Hmmm...maybe a more apropos title would've been "Vice of Choice?" Unless we can take "drug" in the figurative sense...
With me right now it's just mainly drinks. Of that, I drink shochu (Japanese "vodka") the most because 1) I can get it cheap at my main hangout and 2) it's very easy to handle (up until a certain point). There's no sugars in it so you can't get fat, either. Beyond that, I like red wine, beers, sake, cream liquers, whisky, sometimes gin...depends on my mood and taste. I appreciate the flavor of certain drinks and at my age now I've gone through enough to know my body well, what works for me and what doesn't.
As far as smoking is concerned...I used to smoke a lot in the past...it really began in my mid-20s when I broke up with an ex that had a big impact in my heart and life. Before then I didn't smoke cigarettes at all, if it wasn't for the occasional marijuana toke. So when my heart got crushed from the breakup, I crashed HARD and I felt like being "bad" for a while...hence, I started smoking and being a nightcrawler. Pretty much the defacto "ring of fire" script us passionate starving artists go through in order to feel life. This was back when you could smoke at bars in this city and I'm glad I went through that because I experienced a lot of things from that "style" and I got a lot out of my system that I don't feel the need to pursue any longer. One grows up or hopefully evolves and things don't stay the same. Thru time, I gradually toned both smoke and drink down to the point where I only smoke when I go drink and both of those I do so maybe once or twice a week if I feel the notion, due to finances, future health concerns and my shifting to other areas of focus. Before it was just party for party's sake. Now I know that if you are able to enjoy a vice it's better to do it once in a while.
Every now and then a buddy might pass the dutchie but if I smoke too much of that shit it's during drinking time and I'll REALLY get crunk. I didn't do enough of it to develop a resistance to it like I did alcohol, so I keep it strictly minimum, if at all.
I did coke a few times, but never to the great extent that I got an addiction to it or ever felt the need to buy it. I always shared from a friend's stash if they offered and I felt like doing it.
I draw the line at needles or anything involving cutting the skin. Never did any other form of drugs, surprisingly...just didn't find an attraction and I never craved anything physically. My motto was, if I couldn't piss it out within an hour, I didn't want it! As much as I love having a good time, if I felt the need to do something "more," then I just want the easiest and least expensive method of chemical enhancement...ergo "drinking"...and not at any expensive trendoid hipster bars where it costs $10 for a fuckin' beer!
Any high that there is or will be, no matter what you do for you, is just all basically chemical...plus the mental stimulation of who you might be around and your surroundings. Like, I know what coke will do to me and so I can decide if I want to have that feeling or not. Or beer. Or wine. Or cigarette. It's best to know yourself before doing anything, otherwise you'll just do it robotically and that's what really fucks people up in the end. But most of the feeling you will have, either good or bad, I think, is mostly dependent on your surroundings and other people. Other people can make you feel really happy to have fun with them, or bring you down and totally fuck up your vibe. Same with the place. So choose your surroundings and companions accordingly. I do know that when I was younger I was looking for a "place." Something like Norm in "Cheers." I bopped all over the place and now I pretty much found my niche and stuck to it.
Ultimately, the way I feel about it all is the same as what the late, great Ray Charles once said..."I did drugs because it was my pleasure."