I prided myself on my low-to-medium-dose polypharmacology approach to Coachella, usually entering the festival sniffling a nose full of blow, with a pretty hefty alcohol numbness, some 'shrooms kicking in, maybe some 2CBs and with a few E tablets in my hands, a tiny nibble of marijuana edible, eating one right before security and securing the rest so it wouldn't be found. Last year was Soberchella. I had no idea what to expect. It was way better. I was in fantastic shape, and I REMEMBER the whole experience. It was in a weird way far more psychedelic. I had been to very few concerts sober. Amazing how attuned you are to music when sober.
What helped me tremendously was an exercise where we made four columns and filled them in.
The Pros of using
The Cons of using
The Pros of NOT using
The Cons of NOT using
It's pretty instructive. Once you accept the fact that past experience overwhelmingly shows that a single use of a substance (drink, line, hit, whatever) will lead to drastic overuse and consequences, the above grid makes the above a no-brainer.
I think of the first step, but modified. I'm not powerless over my substances (and blow was DEFINITELY in the mix). However, once I have a drink or a line or a hit, I am pretty much powerless from following the tape to its nasty and logical conclusion to a place of horrible regret.
Add to that how wonderful life becomes while NOT on drugs, even things like music (and for me, sex) which can be assumed to be ALwAYS better enhanced by substances and you pretty much won't really even want to do another line or hit.
That was true for me, anyway.