The harm of drugs is really never absolutely present or not present. It is all related to how we use the drugs and therefore, harm only happens when drugs are used in a harmful manner similar to that of a car. The car is used all the time with very little harm. In my life, I have only been two accidents that weren't my fault and due to my learning about evasive maneuvering in drivers training, nobody was hurt.
However, with drugs and this includes alcohol, we don’t have using training. We go out their blindly with little idea as to what we are doing or what could happen. When we are young we drink and we do it very dangerously - this includes even after we reach legal drinking age as we don't have any instruction as to the harms of drinking. Binge drinking is very harmful to the brain but due to it being legal, it gives many individuals the illusion that any use is safe use but this simply is not true.
Many youth or young adults experience alcohol overdoses (aka poisoning) and other problems associated with substance use but as they learn how to use the drug (mid 20s), often these problems disappear unless of course, the individual has other problems as well such as trauma, lower education, poverty, and under/unemployment, then the drug use (no matter what drug is used - alcohol, tobacco, prescription meds, etc) will become abuse and then develop into addiction which likely could become chronic as they remain addicts throughout their 30s and older potentially if not able to access proper treatment which includes likely 9/10 addicts as current treatment don't work due to incorrect assumptions about addiction such as it is a moral issue rather than a brain disorder.
However, this progression of drug use to addiction is not the norm in fact, it is very not normal otherwise, 3/4 people would be drug addicts rather than 1/10. Therefore, to be really able to reduce harm of the drug abuse and addiction in society, we need to stop trying to prevent the 9/10 people who try it from trying it and instead provide support, education and “treatment” for those 1/10 people who do develop a problem.
Treatment was in quotations due to it being not really treatment for the drug addiction but rather the brain disorder that is causing the addiction in the first place and the toxic environment the individual is likely in. The people who become drug addicts are abused sexually almost 100% if not 100%. You will be hard pressed to find a chronic addict who doesn’t have a history of sexual abuse and it is often chronic and by a trusted family member or other person close to the family or authority.
To truly fight addiction, we need to help the addicts. We need to stop focusing our efforts on stopping the availability of the drug and instead regulate the availability and have medical personal professionally trained to help distribute and educate users on using substances. In addition, we then have these professionals also trained in providing proper interventions to those who are abusing the drugs. This includes all drugs including alcohol and tobacco as the harm that results from these are astronomical. I think though coffee, chocolate and tea is okay to not have medical professionals distributing it.
In addition, due to the regulated market, the 9/10 people who use drugs will be able to obtain them safely, without fear of what is in them and fear of the person who is distributing them as sadly, due to the black market, drug distribution is left up to those who are more prone to dishonesty and greed not unlike those who run corporations to get away from personal responsibility. They also will be able to obtain accurate information about the drugs so they are able to make educated decisions about their use thus reducing harm to themselves due to mistakes.
The cure for our problem with drugs in society is simple, one) regulate and two) provide proper services aimed at those who have brain disorders (including addiction). If the services were provided for these people correctly without worry about funding, it would return the investment ten fold as they would get to be human beings again rather than sick, traumatized, injured people who are in pain like no person can imagine and sadly are draining the health and legal systems. Trauma hurts us all not just those it happens to!
When we cut funding to those with mental health and addiction issues (brain disorders) we are slowly breaking down society. This is the threat to society as we know it, not the actual drugs themselves as again 9/10 people will never develop problems but those 1/10 people can make so many problems for the rest of the 9/10 people due to not having proper treatment and support, not due to the simple addiction of the drug. They hurt, why are we making them hurt more?
July 28, 2009
July 7, 2009
Reducing Harm to the Earth
Our earth is always going to be here well at least it will be longer then we are even if humans destroy this planet with our addictions to oil and consumerism. I watched a great documentary, The 11th Hour, by Leonardo DiCaprio on how we can change our world and get off Oil and consumerism.
