I was asked this question by spiritual teacher Acharya das and I didn't have a good answer. He pointed out that drugs temporarily relieve the feeling of emptiness, purposelessness, and pain.

He states that the mind is separate from who we are and it can become a greater enemy, or friend, to us than anyone else. He further states that the use of intoxication strengthens the hold that the mind has over us (the spiritual being) preventing us from having spiritually pleasurable experiences.

You can watch the full episode below.

Acharya das is a teacher of the Vedic and Yoga philosophy, meditation and Kirtan. He has been teaching meditation all over the world for over 45 years including in prison systems. We go through a small amount of his background and then cover questions such as Why do we suffer? Why are we here? What is yoga? Why do we use drugs? How do we end suffering? For anyone who wants to go deeper into this subject please follow Acharya das on youtube and his other social media. Here are some links that he has provided me to go with this interview

This is a link to a meditation playlist on SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/acharyadas/set...

For just breath-work and Gauranga mantra – https://soundcloud.com/acharyadas/bre...

For Japa – https://soundcloud.com/acharyadas/jap...

For a session that has breath-work, Gauranga, japa and a kirtan – https://soundcloud.com/acharyadas/mym...

For video instructional and practice different types of mantra meditations – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFgnQ...

For yoga-nidra to help people relax and sleep – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Hlf...

Youtube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/acharyadas108