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3.11pm
22 December 2013
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One thing that often gets overlooked when discussing marijuana as a “safe drug” is that what people smoke nowadays is not the same thing that people were smoking while I first toked back in the 80’s, let alone what was consumed in the 1960’s. I quit smoking marijuana years back because I simply no longer enjoyed the experience, I smoked pot to relax and enjoy myself but the vast majority of marijuana in circulation today does anything but make you relax, it’s now a “speedy” drug due to it being chemically grown and it’s no longer just a plant, or something natural cultivated by the hippies. It’s now something that belongs in the same category as Cocaine and other various chemical drugs and is exponentially more potent than the pot I’d grown accustomed to.
Legalizing it will likely fuel the black market sales for you know that the legal product won’t be as potent, Heroin is also a very effective “painkiller”, should that be tolerated as well? Marijuana, when ingested through the lungs, still takes its toll on your lungs especially after extended use. The biggest problem I see with recreational drugs today is that young people are being exposed to them at a much younger age than before, experimenting with drugs should be done closer to adulthood while your brain isn’t still developing as rapidly and you are more mature to handle their effects, especially when things don’t go so well and this has absolutely nothing to do with The Beatles’ music…:-)
3.15pm
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20 August 2013
Offline What would be a good title for this thread so that it can be found with the search function?
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3.21pm
6 May 2014
Offline DrBeatle said
I don’t begrudge anyone their choices to do what they want to as long as they don’t hurt anyone else. I don’t approve of it as far as my own body goes and I will make as sure as I can that my kids don’t mess with that stuff, but I don’t pass judgement on those who do (again, as long as they keep it to themselves). Plus, if I only listened to drug-free musicians, I’d have a VERY short list to choose from!
Maybe I should have mentioned this – I’m a musician myself. I am a progressive rock keyboardist and I’ve been playing from a young age. I really hope this doesn’t mean that, because 99% of musicians use drugs, I’m going to end up doing the same. I can’t think what might inspire me to do so, because music is something I absolutely adore – I couldn’t live without music – and I wouldn’t want to ruin my ability to play.
3.31pm
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1 May 2011
Offline Ahhh Girl said
What would be a good title for this thread so that it can be found with the search function?
Including the word ‘drugs’ maybe.
Possibly open it up to something like ‘Can You Enjoy The Beatles Because Of Their Drugs Use?’ so its more inclusive of people to post in, if that is even required as its going along quite nicely as it is.
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3.47pm
31 March 2008
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I’d rather leave the title as it is. People are finding it.
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4.10pm
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29 November 2012
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TT454 said
DrBeatle said
I don’t begrudge anyone their choices to do what they want to as long as they don’t hurt anyone else. I don’t approve of it as far as my own body goes and I will make as sure as I can that my kids don’t mess with that stuff, but I don’t pass judgement on those who do (again, as long as they keep it to themselves). Plus, if I only listened to drug-free musicians, I’d have a VERY short list to choose from!Maybe I should have mentioned this – I’m a musician myself. I am a progressive rock keyboardist and I’ve been playing from a young age. I really hope this doesn’t mean that, because 99% of musicians use drugs, I’m going to end up doing the same. I can’t think what might inspire me to do so, because music is something I absolutely adore – I couldn’t live without music – and I wouldn’t want to ruin my ability to play.
Me, too! I’m a guitarist, was in bands in my younger days, still write and record my own albums…never did drugs or wanted to, but I don’t think about such things. One can be a musician without doing drugs, so don’t worry 
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4.31pm
30 April 2014
Offline Tom ! What’s the problem ! Everybody told you drug is bad thing, that’s true that’s why it’s illigal, but when you think of it, it made great songs so, that’s weird yes,I thought lsd feels like heaven. Why isn’t legal when it can be used to create such wonderful things, I don’t know, I never did drug, I could, if I really wanted to, I’d ask a friend and tomorow I’ll be smoking but I don’t want to, why on earth should I do that to my body when I’m actually living the Beatles without anything.
I think I don’t understand what you feel, I’d like to help you more. If you met beatles fan who do drugs that’s their life they do want they want, proheps they see the beatles differently ? I don’t think so thanks to what Joe said, @Joe you broke one of the thing I wanted to do, listen to Sgt Pepper on lsd, I always wanted to see what Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds feels like on lsd haha!
