They say, you are what you eat,but maybe it is closer to the truth to say you are the way you live. A look at how we live shows that our use of alcohol and other mind-altering drugs has become a way of life. Living the high life gradually takes on a chemical hue until we can't party,swim,ski, or make love without being high. Eventually, Saturday night without a chemical boost is unthinkable.
Generally, what's true for the drink is also true for the pill,the joint,the fix,etc. The major difference is that with alcohol it might take years, and with drugs only a few months. In any case what starts as a means to an end (a social lubricant,a friendly joint,a party snort),can slowly become the end in itself.
We use it for psychic pain,lonliness, feeling "ill at ease" and we also use it to celebrate and to mourn.
Thus, what starts as fun and games, the beautiful life,or the high life turns for many into a lifestyle disease, It goes from: "This is the life!" to "This is life?" to "Life on the rocks,"and "life in the pits!"
In part we must unlearn our chemical lifestyle.