Opiates.  A powerfully addictive chemical that is structurally derivative of heroin and morphine.  Opiates are physically addictive, meaning one who is addicted does not simply crave the drug as the result of some activated part of their psyche, they require it to stop physically discomforting withdrawal symptoms that, depending on the extent of the addiction, can be fatal.  I have found myself drawn into this trap and have just recently been experiencing crippling repercussions of a flirtatious relationship with Vicodin.  The problem I want to address here is multifaceted as well as what some would term controversial, but I believe it is imperative that it be explored to the fullest extent.  Im talking about psychoactive drugs.  Mankind has been using plants, chemicals, and even animals since the dawn of our kind as a way to alter our conciousness.  From using Ayahusca to Psilocybin mushrooms, Marijuana, and countless other substances, we have sought to alter our perception of reality since we were introduced to this earth.  Now in"modern" times we have classified drugs such as mushrooms, acid, DMT, Marijuana, MDMA, etc. as schedule 1 substances, meaning under no circumstance can we legally use them, recreationally or medically.  Not everyone understands the true nature of psychedelics; chemicals that when properly ingested can produce an entirely new outlook on not only the meaning of life,  and as some great metaphysics minds have suggested, open us up to entirely new dimensions.  The average reader will take one look at that sentence and suppose that I am either a strung out druggie or someone who is looking to justify my own personal problems.  That response is sadly understandable and warranted in this day and age I suppose, but lets look at this from a different angle.  All these drugs that can enlighten us, cause us to see what reality itself is, to lift the proverbial veil from our conciouness, are outlawed by the government in any form.  These drugs are not addictive, they are not physically harmful in proper doses and they allow us to see things that were previously unknown to us.  But here is where it gets interesting.  Schedule 2 substances are those that have some "accepted" medical value but still must be controlled by the government.  These include cocaine, heroin, morhine, and those wonderful little pills called Vicodin.  The government will legalize alcohol, a physically addictive substance that has caused more death and torn apart more families than any other substance period, and prescribe us medication that is so deathly addictive that before you realize what the pills have done, your world is caving in.  Im not going to expound upon the psychedelic experience, of which I have had many.  All were beneficial both spiritually and mentally.  It connects you to something that you know in your heart is so much bigger, so much more powerful, so absolutely incredible, and you realize that there is more going on around and in you than you had ever previously known.  Is the government not symbolistic of the human nature? Unsure about what this new experience, this altered perception of reality; the goverment has outlawed these enlightening substances and given the population a prescription for the norm.  Uppers like amphetamines and methylphenidate are given to those who "can't concentrate"  and alcohol is available to those who want to drown their sorrows rather than face them head on.  Thats what pills did for me.  rather than look for the source of discomfort in my life, I turned to covering them up with that warm opiate buzz.  Psychedelic drugs allow you, as a person, to explore your mind in a totally different light and uncover and deal with the dirty secrets in our subconciouness.  Are we afraid of that?