Just put on those for guys, listen to those instruments in synergy and those beautiful lyrics sang by some liverpudlians voices and just let the strong feeling behind come to you. They cure you I hope. We Can Work It Out my friend don’t make it bad Jude !
Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.
John Lennon
4.59pm
Reviewers
4 February 2014
Offline 
TT454 said
Me though? I just loved the music, I never cared for the drug side of it, but it seems as though the drug side of it is pretty much the reason why most people love and respect them.
@TT454 I agree with most of what you’ve said up to this post (haven’t read the rest of the thread yet) but that 
I don’t believe in any way. I feel like some fans may like them for the drugs, but most respect them for the musical geniuses they were!
I have never done drugs, will never do drugs, and have no urge to do drugs. That being said I love the Beatles very much. I know the drugs influenced their music, but the music is so good I don’t care about that when I’m listening.
I’m not that judgmental though about pot, even though I’d never do it, but I really hate other drugs… A lot more. I do think though that if people are listening to The Beatles while high they’re not out doing something that’ll hurt themselves.
You’re not alone though!
Edit: I usually say I’m vicariously high listening to The Beatles… That’s the closest ill get to drugs.
5.26pm
Reviewers
16 December 2013
Offline I’ve had a somewhat similar experience as yours, @TT454, but it was with another band, so I can almost completely relate. The songs I had grown up with, adored with every cell of me, became tunes that brought sadness and confusion to me. Mind you, I was fourteen years old and was bound to participate in daily anti-drug lectures. And a year or two later, when my boyfriend told me he had smoked pot a several times, I was shocked, bewildered, terrified. Alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana or any type of drug; those were the most unacceptable things to me. I was brought up to be against them, as much to a point to be frightened by the very thought of those substances. But time showed me that I needed to open up my mind a little bit, loosen up and not judge by what I have heard, read or been taught at school or by my parents. My process of accepting that a person could be completely normal and rational yet smoke cigarettes regularly, as well as have an occasional drink, was long and confusing. But I had my first drink once, accidentally too, and the first thing I thought once I realized I had drank alcohol wasn’t “Oh dear Lord, what have I done?!”, but a mere acceptance that a) It didn’t make me lose control, and b) It didn’t taste horribly. The next day, though, I wondered exactly how did I come to hate alcohol, drugs, cigarettes as much as I did. It was all based on what I had been told, and none on what I had experienced.
People around me smoke constantly, drink almost as often, and have done so for a long time. The first time I got drunk, it was in mid-day and my friends left me to get home on my own. It was a really long walk, not that I recall much of it. I could have been run over by a car, but somehow I got lucky. From what my parents have told me, I came home, nearly fainted and threw my guts up till I was completely drained and dehydrated. It took me a few days to fully recover, and I vowed to never have a drink again. Oh, silly me. In time, I learned how to consume a level of alcohol that relaxed me, yet I stayed perfectly in control while I was at it. It was an uplifting and truly relaxing experience every time I drank, albeit never more often than once or twice a month, as I was yet to be prescribed any medication for my early diagnosed bipolar disorder. Although I enjoy alcohol occasionally, I haven’t once had a problem with because of it, excluding the first time I came home drunk, of course. What I have learned is that alcohol isn’t for everyone. Most people consume it improperly and often lead themselves to states they are unable to control. How is it possible that I haven’t even been nauseous while/after drinking, nor I have been hungover the day after? Mind you, even after night of at least ten tequila shots, or a mix of half a dozen alcoholic beverages. I do believe it is because I know my limits and I know when to stop.
I have remained on the subject of alcohol as long as I have because it’s been recently brought to my attention that alcohol is much more harmful than marijuana, LSD, uppers and so on. The truth is, medical studies (some I have even participated in) have shown that it is only heroin and meth (out of the popular drugs, or well, popular drugs in my country) that are addictive. If someone is to get addicted to marijuana or LSD for example, it is only because of a poor state of mind and improper use. I have a friend who has been battling cancer for over a year who claims she would have not been able to make it had she not smoked pot at certain difficult moments. She is not an addict, and she hasn’t done any harm to society or herself under the influence of the drug. What marijuana is, in fact, from my experience too, a substance which evokes similar effects to alcohol (or certain types of alcohol, as a different type might affect everyone differently) that lasts nearly as long, but only one is less prone to depression while being high than drunk, and isn’t hungover the following day. As for other drugs, I haven’t experienced, nor have I talked to someone who has.
