The abuse of substances such as alcohol and other harmful drugs (perhaps even a vicious combination composed of more than the many possible constituents) is an aspect of life that arises simply from the manifestation of human activity nature itself: an incredibly deep and complex calamity that arises from this vague, but familiar source. It is a sword with many cutting edges and a lust for its victims and, if carried to excess, will function as an inevitable common denominator for the division of an addict's life and priorities. There is a certain notion, often espoused by former drug addicts, “that you can get much higher without drugs than you can with them.” However, throughout history there have been large numbers of people, groups, and cultures that have used drugs and alcohol as a means of “fuel”/self-propulsion, to a similar extent as the average American family needs to drive a car. for a year, and without which such a large scar would not have remained on the withered skin of history. Hunter Thompson once noted, in an attempt to understand the meaning of the infamous Hell's Angels mystique, that there is a thin line between survival and disaster, a good definition even of luck: The Edge... There is no honest way to explain because the only people who really know where it is are those who have moved on. The others, the living, are the ones who pushed their control to the point where they thought they could handle it, and then backed off, slowed down, or did whatever they had to do when it came to choosing between Now and Later. . But the limit is still out there. Or maybe it's fashionable. The association of motorcycles with LSD is not an act of publicity. They are both a means to an end, the place of defi... center of the card... entertainment, revenue and so on. Any theme that is prevalent in the real world on a universal level is undoubtedly an appropriate theme in literature. Works Cited “Quotes about drugs and alcohol in The Glass Menagerie.” Online. Accessed: June 5, 2010. “Drug and Alcohol Theme in The Glass Menagerie.” Online. Accessed: June 5, 2010. “Quotes about drugs and alcohol in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Online. Accessed: June 5, 2010.Thompson, Hunter S. Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga. New York, NY: Random House, 1966. Williams, Tennessee. The glass menagerie. Bedford's compact introduction to literature. Boston, Massachusetts: Bedford/St. Martin, 2003.