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
There is held to be no surer test of civilization than the increase per head of the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Yet alcohol and tobacco are recognizable poisons, so that their consumption has only to be carried far enough to destroy civilization altogether.
—Havelock Ellis (1859–1939) British Essayist, Physician
Words are the most powerful drugs used by mankind.
—Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) British Writer, Poet, Novelist, Short Story Author
Half of the modern drugs could well be thrown out of the window, except that the birds might eat them.
—Martin H. Fischer
Cocaine is God’s way of saying you’re making too much money.
—Robin Williams (1951–2014) American Actor, Comedian, Voice Artist
Under the pressure of the cares and sorrows of our mortal condition, men have at all times, and in all countries, called in some physical aid to their moral consolations—wine, beer, opium, brandy, or tobacco.
—Edmund Burke (1729–97) British Philosopher, Statesman
Take me, I am the drug; take me, I am hallucinogenic.
—Salvador Dali (1904–89) Spanish Painter
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
Nobody saves America by sniffing cocaine,
jiggling your knees blankly in the rain.
When it snows in your nose
you catch cold in your brain.
—Allen Ginsberg (1926–97) American Poet, Activist
Thou hast the keys of Paradise, oh just, subtle, and mighty opium!
—Thomas de Quincey (1785–1859) English Essayist, Critic
Which is better: to have fun with fungi or to have Idiocy with ideology, to have wars because of words, to have tomorrow’s misdeeds out of yesterday’s miscreeds?
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English Humanist, Pacifist, Satirist, Short Story Writer
The real question is why are millions of people so unhappy, so bored, so unfulfilled, that they are willing to drink, snort, inject or inhale any substance that might blot out reality and give them a bit of temporary relief.
—Ask Ann Landers (1918–2002) American Advice Columnist (Ruth Crowley/Eppie Lederer)
A fool who, after plain warning, persists in dosing himself with dangerous drugs should be free to do so, for his death is a benefit to the race in general.
—H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American Journalist, Literary Critic
No monster vibration, no snake universe hallucinations. Many tiny jeweled violet flowers along the path of a living brook that looked like Blake’s illustration for a canal in grassy Eden: huge Pacific watery shore, Orlovsky dancing naked like Shiva long-haired before giant green waves, titanic cliffs that Wordsworth mentioned in his own Sublime, great yellow sun veiled with mist hanging over the planet’s oceanic horizon. No harm.
—Allen Ginsberg (1926–97) American Poet, Activist
We have drugs to make women speak, but none to keep them silent.
—Anatole France (1844–1924) French Novelist
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
Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction.
—Bob Marley (1945–81) Jamaican Musician, Singer, Songwriter
Self-pity is easily the most destructive of the non-pharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality.
—John W. Gardner (1912–2002) American Activist
Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we’re looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn’t test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.
—P. J. O’Rourke (1947–2022) American Journalist, Political Satirist
Everything one does in life, even love, occurs in an express train racing toward death. To smoke opium is to get out of the train while it is still moving. It is to concern oneself with something other than life or death.
—Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) French Poet, Playwright, Film Director
Tobacco and opium have broad backs, and will cheerfully carry the load of armies, if you choose to make them pay high for such joy as they give and such harm as they do.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
A drug is neither moral nor immoral—it’s a chemical compound. The compound itself is not a menace to society until a human being treats it as if consumption bestowed a temporary license to act like an asshole.
—Frank Zappa (1940–93) American Rock Guitarist, Singer, Composer
Drugs are not always necessary, but belief in recovery always is.
—Norman Cousins (1912–1990) American Political Journalist
If even a small fraction of the money we now spend on trying to enforce drug prohibition were devoted to treatment and drug rehabilitation, in an atmosphere of compassion not punishment, the reduction in drug usage and in the harm done to users could be dramatic.
—Milton Friedman (1912–2006) American Economist
Drug misuse is not a disease, it is a decision, like the decision to step out in front of a moving car. You would call that not a disease but an error of judgment.
—Philip K. Dick (1928–82) American Writer, Science Fiction Author
Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.
—Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) British Writer, Poet, Novelist, Short Story Author
I don’t respond well to mellow, you know what I mean, I have a tendency to… if I get too mellow, I ripen and then rot.
—Woody Allen (b.1935) American Film Actor, Director
If you think dope is for kicks and for thrills, you’re out of your mind. There are more kicks to be had in a good case of paralytic polio or by living in an iron lung. If you think you need stuff to play music or sing, you’re crazy. It can fix you so you can’t play nothing or sing nothing.
—Billie Holiday (1915–59) American Jazz Singer
Reality is the crutch for people who can’t cope with drugs.
—Lily Tomlin (b.1939) American Comedy Actress
Opiate. An unlocked door in the prison of Identity. It leads into the jail yard.
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1913) American Short-story Writer, Journalist
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