Gods and Drugs, and, Choosing Sides: Communists and Marxism Summary and Analysis

"Gods and Drugs": Abbott does not believe in God, not because he will not but because he cannot. He admires the "human element" in religion and religious practices and wishes he could participate, but something in the essence of his being is not compatible with God and religion. He wishes he could find consolation in religion and is very moved when he sees people who do, yet he cannot.

Instead, the only "respite" or "consolation" available to him after 17 years is prison is drugs. He is an addict and feels that drugs substitute for God pretty well. Drugs are "our antidote to the devil."

Abbott talks in derogatory terms of an inmate who eschews drinking, drugs, and sex as a way to denounce the vices...