THE ADDICT IN DENIAL NATION

I wonder, why can't we escape from drugs? Drugs are in every store, on
every TV channel, in all our magazines and even in our water.

Many are so omnipresent you may not even recognize them as drugs: alcohol,
sugar, fluoride, caffeine, aspirin, chocolate, nicotine. There are drugs
for those suffering from allergies, arthritis, acne and unsightly hair
(lost or found) -- just to name a few.

I wonder, when did "over the counter" start meaning "sold on huge racks in
groceries, supermarkets and convenience stores?" Why does any store you
visit offer at least three different options for curing headaches,
sniffles, coughing, menstrual cramps or sobriety? At what point did drugs
become okay in this culture?

Our founding fathers built their fortunes on cash crops like tobacco and
hemp -- but can that really be when we learned to turn to drugs as a
release, escape and cure all? Why did the pharmacy become a part of every
corner store? When did it become common to find sex enhancement pills,
Yellow Jackets and breath mints together on the front counter?

We all take drugs -- even the hardcore straight-edgers can be seen sucking
back a chocolate shake (sugar, caffeine, lactose). But that's okay for some
reason. These drugs are part of our civilization, they are part of the
thing every developing nation hungers for. It's another of those
consumables that sets us apart from the rest of the world.

What I don't quite understand is in this drug-filled, take two pills and
call me in the morning mentality, why are people still concerned about who
uses what drugs, and at what age? Why are we still clinging to 21 after
we've seen that alcohol is used more responsibly if it's legal at a younger
age? Why make a big deal about smoking at all? It's bad for you, and so is
chocolate cake, but who's going to say no?

We have so many drugs to choose from, why do people care if someone else
keeps using those 'certain' drugs -- crack, heroin, pot, LSD, ecstasy,
uppers, downers? It's their life, it's their choice and it's just making
foreign investment rich to make it illegal.

Just think of what we could do if we had all the drug dealers' money going
to the government instead? It would end the new taxes/no taxes debate.

Was it the hippie movement? Those pot-smoking, LSD-taking liberals who were
trying to change the world? Did they make drug use acceptable, popular and
acceptable? I don't think so. Sure they used a lot of drugs but that never
was their purpose. Drugs can't hold a candle to the rush of a sit-in, civil
disobedience, or telling Dad where to shove it.

There must be some other reason we to turn to drugs as sacred, saintly and
savior. Politicians like to speak eloquently about the shame of teenage
drinking and smoking, but tacitly ignore the results of studies showing
that children are more likely to be taking prescription drugs now then ever
before.

These are all symptoms of some underlying dysfunction. While I have no
answers -- that's not my major -- I wonder; when did we become a country of
drug users?