"The best pitch I ever heard about cocaine was back in the early 80s when a street dealer followed me down the sidewalk going: I got some great blow man. I got the stuff that killed Belushi." -Denis Leary

In recent years, the commonality of recreational drug use has increased within the millennial population. By definition, recreational drug use refers to the consumption of substances that alter an individual’s mindset for reasons separate from medicinal use and addiction. Moreover, this implies that more and more individuals within our generation are using drugs casually - either as first-timers or on rare occasion.

So my question is, why are we now seeing a higher trend in (dare I say) spontaneous users as opposed to the traditional addict? Truthfully, the answer is easy. As millennials, we grew up in a culture where our parents preached “don’t do drugs” so much so that it became mandatory curriculum in our public school system. You cannot tell me you never heard the quote, “stay in school, don’t do drugs and eat your vegetables.” Our parental generation has seemingly used the anti-drug campaign as fear propaganda by highlighting the effects of long-term usage inclusive of addiction and health consequences. While this is not negative propaganda, it can be considered hypocritical. After all, it was in the 1970s and 1980s when cocaine emerged as the fashionable recreational party drug. On the flip side, those who have never used also subconsciously know that drugs feel good or are fun - simply because of the stories as told by our parental generation that survived or "nearly survived" the counterculture movement.

Henceforth, I introduce to you the recreational drug user: A millennial who is still concerned about the consequences or side effects of drug use propagated by the anti-drug campaign, but is still intrigued by the thrill of its mind-altering affects influenced by the counterculture movement. Justifiably, it takes the position of engagement in the party scene as an adolescent but infers a stopping point to avoid potential health consequences. "I mean, one time can't hurt, right?"

Here are some of my thoughts on the after effects of recreational use in the millennial age.

Quitting The Scene

I believe there is a fine line between addiction and recreational usage. Perhaps, you do not physically crave the substance, but you may inherently crave the lifestyle. It's an adrenaline-seeking endorphin rush marked on a metaphorical hourglass. Is the stopping of usage associated with responsibility in adulthood, or is there necessarily an assumption of quitting in recreational use since it is not labeled as addiction?

The Good Ol' Days

In my experience, the justification of recreational drug use is usually associated with a phase of life. It's about living in the moment and opening your mind to new experiences, particularly marked by being young and dumb. All of these justifications again revolve around the unspoken characteristic of recreational drug use in the millennial age having a stopping point. If the party drug scene is such a prevalent part of lifestyle in the millennial age, is it something you'll miss or desire to revert to after the foretold stopping point?

Dude, give me the deats'

Others will undeniably be curious about what drugs you tried in your recreational use. It's like an initiation stand-off on who was crazier than who. Which individual was able to try more drugs and not experience the health effects propagated to us by our elders?

Ultimately, continuing the curiosity around recreational use and consciousness of this could have a negative effect on my body.