The War on Good Sense

Drug Legalization

 

        The person who takes medicine must recover twice, once from the disease and once from the medicine.

- William Osler, M.D.

        The drug culture has shaped at least one major change since the Sixties; It became the basis for overloading our prisons.

- Jimmy Carter

    The latest election spectacle in the USA sure has a way of making one long for a simple peanut farmer. As if it matters which corrupt, old, privileged puppet becomes President. Any chance that the USA would ever achieve greatness evaporated when they allowed bankers to take control back in 1913. The only good news that came out of this election (besides having the first female Vice-President) were some of the state propositions that were passed with regards to drugs.

    The active ingredient in magic mushrooms was decriminalized in a couple of places and in Oregon, opioids, methamphetamines and cocaine are OK to possess. The people voted for these changes. It's not much but it's about bloody time. I guess there are enough people, in some areas, with enough sense to see that throwing people in jail for getting high is lunacy. They are also waking up to see that some outlawed drugs could have health treatment benefits.

    I'm not one to advocate for drugs and their treatment of disease. In most cases, the drugs do more harm than good. For good health and well-being refer to my article on the 3 Things; Drugs are not the answer. There are exceptions though, so having all of the Earth's flora to work with makes sense. The "War on Drugs" never made sense.

    There were many reasons for arbitrarily deeming some plants and their derivatives illegal; religion; greed; corruption. Pushers of these illegal drugs are criminals while pushers of legal drugs are placed on a pedestal and rewarded with great wealth. How hypocritical is that? Both kinds of pushers have created countless victims and been a scourge on society. Why does a type 1 diabetic have to pay for insulin? That's criminal! Why would we ever think it was a good idea to throw someone in jail, for years at taxpayer expense, for snorting a particular white powder up their nose? In most places, we made the decision to deal with alcohol (a drug) sensibly. If someone harms another while under the influence of alcohol then we treat them like criminals, otherwise we leave them alone and offer help if consumption causes problems. Why would we not do the same with all drugs? 

    Drugs of all kinds are a problem in society and have been since we first discovered their benefits(?). The only war we have waged with regards to drugs is one on good sense. If we ever want to get ahead of things we need to stop celebrating some drugs while vilifying others. We need to treat all drugs with respect and keep their use to a minimum.  We need to be working harder on the root causes of drug dependency and addiction, like inequality in society (the source of most problems). This is a social issue, a medical issue not a criminal one. We need to be sensible and rational. We need more countries, provinces, and states like Oregon, moving in a better direction.