DUFF MCKAGAN: How To Say No To Drugs

October 18, 2012

Duff McKagan (VELVET REVOLVER, DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED, GUNS N' ROSES) has penned the latest installment of his column, which appears on Reverb at SeattleWeekly.com. An excerpt follows below.

"Don't get me wrong, I think it's actually a genuinely sweet offer when someone passes a joint to me. 'I don't smoke weed,' I say. I know the intent is probably good, so I never want to be the guy who passes judgment or otherwise looks at that situation with scornful disdain.

"Drugs are a funny thing. No one really wants to get high alone — when they are still in the 'casual use' stage, anyway. Rarely will you hear of someone doing bumps of cocaine, or hits of crystal meth on their own. There'd be no one to jabber and talk mad nonsense with.

"Rock and roll definitely has the stereotype of being connected to drug use. I get it. The cliché has been earned. But in our modern era, it seems like drugs have finally lost the status of being a mystical and romantic part of the rock persona. Maybe we've seen too many people implode, with public meltdowns, and worst of all, death."

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