Nearly every society has consumed substances to
deal with pain, increase energy, socialize, even converse with
God. Our yearning to alter the consciousness may be as essential as
our desires for food, companionship and sex. There's probably never
been a drug-free society. So our true test is to learn how to
live with drugs so they cause the least possible harm and in some
cases the greatest possible benefit.
Heroin addicts were asked what's the toughest
drug to quit, most said cigarettes. Yet in other countries half of all the people who were ever addicted to cigarettes have
quit without anyone being arrested or put in jail or sent to "treatment program" by the law. What helped do this were higher taxes and time and place restrictions on sale and use.
It's our fears and our lack of knowledge that stands in the way of real reform. And ultimately, I think
that boils down to the kids, and to every parent's desire to put their child in a bubble, and the fear that somehow drugs will pierce that
bubble and put the young ones at risk. In fact, sometimes it seems
like the entire War on Drugs gets justified as one great big child
protection act, which any young person can tell you it's not.
We must turn our backs on the failed this prohibitions of the
past and embrace new drug policies grounded in science, compassion, and health, where people who come from across the political
spectrum and different ideals, where people who love drugs, people who hate drugs, and people who don't give a shit about
drugs, but every one of us believes that this
backward, heartless, disastrous War on Drugs, has got to end.
"What helped do this were higher taxes and time and place restrictions on sale and use. "
ReplyDeleteNot to mention overt discrimination (outside smoking areas), higher health insurance premiums, warning labels, and social pressure in higher-status social groups.
At my white-collar cubicle job, only about 10% of the people smoke. And most of them have switched to "vaping". When I see groups of blue collar workers, it's about 30%. (And I don't think this is confirmation bias, because I have a negative reaction to second-hand smoke...)
People need to realize that some things that are classified as drugs aren't really as bad as they're portrayed. Social norms dictate most of this but why? At one point alcohol was banned and illegal too, but then became accepted. Some cultures even take hallucinogens as a right of passage or as a spiritual experience.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I really want all of the drug world gone. I think being addicted to anything makes it a drug; even if someone is addicted to porn or food...it's their drug. I know alcohol and cigarettes are considered drugs but I don't think they're nearly as bad as heroin, cocaine, etc. I guess it all depends on the user. Hell, water can be a drug if someone is that addicted to it! Too much of anything is a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteI bet you're addicted to diHydrogen Monoxide. I bet if we kept you from consuming any for several days, you'd suffer withdrawal symptoms, dehydration, and then die.
DeleteWater is not a drug. However, consuming enormous quantities can cause altered state of consciousness because your blood thins.