Rattlekrait, you sound very much like my 17-year-old self. I was curious about the very same things.
First, from a Biblical perspective, we are warned against drunkenness - a sin that can cause immense misery, can lead to an addiction, if constantly drinking to excess. Other drugs (yes, alcohol is a drug) would be covered by these same teachings - altering your thinking, judgment and physical control is wrong. Period!
But back to my young self. While I did not go down the road into the drug culture, I did swerve pretty close to it. Mostly with my intense but short affair with getting drunk, and especially with Mary Jane. I did none of this until I was a senior in high school. All the "cool" kids who were getting loaded every weekend scared me. They were wild. It they got caught by the law or parents, it wasn't going to be a big deal. For me, with my dad - it would have been the death penalty (I barely exaggerate). But, in my senior year (1974-75), a few kids I'd known and hung out with since elementary school started getting stoned. I was curious, it didn't seem like it was hurting them, looked like they were having a blast (getting blasted). Well, pretty soon, I owned a bong and was having a great time - at FIRST.
What I discovered is that getting high is a LOT of fun until it becomes habitual - which doesn't take long at all - and it becomes just just another day, another party, just another high. But, at first, it's another, altered world, where everything seems hilarious, everything looks and seems different, and it's a cheap way to have a grand, old time! But I was very lucky! I could easily have graduated to cocaine, uppers, serious pills, acid, etc. That's where that scene leads, often. While I didn't do harder drugs and pills, I was certainly often in proximity to that culture. Even with my party pals, what I found out is that, mostly, people who enjoy getting high on a regular basis - well, that's what they do. And, eventually, pretty much ALL they do. Typically, everyone in that scene is constantly getting stoned. It's just no fun otherwise, to be sober and seeing a bunch of high or drunk people. Sober, you realize how immature and stupid they all acted.
At first, getting high is so fun, it seems to make your worries and problems go away (again, at first), that your intentions to just experiment are soon in the rear mirror. When something is so fun, it makes things exciting - well, why not enjoy that as much as possible, eh? So, that's exactly what I did. I could have very easily been busted at a house party, gotten a DUI/DWI, driving around stoned. Now, EVERYONE pretty much knows who the stoners are - it's no big secret because stoners always think they are cooler than those who don't partake, and they have big mouths, bragging about their latest parties. Eventually, there will always be people in that scene that graduate to other substances and will try to introduce them to you. While pot isn't physically addictive, it is VERY psychologically so. Of course, getting drunk goes hand in hand with getting stoned, so developing alcohol addiction is a very real possibility.
Most kids don't realize is that certain substances can cause addition VERY quickly. NO druggy ever thinks they can't handle whatever substance. They all think they can experiment for awhile, and stop anytime they sense a problem. But it doesn't work like that, as any substance abuser or addict can testify to. It's fun, you WANT to do it, then want to do it more often - addiction is a stealth thing, it sucks you in, looks oh so sexy, innocent, exciting, and before you know it...
So, that's the story from my hippie-dippy days. Rattlekrait, as you are a Christian, ask yourself WHY you would want to go against God's instructions for you not to get drunk (high), to not be in perfect control of your faculties at all times? If you think you are missing something cool and exciting, something you feel the need to experience - let me tell you, it's all hype and a road to NOWHERESVILLE! And today, it's far more dangerous, as there are far more powerful and dangerous chemicals mixed in and cut with just about everything. And you have absolutely NO idea what is in any pill, acid tab, or substance.
Believe me, even just fun stuff like pot is hard to just do a few times. Why go down this road? Why risk all the negatives? Why disobey God? It was only through my spiritual re-awakening that I escaped that stoner world. Eighteen months in, I was burned out. When I quit doing what all my pals were, I soon realized I had absolutely nothing in common with them, I realized they were going nowhere fast. And so, I realized the need to get new friends. I thank God for pulling me out of that time and scene, and that I did not get addicted to anything, never was arrested, etc. And all of that was entirely probable, as the mid-70s were just one big epidemic of everyone chasing some drug. And they didn't call it "high" school for nothing!
Sorry for the lengthy ancient history lesson, from the last century
. Rattle, I'll pray God touches your heart and conscience. And I'm so glad you actually asked the question! Stick around, there's always some fun, interesting discussions here.
