Most likely, Dr. Paul Gahlinger knows more than you do about drugs. With a focus on education, Gahlinger has written "Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to Their History, Chemistry, Use and Abuse."
I know what you're thinking: "I did crack last night and I was fine! What's a fancy book gonna tell me that I won't find out from a rock or two?"
Well, did you know that each inhalation of crack inspires growth in the tailbone? Every time you suck that glass, you're one step closer to a circus sideshow.
Now, that's not true, but you weren't sure because you haven't read the book. The book is a comprehensive reference to every illegal drug in the United States that you've heard of, and some odd ones you haven't. Gahlinger addresses questions like, "Why is crack more addictive than cocaine?", "What questions regarding drugs are legal to ask in a job interview?" and "Can drug tests be fooled?" After a night of eight balls and chronic, The Wildcat phoned Gahlinger to talk drugs. He was very accommodating despite our slurred speech and constant fainting.
Wildcat: Why write this book ÷ what inspired it?
Dr. G: A lot of people ask me that. I teach a course at the University (of Utah) called Understanding Illegal Drugs, and the book was written partly during the time that I was teaching that. What really started it was that I started volunteering at a prison. At the prison, I thought I would teach Men's Health, but all the prisoners wanted to know about drugs because all of them had had experience with illegal drugs. So they were asking me questions that I just didn't have answers to, and here I'm supposed to be the expert.
Wildcat: What's the problem with America ÷ why are we so against drugs?
Dr. G: You know that's the fascinating thing. I mean we have some of the harshest drug laws internationally and also by far the greatest use. I've never really seen any good discussion of why that is the case. The whole war on drugs has been a complete fiasco. Even conservatives agree on that. The bottom line is that even with the $20 billion a year that we spend on drug control in the United States, there hasn't been any diminishment in drug use.
Wildcat: Did you write this in a more informative way to possibly give people ideas or as a cautionary explanation?
Dr. G: Definitely the latter. When I was writing (the book), I really tried to avoid taking any particular stance. I tried to be really careful not to be an apologist for drug use, certainly not to promote it. That's a little tricky to do because, sometimes, you can't help but want to put in your own views.
Wildcat: College students are often associated with doing drugs casually, but really, are we the worst?
Dr. G: Well, yeah, pretty much. Not necessarily college students but certainly the age group. Drug use reaches a peak somewhere in the mid-20s, and then it starts to drop off again. There's a reason for that and the reason is that those are also the years in your life in which you're the most outgoing and risk-taking. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.
Wildcat: You talk a bit about legal drugs in your book. Can you really get high from nutmeg?
Dr. G: Yeah, the only thing about nutmeg is that it'll also make you very sick. It's a miserable way to go. You get high for a few minutes, but then you're wretchedly sick with a splitting headache for a few hours. So for most people, it's just not worth it. But there are legal drugs that are as effective and intoxicating as illegal drugs.
Wildcat: Is it safer to use illegal drugs in moderation or legal drugs in excess?
Dr. G: I'll tell you what, illegal drugs are not necessarily worse for you than the legal drugs. One of the safest drugs ever known is marijuana. Clinically, marijuana is safer than aspirin if you look at the rate of adverse outcomes. There has never been a recorded case of a death from marijuana. The fact that it's illegal doesn't mean that it's more hazardous. There are legal drugs that are extremely hazardous.
Wildcat: In your book, you mention that Hitler was addicted to methamphetamines. I had no idea.
Dr. G: Oh yeah, absolutely. Actually, most of the people in the Second World War were. Right from the soldiers on up. Churchill and Roosevelt, all of them were, Hitler especially. His doctor was injecting up to eight times a day. He was what we would now consider a hard-core meth addict. He definitely had methamphetamine psychosis ÷ there's no question about it.