[Protoclown]

Well, to be clear, it's not really an ethical matter to me so much as it is a matter of common sense and survival. I personally don't see the wisdom in engaging in willfully self-destructive behavior, but you see people participating in it all the time.

It seems rather counter-productive to survival (or continued well-being if you don't want to go that far) to purposely take drugs that harm your body, or debilitate you to the point that you cannot take care of or defend yourself under the influence. Frankly, I don't see the appeal. Never have, and probably never will.

As for those other drugs that are doctor prescribed, the main difference as I see it is that those drugs are almost necessary for certain people to get by and function normally in day-to-day life. So in some cases, taking drugs IS conducive to their continued well-being. In other cases it's not (and some doctors seem all too eager to fill out a prescription as an 'easy fix' to ailments), but I suppose that depends on the individual situation.

In my mind that is quite a different beast from people who take drugs recreationally for the express purpose of getting "fucked up beyond belief" or those who want to run away from whatever problems they have and take the drugs to forget or cope.

Perhaps the term "crutches" isn't really the best to use here, since an actual crutch IS in all likelihood necessary for someone who has broken a leg to get around. Whereas when I speak of it in a drug sense, I am talking about almost quite the opposite...something that ISN'T necessary by any means, but is used as a means of avoiding the problem and running away.