Should I allow myself to use mind or mood-altering drugs?

Pro: Mind or mood altering drugs provide pleasure.

Con: In the long-run, these substances produce more pain than pleasure.

Pro: Mind or mood altering drugs make possible an escape from painful experiences.

Con: By enabling a mental escape from hardships, these substances defer or prevent people from making an actual escape.

Pro: Certain drugs help people meet the demands of employment and social life; they enable some people to function as they want to in society.

Con: Certain drugs impair the ability of many individuals to meet the demands of their jobs and of social life; they prevent people from functioning as they want to in society.

Con: The use of most mind/mood-altering drugs is illegal, so users of illegal drugs put themselves at risk for being arrested.

Con: These substances give their users a personality which is not theirs to keep. The drug-manipulated personality is typically at odds with the 'true' personality. In the final analysis, people most want to be authentic.