On Drugs and Pain

Usually, I would preface this conversation by saying that I don't condone the use of drugs, but that's a lie. I totally 100% condone the use of drugs. You're probably taking them anyways, you just don't like to acknowledge it that way. Drugs, the way I refer to them, is anything that alters regular homeostasis. I realize this a very broad definition, and that's just the way I intend to keep it because it means practically everything is a drug! Which I think is great, and true.

So, why do I enjoy drugs so much? First, we need to acknowledge what we are: we are humans; more specifically, we are Homo sapiens sapiens. Homo meaning human and sapiens meaning wise, we are 'human wise-wise', or humans that know that we know. As creatures that are aware of our knowledge, it seems only natural that we would want to play with and manipulate this knowledge, just like how we play with and manipulate things we know (e.g. our sense, other people, objects, etc.). How do we play with knowledge? By letting it be free and spontaneous! Now, this isn't an easy thing to do (it wasn't for me, at least); many years of formal Western education indoctrinates us to 'behave' and keep our thoughts in order so we can work on being the best we can be and contribute to a civil society. Indeed, after so many years of following suit, one forgets they are even wearing the suit! So it becomes rather difficult to remove the suit, unless we have some assistance (AKA drugs).

There are so many great and wonderful drugs that allow us to temporarily remove the suit and explore a state of mind that is actually beneficial to whatever goal we may have. A few examples I can think of: caffeine stimulates us to remove the suit of lethargy, cannabis removes the suit that aimlessly takes orders, and alcohol removes the suit of inhibitions. Perhaps my favorite though, is psilocybin (magic mushrooms). Really, any psychedlic is my favorite because of the profound unifying effects they have.

There was a recent study! that imaged people's brains before taking LSD and after, while they were on a "trip"; the after photos suggests an increased level of brain activity: more specifically, there were more regions of the brain that were active and communicating to each other, and some regions that had never spoken to each other finally got to meet! The reports conclude this activity may be responsible for the hallucinogenic and mystical experiences people usually encounter while on psychedelics. It makes sense to me. It would explain why I was able to feel orange and purple, and dissolve into the rest of the universe instead of identifying myself as separate from it. I wish I could tell you what orange and purple feel like, but that would be like me trying to explain noise sounds like to a deaf person. The senses to understand it are only available when your brain is coordinating in the necessary way it has to be.

Interestingly enough, the brain images of people tripping on LSD are very similar to those of babies! Little people who are discovering reality for the first time and using all their power and abilities to make sense of it. Now, why would people frown upon a substance that temporarily returns our perceptions to that of a child? It's not like you become a child - you still have your body, the knowledge you've collected over the years, and the ability to manipulate that knowledge to create the reality you want. Psychedelics just provide the conditions for you to combine that knowledge with the perspective that everything happening in this moment is new and authentic, because it is.

I frequently hear about people wanting to return to the innocence and playfulness of youth; to return to that feeling of discovery and AHA moments; to return to a time when all we knew was love, play, and each other - well, this is one way to do it. Now, while I do condone the use of drugs, I don't condone for everyone to just take any drug they can find. There must, or at least should, be prior knowledge of the effects and impacts of the drug, a motivation to do them, and an experienced guide to point you in the right direction. Remember though, a guide can only point you in the right direction, it's up to you to take the first step and find your own way.

Obviously, drugs aren't going to solve all our problems. They were never meant to though. Painkillers weren't made so we could continue on simply ignoring our pain, they were made so we could endure that pain until we found a way to remedy it. Unfortunately, people perceive drugs as the solution, instead of a stepping stone to the solution. This is how we end up with addicts. But why do people make this mistake? There are many papers and voices that claim addiction isn't because of the desire to to create chemical changes that make us feel better; no, they claim addiction is caused because a lack of connection, human connection.

Nature has created us to be social creatures. It would be near impossible to survive on this death trap of a planet if we didn't work and live together. There's an innate need for us to bond with each other because different perspectives can provide us relief from the troubles we might be facing. However, when there is no connection to other people that can provide this relief, humans will connect to anything that will provide it: be it drinking, gambling, technology, or (America's favorite) painkillers.

Here's something interesting: a very popular and readily available drug, acetaminophen, (which is found in over 600 medicines) is used to treat pain. Researchers from Ohio State University found that 23 percent of American adults (around 52 million people) take medicine that contains acetaminophen each week. Keep in mind, this is just adults. This doesn't include the numerous kids and teenagers who take Advil, Motrin, ibuprofen, or Tylenol (all of which contain acetaminophen). Anyways, these researchers found that while the drug helps us reduce our ability to feel pain, it also reduces our ability to feel other people's pain, and joy as well! Feeling other people's pain and joy is a crucial element in empathy, and empathy is vital to forming bonds and connections between people. Now, is it so surprising that at a time when a quarter of our nation has a reduced ability to empathize, it is also one of the most divisive times in our nation's history? As if, we simply cannot create the connections necessary to understand each other.

Now, while I love and respect and appreciate the wonders that drugs have been able to bring us, I want to caution how quick we are to to find something that will mask, or remove our pain. The reason I love psychedelics so much is because they've shown me how necessary pain and suffering are; they aren't meant to be avoided because avoiding them means you avoid what they are inextricably connected, and that is joy and happiness.