I had to do this well into my late 20s. TBH its only really now that my mum sort of accepts my lifestyle (ironically at a point where this stage in my life is slowly coming to a close!)
the problem particularly in South Essex, East Anglia and SE England is all these areas were the hub of the rave scene in the 1990s. A substantial proportion of my generation did fuck up from overdoing the drugs, through their own stubbornness and stupidity, even after having access to increasingly accurate information of their potential risks.
Of course the media has exaggerated some of it, but I’ve noticed most people don’t believe the media but draw from their own personal experiences.
very few people drop dead off party drugs, but many heavy users do suffer medium term serious mental health problems – enough to make them lash out at people close to them. These problems are reversible, but even if people forgive they never forget seeing someone they love put themselves and others through hell.
older parents may have witnessed some of my generation suffering – younger parents (i.e my age (!) ) may remember the hell their friends went through. of course no decent person wants to see things like that so they may feel they have to be against drugs even if they once took them.
my own father was a recreational drug user and for years wrestled with the paradox of having to discipline his son simply because my choice of drugs was illegal and his (benzodiazepines) wasn’t. This conflict lasted from 1988-2000 (he suffereed a terminal illness in part due to kidney damage caused by benzos, which of course made my mum even more paranoid about drug use!)
It was only the week he died that he realised the paradox and we made our peace.
