N.C. Raves: Drugs as tools
Raves, media, and the law : Drugs as tools (3 of 9)

 

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"We can't just talk about 'drugs' as one thing," says Todd Morman, a long-time ravegoer from Raleigh, who argues that some drugs can be used in a very beneficial, even spiritual, way. MORE
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Morman complains that many drugs -- from the relatively innocuous to the very dangerous -- are lumped together and given a collective bad rap. He argues that drug use doesn't necessarily mean drug abuse.

"I would definitely stand up and say that empathogens like Ecstacy, hallucinogens like mushrooms, consciousness-expanding drugs ... have a place in the search for spirituality," he says. "I'm not going to endorse them for everybody, and I definitely don't think kids should be doing them."

Though psilocybin mushrooms, LSD and ecstacy have not been shown to be physically addictive, they can have unpleasant and dangerous effects. "Just ask anyone who's had a horrible trip," Morman says. "Now try having a horrible trip when you're 15, out in a crowd of a thousand people."

Still, Morman says hallucinogens have a place for adults who want to spiritually explore their minds -- "not just to have a good time and get fucked up," he argues, "but to actually go inside. Humans have always used drugs that way, all throughout recorded history."

Morman admits that not everyone in the rave scene uses drugs for the reasons he's suggesting. "There are people in the rave scene that do drugs in an idiotic, stupid way," he says. "[They] come for the drugs and then they don't add anything to the vibe." TOP