Some take large doses of amphetamine and barbiturate pills. What is the result? Their use of these drugs easily leads to loss of self-control, producing effects similar to those seen in a drunk person. (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10; Proverbs 23:33)

Sorcerers in the past employed drugs. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words observes: “In sorcery, the use of drugs, whether simple or potent, was generally accompanied by incantations and appeals to occult powers . . . to impress the applicant with the mysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer.” These comments are made in connection with the Greek word rendered “practice of spiritism” (phar·ma·kiʹa, literally “druggery”) at Galatians 5:20. (See also Revelation 9:21; 18:23.) So today, as in times past, drugs can expose one to demon influence. How could anyone who wants to be a loyal servant of Jehovah expose himself to such danger simply for a momentary feeling of exhilaration?

17, 18. (a) What other bad fruitage has become associated with drug use? (b) So, how do Jehovah’s Christian witnesses view the use of drugs?

¹⁷ As is well known, drug use is inseparably linked with crime and the moral breakdown in society. Illicit drug sales are a major source of income for organized crime. A large percentage of drug addicts commit thefts and burglaries to support their habit. Others turn to prostitution. Families by the thousands are torn apart when a member becomes an addict. Pregnant mothers pass on addiction to their babies, who sometimes die while undergoing the agonies of withdrawal. And in most lands the possession and use of such dangerous drugs for nonmedical reasons is illegal.​—Matthew 22:17-21.