don't really get the appeal of mind-altering drugs. It's a rare day when I even have more than a half a glass of wine. Personally, I prefer to remain in total control of my faculties. I have never wanted to have to apologize later for mistakes I've made while surrendering up my self-control to a pill, or a mushroom. I make enough mistakes as it is, without willingly compounding the problem. I had surgery a few years ago and kept asking my husband repeatedly if I was sounding lucid, or whether I was babbling incoherently about fish climbing up the IV pole, and hobbits surfing in my jello. No, drug use just ain't my cup of tea. I know, though, that a lot of people put an awful lot of effort into temporarily changing their mental state, whether I understand why, or not. In any case, I had no idea there was so much going on in the world of legal psychoactive substances. Many of them are being touted as safer alternatives to the illegal varieties. However, Vince's article does make it clear that, while they may be legal, there are still plenty of drawbacks to these "safer" drugs, including some nasty side effects. You can read the article for yourself to draw your own conclusions.