Quote Originally Posted by Guest
Would a society who used 'drugs' in a reponsible manner be able to maintain./... tough to pose this question.

would the society remain 'sane' ? Or would it appear to be 'sane' and then start to collapse?

I ask this because of all the inner turmoil that could rise to the surface and all that sort of thing.

Im incredibibly vague I know.
Well, speaking in the strictly historical sense, those societies have already existed. They've maintained themselves for fairly long periods of time. Entire civilizations even. Sane? That's a subjective question isn't it? As if an insane society was doomed to collapse. Perhaps it is. It seems our record for the length of a society is about 700 years. Maybe a little more. Certainly not possible in more modern times when change seems accellerated. Of course, it would be insane of a culture to resist the inevitable changes. Which is probably why we adopt new paradigms. What defines the death and birth of a society anyway?

I think resistance to that essential change has given rise to more inner turmoil within societies than a simple substance ever could. For the most part, I think I'd feel safe saying that drugs don't cause problems, they just highlight them and make them more apparent. Both personally and socially.