He really shouldn't want to use drugs in his 50s. There is no substantial benefit. A few moments of enjoyment following the realization of a hollow and empty experience.
It sounds like you/he is having a midlife crisis. There are better remedies than drugs, including Christian fellowship and other more generic forms of friendship.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.