MARCH 19 — My definition of getting ‘high’
Sitting in my dimly lit room as my almost 40-year-old turntable spins a Led Zeppelin II album. I close my eyes while the band mesmerises with its brilliant musical flair.
The excellent riffs by Jimmy Page to the powerful vocals of Robert Plant — such mastery suffices. If there was a need for an even stronger ‘kick’, I simply turn up the volume when The Lemon Song is played. The killer bass by John Paul Jones and with John Bonham on the drums, the 6.20-minute song would elevate you to a different level.
How much would such an addiction cost?
A well-maintained used vinyl record is about RM50 and can be obtained at the flea market in AmCorp Mall in Petaling Jaya. You could also get some good deals online.
The effects?
Life long satisfaction — minus the hangover, massive headache, foaming in the mouth or ending up dead.
But what about popping some pills? Isn’t that a ‘cool’ way of getting high and to be accepted within your circle?
Lame — with a capital L.
But why is it okay to booze and smoke (cigarettes) instead?
Who said it is okay?
Should we ban music festivals since six people died after taking, what police believe, is a new form of drug?
Let’s not be extreme. Let’s not be shallow.
The deaths of six party-goers, aged 19 to 28, who attended the Future Music Festival Asia 2014 at the National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil last week has raised eyebrows as police now believe the new designer drug was manufactured abroad and brought in by foreigners.
There are claims of youngsters ‘popping’ before entering the venue. Some say the drugs were distributed in the vicinity while a police source had told The Malay Mail on Monday that the new drug could have had a wrong content mixture which resulted in the deaths.
The effects of this new drug is far worse than that of Ecstasy. Police now await the toxicology and chemist reports.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), had in its World Drug Report last year, noted new psychoactive substance (NPS) had increased to more than 50 per cent from the end of 2009 to mid-2012.
The report read two main NPS in Asia in terms of consumption are ketamine and kratom, mostly affecting the countries of East and Southeast Asia. Ketamine pills have been sold for several years as a substitute for Ecstasy (and sometimes even as Ecstasy).
The report added large-scale traditional consumption of khat, green-leafed shrub that originates from the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula, is present in Western Asia.
Journals and newspaper reports, had throughout last year, quoted UNODC as saying there was a new drug in town almost every week. This was even highlighted by federal narcotics Crime Investigation Department director Commissioner Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim.
Some claim they are depressed, have plenty of woes and feel unwanted — thus the need to take illegal substances. They are quick to whine and complain, but take no effort to solve their problems. To them the best solution would be running away — by getting a quick fix.
Should we sympathise with such people? A colleague recently wore a shirt that read “If you’re looking for sympathy, you’ll find it in the dictionary between s*** and syphilis.”
I need not say more.
This incident also raises questions on how such drugs are brought into the country. Porous borders? Laxness in immigration checks? That is a lengthy discussion best kept for another day.
There are better ways of enjoying a music festival. Life isn’t about men with thick gold chains looking at scantily dressed women shaking their booty just like in a music video clip.
It is about taking charge and knowing your limits. It is about growing up.
Sadly, some choose to remain immature in the pursuit of happiness.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
