Of all that Orient lands can vaunt, of marvels with our own competing, the strangest is the Haschish plant, and what will follow on its eating.
—John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–92) American Quaker Poet, Abolitionist
Only one thing is certain: if pot is legalized, it won’t be for our benefit but for the authorities . To have it legalized will also be to lose control of it.
—Germaine Greer (b.1939) Australia Academic, Journalist, Scholar, Writer
Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction.
—Bob Marley (1945–81) Jamaican Musician, Singer, Songwriter
Cocaine is God’s way of saying you’re making too much money.
—Robin Williams (b.1951) American Actor, Comedian
It is not opium which makes me work but its absence, and in order for me to feel its absence it must from time to time be present.
—Antonin Artaud (1896–1948) French Actor, Drama Theorist
Thou hast the keys of Paradise, oh just, subtle, and mighty opium!
—Thomas de Quincey (1785–1859) English Essayist, Critic
Opiate. An unlocked door in the prison of Identity. It leads into the jail yard.
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1913) American Short-story Writer, Journalist
Thou source of all my bliss and all my woe, that found me poor at first, and keep me so.
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730–74) Irish Novelist, Playwright, Poet
There seems to be no stopping drug frenzy once it takes hold of a nation. What starts with an innocuous HUGS, NOT DRUGS bumper sticker soon leads to wild talk of shooting dealers and making urine tests a condition for employment — anywhere.
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b.1941) American Social Critic, Essayist
Take me, I am the drug; take me, I am hallucinogenic.
—Salvador Dali (1904–89) Spanish Painter
Reality is just a crutch for people who can’t cope with drugs.
—Robin Williams (b.1951) American Actor, Comedian