If you get really drunk on a night out, you’ve got no right to criticize drug users

Your body ain’t a temple

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You’re at a club and the signs are obvious. Wide, flickering eyes and non-stop dancing, even in the smoking area. “What are you on? What did you take?” “This is such a good night!” “What’s your name? I actually love this song.”

Affection directed at random strangers, bonds of friendship made in an instant, a mutual love of living, euphoria. This is how life would be if everyone was stuck in a “friendly mode” without an off-switch. Of course, the next day brings the come down, but the night out is incredible.

Elsewhere, there is a very different vibe. Having “smashed it” at pre-game, desperation is in the air as boys tanked up on alcohol zone in on girls from behind and start grinding.

There is less space for conversation and the art of actually being a player is lost in the dark rooms, where, depending on a couple of factors, the girl might just give in and accept the guy’s fumbling attempt at “hooking up”. A female friend of mine once claimed “sometimes I’ll get with a boy just to get him to go away.”

Not only can alcohol fuel an aggressive grinding culture – making a night really shit for girls – it can also lead to fighting and aggression. In my experience, dance floors regularly play host to scuffles which can break out over nothing. “Talking to my girl,” or even just “pushing past me” can be cited as apparently legitimate reasons for guys, under the influence of testosterone and alcohol, to get aggressive with each other.

The consequences of alcohol

Then there are those other nights. A group of friends sit in a room, with a sock over the smoke alarm, and Family Guy or some chilled jams playing from a laptop. A joint is passed around and friends laugh, shoot the shit, and relax, taking a chance to forget about work. Ultimately the group has a good time and no one in their immediate proximity is adversely affected.

Obviously the nights described above aren’t always like this. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good pre-game as much as the next person. And I don’t condone illegal drug use in any way. Apart from the fact dropping molly and smoking up is illegal, I struggle to find any real justification for those who go out getting drunk to criticize someone who takes a drug every now and then or who quietly shares a doobie in the company of a few friends.

It’s not really my scene, but I can’t help but notice the irony in hearing a group of judgmental students taking a cynical view of drug users, who they picture as “junkies” or “stoners”, when those same people act like total dickheads when they’re drunk.

Clearly there are two sides to this argument due to the proven psychological dangers of drug abuse. As well as the fact it causes a higher number of fatalities, however, alcohol abuse over a sustained period of time also provokes psychological illnesses.

This article isn’t written to push the health ed angle of “don’t do this, don’t do that,” but is it really right to criticize people for taking a little pill and having a great time and yet deem it OK to consume poisonous beverages which lead to violence?