I’m talking about the hard illegal drugs. Cocaine, crack, heroine, crystal meth, marijuana, etc. Please, just say no. Don’t do that stuff.

Number One: You shouldn’t do them because they’re illegal (other than the places where medical marijuana is legal, but I’ll get to that later). That really should be the only reason you need. Whether you agree that they should be or not (I’ll get to THAT too), in most cases they are. So you don’t want to mess with that. I’m especially addressing the Black and other POC readers here, because our communities are the ones who re most affected by this. With some of these Draconian drugs laws and mandatory minimum sentencing, some states worse than others, one tiny little mistake can irrevocably ruin your whole life. I could post some links, but look it up yourselves if you’d don’t believe me, I’ve read some absolute horror stories about non-violent drug crimes. A 19 year old straight-A college student who didn’t use drugs, had some scummy boyfriend who told her to deliver some package to someone, it turned out to contain some drugs, she got caught with it and next thing you know, she’s in jail for 20 years for possession. It’s insane. So don’t use drugs, sell drugs, or associate with people who use or sell drugs. The law looks for any reason it can to look Black folks up, so don’t give them one. It’s just not worth the risk.

Now, if it were up to me, I would probably decriminalize some drugs, especially marijuana. Because that drives down the crime associated with drug-selling, as we saw when the American government prohibited alcohol. Prohibition just makes things worse, it’s simply bad policy. Marijuana does seems to be the least-harmful of all illegal drugs. I’ve been around people who were high, and I’ve been around people who are drunk, and people who are high are much easier to be around. Drunk people get crazy, stupid, loud, they want to fight or just act reckless. People who are high just want to chill, kick back, and eat. So the semi-Libertarian in me says if you want to get high from time to time, that’s your business. You should have the right to do so.

But just because I think you should have the right to do something, doesn’t mean that I advise doing it. I think you should have the right to go out and have sex with random strangers every night, but I still don’t think that’s a good idea (the increased risk of diseases, getting mixed up with the wrong person that could threaten your personal safety, etc.). I’ve never smoked marijuana, and I’ve had plenty of opportunities to do so in relatively safe environments (where I was unlikely to get caught), including my own home. I was at one party where they had marijuana brownies, but I wouldn’t even eat one of those. No, I’m not one of those people who says that if you smoke marijuana you’re going to ruin your life or something, that’s not true. Heck, I’ve got an uncle who smokes weed all the time and he’s a college professor and published author. But I’d still advise against it. It’s simple, I don’t want to mess with my brain. That’s what marijuana does. In that way it’s actually worse than alcohol, because you can have a drink of alcohol just for the taste and have it not affect your brain. But the entire purpose of smoking marijuana is to get high. Why do you want to do that?

Yes I know that sometimes life is stressful, and you need to unwind. But marijuana isn’t the answer. It’s an artificial means of unwinding. Try exercising, going to the beach, meditating, read a book, whatever. Please, think about it. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. So don’t waste it.