What I do believe is right is that everyone should decide for themselves whether they are to like or dislike these sort of substances. But, while doing so, it should be from experience, direct or indirect. It is very wrong that society teaches us that alcohol is bad, cigarettes are bad, drugs are illegal etc. I think that is sort of a booster for most people who have taken up drinking or smoking or taking drugs. Many reach for what is forbidden and enter certain states of high and drunk completely unprepared. I think that we should be educated on the effects of drugs and alcohol, not be told we shouldn’t take them. Please don’t understand me that I am trying to change your mind or am here to promote the use of drugs and alcohol. I am merely advising everyone to be their own judge.
Alcohol and drugs aren’t for everyone. I stand by that. And, I am almost certain that less people would drink, take drugs and smoke cigarettes had those all been legal and we hadn’t be taught to beware of them, especially the underage teenagers.
Once you have accepted that people should do whatever they want to do, and it is not something that should affect you, listening to the music you once loved should be no problem. Even with the drugs, the Beatles made legendary music, don’t you think? They didn’t attach the music to drugs, no matter how associated the two might be at times, and you can enjoy either of the two without the other.
7.50pm
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4 February 2014
Offline ScrambledEggs said
Alcohol and drugs aren’t for everyone. I stand by that. And, I am almost certain that less people would drink, take drugs and smoke cigarettes had those all been legal and we hadn’t be taught to beware of them, especially the underage teenagers.
Once you have accepted that people should do whatever they want to do, and it is not something that should affect you, listening to the music you once loved should be no problem. Even with the drugs, the Beatles made legendary music, don’t you think? They didn’t attach the music to drugs, no matter how associated the two might be at times, and you can enjoy either of the two without the other.
DrBeatle said
I don’t begrudge anyone their choices to do what they want to as long as they don’t hurt anyone else. I don’t approve of it as far as my own body goes and I will make as sure as I can that my kids don’t mess with that stuff, but I don’t pass judgement on those who do (again, as long as they keep it to themselves). Plus, if I only listened to drug-free musicians, I’d have a VERY short list to choose from!
That sums up my feelings…
8.02pm
5 May 2014
Offline TT454 said
OK, firstly, before reading this, I want to make one thing clear – this is NOT a troll post. I say this because it might come off as such. It’s not, I swear. I’m serious about everything I say. OK, here goes.So, basically, I feel as though I can’t enjoy The Beatles anymore. Why? It’s simple – I don’t do drugs. I never have, never wanted to and never will. So, I feel like a massive, disgusting hypocrite to call myself a Beatles fan, because drugs are so closely linked to the Beatles that they practically represent the drug culture. They promoted drugs in their music and movies and became the most famous hippies ever. Nowadays, many people who become Beatles fans will go onto do drugs; it’s considered part of the Beatles thing, just like getting into Pink Floyd, you’re expected to “turn on”.
Why don’t I do drugs? It’s obvious. I have excellent, loving parents who care about me and always told me as a kid that drugs are dangerous. My life-skills (social studies) teachers said exactly the same thing. I was told outright that, (and yes, I know you’re thinking of Mr. Mackey here) drugs are bad, and if you do them, there will be side-effects that can damage your life and possibly kill you. As a result of being told this, I never came across them, never had any desire whatsoever to do them (and I still will have any desire – the thought of them makes me feel sick) and yet, I was a Beatles fan – a band who never would have made it big without their frequent illegal drug use. When I was a kid, I grew up with them, and I was blissfully ignorant of the fact that my new favourite band were constantly ingesting substances as they wrote their timeless hits. I found out eventually, and at first, I didn’t care – I thought, hey, it was the 60s, that doesn’t happen much now, and I continued to love them, talk about them, and obsess over them.
And then, I found out that in fact, drug use today is far more common than I thought. It’s so common that if you meet someone online, there’s a good chance that they smoke cannabis for example, or have smoked it, and will unashamedly admit it. I met dozens of people online who enjoy The Beatles through YouTube, and constantly came across messages like “I’m so high when listening to this” or “I dropped acid to this.” It scared me. I really did. I never knew that this generation loved drugs so much until I explored The Beatles beyond their music. Hell, you can’t avoid drugs at all these days. They are everywhere, in all mainstream music, in movies, in video games, and all over the Internet, and it saddens me. And it disturbs me that so many people – millions of people – are willing to try them, get addicted and then continue to do them and defend their right to be addicted – just like The Beatles.
