Every single person I know that does drugs performs at or less than their potential. I've never done anything except for caffeine and alcohol, but this perspective you write about is overrated when it comes at the cost of performance, work ethic, and the possible risk of life altering addiction. It should, of course, be legal to do so.
Part of the reason why people want others to use the same drug is to feel less guilty about their using. That goes for people pressuring others to drink alcohol at parties, in high school to try cigarettes, in college to try marijuana, and other substances. The fact that there is a person in a group who is consciously not using the drug brings the idea to mind that using that particular drug might not be the best long term investment. Note that this does not apply to friendly advice given once (which I have no problem with), but it certainly applies to repeated social pressure or emotional blackmail. Even the grandparent borders on that territory: if you don't use drugs you can't be trusted, you have neither an open mind nor a deep perspective, and you're a wimp.
If anybody who is encouraging others to use a drug wants to see the other side of the coin, try ordering a tea or water instead of a beer at a bar, and see how people react. Repeatedly I have been asked what I wanted to drink, answered tea or water, and a couple of minutes later a beer arrives. Don't be so boring, it's here now, drink it! Note that sometimes I do drink alcoholic beverages, so it's not even that they want me to experience something new. I never replace other people's drinks by tea, heck I've gladly helped people buy marijuana (legally).
P.S. my kid brother is addicted to cigarettes and it's certainly not because one day somebody suggested it to him as friendly advice and he thought "Wow, you're right, smoking cigarettes would be so beneficial for me".
To be fair, the stigma attached to people who use these drugs is, I think, wrong. I call it "wrong" because I think the negative associations with "doing drugs" contribute to the rate of bad experiences and, given that people are going to use drugs, I'd rather they not have bad trips.
I think it's unwise but not immoral. And a person who has taken a drug and is having a difficult experience shouldn't be thinking thoughts like, "this is wrong and I knew it is wrong and that's why I'm suffering" because that will enhance the bad-trip/panic-attack element but, instead, "I made a decision and now I'm having this experience and the only thing I can do is learn from it".
I like the Eastern approach to morality better than the Abrahamic one. Negative actions aren't "immoral" and don't make you a "dirty" person; they're unskillful and, given that we've been in samsara for a long time, we've all done a lot of extremely unskillful things.
For me it is really simple: other people get to use their bodies as they see fit and I get to use mine the same way. I don't judge my friends that drink, smoke or do drugs. If that is what they think is the best way for them to live then that is their freedom.
"> Part of the reason why people want others to use the same drug is to feel less guilty about their using.
I think that about sums it up."
that is an extremely negative judgement.
So you think that anyone who recommends a drug to you is doing do for the selfish reason that this makes them feel "less guilty" about something they actually consider wrong?
I think you're right on about sugar. The amount of it that people are consuming is ridiculous. Obesity in the U.S. is a real problem. I've seen people ruin their lives with soda. One person I know is at least 300 pounds (135 kg) and most of it is from soda. He drinks, on average, 4 20-oz (590mL) bottles per day. That's 960 empty calories, or a pound of fat every 4 days (!).
Also, I know a couple people who are now dealing with the end stages of diabetes. Really ugly stuff.
I've used psilocybin twice and both times it busted me out of a long-lasting and difficult bout of depression. I should use psilocybin more often to maintain a healthy and happy outlook on life (or maybe just quit the startup world and do something more sane).
You might not know which people you know use drugs. Unfortunately, due to the illegality of many useful and helpful drugs, more harmful ones have become popular. Not all drugs are created equal.
