Gonzo Journalism is telling the tale from a first person narrative. That person DOES NOT NEED TO BE ON DRUGS to write in the Gonzo style. It’s a way that the writer incorporates him/herself into the story.
“Gonzo journalism tends to favor style over fact to achieve accuracy and often uses personal experiences and emotions to provide context for the topic or event being covered. It disregards the ‘polished’ edited product favored by newspaper media and strives for a more gritty approach. Use of quotations, sarcasm, humor, exaggeration, and profanity is common.”