We are such as wonderful species. We are capable of great amazing things such as art, music, love and compassion but on the same end, we are capable of such horrific things, murder, rape, hate and greed. We are being consumed by these horrific things and it is destroying us as a species.
This movie gave me hope as humans are amazing animals with such potential and it seems that there are many people who are excited and willing to help save the planet we need to survive. We can do this and it needs to involve the leaders taking responsibility (corporations and politicians) to admit they are not doing what is in the best interests of the entire human population and they are going to change. If they can’t do this then we as a people need to rise up and take back this power. How? I do not know but it can begin with spreading the truth about the environment, the drug war, economy, and our health. We need to stop letting people control others. We need to start asking ourselves, is what I do healthy for myself and the earth?
Driving to work 2 hours a day each way is not healthy for both us or our earth. Our earth is sick and we are too. WE need to stop blinding ourselves to the pain of our world. Please rise up and increase your awareness of more then just your immediate world. Quote by Chorpa - People are doing the best they can do with the awareness they have.” I feel this is absolutely true but sadly, in today's world of written word and the speed of transfer of knowledge, it is no longer an excuse to not be aware. It is our own responsibility to get educated with facts and truthful knowledge rather than the myths, assumptions and stereotypes that fill this worlds media and even educational system. We are in a special time. We can help ourselves, we can increase our awareness and we can save ourselves.
Please don’t think of only reducing harm to yourself and your family, think of the earth. Even in the drug war, the spreading of the chemicals used to eradicate fields of coca or opium is spreading sickness to our earth as these fields are natural and healthy for earth and us. Love ourselves and the earth!!
We are such as wonderful species. We are capable of great amazing things such as art, music, love and compassion but on the same end, we are capable of such horrific things, murder, rape, hate and greed. We are being consumed by these horrific things and it is destroying us as a species.
This movie gave me hope as humans are amazing animals with such potential and it seems that there are many people who are excited and willing to help save the planet we need to survive. We can do this and it needs to involve the leaders taking responsibility (corporations and politicians) to admit they are not doing what is in the best interests of the entire human population and they are going to change. If they can’t do this then we as a people need to rise up and take back this power. How? I do not know but it can begin with spreading the truth about the environment, the drug war, economy, and our health. We need to stop letting people control others. We need to start asking ourselves, is what I do healthy for myself and the earth?
Driving to work 2 hours a day each way is not healthy for both us or our earth. Our earth is sick and we are too. WE need to stop blinding ourselves to the pain of our world. Please rise up and increase your awareness of more then just your immediate world. Quote by Chorpa - People are doing the best they can do with the awareness they have.” I feel this is absolutely true but sadly, in today's world of written word and the speed of transfer of knowledge, it is no longer an excuse to not be aware. It is our own responsibility to get educated with facts and truthful knowledge rather than the myths, assumptions and stereotypes that fill this worlds media and even educational system. We are in a special time. We can help ourselves, we can increase our awareness and we can save ourselves.
Please don’t think of only reducing harm to yourself and your family, think of the earth. Even in the drug war, the spreading of the chemicals used to eradicate fields of coca or opium is spreading sickness to our earth as these fields are natural and healthy for earth and us. Love ourselves and the earth!!
July 3, 2009
Reducing Crime
The World Report 2009 put out by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime is nothing but more propaganda aimed at trying to convince us to continue buying into the “war on drugs”. For this blog, I was going to quote parts of the first section of the report but there were so many things that were incorrect and attacks on intelligent and rational people that they don’t even justify a response.
The very fact that drugs are grouped as being equal with crime without the inclusion of tobacco and alcohol in this is continuing to separate these psychoactive substances as something different then illicit drugs yet they are not. Crimes occur surrounding the use of alcohol and tobacco and they are not without their problems which is mentioned in this report yet still continues to say they are different.
The report is filled with propaganda comments aimed at imposing fear and irrationality such as “illicit drugs continue to pose a health danger to humanity” and that “much of this public debate is characterized by sweeping generalizations and simplistic solutions”. These are both wrong and continue to put misguided attempts to a serious problem. We don’t outlaw automobiles yet they are posing an obvious health threat and the public debate is characterized by rational use of scientific research and professionals from around the world finally speaking out against the harm that the drug war is causing.
