I suck at talking to people

Umm... yeah, don't resort to drugs and alcohol. Those things a nice crutch and can take the edge off, but you can't use them all the time obviously. You get a job and want to talk to the hot chick at the copier machine at the workplace then you obviously can't down a beer or smoke a fat one real quick.

I have to say that I'm kinda in a similar situation. I'm shy, have social anxiety, and just have pretty bad social skills in general. My saving grace is that I have a great sense of humor and can break the ice a bit with humor. Trying to deal with new people has been the biggest challenge for me my whole life.

A short list of things that seem to be doing okay for me:

#1 Confidence: Be confident in who you are and whatever it is that you do. If someone starts to converse back with you and asks you about yourself, you'll want to tell them things that'll sound interesting otherwise they'll be bored with you quickly and not feel comfortable continuing the conversation. Now I don't mean that if you work as a bagger at a grocery store that you think of yourself as the best bagger ever, but understand yourself, your situation, and who you are. Your confusion with yourself will reflect to the person you talk to and they'll know you're a freak. So you might need to do a bit of soul searching.

#2 Little Bit of Practice: Try small conversations with random people. For example, you're waiting in line somewhere for something and you notice something grossly stupid or annoying that is causing the problem. Vaguely mentioning the problem in a general area, not loudly and annoyingly mind you, will draw some minor attention towards you. Most of the people there are probably uncomfortable in the situation already and your comment might make them more comfortable. At that point though, don't overdo it. Be happy that you took some initiative, broke some ice, and had some social interaction. If someone responds really well to you, obviously just roll with it, but don't force anything more out.

#3 Practice at Home: Post on forums, play online games, and/or go to chatrooms. Lots of people in these areas are social recluses but not always. You have a barrier of anonymity to ease some tension. Talk to random people, lots of them. However remember that the internet and normal social situations will always be vastly different, but you can still use online interaction for confidence-building, self-understanding, and just general chit-chat practice.

#4 Use Your Strengths: Mine is humor... you've got to have something that people respond well to, find it and use it.

Jam it back in, in the dark.