Those undertones you hear are only giving you half the story:  look at what happens to users.  Cocaine was legal and used by the intelligentsia initially.  Coca-Cola had cocaine;  Sherlock Holmes took it to eliminate boredom.  Prohibition in the U.S. was completely a moral-issue law, and was repealed a couple decades later.  Cocaine is still illegal 100 years later.  Why?  Because society discovered that it doesn&#x27;t turn out so well.<p>These &quot;high-performers&quot; mentioned by the parent post, do you want to live the lives they did?  O. Henry died when he was 47, in part due to liver cirrhosis. [1]  F. Scott Fitzgerald died when he was 44, in large part because of his drinking. [2]  Frankly &quot;The Great Gatsby&quot; feels kind of dingy and depressing, and I, personally, do not want to have the kind of experiences in my life that would enable me to write such a book.  Hemingway had four marriages and ended up committing suicide. [3]  All the people I know that have been through a divorce describe it as extremely painful;  to do it three times must leave a huge emotional scar.  Is that the kind of &quot;happier lives&quot; you want to lead?  Is it really high-performing to die at 44?  How much greater could they have been if they weren&#x27;t depressed, addicted, and&#x2F;or lived twice as long?  Have you read about the kind of lives alcoholics and their families have, let alone addicts of heavier drugs?  Do you like being out of control (because when you are addicted, the addiction controls you, not the other way around)?<p>Be wise.  Don&#x27;t believe the lie that you would be free if only those taboos weren&#x27;t holding you back.  What if there is a very good reason those taboos are there?<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;O._Henry" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;O._Henry</a><p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;F._Scott_Fitzgerald" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;F._Scott_Fitzgerald</a><p>[3] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Ernest_Hemingway" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Ernest_Hemingway</a>