Last Updated on December 10, 2019 by Valarie Ward

“I’m more fun when I smoke weed.”

“I need to be high to have fun.”

“My friends and I have a better time when we do drugs.”

These are just three things you might say about drugs, especially marijuana. A lot of people think that they have more fun when doing drugs, but are they?

Do Drugs Increase Fun?

If you’ve smoked weed or used cocaine, then you are probably in favor of drugs because you believe they increase the fun. After all, they come out at parties and when you and your friends are having a good time. But the fun they deliver is temporary and dangerous.

Do drugs legitimately increase the factor of fun? Yes and no.

When you use a drug, whether illegal or legal, it directly affects your brain’s dopamine levels. Dopamine creates the brain’s reward circuit, and it is released in large doses whenever a person consumes an addictive substance.

As the brain’s reward circuit is stimulated, the person using the drug feels pleasure. However, the important thing to recognize is that this form of pleasure is fake.

Fake vs. Real Fun

Drugs cause a sense of false fun. While the brain is convinced a pleasurable event is unfolding, physical reality displays a far harsher truth. Here’s a look at the fake fun offered by drugs:

• Hallucinations: Drugs can cause the user to hallucinate. While this might sound like a fun time, hallucinations can quickly turn ugly. They can become a living nightmare, and since the drug user is not asleep, they are far more likely to act on the feeling to run or fight back. As the hallucination takes over, the real world vanishes. In the act of fleeing, the user can run into traffic, into an unsafe area, or suffer a severe bodily injury (even death) due to a fall or accident. During the act of fighting back, the user can become aggressive or violent and inflict bodily harm on anyone who is nearby.
• Relaxation: A lot of people like to get high because it relaxes them. This side effect is comparable to the effects of alcohol. Both substances can relax an otherwise uptight person, but this relaxation comes with an ugly catch. The relaxation caused by a drug makes the user highly susceptible to suggestion. They will often participate in activities they would otherwise avoid, such as unprotected sex and major risk taking.
• Memory Loss: According to the BBC, “Everything we do changes our brain in some way.” Illicit drug use and abuse of prescription drugs can cause a number of side effects, including short and long-term memory loss. Although you might think drugs make life more fun, the truth is that you will probably forget a lot. In fact, sometimes you can suffer total blackouts and have no memory of your actions while you were high.

Real fun looks markedly different. It is possible to have fun without drugs, and chances are it is easier than you think. Real fun looks something like this:

• Lifetime Memories: Have you ever been regaled with an adult’s story of something from their youth? In order for them to tell you that story, they needed to have a clear memory of the event. They weren’t high or drunk when it unfolded; they were sober and in control of their actions. Real fun is filled with memories you will be able to recap for years to come.
• Good Vibes: You do drugs because they make you feel good while you’re under their influence, but what happens when they wear off? You inevitably hit a low, and it sucks. It hurts. It leaves you feeling sad. It makes you want to do more drugs. This is called addiction. Unlike fake fun, real fun is followed by good vibes. Not only do you feel good when hanging out with your friends, but you feel that way for hours – even days – after. Drugs offer temporary pleasure. Enjoying fun activities with your friends without the effect of drugs creates lasting pleasure.
• Repeat Fun: Repeating the “fun” of drugs is expensive, not to mention illegal. It opens users up to trouble with the law, with gangs, and more. It gets harder and harder to repeat because you need money to buy the drugs. If you don’t have money, what then? Fun without drugs is easily repeatable. You don’t have to worry about getting in trouble with the law because you’re not doing anything wrong.

Fun that is genuine and sincere is real, and it beats the fake fun created by drugs.

Drugs, both illicit and prescription, are dangerous. They are highly addictive substances, and once addiction sets in they will take over your life.

Imagine being so consumed with the want to get high that you forget everything you love. Friends fade into the background. You have no interest in spending time with your family. Your grades in school drop so low that you fail the grade.

As you become consumed with the need to find drugs, you suddenly find yourself doing terrible things, like stealing money. You could easily become sucked up in a gang or drug trafficking. And before you know it, you could find yourself in trouble with the law. Before you know it, you’re facing a drug charge that could result in prison time.

Is this the kind of fun you want to have?

Of course not! You don’t want the false fun created by drugs and alcohol. You want real, genuine fun – the kind that doesn’t consume your life and land you in trouble with the police.

How Knowledgeable Are You about Drugs?

One of the most important things you can do is learn about drugs. Learn about the dangers of using and abusing them. Learn about why they are illegal. Learn about how and why legalized addictive substances still cause lifelong problems for users.

How much do you know about drugs? Why not test your knowledge, starting with learning about drugs and your brain.