--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I use drugs to work. I never use them to…" description: "\"I use drugs to work. I never use them to escape or for pleasure. When you turn to drugs, all you're doing is turning inside, anyway. I only use drugs f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dff/patti-smith-394_construction_i-use-drugs-to-work-i-never-use-them-to_2346295.jpg" --- # I use drugs to work. I never use them to escape or for… ![“I use drugs to work. I never use them to escape or for pleasure. When you turn to drugs, all you're doing is turning inside, anyway. I only use drugs for construction. It's like one of my architectural tools.” quote by Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dff/patti-smith-394_construction_i-use-drugs-to-work-i-never-use-them-to_2346295.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dff/patti-smith-394_construction_i-use-drugs-to-work-i-never-use-them-to_2346295.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dff/patti-smith-394_construction_i-use-drugs-to-work-i-never-use-them-to_2346295.jpg) > “I use drugs to work. I never use them to escape or for pleasure. When you turn to drugs, all you're doing is turning inside, anyway. I only use drugs for construction. It's like one of my architectural tools.” [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Using substances as tools for creation can blur lines between aid and addiction. **In simple terms:** Drugs as creative tools. Key Takeaway Use tools wisely. Themes creativity addiction tool use Mood candid thoughtful Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - artistic process - mental health - risk management Key Concepts psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - Can you separate tool use from reliance? - What alternatives support your creativity? A Different Perspective Creative reliance may become dependency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Construction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/construction/) [Drug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug/) [Drugs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drugs/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [I think I don't want to use drugs or medicine, so nothing. The only way is to go on stage and to hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-bocelli/i-think-i-don-t-want-to-use-drugs-or-medicine-so-nothing-the-only-way/) [Andrea Bocelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-bocelli/) > [I think psychedelics play a major part in what we do, but having said that, I feel that if somebody's going to experiment with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-think-psychedelics-play-a-major-part-in-what-we-do-but-having-said/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [A message to all teenagers who think it's cool to use drugs WAKE UP! It's not big, It's not clever and it will change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/a-message-to-all-teenagers-who-think-it-s-cool-to-use-drugs-wake-up/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“The use of drugs is not an effective means of facilitating real escape. It merely gives that erroneous and illusive impression. Well, illusive with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-m-forester/the-use-of-drugs-is-not-an-effective-means-of-facilitating-real/) [H.M. Forester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-m-forester/) > [Most drugs work on only about a third of the population, they do no damage to another third, and the final third can have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-venter/most-drugs-work-on-only-about-a-third-of-the-population-they-do-no/) [Craig Venter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-venter/) > [The real problem with all drugs is that they work. Fantastically. They're great, right up until the moment they kill you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/the-real-problem-with-all-drugs-is-that-they-work-fantastically-they/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [The drugs never work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/my-chemical-romance/the-drugs-never-work/) [My Chemical Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/my-chemical-romance/) > [People get sick and sometimes they get better and sometimes they don't. And it doesn't matter if the sickness is cancer or if it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/people-get-sick-and-sometimes-they-get-better-and-sometimes-they-don/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [Some of the best times in my life happened under the influence of drugs... I'd still be doing it if I could make good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-williams/some-of-the-best-times-in-my-life-happened-under-the-influence-of/) [Robbie Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-williams/) > [It would be crazy for me to come out now talking about selling drugs and doing all this stuff I never did for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamillionaire/it-would-be-crazy-for-me-to-come-out-now-talking-about-selling-drugs/) [Chamillionaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamillionaire/) > [Invent new drugs, that's what you should be doing... fight to get new weirder ones... and weirder establishments to do them in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-stanhope/invent-new-drugs-that-s-what-you-should-be-doing-fight-to-get-new/) [Doug Stanhope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-stanhope/) > [There is a national consensus building here that drugs are doing a great deal of damage to the Bolivian society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gonzalo-sanchez-de-lozada/there-is-a-national-consensus-building-here-that-drugs-are-doing-a/) [Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gonzalo-sanchez-de-lozada/) > [The minute you use the drugs, and you do something that interferes with the life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness of the guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/the-minute-you-use-the-drugs-and-you-do-something-that-interferes/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [I am not a preacher. I don't want to stand on a soapbox and tell people, "Don't drink. Don't use drugs." With my kids,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/i-am-not-a-preacher-i-don-t-want-to-stand-on-a-soapbox-and-tell/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [The trick is to use the drugs once to get there, and maybe spend the next ten years trying to get back there without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/the-trick-is-to-use-the-drugs-once-to-get-there-and-maybe-spend-the/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) ## More by Patti Smith > [I had a really happy childhood - my siblings were great, my mother was very fanciful, and I loved to read. But there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-had-a-really-happy-childhood-my-siblings-were-great-my-mother-was/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [As a citizen, hopefully I'm humanist. As an artist, I'm free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/as-a-citizen-hopefully-i-m-humanist-as-an-artist-i-m-free/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [ Sometimes \[people\] seem to think I came out of the womb, you know, cursing, with an electric guitar. