the world is what we make it
Re-examine the problem
Introspectively, I don't know why I've adopted this campaign. I think it's because, on a personal level, I tend to be a sensitive, friendly guy. I've had all kinds of friends in my life, and some of them did a few "drugs." I remember a co-worker I had once at an old job. She was a middle aged african american woman with several children . She worked two jobs, and was trying to send her youngest daughter to college. She also sold drugs on the side to supplement the cost of tuition. She told me she was trying to give her daughter a chance at something that no one else in her family was going to get. This really impacted me. Is it fair that we stigmatize her for doing what she's doing? If she had gotten caught, she would've been placed in jail. This might've ruined her family and her daughter's chance at a better life.
Drugs are a problem. I agree. But the problem requires a serious re-examination. At the core of the drug problem sits addiction. This force provides the impetus for much of our survival instinct. There are human societies on Earth right now which still criminalize sex. In truth, we ain't much better than them.
Drugs are chemicals. Drugs don't kill people, people kill people. We've legalized guns, right? Aren't guns dangerous? Don't they also ruin lives? We shouldn't be "fighting drugs with drugs." We should be fighting addiction with education. And the anti-drug propaganda needs to stop dissemenating lies. Marijuana isn't "bad". Heroine, crack, cocaine... YES, but not marijuana. Not anymore than tobacco, and it's certainly more benign than alcohol. Ecstasy, as pure MDMA, is not dangerous either. The reason why Ex is illegal is because it hit the streets in mass before the government could regulate it. However, because it is illegal, it is now more dangerous because, for various street reasons, it gets cut with other more dangerous substances. Religion maintains a long tradition of ritualizing hallucinogenic compounds for "spritual awakenings." Our drug policy even prohibits this expression of religious faith (depending on the "drug", that is).
As with every drug, the "danger" is determined by how much is taken, what else is taken, and all of this is determined by the mindset of the "user" as it is controlled by addiction. Drugs don't kill people, people kill people. Quality of education would go much further to curb the use of drugs in society than legal punishment and the threat of incarceration. We should be spending more money on our teachers, and less on enforcing rediculous and maladaptive drug laws.
Of course, we won't do this. Not when we're making the tools of war instead of the minds of peace. Not when we're chugging oil like a fratboy at a kegger. Not when corporations can control all the "legal" drug outlets and push their "this will only help you feel better" medicine. And not when we're encouraging children to take Ritalin to help them "focus" in school.
Humanity is precious and fleeting. I wish we would stop and take notice.
4 Comments:
Dear Sourmonkey,
I completely agree that there is a greater problem underlying the abuse of drugs. The illegality of drugs does not address the deeper spiritual problem that drives the drug abuse, but of course civil laws are designed not by the church but by in our case secular society that makes laws based on other criteria. The underlying problem that connects drug abuse with say gluttony or selfishness is what St. Augustine refered to as disordered loves. The loving of a thing as an end in itself, instead of loving things in their properly ordered place. It is the love of things in the way that only God should be loved. Augustine sees two kinds of love a love of use and a love as an end. Things that are created should only be love with a love of use, while only God can be loved as an end. This is why Augustine so often talks about concupiscence or lust as the seminal problem. Lust is disordered love. Augustine takes a lot of flack about being consumed with this problem but when he talks about lust he is not only talking about sexual desire although it fits as a good example.
Drug abuse provides a very telling example of a kind of disordered love. Especially when you see people who give up everything they have their families etc for a drink, or a smoke, or a sniff....
As I said society makes laws based not on disordered loves but on issues of safety for society. I think one can make a case for the legalization of pot, although I personally would disagree. I think one cannot make a case for crack. If you would agree with this than your criticism is not with the underlyng theory of prohibition, but where the law is drawn. Argue on.
You briefly made a passing comment that hallucinigens should be allowed because of their religious uses. Child sacrifice has been a religious practice in most parts of the world. I do not think that a "religious" use makes something okay.
Blessings,
Luke
Luke, thanks again for the comment. You have some relevant points.
