That’s a sad truth. In mainstream culture whether you take drugs is mostly regarded as a lifestyle choice. The use is attuning your personality for how it appears to yourself and others. In this function drug use acts as a socialization agent which eases connecting to foreigners and can provoke recognition or even respect among peers.
Tobacco as an example probably derives most appeal from this within western culture. It suggests to perceive you as more exciting, rough, adventurous, or classy. You can see such traits as the predominate message in most cigarette advertisements. Hence this can also be considered a big factor for psychological drug addiction in general. If you feel like you can’t stop smoking, your ego might be struggling with the fear of losing one of its strong building blocks. From there it also becomes obvious why the risk of addiction is so much higher during adolescence.
I can’t pretend that I’m above those silly games. I’d very much like to be. But things like that are hard to escape, especially when a lot of people keep reflecting an image that arises out of expectations coming from such ideas. But I assume it to be among the most limiting factors that hinders powerful tools to unfold their true potential to the evolution of human existence.
But since this world is ruled by more logic based entities there is not much interest in such thing. Hence the widespread prohibition1 of any psychoactive with high potential for insightful experience and hence the common image of drug use as merely some sort of rebellious act. But if even the users tend to2 tint their self-perceived reasons with this image then there is not much benefits to reap for anyone.
Being against something is a rather poor reason for indulging in psychotropics. A much better incentive would be to tap into these foreign realms with the desire of gaining invaluable insights for spiritual growth. Personally and collectively.