Country Living with Francis Farragher

One of the little consolations of belonging to an older generation is that in the earlier years of existence the world of drugs just didn’t seem to exist.

That doesn’t mean of course that the problem of illegal substance abuse wasn’t around in the 1970s or so – it was – but many of us in that era were certainly in no position to be able to fund any such habits. In fact they never really entered many of our mindsets.

There’s no point in adopting a ‘holier than thou’ persona as regards drugs use and for those of us who indulge in a few pints, top of most of the clinical addiction lists are alcohol and nicotine.

Both ‘the drop of the cratur’ or ‘the weed’ are of course legally available and are part of thriving businesses across the length and breadth of the world, but those of us who drink or smoke . . . well we’re in the drugs business too.

In more affluent countries like the UK and the USA there was an explosion of drugs use during the 1960s which led to the rafts of legislation categorising illegal substances based on the damage they do to the human body and mind.

Back in the UCG days of the late 1970s there were always a couple of establishments around the city where joints would be rolled and smoked. In an era, when smoking was the norm in public houses, the will just wasn’t there in terms of enforcement to distinguish between a ‘Major’ cigarette or a cannabis joint.

Again, financial limitations and maybe some kind of sense of self-protection, helped steer me clear of the illegal stuff with a few bob put aside here and there for a couple pints of Smithwick’s.

The argument has been put to me here and there as to why it’s okay to legally imbibe alcohol or smoke cigarettes when it’s illegal to take a line of ‘coke’ or smoke a joint. I try to make the point about moderation and the sociability aspect of the few pints but feel at times that I don’t sound too convincing.

I’ve really had only one experience of being under the influence of one of the ‘power drugs’ namely morphine but all in the perfectly legal context of medical treatment.

That was probably about the best part of 10-years back, but I still have a vivid memory link of how I felt for the best part of half-a-day, after getting a couple of shots of the opioid into the vein.

Pictured: Crisp €50 notes are one of the favoured ‘chimneys’ for snorting a line of ‘coke’.