When I was growing up, society was going through an epic drug scare. The only two answers to the constant barrage of anti drug messaging were to either become completely repulsed by the stuff or to throw yourself into it. Honestly, I’m not sure either one of those paths is correct. That’s why I wanted to present some of the most interesting anti drug quotes I’ve found.
Oftentimes, I find the discourse surrounding substance abuse and addiction to be more than a little accusatory. As you’ll see from some of the anti drug slogans we’ve had over the years, they often rely on encouraging and commanding people not to partake. Even though that’s not an unreasonable request to make, it only paints half of the picture. Hopefully, these quotes will open our eyes enough to make us see the whole thing.
34 Scary Slogans and Thoughtful Anti Drug Quotes
Just Say No: Famous Anti Drug Quotes and Slogans
#1. “Be all you can be. Go drug-free.”
#2. “Be proud to be drug-free.”
#3. “Crack is whack.”
#4. “Don’t pass the glass.”
#5. “Don’t snort your life away.”
#6. “Drugs will cost you more than money.”
#7. “Getting wasted is a waste of time.”
#8. “Say nope to dope.”
#9. “Choose not to use.”
#10. “LSD is not for me.”
#11. “Meth is the REAL tooth fairy.”
#12. “Kick it before it kicks you.”
#13. “Life can take you higher than drugs.”
#14. “Life is a precious gift, don’t waste it on drugs.”
#15. “Choose to refuse.”
#16. “The more you use, the less you live.”
#17. “Be smart ― don’t start.”
#18. “It’s easier to stay off drugs than to get off drugs.”
#19. “D.E.A.D. spells out Drugs End All Dreams.”
#20. “You use, you lose.”
Anti Drug Quotes That Show Why People Turn to Substance Abuse
#21. “I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom.” ― Edgar Allan Poe
#22. “People use drugs, legal and illegal, because their lives are intolerably painful or dull. They hate their work and find no rest in their leisure. They are estranged from their families and their neighbors. It should tell us something that in healthy societies drug use is celebrative, convivial, and occasional, whereas among us it is lonely, shameful, and addictive. We need drugs, apparently, because we have lost each other.” ― Wendell Berry
#23. “I was more addicted to self-destruction than to the drugs themselves… something very romantic about it.” ― Gerard Way
#24. “Happiness is not to be found at the bottom of a bottle or from the tip of a needle; it is not to be found amidst a cloud of smoke or within a sugar-coated pill. If you look for it in these places, you will find naught but despair.” ― Wayne Gerard Trotman
#25. “At the bottom of every person’s dependency, there is always pain. Discovering the pain and healing it is an essential step in ending dependency.” ― Chris Prentiss
It Takes Strength to Get Out: Anti Drug Quotes About Addicts
#26. “Sometimes he missed the numbed, walking-underwater feeling that the cocktail of narcotics used to give him. But if a situation went down in here, he was going to need all of his wits to get out of it.” ― R.D. Ronald
#27. “I used to think a drug addict was someone who lived on the far edges of society. Wild-eyed, shaven-headed and living in a filthy squat. That was until I became one…” ― Cathryn Kemp
#28. “My daughter, Carly, has been in and out of drug treatment facilities since she was thirteen. Every time she goes away, I have a routine: I go through her room and search for drugs she may have left behind. We have a laugh these days because Carly says, ‘So you were looking for drugs I might have left behind? I’m a drug addict, Mother. We don’t leave drugs behind, especially if we’re going into treatment. We do all the drugs. We don’t save drugs back for later. If I have drugs, I do them. All of them. If I had my way, we would stop for more drugs on the way to rehab, and I would do them in the parking lot of the treatment center.’” ― Dina Kucera
#29. “Emotionally wounded addicts have an extremely difficult time with intimacy and with trusting themselves and others. They have a deep desire to trust, but their emotional scars and traumatic memories haunt them whenever an opportunity to trust another person arises. Naturally, this can lead to a very lonely existence.” ― Christopher Dines
#30. “Drugs are a waste of time. They destroy your memory and your self-respect and everything that goes along with your self-esteem.” ― Kurt Cobain
The Future is Optimistic: Anti Drug Quotes About Empathy and Healing
#31. “The mentality and behavior of drug addicts and alcoholics are wholly irrational until you understand that they are completely powerless over their addiction and unless they have structured help, they have no hope.” ― Russell Brand
#32. “It is impossible to understand addiction without asking what relief the addict finds, or hopes to find, in the drug or the addictive behavior.” ― Gabor Mate
#33. “Every person in the AA program who’s successful is living proof that he or she does have power over addictive drugs and alcohol — the power to stop.” ― Chris Prentiss
#34. “It is difficult to feel sympathy for these people. It is difficult to regard some bawdy drunk and see them as sick and powerless. It is difficult to suffer the selfishness of a drug addict who will lie to you and steal from you and forgive them and offer them help. Can there be any other disease that renders its victims so unappealing? Would Great Ormond Street be so attractive a cause if its beds were riddled with obnoxious little criminals that had ‘brought it on themselves?’” ― Russell Brand
To Conclude
As catchy as anti drug slogans can be, they also tend to be tone-deaf more often than not. Not only that, but many of them come across as accusatory, putting the “blame” on the shoulders of the users, rather than on the circumstances. Today, we know that addiction is influenced by a person’s biology, as well as their environment and development. So we know that some people are simply at a higher risk to develop substance abuse issues.
Fortunately, as I’ve tried to showcase with the anti drug quotes above, we also understand that addiction is curable and even preventable. So if you or one of your loved ones are affected by this illness, don’t despair. And even if you’re not, I hope these quotes will allow you to see those who are with more empathy.
Image Source: Anti drug by Stephen Martin – Under Creative Commons License