I don't think we should equate hallucinogentic religious rituals with human sacrifice. They aren't the same thing. One is violent, the other isn't. I'm not an authority on the issue, but from what I've read, the use of hallucinogens in a "vision quest" is a peaceful and introspective process designed to give the shaman a greater sense of spiritual peace and wisedom. Of course, the experience itself is illusory, but none the less, an individual often feels "enlightened" afterwards.
Curiously, anyone can have a similar experience without the consumption of mind altering substances... it's called fasting. Fast for an extended period of time, and the neural-chemical result of malnutrition causes similar hallucinactions. This too is ritualized by religion... so is flogging the body, thus producing an adrenaline "high". People still practice these traditions around the world.
I think where we place "the line" legally needs to be re-examined. Some illegal drugs are benign, to a certain extent, and they're simply not any more dangerous than anything else we accept in society, especially alcohol! Other illegal drugs are dangerous because of their addictive properties, but it's clear that making them illegal hasn't curbed the use of these products. I would agrue that it's actually made the conditions of addiction worse.
Again, the line of legality needs to be shifted. But this also comes with a tremendous amount of social responsibility. We need to spend more money on education, on health care, and we need to de-emphasize our society's addiction with consumption, this might mean placing boundaries around our precious "capitalism."
Dear Sourmonkey,
I agree with many of your points. I did not mean to equate human sacrifice with the use of drugs in ecstatic experiences, I simply use it as an example of the fact that religious use does not provide a carte blanche for a society.
It strikes me that your suggestion for curbing the problem of illegal drug use is somewhat conflicted. On the one hand you argue if I understand you correctly that we should not make drugs illegal because that doesn't stop the problem, and yet on the other hand you posit that we need to do something to curb capitalism. I would suggest that making a behavior prohibited is taking a truly anti-capitalistic approach.
This reminds me of a larger political issue that strikes me as ironic. The democratic party in my opinion should be the champions of the pro-life movement. It seems that government laws dealing with the use of one's own body is a liberal government approach. I agree with the approach, but I am a liberal.
I should preface this by saying this is only my random thoughts on this issue but, when you talk about addressing "society" instead of the individual one is headed for an impossible task. When it comes to treatment society is only a bubble, a vapor, a spector. You can only treat individuals. Find solutions for the individuals and you will find solutions for society. One may be able to generalize from individuals approaches etc that work better, but almost immediately as people try to approach the macro-problems of society the results are dependent on too many unkowns to be productive.
Food for thought.
Luke
Luke,
Well, first off, I wanted this blog to be an ongoing conversation about this issue. I like that you've been concerned enough to contribute the way you have. Good thoughts. Thanks. This blog is more or less a collection of my own random thoughts on this issue, and I always value input.
Concerning my "precious capitalism" comment, I was implying that a potential cure to addiction would be through education, afterall, the decision to do drugs is still a decision. Once addiction takes control, the decision making process becomes biased. That's why people "lose control" of their lives. Quality education inspires smarter decision making, as in, "don't do drugs" or "don't have sex" or any other decision otherwise influenced by peer pressure. It can also mean "don't buy needless things" and "save your money". If everyone started thinking this way,and "capitalism" failed to adapt, then it might bankrupt. Consumption is a powerful addiction. With regard to this, quality education may rein in capitalism.
I agree with your conclusion. More food for thought: that threshold of chaos between the micro and macro scopic levels, this is true for cosmology and the relationship between quantum physics (micro) and general relativity (macro). Honestly, I think the problem here is the relative nature of our own perception. I'm willing to debate this more because it too applies within the "synthetic_universe" theme.
Education is still the best way to combat "addiction" in my opinion. I think that by legalizing drugs, we can, first of all, take them off the streets. I'm not saying that underground markets will disappear, I'm saying that many people will choose to buy them legally instead of illegally. Second, we need to teach our children how to think independtly, and we do this by giving them more teachers, and more exposure to art and music. Third, we teach them about addiction, how it "takes control", and maybe even give them TRUE information about the conditions of specific drug use. Fourth, we TAX the products and FINE the individuals who break any drug control laws. We use this money to enhance the overall quality of education. Basically, we legalize, inform, and control the distrubution of these products. I think it could also open up new markets. These are just my thoughts, and I'm not denying the random nature of the future. No system is perfect. But people are going to use them anyway. Why not head them off at the pass?
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