Thanks to everyone for all the input on this. I take it that it is realised by most that this was mainly a bit of devils advocate stuff from my side.
Fully understand and discussion is always better than trying to cover it up.
Fully aware of the impact and extent of drugs in USA and EUROPE society in general and sometimes on the game we all love.
Call me a wishful thinking old fuddy duddy but I don't believe or accept that it actually HAS to be like this. It's like that because you (yes YOU) are prepared to accept it. You have a drug problem in USA the extent of which is way in excess of what it ever was in the past (including within pool) because when it boils down to it you are basically prepared to shrug your shoulders and accept it as inevitable. It isn't.
I don't actually agree that drugs are more prevalent now than in the past. When one looks at the history of drugs then you can see that many now illegal substances were once legal and used widely and freely. I think drugs are a hot button issue for politicians and the media to push whenever they need headlines. Obviously there are a lot of complex social, moral, and legal facets that surround the issue of drugs in general. I also don't believe that individuals who refuse to socialize with drug users are going to stop those users from using by virtue of shunning them. If anything rejection will lead to even more use. The only way to keep drug users out of the pool room is for the owners to tell them their business is not welcome. Of course each individual can decide not to play with a person who seems to be high but that will include a lot of judgment on that individual's part and probably more than they need to deal with.
Where I live, many people (including many pool payers) have quite large disposal incomes and quite a few have vast leisure time. We are very close to some of the most prolific drug production and trafficking areas of the world. However compared to USA or Europe there is negligible drug use here in or near pool halls despite these circumstances and despite the high amounts of disposable cash washing around. That is because as a society in general and as pool players in particular we are not prepared to accept it and because the Govt are not prepared to accept it and because they back up their stance with harsh laws and penalties.
That is commendable but I think we have all heard that the laws don't apply to the upper echelon. I don't think that much is denied to those who want it for their pleasure if they are in high positions, no matter where they are. There are basically three kinds of users, recreational, functional, and escapist. You can bet that the harsher the laws the more underground it is. I am sure that in your community there are those that use drugs and fit into one or more of the three groups. However people who use and are halfway smart can control themselves to be able to conceal their use for a long time. But also you have quite a different culture there so it doesn't really apply to the USA. In the USA there are also some pretty harsh laws and plenty of stories of people in prison because of relatively small offenses. Still people use in the three groups I mentioned. Why? Because the recreational ones like it, the functional ones need it, and the escapists are desperate. So potential punishment isn't much of a deterrent. Why is it illegal to eat an ecstasy pill but not to slam down four vodka and red bulls? So you can see that some people don't see the reasoning behind such "laws" and refuse to obey them. It's really a sticky issue that goes far far beyond tolerance.
I can leave my car unlocked outside the pool hall with lots of valuables inside it and no-one would dream of stealing from it. I can leave my wallet on the table beside my beer glass while shooting some pool. If I have too much to drink and take a taxi and accidentally leave my wallet in the pool hall or in the cab the pool hall owner or cab driver and/or the police will trace me and return it next day. No crack head will ever shove a broken glass in my face or try to mug me in the pool hall car park.
Well I have been to many pool rooms around the world and especially in the United States. The incidence of people getting mugged by drug addicts in pool room parking lots is incredibly low. The users/addicts that I know are for the most part functioning people who have day jobs and wouldn't dream of doing anything to harm another person to support their habit. Of course the media and the government never report on those types of users. What would happen to the war on drugs if it were known that most people who use them get along just fine in society and harm no one?
There's no magic in this. You get what you're prepared to accept
