"We are good at getting addicted to something or other."
We are - as far as I can see, it's hardwired -- one of the most addictive things of all is love - romantic love. Womens magazines are full of it. Men are addicted to things like hero and rescuer etc..
We are also addicted to money - because people only respect money - hardly anyone respects the homeless man at a table in a cafe - no one wants to sit with them. But, if someone arrives in a new Porsche - well, no problem - doesn't matter if they are a child smuggler or a drug dealer - they've got money, that all that people notice. So, money becomes addictive.
It's just us as far as I can see
"Maybe our free health system encourages risk taking behaviour"
Hmmmm - I think the way we are is that - we, particularly males, are a risk taking animal - I don't understand fully why. But, I suspect that when we had days where we took greater physical risks - we might well have been at lesser risk of things like drugs.
So, in the days of stone fights and bow and arrow fights with real arrows, climbing all over monkey bars with hard gravel underneath, riding billy carts at a thousand miles an hour downhill ----------- maybe we wouldn't have done the hard drugs so easily ---------------- I don't know - could be wrong -but, you sure learn about dangers when you are hurtling down a hill on a cart with no brakes - it gives you a different perspective on life.
Take a kid out sailing and watch the incredible shift in attitude to following orders after being wacked senseless with a boom when not adhering to the command 'duck'
next time - they duck 3 seconds before you shout
"It appears normal for everyone to have a need to stand out or be noticed."
yes and no - depends on personality - yes for an extravert, no for an introvert ----------------- generally.
I suspect that drug usage is an effect from the causes in life and society
look at the massive use of drugs now by soldiers ------
well, who could blame them for escaping the reality
wanna see the reality without being actually there - perhaps visit Verdun
geesus ---------- some pot or something to make you forget in that situation -------------- pretty bloody inviting
