Nearly four years ago, I was discussing starting a blog on the Hendon Times website. I had an agenda that I hadn't really told them about. I wanted to write about the local music scene. I wanted to promote local bands and local musicians. But there were also another couple of subjects that were on the radar. You probably think you know what they might be, if you've read the blog for a while. You are probably wrong.
The subject I wanted to cover was drugs. I happen to believe that the we are all victims of a criminal conspiracy. We are surrounded by drugs, most of us are drug addicts and we don't even realise. Tea and coffee contain caffiene which is a stimulant. If you drink a few cups of either on a daily basis, then the reason you have a headache when you do a detox is because of the withdrawal. But that isn't really the point I am interested in.
What concerns me is the lack of honesty in the information we are given about illegal and legal drugs. The big pharm companies make billions of pounds a year from their products, many of which are simply palliatives for completely avoidable conditions. Do you eat your five portions of vegetables a day? Do you drink a litre and a half of water a day? Do you thoroughly wash all fruit and vegetables, to remove pesticides before you eat them? Have you had your cholesterol, your PSA level and your liver function checked recently? How many cigarettes did you smoke before you read this blog today? How many pints did you drink last night?
How did I get on with these?
Do you eat your five portions of vegetables a day? Yes, I had nine portions
Do you drink a litre and a half of water a day? Nope, I had about half a litre
Do you thoroughly wash all fruit and vegetables, to remove pesticides before you eat them? I only eat organic
Have you had your cholesterol, your PSA level and your liver function checked recently?Yes
How many cigarettes did you smoke before you read this blog today? Three (which is a once in a blue moon event because I was pissed and stressed - but that is another story)
How many pints did you drink last night? Lost count after seven
So how did I do yesterday? Pretty shite really, but hey when you bump into a friend and they need a chat about serious problems at work, then it can have a bad effect on your good intentions. So I woke up this morning and thought "Why did I do that". The answer is because I was indulging in our favourite legal drug to excess. I don't consider myself to have an issue with alcohol, I drink less days than I abstain. But when I start and I'm in a pub with friends, I tend to stay there until I get chucked out. I'd still be there now, if it hadn't shut. Alcohol causes more social problems in the UK than all of the other drugs put together. Most of us have done things we regret under the influence. I do regularly and I never learn. But then again, I suspect alcohol has given me more than it has taken. I've probably met all of the women I've ever been serious about, since I left school, under the influence. When tragedy has struck me, I've drunk myself through the problems. Alcohol is a constant friend in such times. I work in a homeless shelter as a volunteer one day a week. Most of the people who visit have some sort of issue with drink/drugs or both. Does it scare me? Not really. I think I'm alright. Trouble is we are all alright with things until we are not.
I was discussing another friend at the pub last night. I'd had a few too many and the friend I was talking to was well past his limit, it was 10pm and he'd been drinking since lunchtime. We were discussing another friend who has serious issues with alcohol and who's life has fallen apart. Can he turn his life around. Sadly, I suspect that often this only happens, when you reach rock bottom and there is no one left to turn to or bail you out. Our friend seems not to have hit this, will he before the drink kills him? He's an adult and he's made his choices. We as friends have no choice but to watch the car crash unfold in front of us.
So what am I really saying? That we need to grow up. We need to have a proper discussion about the pervading wider drug culture in this country. I don't believe that such problems can be legislated away. I believe that they should be managed far better. All that happens at the moment is we put sticking plasters over the symptoms. I'm not an expert.
For some reason I awoke with the classic track about drug abuse and chaotic lifestyles - No Xmas for John Quays by The Fall - echoing around my head. I was reflecting on the lines in it - There is no Christmas for junky, He thinks he is More interesting Than the world, Ah but five fags Puts him in a whirl - and that I think is the issue. I believe addiction is linked to vulnerability and insecurity. When we have these campaigns such as TALKTOFRANK, I see nothing about "dealing with vulnerability and insecurity". Sadly I think this is why we are in the mess we find ourselves. Whether it is having a couple of drinks, so we have the courage to ask the person we fancy out, or the bottle of scotch to cope with our partner calling us a dickhead and telling us that they hate us and want to separate, or the lovin' spoonfull of Golden Brown to take away the pain of our abusive childhoods, the root cause is the same. We abuse substances because we don't like what we really are. Have a nice Saturday
No Xmas For John Quays,
By Mark E. Smith
No Christmas for John Quays
Come on get a bit of fucking guts into it
What what Well the powders reach you
And the powders teach you
But when you find they can't reach you
There is no Christmas for junky
He thinks he is
More interesting Than the world
Ah but five fags Puts him in a whirl
I'll have a packet of three-five fives
You fucking [full of money] or something for Christ's sake?
I'll have a packet of three-five fives
I'll have 20 of those over there
I'll have 20 No.6 for a headache
And I've had enough right there,
stop (Why is this)
Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah
He spits in the sky
It falls in his eye
And then he gets to sitting
Talking to his kitten
Talking about Frankie Lymon
Tell me why is it so?
Tell me why is it so?
Why did the sky break today?
Why did this happen today?
He gets out of his face with the Idle Race
He gets out of the room with this tune
Although the skins are thin
He knows its up to him
To go out or stay in
I'll stay in I'll stay in
Have a break
You Me X-Mas X-Mas
Well the powders reach you
And the powders teach you
But when you find they can't reach you
There is no Christmas for junky
There is no girls
Just the traffic passing by
Bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye
Open the room,
there's a cloud of smoke
Will you fucking get it together instead of showing off?
Give me one
Give me B
Give me three Give me D
No X-mas for John Quays
Whatever else is valuable, and even profound, in your post, Roger, you do not need to worry about drinking all that water. There is no research ever published that suggests there is any benefit from drinking any particular quantity of water.
ReplyDeleteJust do so to quench your thirst, when you wish, and there is plenty of water in beer.
But you attack "Big Pharma" because of its massive profits. They are indeed massive, but the "social contract" we have with the companies is that they make a lot of money on the successes, to pay for the research, and for all the failures that don't end up on the market. And a lot of that money comes to the UK.
It may be true that this model is breaking down, because all the "easy wins" on mass illnesses, in the West at least, have largely been made by now.
The piece is hardly erudition at its best.
ReplyDelete