“I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me.”

–Hunter S. Thompson

So said the late journalist Hunter S. Thompson. He was a journalist best known for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a novel first published in the early 1970s.

During the course of Fear and Loathing, its characters use large amounts drugs, including hallucinogens (drugs that can create hallucinations). Since the book is loosely based on some of Thompson’s own experiences, people have speculated whether Thompson himself used those drugs and had those types of experiences.

Thompson himself seemed keen to encourage such speculation. In interviews with journalists and biographers and in other appearances, Thompson claimed that he consumed large amounts of drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. Others have disputed these claims, saying that

• using such high amounts of such substances on a frequent basis would’ve probably killed Thompson.
• Thompson was just giving the public what they wanted and conforming to the public’s image of him.

It does appear that Thompson did play a role in romanticizing drug use and drug experiences. For example, you can find several YouTube videos featuring Hunter S. Thompson. On the same pages, people have posted to their comments to Thompson’s videos. Many people support Thompson’s behavior and words. Many agree with his statements that support drugs and alcohol.

Thompson’s drug-induced trips might have been bizarre or even scary, but he still championed alcohol and drugs. Even if Thompson truly didn’t use all the drugs and alcohol he claimed to use, he was still promoting an irresponsible message. He was advocating practices that could be dangerous, even deadly. Substance use disorder is definitely not colorful or romantic, even if you talk about it in books or on talk shows like Thompson did.