People
I wouldn't recommend alcohol and drugs to anyone. But they have always worked for me.
— Hunter S. Thompson
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
The speaker opens with a disclaimer, refusing to recommend alcohol and drugs, then undercuts it with a shrug: they've always worked for the speaker personally. The humour comes from that flip between a responsible-sounding warning and a cheerfully unrepentant personal report, delivered as if both were equally true.
Context reviewed