Now, I know what you’re thinking – “but dude, there’s THOUSANDS of drug-free people who enjoy The Beatles”. Yes, I know that. But, I’ve met far, far more people online who are pro-drug than anti-drug like I am. In fact, I’ve found out through YouTube that if you dare say that you’re anti-drug, you will instantly receive countless messages from the world’s stoners, LSD users, etc who will criticize you for being against them, saying how they’re harmless and how all the anti-drug stuff is a lie and whatnot. As a result, I feel like I’m in such a minority that I feel small. It’s not cool to be against drugs in the modern age. Today, it’s considered prudish and cowardly to hate them. But, I do hate drugs, because of the fact that they’ve destroyed so many lives and killed so many people, and yet today most people look past this.
Now, having built up a hatred of drugs and the ways in which they’ve ruined or taken lives, listening to The Beatles is an uncomfortable experience. I mean, let’s look at “A Day In The Life ” which many say is the greatest thing the Beatles ever made – this song is practically one massive “do drugs” subliminal message. “I’d love to turn you on” means “I hope you, the listener, starts using drugs now you’ve heard this song.” So, listening to it, I feel uncomfortable. I don’t do drugs, so how can I enjoy a song that promotes them? It’s no better than today’s rap music promoting drugs, a genre I pretty much never listen to. Like I said, it’s massively hypocritical to be against drugs and yet enjoy a drug-promoting band. My feeling of being a hypocrite has become so strong that I can’t even enjoy the “Help !” album anymore. When I was a kid, I used to say it’s a great album to play in the summer time. Now, I look at it and see it as just another drug album, and as a result, it hinders my enjoyment of it. I now can’t help but think of drugs when I think of The Beatles.
So, why am I making this post? Why did I join this forum? Because I want to enjoy this band again. I really, desperately want to. I feel so shut out from other fans, and such an outcast that I joined. I don’t want to be against the band that made my childhood so happy. I want to rediscover them, to find out just why I enjoyed them in the first place. I just want to know that there are people out there who once felt the same way, even a little bit. Because really, this may sound like a pathetic post, but it does hurt me inside. It really does. I’m a sensitive, shy, socially awkward person and I feel like it effects me personally. I can’t help but look back and cringe now – I was an anti-drug kid who listened to and sang along to the druggiest band of all time. And that’s pretty sad, when you look back at a childhood and hate yourself for it, that to me is making me miserable, and I want it to end.
Or maybe, it’s me that’s the problem – Maybe I’m just stereotyping them or narrowing them down to one thing. Maybe I’m just bitter about being in a minority. But, I want to finally make this point clear. I want to enjoy The Beatles again, and I need your help. I want to see them in the same light that I saw them in as a kid – fun, cheerful, peace-making musicians, not people who wanted everyone to get high. I just want to know that there ARE other people out there – including people on this forum – who happily enjoy the band and at the same time believe in a clean lifestyle, like me. Because , really – I do not want to do, or even accept drugs. I really don’t. I was told that they’re dangerous by my parents who cared for me, I’ve stayed away from pretty much all of them (yes, even alchohol) and it’s quite clear that drugs are to blame for the deaths of so many people in history, and are linked to crime, unemployment, depression, relationships falling apart, and all sorts of other negative things.
So, are there any proudly drug-free Beatles fans on here?
I know what your getting at. There aren’t many bands who are completely anti drug. I don’t think its hypocritical to enjoy and respect the Beatles without doing drugs. I mean you don’t have to live the same way they did if you don’t want. And although the Beatles are heavily linked to drugs there is so much more to their music and their message, that I think there are a lot of fans, such as myself, who are clean but can sort of accept the Beatles’ use of drugs. If that makes sense
I’ve never got the impression that the Beatles ever encouraged their fan’s use of drugs.
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8.07pm
6 May 2014
Offline Thank you very much everyone for the excellent and informative comments. 
9.21pm
Reviewers
29 August 2013
Offline DrBeatle said
^I agree, mmm. Hell, my wife is a huge Beatles fan as well and she said to me while we were watching the Grammy tribute in February “the only thing, ONLY thing, I don’t like about the Beatles is that they did drugs.” My mother has said the same thing. It certainly hasn’t hampered the enjoyment of the music (and with drug use as ubiquitous as it is amongst musicians, it’s VERY hard to find someone who hasn’t done a single illicit substance), but it’s there. But I certainly wouldn’t say it’s a reason people DO like the Beatles (or other bands) at all.
