Humans have been using alcohol, cannabis, and other psychoactive substances for thousands of years. Why is that? Are they helpful or harmful? Or does it just depend on the person, the substance and the situation.
Substance use is deeply embedded in the fabric of many societies. Many of us use drugs to celebrate successes or to help us deal with grief, pain and sadness. We use drugs to mark rites of passage and to pursue spiritual insight.
We use drugs to get going and to unwind. In short, substances are still used as aids to daily life. Each one of us has our own unique relationships with substances, which can change throughout our lives. Most of us start by experimenting with a substance for fun, or because we heard it could help in some way.
References
Cannabis and Mental Health. (n.d.). Substance use and mental health. Retrieved from https://cannabisandmentalhealth.ca/guides/substance-use-health/
