SherlocklivesinOH wrote:

Interestingly, in canon, the drugs provide a point for conflict between Holmes and Watson - they are the one thing Watson really takes a stand about, with Holmes (well, that and the health effects of overwork), even though the harmfulness of cocaine was not well-recognized in that era. Watson is afraid Holmes will ruin his mental prowess...but I don't think we ever that happen...unless we want to infer it from some of the odder cases or ones where he's not doing as well. Watson's attitude is clearly motivated by friendship if not love, and it's implied Holmes less prone to both drug use and depression in later stories. Johnlockers like to say this is because he's happily married.

The Seven Percent Solution makes it more of an addiction - and deals with taking him to Freud to cure him. He goes over the edge when Watson gets married and he's left alone.

Well, Watson′s attitude to Sherlock′s drug abuse mirrored ACD′s own. Cocaine was perfectly legal in ACD′s time yet ACD never approved of drugs. I red somewhere that he actually thought of his own father when he wrote Sherlock like that. ACD′s father was a talented artist (like Sherlock is a talented detective) who killed himself prematurely with the drug of his choice (alcohol). After that experience, ACD recognised the charm of drugs as a severe danger for bohemian and gifted  people who get bored easily.

RavenMorganLeigh wrote:

nakahara wrote:

SherlocklivesinOH wrote:

Interestingly, in canon, the drugs provide a point for conflict between Holmes and Watson - they are the one thing Watson really takes a stand about, with Holmes (well, that and the health effects of overwork), even though the harmfulness of cocaine was not well-recognized in that era. Watson is afraid Holmes will ruin his mental prowess...but I don't think we ever that happen...unless we want to infer it from some of the odder cases or ones where he's not doing as well. Watson's attitude is clearly motivated by friendship if not love, and it's implied Holmes less prone to both drug use and depression in later stories. Johnlockers like to say this is because he's happily married.

The Seven Percent Solution makes it more of an addiction - and deals with taking him to Freud to cure him. He goes over the edge when Watson gets married and he's left alone.

Well, Watson′s attitude to Sherlock′s drug abuse mirrored ACD′s own. Cocaine was perfectly legal in ACD′s time yet ACD never approved of drugs. I red somewhere that he actually thought of his own father when he wrote Sherlock like that. ACD′s father was a talented artist (like Sherlock is a talented detective) who killed himself prematurely with the drug of his choice (alcohol). After that experience, ACD recognised the charm of drugs as a severe danger for bohemian and gifted  people who get bored easily.

That's a very interesting insight. I think, also-- a lot of artists, musicians, writers,etc,.. a lot of them get into drugs as a way of creating a buffer between themselves and the world. They tend to be particuarily sensitive, and the world has never been kind to artists. I think there's an idea that people do it out of boredom, when really it's about being over-stimulated or conversley, understimulated to the point of depression. 
 

 
That′s exactly why Sherlock does cocaine in canon.
Cocaine removes that overstimulation of senses you speak about and enables you to concentrate in an easier manner, but it doesn′t cloud your mind like morphine, opium or heroine would.
And 7% is a very low dose – you probably wouldn′t become addicted just from that amount of drug in your system.

I'm trying to find suitable for threads for all the interesting little snippets from the commentary.   Anyway, if there was any doubt left, the commentary confirms that ...

Mark: ... we had to say whether he was genuinely taking drugs again, or whether he was faking, but actually in the end it was, he IS, but he is totally in control of it for a reason.

Yes, it's maybe a bit too obvious to even post, but I think the idea is that when you first see him, your'e not sure (and John certainly isn't).  But later he makes it clear it was for the case (and doesn't have a problem with drugs afterwards).