Thoughts from the void: Retrospective Lifetime Study of Personal Drug Usage

At the age of forty four, looking back at my life, I decided to assess my behavior till date in terms of drug usage. In terms of drugs, it has been tobacco, alcohol and ganja. There was only one instance when I recall consuming psychedelic mushrooms but this I am not even sure about.

The signs that I would be a smoker were evident from a young age. Around the age of 7 or 8, I would roll paper and fill it with talcum powder and pretend to be puffing on a cigarette. The earliest consumption of tobacco was possibly when I was around ten years old. Around this time I would pick up cigarette butts tossed on the road by passersby and try and take a couple of drags. Between the age of ten and seventeen I have consumed tobacco as cigarettes, approximately a dozen times, mostly between the age of 10 and 14. I avoided tobacco quite strictly since then till I was 18. After the age of eighteen consumption of tobacco was minimal till the age of thirty five.It was the rare cigarette when having a drink with friends. From the age of thirty five till date there has been a marked increase in tobacco consumption in the form of ready made or rolled cigarettes, beedis and occasional cigars. I am currently averaging at less than a total of 100 cigarettes and 400 beedies a year. Tobacco is looking like its consumption will continue at similar levels for the foreseeable future and it is one drug whose intake I don't want to increase much further but which may increase due to the difficulty of accessing ganja.

Alcohol consumption started at the age of seventeen, with the occasional beer, and moved to hard liquor within the next couple of years. Since then, till date, alcohol consumption possibly peaked between the age of twenty five and thirty five after which it has dipped. At peak consumption time, alcohol was consumed at a maximum of about three days a week. Since the age of thirty five there has been a marked dip with alcohol being consumed around a couple of dozen times a year in relatively large quantities bordering on binge drinking (180+ml of hard liquor or 2500ml+ of beer) and possibly a couple of dozen times in small quantities (60-120ml of hard liquor or 500-1000ml beer). During peak consumption periods, there were numerous times when I consumed alcohol alone but since then it is mostly social drinking in the company of friends. Alcohol consumption in the foreseeable future looks like continuing along recent patterns with the possible increase in frequency of drinking small quantities and a reduction in the frequency of binge drinking and social drinking.

Ganja consumption started around the age of seventeen and has possibly peaked in the last ten years. From the age of seventeen till thirty five, smoking ganja has been on an average about 30 joint days (a joint a day) in a year. At peak periods i.e. in the last ten years it has possibly more than doubled to about about 75 joint days in a year. The desirable consumption for ganja is at least 200 joint days for the foreseeable future. This is currently severely constrained by the non-availability of the herb.

No other drugs in the form of opiates, prescription drugs, synthetic cannabinoids and other chemical drugs have been consumed by me for recreational or medical purposes, nor is there a desire to consume the same in the future. I have avoided prescription drugs, even for common illnesses, since I was 18, believing that the body left to itself and given adequate time and rest can heal itself and build up the necessary immunity.

Looking at the above aspects of behavior, I believe that the peaking in these behaviors and their subsequent stabilization is in line with normal biological and social changes from youth to early adulthood to mature adulthood. The consumption of alcohol, tobacco or ganja have not adversely affected the normal course of biological development in me. The restricted access to ganja does continue to result in its substitution with alcohol and tobacco on occasions. More easy availability of ganja will enable me to increase its proportions and reduce the proportions of the other two, more harmful drugs i.e. alcohol and tobacco, in my mix of recreational intake but when, and if, this does happen remains to be seen. In terms of withdrawal, I have observed it to be greatest in terms of tobacco i.e. nicotine, with it being negligible in my case with regard to alcohol and ganja.

Overall the past, current and projected use of all three drugs is something I am satisfied with and is not a matter of great concern for me.

Related articles
Personal ganja consumption review 2020
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2021/01/personal-ganja-consumption-review-2020.html

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Monday 14 January 2019

Retrospective Lifetime Study of Personal Drug Usage

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