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Video: Charles Bukowski Says Alcohol Is Better Than Pot
It's no secret that Charles Bukowski loved to booze it up. The Los Angeles-based poet and novelist, one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century, was introduced to alcohol at a young age and professed throughout his life that alcohol helped him cope with the drudgery of life. "If I hadn't been a drunkard, I'd probably have committed suicide," says Bukowski in the following clip recently shared by Dangerous Minds.
Taken from The Charles Bukowski Tapes, the author talks about the advantages of indulging in alcohol while also unfortunately dealing with stereotypes about potheads. His central thesis: you can recover from a heavy night of drinking, whereas smoking weed turns you into a dope. "Alcohol gives you the release of the dream without the deadness of drugs," he says.
"If you gotta be anything, be an alcoholic."
Bukowski died in 1994 at the age of 73. Amazingly, he died of leukemia, not anything directly related to alcoholism.
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