>>2036I live in jolly ol' England. In an area rife with mental illness and drug addiction alike.
I've grown up knowing addiction. Drunks infest the streets almost nightly, the air constantly smells like weed or dog soykaf .
People don't care anymore.
I saw some teens using a bong in a kids park outside a primary school (elementary school), fuarrrk subtlety, those idiots.
My social circle is comparatively very clean. Some budding drunks but never anything too destructive. I'm well aware I'm the group fool (self esteem check, I went through "group cancer" and "group letdown" first)
Only my best friend knows about the sleeping pills and bless him, he hasn't said anything. Though he of course has no idea the extent of their use.
Some others know I'm on them for medicinal purposes, not recreation.
I've never cared much for self preservation. Odds are I'd have my paws in something much worse if only I had the connections.
I've told my best friend to tell me if they start becoming a destructive force in OTHERS lives.
I gave up on life far too young. It's now an old habit to write myself off.