Hello Adam,
When it comes to drugs and the cave there is much to be said. There are various arguments that could be made. Plato meant for the Allegory to symbolize our mind. As human beings Plato felt that we limited ourselves as a race through our minds. The cave and the shadows within it are said to be our senses and perceptions, Plato thought these to be a lower form of knowledge. The cave is meant to symbolize the mind oppressed by such limits faced with perceptual knowledge. Beyond the cave is said to be enlightenment "truth" this is also where Plato's "forms" exist which is dubbed a higher realm of knowledge. The thinking which takes place beyond the cave is based on much more than perceptions. (Please refer to "The Allegory of the Cave and the Divided Line" post for more information on Forms and the cave)
With this said I feel that the argument could be made both for and against the fact the "Cave" itself is either the mind under the influence of drugs or the mind without drugs. Drugs could be said to "free" the mind, this could be freedom from the cave and the shadows. However on the other hand drugs could be the shadows within the cave, causing us to "perceive" an "unreal" reality.
I'm not sure what sort of paper you must right but a Compare and Contrast might provoke some interesting conclusions.
I hope this basis helps you somewhat. If you have any further questions please feel free to post or e-mail me. Thank you for joining us in the cave.
-Platonia
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