Swallow

Tooth and Dagger presents the subjective pharmacology of a generation, and a city. Vancouver, here’s what you’ve been taking:

Name: V.

Sex: Female

Age: 21 years

What: Birth control pill

Why: Contraception, to regulate menstruation, and for my skin.

Now that I don’t have a steady boyfriend, I sometimes wonder why I continue to swallow that little pill every morning. It scares me when medications become part of your routine and you stop questioning their impact on your body. I don’t like knowing exactly when I will be PMSing, and the exact hour and day that I will have my period. It makes me anxious and I think my behavior is affected by knowing I should be in a certain mood or experiencing certain symptoms because it’s the end of my pill package. I guess I should stop taking it.

What else: Papaya enzyme

Why: Helps digestion

I got into a raw food period last summer, and I became preoccupied by my digestion, which had otherwise always been perfectly fine. It actually tastes good. They are little orange pills supposedly organic. I would take them before every meal. Sometimes I felt a lot of action in my stomach after eating. Mentally it makes you very aware about everything you are ingesting. It can become an obsession.

Swallow is a completely unscientific ongoing study, arranged by Reanna Alder. Results will be presented in each issue of Tooth and Dagger. If you wish to submit the contents of your “medicine cabinet”, please email: swallow@toothanddagger.com