"reverand_chris" pretty much has it. This is the start of the cycle of songs on "Dirt" that chronicle heroin addiction. Some people take the song out of context and misinterpret it, but if you listen to it closely or listen within its context on the album, it's blatantly against drug use.
"Junkhead" is sarcastic ... very, very, VERY dark humor. He is simultaneouly explaining and mocking a drug addict's justification for using the drug. The narrator has convinced himself that drugs aren't so bad, that they make him better than others, etc. But LISTEN to the way he sings it--it's pretty damn obvious that he's fucked up and miserable and lying to himself/trying way too hard to convince himself.
And, y'know, in case you missed the message, Junkhead is followed by "Dirt" ("One who doesn't care is one who shouldn't be/I've tried to hide myself from what is wrong with me"), "Godsmack" ("Can't get high, or you will die" "What in God's name have you done?" "So your sickness weighs a ton"), "Hate to Feel" ("What's gone wrong, I can't see straight" "Mirror on the wall will show you/What you're scared to see" "Used to be curious/Now the shit's sustenance"), "Angry Chair" ("Saw my reflection and cried/So little hope that I died" "Little boy made a mistake/Pink cloud has now turned to gray/All that I want is to play/Get on your knees, time to pray, boy") and so on. I mean, how obvious is it from those songs that heroin is DESTROYING him, it's killing him, making him insane, ruining his innocence and his life?
So no, Junkhead is not a pro-heroin song. It's an explanation/very dark MOCK of how a junkie justifies drug use to himself. It's followed by a depiction of heroin DESTROYING said junkie. You'd have to be an utter idiot to think that amounts to an endorsement.
"reverand_chris" pretty much has it. This is the start of the cycle of songs on "Dirt" that chronicle heroin addiction. Some people take the song out of context and misinterpret it, but if you listen to it closely or listen within its context on the album, it's blatantly against drug use.
"Junkhead" is sarcastic ... very, very, VERY dark humor. He is simultaneouly explaining and mocking a drug addict's justification for using the drug. The narrator has convinced himself that drugs aren't so bad, that they make him better than others, etc. But LISTEN to the way he sings it--it's pretty damn obvious that he's fucked up and miserable and lying to himself/trying way too hard to convince himself.
And, y'know, in case you missed the message, Junkhead is followed by "Dirt" ("One who doesn't care is one who shouldn't be/I've tried to hide myself from what is wrong with me"), "Godsmack" ("Can't get high, or you will die" "What in God's name have you done?" "So your sickness weighs a ton"), "Hate to Feel" ("What's gone wrong, I can't see straight" "Mirror on the wall will show you/What you're scared to see" "Used to be curious/Now the shit's sustenance"), "Angry Chair" ("Saw my reflection and cried/So little hope that I died" "Little boy made a mistake/Pink cloud has now turned to gray/All that I want is to play/Get on your knees, time to pray, boy") and so on. I mean, how obvious is it from those songs that heroin is DESTROYING him, it's killing him, making him insane, ruining his innocence and his life?
So no, Junkhead is not a pro-heroin song. It's an explanation/very dark MOCK of how a junkie justifies drug use to himself. It's followed by a depiction of heroin DESTROYING said junkie. You'd have to be an utter idiot to think that amounts to an endorsement.