Well Gervase, if your story is indeed true (and I've no reason to believe otherwise) then you have indeed been a fortunate fellow. However, very many others aren't so fortunate, and you do impressionable young people no favours at all by revelling in and glorifying your personal stupidity.

As I said, at great length, in my much earlier posts, I have considerable subjective experience too, as a parent of a heroin-addict and also as a youth-worker. You're not raining on my parade - I'm well used to being shouted at and down by drug-abusers at all levels, and it's water off a duck's back. What I do care about though are impressionable young people whose lives are wrecked by drugs, and you should be ashamed of yourself for boasting about your abuses.