The New Intoxication - part 2: Core Topic

     In the previous post I introduced a discussion of the topic of the consumption of substances, moderation and the like.

     Now on to the essential matter of this article, the "new" intoxication—are we being intoxicated by prescription drugs? Sometime around the middle of the 19th century the overuse of drugs, for various reasons, became endemic in parts of Europe and America. We must survey this periodic occurrence through time where cultures have driven their societies to destruction because of gluttonous behavior. Some historians would argue that this was one causes of the fall of the Roman Empire. In any case, since the dawn of modern history opiates, their derivatives and other sorts of intoxicants have been harvested and used for various reasons: as a physical, mental and emotional anesthetic (including a way to escape reality), sedation, religious ceremonies and general recreation. Now, largely due to the amount of money poured into the research and development of drugs as a result of the exponential increase of consumer demand and scientific technological advancements, mental alteration has become an industry of medicine. Rightly or wrongly, no one can doubt the far-reaching promulgation of and desire for prescription drugs that function as chemical agents for behavioral change, mood alteration, and the curbing or elimination of depression, especially in the affluence of Northern Europe, Canada and America. This popular desire brings into question the real difference between ingesting alcohol or even illicit drugs and ingesting prescription mood-altering drugs for what may in some cases be the same purpose. Are there different reasons for taking either classification of drugs, do their effects accommodate the motives behind their particular use, and are their effects substantially different? I will attempt to answer in some way, a couple of these questions, but the others are asked simply to generate thoughtful discussion of this topic among God’s people.

     In the next post I plan to continue the discussion by introducing the topic of the motivations of consumption.