Why Is Drug Use on the Rise?

An issue came up in discussing my recent article advocating drug legalization: Why are so many people abusing drugs and alcohol? Why is this such a persistent problem in our culture — and would it still be a problem in a more rational culture?

First of all, I think it is important to make a distinction between drug use and drug abuse. Humans have probably always sought out and used mind-altering substances. Evidence suggests the we were drinking alcohol at least 13,000 years ago. But our forebears may have consumed ethanol in some form or another for the past ten million years! And while alcohol may be the most ubiquitous mind-altering substance, it is far from the only one with a long history. Archaeologists have found evidence of opium use in Europe by 5,700 BC, and cannabis seeds have been found at archaeological digs in Asia from 8,100 BC.

Ayn Rand, while a staunch advocate for legalizing all drugs, also firmly believed that mind-altering drugs were immoral. And yet…she didn’t seem averse to a celebratory glass of champagne, and the heroes in her novels were not teetotalers. So I take her opposition to the use of marijuana and other recreational drugs to be an area, like her views on homosexuality, where her views were formed due to limited (and sometimes false) information. I do believe there is a rational way to use many mind-altering substances. There may be some that are simply too dangerous to ever be used, but that would be a scientific question rather than a moral one. Morally, I don’t think it is wrong to alter your mind in specific, delimited circumstances. Caffeine is probably the most widely used mind-altering substance in the world today and while it too can be abused, I think most people benefit from their cup or two of morning joe. I know I do. Similarly, a glass of wine with dinner may help someone to relax from a stressful, productive day. This relaxation may help them to continue being busy and productive longterm.

I have no personal experience with drugs like cocaine or heroin, but I have taken Tylenol with Codeine (an opiate) on occasions for severe pain and found it helpful. I also don’t have any experience with psychedelics, but there is quite a bit of evidence emerging that they too can be used in beneficial ways to treat conditions like PTSD, anxiety, and depression. So I don’t think a simple Just Say No approach is rational or likely to be persuasive to most people.

On the other hand, not everyone is able to use drugs rationally and responsibly. It seems clear that some people are prone to addiction. There are likely genetic factors that increase susceptibility to substance abuse. But while there have always been alcoholics and drug addicts, drug use (and abuse) is everywhere on the rise. Neither human nature nor genetics suddenly changed, so what accounts for it?

Of course, a worldwide problem like this undoubtedly has multi-factorial causes, but I think at root drug abuse is an attempt to escape reality. Materially, the world has never been richer, so what are so many people eager to escape from? Despite our affluence, I think we are experiencing a philosophical crisis. Ayn Rand pointed out that humans need a philosophy in order to live. In “Philosophy: Who Needs It,” she wrote, “Your only choice is whether you define your philosophy by a conscious, rational, disciplined process of thought and scrupulously logical deliberation — or let your subconscious accumulate a junk heap of unwarranted conclusions, false generalizations, undefined contradictions, undigested slogans, unidentified wishes, doubts and fears, thrown together by chance, but integrated by your subconscious into a kind of mongrel philosophy and fused into a single, solid weight: self-doubt.” I think Rand was spot on, and the increase we are seeing in drug abuse is the result of the self-doubt brought on by people who have assembled a “junk heap” of often contradictory ideas. This has always been a huge problem, and has always resulted in a tremendous amount of suffering. So why does it seem to be worse now?

I think it’s because the quality of the ideas in the “junk heap” has been steadily deteriorating. When America was founded and enlightenment ideas were widespread in the culture, average, unthinking people could randomly pick up a pretty workable set of ideas, which would allow them to prosper and attain a measure of happiness. They were not as happy and prosperous as they could have been, had they done the work of choosing and integrating the right ideas, but they could do all right.

But today, many of the ideas floating around in the cultural are anti-enlightenment. If you unthinkingly accept a collection of these ideas, you are unlikely to prosper or find happiness. You will notice that you’re not doing as well as your parents did, either economically, romantically, or socially. As a result, you will be filled with doubt, with dread, with a sense that something is wrong with the world — but you don’t know what or how to fix it. I believe this is the feeling that people desperately want to escape — and so they turn to drugs that numb or relieve these feelings, at least temporarily.

While I’m sure there are benefits to be found in a variety of drug and alcohol treatment programs, I don’t think we’re likely to make much progress on substance abuse until people deal with the underlying philosophical crisis driving the abuse. In the meantime, though, making drugs legal would provide a huge benefit, both to those struggling with abuse issues, and more importantly, to those of us who don’t use drugs or who are able to use them responsibly.