Stoned or High, is there a difference?

Historically, in the bastions of "stonerdom" there has always been, as with almost everything on this cosmic dirt-clod we are riding shotgun through the Universe on, a great duality of nature. Everyone has known, well, let's call him the classic stoner. The caricature that we see in the movies and on television... a Cheech and Chongish bleary eyed stumble bum who has attempted (but failed) to cling on to the last remaining brain cells which have not been decimated by dope.



This individual comes in an assortment of flavors. From the zoned out lazy apathetic pothead, to the skin and bones wild eyed jittery coke fiend, to the comatose ashen skinned nodding junkie... there have always been those unable to draw the line between feeling good and killing themselves slowly, one neuron at a time.



But there is an other side to this dichotomy. For every waste case out there are hundreds, perhaps even thousands of responsible users who never appear in hospital emergency rooms and remain uncounted, obscured by the veil of their own ability to "maintain". But they are just the balancing tool by which I wish to make my case. They are in the middle, they are the average stoners...the recreational users who comprise a cross section of the landscape to varying degrees depending on which substance you wish to investigate.



Certainly for the Cannabis community the vast majority of users fall under the responsible consumer label. It may be true for cocaine, heroin and met amphetamine too, but given enough time and access the addictive nature of these drugs will inevitably catch up with a much larger percentage of their users.



But on the other end of the spectrum there is what Stephen Gaskin, one of America's premier psychedelic saddle tramps, used to describe as the "dope yogis". In these post-Reagan Partnership for a Drug Free Society dark ages, almost nobody is willing to brave the McCarthyism of the day to defend the drug users of the world. But the fact is there have always been, and always will always be, human beings who wish to change their consciousness through the ingestion of chemicals of one sort or another. I am much more concerned with fostering a partnership for a Free Society...something a little more realistic in my opinion, and more important, then striving for some Pollyanna pie in the sky impossibility that we will create a society free from drugs. Especially when we are told on television to ask our doctor about "the little purple pill", without even knowing what it is or what it is for!



These dope Yogis, as we will call them, are the individuals who wish to alter their consciousness in an attempt to become better human beings. For some it is a spiritual quest they are on, for others, an expansion of their intellectual capacity. For some others it is simply an exploration of the chasms and deeper corners of the mind. They are among the people you will see at the Rainbow Gathering, some dressed in lily white, rising with the sun, doing yoga in front of their teepees with the dawn. They stand out in sharp contrast from the "road dogs" and hard luck cases there, who pack 5 pounds of trail dirt in their hair and offer you a line of crank as they roll their American Spirit smokes.



The dope yogis often choose the classic psychedelic substances like pot, mushrooms, LSD and such. They wish not to numb themselves from emotional and physical pain, or escape the pressures of a healthy and productive life, as the substance abuser inevitably does. Au contraire, they wish to enhance, highlight and compliment their lives by stretching the limits of their understanding.



In the 1950's and 60's, the American military had the idea that LSD was gonna be some form of truth serum, some elixir that would enable them to peer into the mind of the enemy, or better yet, create the ultimate killing machine. They were aghast when they saw the result of giving acid to some soldiers. Suddenly the young fighting man would be ruined for life, expounding spiritualistic anti-war non-violent notions, proclaiming that the enemy was in fact...his brother. The acid had increased their humanity, magnified their compassion, enabled them to identify with "the enemy" as people just like themselves. But LSD is not for the weak of mind, spirit or ego. Acid, as with all mind altering substances, is powerful juju, strong medicine...as the natives said...a "upaya", or method by which to find a higher place in one's self.



That's what I see as the difference between getting "stoned" and getting "high". There is a thin veil, a slippery slope of division between the two states of being. It is even possible, in my opinion and experience, to teeter back and forth between them. The issue is not whether or not it is good for you, or safe and free of danger or not. All exploration in life holds some form of trade off or potential for peril. The issue is whether or not an individual in a free society has the right to decide what they will put in the sanctity and sovereignty of their most sacred possession...themselves.



In America, at the moment, we live in a totalitarian police state when it comes to drugs and herbs. You can actually spend more time in prison, losing any chance of parole, for possessing a coupla hits of acid than for bludgeoning someone in the head with a ball peen hammer. In fact, you can kill several people and get a lesser sentence than for having in your possession a gram of acid, or a pound of cocaine. And as a former D.E.A. field agent recently pointed out at a pro-legalization rally, "you can get over an addiction, but you can never get over a conviction".