Agree with this 100%.
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9.47pm
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline I will be honest here and say I disagree. What we are talking about is substances that have an effect on the brain. For all those that are banned for their negative effect, there are those allowed. Is the effect of marijuana on society really more damaging than the effect of alcohol? Are sugar, salt, and caffeine really less pernicious than a joint? Don’t get me wrong. I am not advocating the use of marijuana. I am just saying there are many legal substances that do just as much harm, if not more.
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10.25pm
Reviewers
1 November 2013
Offline OK, just finding this. Have a few things to say. I have never done any drugs, never smoked a cigarette, and (I am below 21, so this should be a given) never drank alcohol.
I didn’t mind at all when I found out the Beatles did drugs, (except for John’s heroin usage), as marijuana really isn’t any more of a menace to society and LSD was just what everyone did before they knew it had bad effects. Same as I’m not gonna blame them for smoking cigarettes (which I find to be worse than marijuana in terms of what it can do to you) because it was the ’60s and people didn’t know that it was wrong.
The blanket statement of “drugs are bad” is certainly not a good one, because marijuana and alcohol aren’t going to really hurt you, and aren’t incredibly addicting like nicotine or heroin. However, things like heroin are bad. Very very very bad. It’s addicting and it will hurt you. Easy to overdose and hard to get off of. My friend’s dad died of heroin overdose last year, and it’s just horrible. Just an awful thing.
Finally, the statement that people are attracted to them because of the drugs is laughable. It’s the music, same as every other musician that did drugs (which is most of them), that attracts people. Green Day is literally named after a day spent smoking pot, and I love them anyway, and I don’t love them because of the pot, I love them because of the music.
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10.35pm
21 November 2012
Offline I agree with Ron Nasty. There is a very large portion of substances that do harm. It’s just different for some reason. I mean, heroin for example is something you really can’t compare with something like sugar or salt. When you put a bit of sugar in your tea, every day, it’s not like your body is screaming ”OMYGOD I WANT MORE! MORE SUGAR. ALL DAY LONG HELL YEAH THAT’S RIGHT”, but when you shoot heroin, your body does just that. And your body will be destroyed. Now, heroin is a completely different drug than weed.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you’re using softdrugs or whatever, or drink or god knows what, do it with moderation. Too much of anything is always bad. I mean, fruit is healthy, but if you go and eat a hundred bananas, it won’t really help you either, now will it?
I’ve got the feeling that this won’t come across like I meant it, but I hope it will.
Btw, I’ve never done any drugs except for weed. And to me it wasn’t special at all. Smoking cigarettes isn’t for me either, and now I HATE cigarettes and smoke and all. I do like drinking, but I know how to handle myself. I know when to stop. Being drunk isn’t half as much fun as people often make it out to be. Well, it is, but the aftermath isn’t.
So. I don’t do drugs. And I don’t give a fuck if artists I listen to do. As long as the music is good, I’ll enjoy it.
10.40pm
1 November 2013
Offline (I am below 21, so this should be a given) never drank alcohol.
If you are in America most places have their drinking limit lower like Canada is 19 while Mexico and Ireland are 18.
1.04am
14 December 2009
Offline Linde said Btw, I’ve never done any drugs except for weed.
Ah, Amsterdam 
Paul: Yeah well… first of all, we’re bringing out a ‘Stamp Out Detroit’ campaign.
1.44am
16 September 2013
Offline Von Bontee said
Linde said Btw, I’ve never done any drugs except for weed.
Ah, Amsterdam
We once drove from Paris to the Amsterdam Hilton. Didn’t smoke any weed. In fact, all we did was talk in bed for a week, tryin’ to get us some peace.*
*This is all, as usual, a pack of lies on my part. Oddly enough, I do work for the Hilton Corporation. And to keep this thread on topic, I don’t do drugs of any kind. (The Hilton does drug tests, not that that has any influence on my decisions.) 
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Von Bontee6.38am
5 February 2014
Offline It’s the internet and you have to cultivate (pun intended) some thicker skin, when you express your views.
Especially on Youtube.Everyone has principles. Choose your own and don’t let anyone else’s dictate what you choose.And don’t do drugs. Okay, you already got that one.
