Hmmm.... I believe that "good" and "bad" are just words here.
It is my opinion that drugs are neither "good" nor "bad". They are one of the biggest grey areas in life. What they are is what you make of them. I believe that it's bad to abuse drugs, but it's not good or bad to use them. It is my opinion that use turns into abuse when you take more than you know you should just for the hell of it, or when you forget that some drugs can and will screw up your life. Some people use drugs as a spiritual practice. Ever heard of Ayahuasca, Mescaline, Toad Venom (5-MeO-DMT), Salvia divinorum? It's neither good nor bad. It just is. It exists.
Another fantastic example is cocaine. The natives of SA used Cocaine as a stimulant, similar to coffee, and to cure altitude sickness. They would chew the leaves and that was that. It was no worse that coffee. Then one day a scientist isolated the alkaloid cocaine, and all of the sudden it becomes an evil substance that will screw you over a hundred times...No. It's not the substance in this scenario, it's the dosage. What's worse than cocaine? Crack, or Freebase cocaine. Someone wasn't happy enough with Cocaine so they synthesized a smokeable form, further abusing the substance. Now we have a substance that is a chemical frankenstein, nothing like nature intended. Cocaine was originally made illegal because of racism, not because people thought it was evil.
Look at GHB. Originally it was a body builders supplement. Now that people are selfish and abuse it, it's the date violent act drug. Not everyone who uses it uses it to violent act, believe it or not some people take it themselves. Did you know that GHB and DMT are in your body this very second? Of course the amount is miniscule, on the scale of micrograms, but it's there just the same. Something kind of cool to think about.
Look at Ecstacy. Originally it was a theraputic drug. Then one day, people got greedy and stupid and started overdosing. They ruined it for the rest of us that are responsible.
I believe MJ was illegalized to keep a few white rich men in power. I hope my friend chimes in on the MJ history, because it's not my area of expertise.
In western society some people have a problem where they think drugs are "evil". They give drugs a persona. How can they be evil? How can they be good? They are inanimate objects. What they are is how you use it. They can be heaven or hell, agony and ecstacy, or they can do nothing at all untill you combine them with an MAOI. All the glitters is cold. Remember that.
I am in no way advocating drug use. I do, however, think that it's important to understand the history and chemical nature of any particular drug before you pass judgement.
If you ever get a chance, watch Hooked: Illegal drugs and how they got that way. It's on the History channel often and very informative. It's a series of documentaries covering opiates, MJ, club drugs, etc.
Auctually, I just looked it up on historychannel.com It comes on this December 11th. Oddly enough, it's about cocaine this month.
"Derived from South America's coca leaf, cocaine was touted as a cure-all in the late 19th century and was the secret ingredient in many medicines and elixirs such as Coca-Cola. But cocaine's allure quickly diminished as racism entered the picture--the concept of the "cocaine-crazed Negro" even led police to strengthen the caliber of their guns from .32 to .38. We'll see how, though it was outlawed in 1914, its popularity soared in the 1980s and '90s and gave birth to a deadlier form--crack."
Just to reiterate, I do not in any way advocate drug use.
I'm particularly proud of this post. It's close to my heart.