The defenders of the Drugwar would point to the potential damage to society that the drugs pose, the people who may injure them selves on the acid, or become addicted to the cocaine. But one look at the industries of tobacco or alcohol, or even prescription drugs, and any rational argument in that direction quickly dissipates. No, they are afraid of fostering individuality and freedom of exploration, for such acts ultimately result in the dissidence of the user from the confines of conformist society. Allowing people to explore the frontiers of consciousness is a big time threat to the status quo.



It is impossible to pose a war on drugs, because drugs are inanimate objects. They are things, not even actions. A war on abuse and addiction, now what a great concept THAT would be. But to wage such a war would entail speaking the simple truths contained within this article. For someone wishing to explore the landscape of irresponsible use must first have a concept of responsible use. Any drug education programs, to be truly effective, would have to admit the possibility of non-destructive, healthy use of mind altering substances to balance the concept of irresponsible, destructive and dangerous use. But we will most likely not see anything close to this any time soon.



We are left on the fringes of society, as the explorers of past generations were. Ridiculed, demonized and relegated by those who fear what they do not understand, or worse, who fear what they DO understand, and seek to profit one way or another by the perpetuation of the societal myth that all drug use lacking the government's stamp of approval is simply immoral and wrong. We will remain convenient scapegoats for an Orwellian level of control by those who wish to retain their power grip on modern society.



In the mean time humans will do that which they have done for thousands of years. They will either get stoned or get high...or both. A society that really cared about its citizenry would make honest attempts at educating its people on the difference by telling both sides of the truth, because the truth has always been as relative and personal as the individual perceiving it. The Darwinian principle will continue to eradicate the most extreme abusers from society one at a time, and propel the highest caliber explorers into the upper stratospheres of consciousness. A place where even the long arm of the law is too short to reach.


Peace and Love, Templedragon Vivian (who is both stoned AND high)

 

I hope you keep writing, that was was good stuff!

 

This is the only portion of the article that I had a problem with and I think needs to be inspected a little closer. The generalizations you make here are far too broad and in a way fallen to the same type of stereotyping that you are opposing.

For a fact there are also those 'faux yogis' at the gatherings dressed in lily white who espouse non-materialism in one hand while owning large plush condos in L.A. or who simply use the surprising awakenings many newcomers feel as tools of prey. It's a sad fact but it does happen.

The road dog comment I think is an ugly stereotype that you've put forth. While the people you describe do come around, I would not label all 'road dogs' in such a manner. There are quite a few who are accomplished travellers and far down the path of enlightenment. Some of these are the brave souls who can live for a month in a hammock around the perimeter without ever being seen or brave the darkest parts of babylon to seek out people who need help and offer them a choice of a new life.

These are simple examples and the issue runs much deeper than that because then we get into what people do with what they learn.

Outside of that, good article, many good points.

 

Templedragon,

Wow, this has got to be the best post I've ever read on this forum! Keep up the good work.

 

Pear Tree, I wrote that piece for High Times, if I had writtent it with these readers in mind I would have not couched it that way, but I understand your point. It is well taken. However, I did not mean the Road Dog moniker to be a diss, I know folks who are proud Road Dogs. And I did not intend to imply that everyone in lily white is pure or realized. I am sorry it came off that way.

I certainly would never wish to imply that homeless travelers are inferior or a negative force in our community, and don't intend my characterizations to be absolutes. There are exceptions in every case. I appreciate your heart-song, thanks for sharing your perspective on my writing, it has made me more aware.

Peace, Templedragon

 

i did read what you posted, but i want to say this:

i think stoned is when you are just clueless to what's going on, for example when people talk and you cant understand a word.
high is when you feel comfortable with the universe and you feel comfortable with everything, you can think pretty alright, and you feel better than ever.

 

Yeah, in a sense, getting stoned is getting dumb, getting high is getting aware. Now, in common usage it isn't usually used that way, usually they're interchangable. But "stoned" has a more negetive connotation to it, more of a "hey lets get fucked up" sort of use; rather than "high" which sounds more positive, like "hey, lets go meditate."

Anyways, great article, very well written, a good read.