Congrats loomweaver! 20 years is impressive. Especially considering I have only been in this body for 25.

Im coming up on 6 years thanks to a 12 step program and still go to meetings. I got clean before I turned 21 and have never had a legal drink haha. Life is way better clean then on crack and heroin. All though I do miss LSD and shrooms. Before things got bad i had alot of fun growing up at raves. But yea like i said if it wasnt for the steps id be dead.

23 years clean and sober thanks to my higher power and AA.

I had a drink and a bit of Irish coffee when I was 15, tasted horrible, been on the sober side since that. Non smoker, but been a second hand smoker thanks to my mom that smoked 60-80 a day, cigarettes that is. Let me tell you, I have seen what tobacco does to you. It isn't Pretty!

I wouldn't mind vaporize legal cannabis, but I am staying far far far away from stuff like skunk and synthetic cannabis O.o.
and of course take care of my problems beforehand so that it doesn't become an escape route.

I didn't drink until this summer, where I went to my first real social "gettogethering" with my co-workers.
I have never touched a cigarette or heavier stuff, nor pot.
I still prefer tea and relaxation over drinks and partying, but going to that one party, was a barrier-breaker for me, struggling with anxiety since I was 12 discovering that people who are drinking aren't out to kill me.

Been getting a lot healthier in spirit, mind and body since then. :)

the only party I like are tea and book parties

^this

You guys is cool.

I'm coming to the realization that I can't drink wine/beer. The histamines in wine, and the carb rush in beer just destroys me (makes my central nervous system get inflamed almost immediately).

For some reason cider doesn't affect me the same way, though I'll probably just be drinking kombucha for the New Year's get-together

I live a mostly sober life. I drink maybe 3 or 4 times a year. I smoke cig's daily but have cut down dramatically. I have taken drugs but even that is rare now.

I have watched my partner go through hell in his addiction (drug and alcohol) his recovery was best after he got into meditation and learned about his emotions and spiritual side.
Unfortunately he passed away two months ago. (sudden cardiac arrest)
At the end of the day, an addiction can start very quickly without you realizing. It takes over your whole life, your thinking, your being.
Best of luck to everyone who is on the road to recovery, its a long bumpy road but it is worth it in the end.

You are not wrong for your beliefs. You can believe how you wish, as shall we. True, we don't NEED entheogens, but they show us the world in a new light. They open your eyes to the one part of you that is connected through every human being. They connect us to the Earth in ways that in my own personal experience have never been able to go 'that' deep into the aura of the planet.

Personally, I believe in using entheogens for healing, no I don't need them, but they help persuade me more strongly to live a better, healthier life. I don't partake often, it's once in a long while kind if thing. It's a direct connection to God. These plants, fungus, vines, are here for a reason. They share some of the same qualities, for a reason.

LSD as well as other entheogens can really help people. No, they are not for everyone.(ie. people with schizophrenia in their genealogy.), but there was a study done where cancer patients with gangrene were given one of three; Dilaudid, Demerol, and LSD for pain relief. The Dilaudid provided three hours of pain relief, Demerol, two hours, and LSD from 92 hrs up to ten DAYS! (Kast, "The Analgestic Action of Lysergic Acid")
Some entheogens actually are used in clinics to help people battle drug and alcohol addictions that they have been fighting for years.

So there are people who feel as strongly about the aid of entheogens as you do about the opposed, but people who are serious about it, which I can guess most of us that do partake in this DT community are, we know what we're doing, and they are not to be taken lightly, they are meant to heal and to be used as an accessory in spirituality.
Most definitely NOT cheating ourselves!

They are not some "fun drugs to get fu*ked up and see cool s#it!"

They are, however something that is not understood unless you do enough studies or partake in the experiment.