“Frankenstein”, “On the Road”, “Little Women” ­- all of these pieces have one thing in common, and it’s not being a classic. They’ve been written on drugs. Yes, even “The Communist Manifesto”, one of the most impactful books in history, has been written by two drunk students. Seeing all these result it raises one question: Are drugs the hidden recipe for writing a masterpiece?

From an early age on, we are warned about the usage of drugs and taught to despise and repulse the filthy substance that ‘controls our mind’. What most people don’t know, is that specific drugs are not only used to stimulate your brain, but also let your imagination grow and help you concentrate. Authors often use drugs to overcome a ‘writer’s block’ or achieve an overall better performance through the boost of creativity and wakefulness.

An excellent example of a classic written under influence is the frightening story about a mad Scientist reanimating a corpse. Frankenstein. While on a camping trip, Mary Shelley and her literary friends read and told spooky short stories around a fire one night. It is said, that that’s when she came up with her all too well-known novel. Interestingly, it is barely mentioned that she and her friends were absolutely bunkers, consuming every drug they could lay their hands upon.

Yet, not to be forgotten are all the symptoms caused by the usage of drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine, and opiates, which are famous among authors.

Often experienced while in trance is drowsiness, confusion, delirium, decreased awareness, small pupils, as well as breathing problems.

Additionally, drugs commonly have long-lasting aftereffects such as poor work performance or declining grades, changes in physical appearance, lack of interest in grooming or lack of energy, altered behavior, and changes in relationships.

By far, people experience the worst case when on withdrawal or “the stage of healing” as optimists would call it. Yet as easy it is to say, healing isn’t a particularly appropriate connotation, but in fact feels like the opposite of that.

According to the American Addiction center, withdrawal is a “physiological response to the sudden quitting or slowing of usage of a substance to which the body has grown dependent on”.

Every drug has its respective symptoms and can influence people in different ways. The most common aspects are depressed mood, paranoia, Insomnia, hallucinations, sweating, Anxiety, or even seizures.

The NSCL (national conference of state legislatures) states, that every day over 100 people die from drug overdoses…

So, is it genuinely worth it putting your future and life on the line for a novel when there are alternatives?