WAMC's Roundtable asked that question the other day with guest from an addiction recovery service. That guest not surpising focused most on the addiction part of drug use, ignoring the social deprivations in our society that promote illicit and often dangerous drug use. Reasons for drug use include living in a boring society, a desire to explore other realities, stress of our lives, and because it's cool. Let's consider each of them.

Our Society is Boring. There is no way really to test that statement, yet it seems that many people are turned off by our society that places conformity over individuality. Drugs appear to the novice as a way to get away, escapism from a boring society. We might be able to confront this type of drug usage by emphasizing people's creative sides and ensure that they have the freedom to express themselves as they so feel.

Experiencing Other Reality. For the typical person in our society, there is a percived limited opporunity to escape to even worlds nearby where they currently are right now. There is a lot of pressure for success and to focus on goals, and little time to spend exploring areas off the beaten path. Drugs seem to provide a way to get to those places, but never will be as successful as the individual trying to find other worlds that fit themselves better.

Stress of Life. Too much of our lives are high stress, surrounded by consumerism that forces us to work too many hours in a day. This is unfortunate and we find ourselves looking for ways out rather then fighting for what our society shapes us to desire. Yet, if we are bold we will take risks and find ways to balance the demands of surviving in a modern society with the need for us to clear our minds and think about the world. Do you really need that shiney new Silverado truck?

Because It's Cool. If you take all of the above reasons and mix them with peer pressure, it seems like avoiding recreational drug usage is impossible. When all your friends or peers use drugs openly or covertly as often is the case in middle and upper classes, avoiding drugs can be difficult. Yet, you have to question a society that makes a thing of drugs though not in open.

We probably should not deny the drug problem in our country, by suggesting only criminals use drugs. If you've ever taken an anti-depressent or anti-axiety drug, it's just as bad as smoking or popping pills from an illegal drugs. To say nothing of those classes of wine or beer people drink every night. Yet, throwing millions of black people behind bars who openly use drugs or sell it to the rest of us, isn't doing our country our favor. We must instead seek to build a society that provides all the benifits of drug use without the dangerous side-effects and addictions.

Imagine a world where everybody is inspired to do great things, where every day in life is truly exciting. That world does not exist yet, but through progressive leadership that makes our economy sensible and fair we can make life meaningful and exciting for the millions of Americans. People don't need to experience another reality or de-stress—it's just our society creates a need for that.