The needle and the damage done.

Even if you haven't read Life, you've no doubt heard that in his autobiography, Keith Richards makes no absolutely no apologies for his drug use. Moreover, he goes into great detail to explain the theory and practice of proper drug use.

When I was doing drugs, it would be the finest stuff you can get. If I was doing opium, it would be good Thai opium. When I did smack, it would be pure, pure heroin — no street shit.

Of course, there always are exceptions.

I wasn't undiscerning, except when I got desperate.

I can't find the exact quote, but at one juncture in his book, Keef observes that heroin users often overdose immediately after rehab, when they forget they cannot begin anew using the strength of their last dosages. Rather, one must dial back to beginners' amounts, and build tolerance slowly.

The Rolling Stone guitarist lives to tell the tale; meanwhile, Philip Seymour Hoffman is dead.

Me? I really like beer. A lot. It can be ingested without needles, and it tastes good. The rest is an unfortunate mystery to me.

Recovery Is in the Eye of the Beholder – The Keith Richards Story; Keith Richards' life is the history of drug use in our time, by Stanton Peele (Addiction in Society)

Man, what a long, hard trip it's been. Let's identify the five main periods of Keith's drugs use.