Drugged Couture

Yesterday, I shared with you Perm1 and how society had been overthrown by corporate power. Today I will be discussing drugs and sharing with you a world line I found quite fun.

"I can tell just by the climate and I can tell just by the style,
I was born and raised on venus and I may be here a while.
'Cause every supersonic jerkoff who plugs into the game,
Is just like every subatomic genius who just invented pain."

So, you ever have a morning cup of coffee? Or tea? Great! Welcome to the exciting world of drugs!

Everything you ingest, from nicotine to caffeine, alcohol, and turkey laced with triptaphen (it makes you sleep!) you're putting chemicals into your body. Your body, as it stands, is a collection of electro-chemical reactions. That gooey grey thing you use like a Cray between your ears is also altered by many substances you ingest everyday. Slightly, but still, altered.

In most world lines that have some type of Homo as the dominant species they were able to gain self reflection, art, and higher forms of consciousness by ingesting psychotropic drugs. This includes your world line, too. So thank those cavemen for eating the right mushrooms!

Drugs throughout your history have served as medicine, gateways to religious experiences, and party time fun. Some can be very bad for you--others actually help you. Still, others shouldn't even be allowed. (Here's looking at you crack, meth, heroin, and anything addicting!)

The bottom line is that hopefully soon your species will realize it's denying it's fellow human being a very important tool to gain new experiences through safe experimentation. Shamans do it, rock stars do it, artists do it, and those crazy Grecians were all about it.

Without chemical compounds in your brain, if all of it stops....consciousness stops. You're a veggie, a very unproductive paper weight. Your religions in your world line often glorify drug use, but most main stream ones says it's a no no. Because abstinence works! (Oh man, that hurt to type..)

Because your brain is nothing more than a walking pharmacy, utilizing certain drugs and having them go to your head produce some weird experiences. Many of them are eye opening. Psychotropic drugs are rarely done often, unless someone has an addictive personality. This is why they need to go to support groups. (I still love you guys, though! Keep it up!)

Asking whether or not drugs are good or bad is actually irrelevant. Just like all things, it all begins with the human who is choosing to do them. Please note that under any circumstances I do not approve of child or teenage experimentation. Your brain is still growing! Give yourself some time to form all the way biologically! It's for your own good, I promise.

In one particular permutation of 3100 A.D. I landed in a world where the hippie movement took off like wild fire. It united the world, made acid tests a holiday, and allowed the use of marijuana for adults. Most adults there actually use cannabis as an alternative to alcohol, since it's safer and produces less of a toll on your body.

In this world line Charles Manson got his record deal, the whole family thing didn't happen. Incidentally, Marilyn Manson is Marilyn Monsoon, a very popular drag queen.

The kids are taught about drug use in a responsible manner; programs like DARE don't work in your time because you're lying to your youngsters. And when they grow up, and find out that marijuana doesn't make you a drug crazed NAZI that sits on the couch and eats chips all day, they begin to wonder what else their supposed guiding lights lied to them about.

Luckily, in this time line, they quickly killed opium, heroin, and anything else that's rather addicting. They sent these people to Venus, hoping they could hold their breath. They haven't quite got this space thing down yet, but I'm sure they will.

Because they had a pleathora of rather safe drugs to ingest, they never looked for a coked out life style. This is why you have Starbucks, DUH!

When a drug becomes a lifestyle, it's no longer a drug. It's a problem. They do still have cigarettes though, but they've made great strides in fighting cancer. I think the pot's helping them mostly, to be honest. But it's not an FDA approved fact. Speaking of the FDA, let's review the American system for a bit. You'll be surprised, I promise.

At one point in the early 1900s Opium was the cure all. You could find it in many things, the most pervasive name brand of it was called Laudanum. Here's an idea...let's sell a cure all, make people addicted, and have them come back for more! (Just like something else...)

Currently, the FDA regulates a lot of products. From food, to drugs, you want an official seal of quality, ya gotta pay up! Otherwise, you can sell it as a homeopathic drug or something unapproved and unsubstantiated by the FDA. More and more, people aren't caring about the FDA. Because...well, they cause medication to be more expensive in the USA than Canada, or Mexico, or many other places.

A lot of drugs come from overseas. Like Germany...Glaxo Welcom, Pfizer, Bayer. Not only have there been tariffs but even if there's free trade agreements...they still gotta pay up, SUCKAS!

So what does all this money do for the FDA? You got me, 'cause I got sick eating peanut butter.

Permutation Two got over it's drug problems by ingraining it in their culture, religion, society. They're hippies, sure, but they mean well. Even if they don't shower often and love to light insence. They understood that no force in the world could destroy the drive for humans to ingest substances to alter their lives.

They did, however, catch on that if you want to control it you've got to start early. Teach your kids when to do it, when not to do it, and why it's not a good idea to do it until you're of legal age. In fact, not everyone in hippieland does drugs. They don't care if you do them or if you don't, they just don't wag a finger at those who do.

Some people skate board, fly planes, go skydiving, to an amusement park, pick up a book, turn on a teleivision. Others wish to connect with themselves, or make an experience different. They may safely ingest many substances to do this. But you must always remember three things:

1. Know your body

-Dosage, if never done, don't do it or do it at low levels

2. Know your limits

-Don't go over the brink where you're no longer in control of your conscious

3. Understand your surroundings

-Don't do it at birthday parties, funerals, work, going out to buy stuff (unless food. ;)

Drugs are not cures. They're band aids to life's problem, in the worst of circumstances. Mind you, yes, some people get easily depressed. They can take a pill, feel numbed'n'perky, but when they come off it--what do you have? You have an alcoholic taking a pill.

Many people disagree with this philosophy, but since your world line has yet to explore this side of the coin you can't really complain. Words are not actions and do not produce results, negative or otherwise.

Your world line saw a problem, and that problem wasn't drugs...it was advertising, utilizing human nature, and putting your fellow human into a state of bliss and well being. Getting rich, but killing karma.

Hopefully soon your species will understand it's fallacy and begin true reform. Money is money, and governments and corporations love it. And hey, to make you feel better about being taxed, they'll tell you they know exactly what the drug will do and that it's A-OKAY.

Yet Prozac remains a problem, it seems to cause people to go on shooting sprees. Other anti-depressants make you more suicidal when you're going off of them. They're man made for man, being tested and tempered in time.

The stuff the hippies do has been utilized by humans often for generations, or at least for a generally long enough term to know what some guideline limits are. Did you know acid is a synthetic derived from a fungus that grows on grain? This also explains the Salem Witch Trials. Atleast, I hope that's what happened. Otherwise...you guys scare me!