Alcohol my first drug and the one I use most often and the most irresponsibly. My frequency is ok but at a bar, drinking with friends I can easily forget that I have a low tolerance and end up with too many drinks just because there's another round. I've done a lot better in 2017 than the past few years but if I had to drop a drug from the list, it would probably be alcohol. Also, how lightly we gloss over the risks of alcohol, is the one thing that frightens me with legalizing or decriminalizing other drugs

Cannabis this is where my different strategy with legal vs illegal drugs became clear. Weed was still an evil monster when I was in high school so I wasn't in a rush to try it. But I was curious, so I researched, and erowid.org had everything I could ever possibly want to know. I've been an occasional smoker for over a decade and I've learn to be easier on myself when I make a mistake despite being a lifelong perfectionist. Stoned me forgets dumb things but stoned me forgives me for it. We just come up with a game plan and figure it out rather than making a fuss of it. It's made me slightly less high strung.

That's where I drew the line during my high school years. Anything else that came around I either wasn't interested in or thought it was best to wait

Benzodiazepines for a portion of my college years, I picked up some nasty, frequent panic attacks. My drug researching branched out to basically any mind altering substance I had heard of so I knew exactly the dangers of what I was prescribed. I was rightfully terrified of them and set the highest restrictions on using them that I could. Something like, you can take a pill, if you have dialed at least 1 digit from 911 because you think you're going to die. Later on, when I had better control of my life, I still had leftovers (and do refill the smallest prescription for emergencies) so I tried them recreationally. I learned, they can be helpful for a panic attack but if I'm not otherwise that anxious, they will just put me to sleep. Other than alcohol, this is the only substance I use that carries a heavy addiction potential.

shrooms I got intensely into psychedelics for a while (even before I tried them). I was mostly curious about all the medical findings that were coming out. How can something that makes you see weird patterns cure depression? Obviously it's less about the visuals, more about the headspace. It was baffling to me. It's cliché but I learned how cool and beautiful our planet is.

mdma I learned that this is my drug of choice. It also gets a lot of restrictions because of my fondness for it and also because it does carry some risks. I learned how to it as safely as possible. I learned to not be afraid to feel things. And I learned that people don't suck as much as I thought they all did lol

General learnings

drugs can be ok in moderation, don't make them what you look forward to most in life we live in sketchy times and you should always test your drugs you should be educated on anything you plan to take set and setting are important for all drugs no one is immune to addiction