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/sometimes-people-seem-to-think-i-came-out-of-the-womb-you-know/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“Inside it he inscribed a few lines of poetry, portraying us as the gypsy and the fool, one creating silence; one listening closely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/inside-it-he-inscribed-a-few-lines-of-poetry-portraying-us-as-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Who can know the heart of youth but youth itself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/who-can-know-the-heart-of-youth-but-youth-itself/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“I clawed through a thick web of the culture’s consciousness that I hadn’t known existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-clawed-through-a-thick-web-of-the-culture-s-consciousness-that-i/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Ultimately, we are not seeking others to bow to, but to reinforce our individual natures, to help us suffer our own choices, to guide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/ultimately-we-are-not-seeking-others-to-bow-to-but-to-reinforce-our/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [If I'm taking a picture of Brancusi's grave, I know that there's something of him, of his mortal remains, beneath my feet, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/if-i-m-taking-a-picture-of-brancusi-s-grave-i-know-that-there-s/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'm certain, as we filled down the great staircase, that I appeared the same as ever, a moping twelve years-old, all arms and legs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-m-certain-as-we-filled-down-the-great-staircase-that-i-appeared-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/in-art-and-dream-may-you-proceed-with-abandon-in-life-may-you-proceed/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [New York is the thing that seduced me. New York is the thing that formed me. New York is the thing that deformed me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/new-york-is-the-thing-that-seduced-me-new-york-is-the-thing-that/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I don't wanna be equal with anybody. I wanna be above equal. I don't think most people are equal to me. I'd like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-don-t-wanna-be-equal-with-anybody-i-wanna-be-above-equal-i-don-t/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I think I'm constantly in a state of adjustment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-think-i-m-constantly-in-a-state-of-adjustment/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Somehow I started introducing writing into my drawings, and after a time, the language took over and I started getting very involved with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/somehow-i-started-introducing-writing-into-my-drawings-and-after-a/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'm okay with roaming around the world in my bunk for days on end. Maybe every third day I'll get a shower or stumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-m-okay-with-roaming-around-the-world-in-my-bunk-for-days-on-end/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) [Explore all 595 Patti Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) ## More Construction quotes > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [To follow good manners willingly is like paving the road and to tell somebody to follow them is like the road which is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/to-follow-good-manners-willingly-is-like-paving-the-road-and-to-tell/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Cold calculation, random spots of color, mathematically exact construction (clearly shown or concealed), drawing that is now silent and now strident . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-puccini/cold-calculation-random-spots-of-color-mathematically-exact/) [Giacomo Puccini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-puccini/) > [“But the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every words that serves no function, every long word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/but-the-secret-of-good-writing-is-to-strip-every-sentence-to-its/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Sometimes I think the resurrection of the body, unless much improved in construction, a mistake!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/sometimes-i-think-the-resurrection-of-the-body-unless-much-improved/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [“Create with the heart; build with the mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/create-with-the-heart-build-with-the-mind/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [ I'm telling you, I could teach at a university, \[George\] Carlin, a whole semester. The construction and deconstruction of the words, the language, the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-m-telling-you-i-could-teach-at-a-university-george-carlin-a-whole/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [Seoul will strictly limit the total greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and expand the construction of zero-energy buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-won-soon/seoul-will-strictly-limit-the-total-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from/) [Park Won-soon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-won-soon/) > [It's no accident that most self-help groups use 'anonymous' in their names; to Americans, the first step toward redemption is a ritual wiping out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/it-s-no-accident-that-most-self-help-groups-use-anonymous-in-their/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [“Over 275,000 people had signed to end the construction of the TMT telescope at the Mauna Kea Observatories (MKO) by week 20 of the protest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/over-275-000-people-had-signed-to-end-the-construction-of-the-tmt/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Philosophical knowledge is the knowledge gained by reason from concepts ; mathematical knowledge is the knowledge gained by reason from the construction of concepts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/philosophical-knowledge-is-the-knowledge-gained-by-reason-from/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Any subject is suitable provided it is of sufficient interest, but the design must be very carefully considered, and plenty of time and thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/any-subject-is-suitable-provided-it-is-of-sufficient-interest-but-the/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [No construction stiff working overtime takes more stress and straining than we did just to stay high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-van-sant/no-construction-stiff-working-overtime-takes-more-stress-and/) [Gus Van Sant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-van-sant/) > [Cities need old buildings so badly it is probably impossible for vigorous streets and districts to grow without them… for really new ideas of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/cities-need-old-buildings-so-badly-it-is-probably-impossible-for/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [My construction of the constitution is very different from that you quote. It is that each department is truly independent of the others, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/my-construction-of-the-constitution-is-very-different-from-that-you/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Browse all 942 Construction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/construction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I use drugs to work. I never use them to escape or for pleasure. When you turn to drugs, all you're doing is turning inside, anyway. I only use drugs for construction. 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