More 5HC questions

I had mentioned in passing the addictive substances that the Shadow Children used in "A Story", in response to a post of Alga's. Later, this made me think: how much significance should we attach to this substance? I seem to remember a passage, perhaps the same one, where use of the drug is linked to not being able to use tools. (I'm not completely certain of this, not having the book in front of me at the moment). Exploring this, would this indicate that the factors causing the abos to not be able to use tools are more environmental? Perhaps the abos are capable of using tools, if they can recover sufficiently, but the "humans" (non-abos?) aren't used to seeing them that way. Is this related to Roy T. being a drunkard? Is it stated that he drinks, or that he's intoxicated - possibly on something else? (I think it is stated he drinks, but I'm going to have to go back and look now). The reason this takes on any significance, is that most of the arguments for or against abos or half-abos still being around, or not, seem to focus on just how much tool use some of the characters demonstrate. Just some questions - I'll be looking back over the story to see if any of this is supported. Anyone else have thoughts on the topic? Neal Smith