The statement “changes are needed….rather than by pursuing the different goals of abandoning such protection” is seriously misguided. The changes being asked for when ending the war on drugs is not one of ending protection to those that are addicted but rather beginning a new way of distributing all psychoactive drugs in a respectful and autonomous manner thus not creating an entire population of “criminals” by making it illegal. It is only humans that make this illegal, not any other supreme being as so many people believe (it being immoral to alter consciousness as some religious people believe). The use of drugs is a fact of our life and simply decriminalizing still only makes 1/2 equation illegal as providing the product is still illegal thus really making the entire equation still illegal.
Let’s apply this to automobiles. So they are made illegal due to the carbon emissions harming humans and it decided that using it is decriminalized but buy it isn’t so, the car dealers still kill each other with the customers caught in the middle. The dealers still work at providing the harmful automobile (oil-gas using instead of electric - that is illegal too) and the product is still uncontrolled thus killing its consumers. How does this help or decrease problems? It doesn’t and it sure won’t reduce the harm done by the so called - car dealership criminals. How about we legalize electric cars and make initiations to those who make it safer and cheaper for people to use rather then the opposite?
Using drugs can be compared to driving a car and both are not going away and we seem to want to do it no matter the harm it may led to (changing climates and potential addiction). Isn’t this defined as addiction, using something even when having negative consequences, in all areas of life (think societal - financial - economy crash, health -chronic cancer and lung problems - social - increased war and competition - etc ) and for what - so we can drive a car?
Another thing that I wonder is why aren’t there reports about legalizing or decriminalizing murder? Why isn’t their a public outcry about this? Because it is wrong without a doubt, we don’t need to discuss this as deep down potentially to the genetic level, it is wrong to kill - plain and simple.
More quotes from the World Report 2009 - “legalize and tax argument is unethical and uneconomical” - why then do we legalize gambling and alcohol and tax it?
Human trafficking has no comparison to using drugs especially if causing no harm which can be done - human trafficking was made illegal years ago when slavery feel in North America - how is this the same as legalizing a drug that has no feelings or future potential of leading a wonderful life? A drug is a object with no life in it and thus no feelings, comparing the control of drugs to humans is absolutely ignorant and indicates having little to no understanding of the problems that arise from drug using, abusing and addiction.
There is no indicating that drugs increase if made legal as has been shown through history as various drugs have been made illegal throughout history including chocolate and tobacco both of which didn’t change in its addiction rates. Use isn’t indicative of abuse or addiction.
The comments of the the debate of the regulated market being naive and myopic are ignorant and hurtful comments again aimed at trying to maintain status quo and attempting to maintain the dominating and harmful control over the drug war to maintain it due to the hidden agenda of these people. It is not to help protect society as is being portrayed.
Indicating that a drug epidemic would be inevitable in developing countries is absolutely again indicating naivety in the problem as they have less problems with drugs not due to the high controls they have preventing the access to drugs but rather due to less class difference meaning less oppression of the poor classes as a result they have less mental health problems resulting in less addiction issues and cases of dislocation or loss of identity or culture.
The report is no0t only further perpetuating the myths of crimes being a result of drugs but also that now they have to get tough on crime as it goes along with drugs. This is true but only due to their generating it. You don’t see Molson Canadian killing Coors but you do see them joining and becoming one powerful company but certainly still not as powerful as the once Al Capone or other Mafia giants made possible due to the prohibition of alcohol. The crime has disappeared as the laws disappeared.
Why can’t we learn that victimless laws (prostitution, drug laws, homosexuality, women having the vote, even the one-child law) generate crime not humans if the humans are not necessarily victim. We can’t necessarily prohibit something that humans do that is natural and not necessarily harmful to another (I’m non the fence about the one-child law) although at times, they may have harm, they don’t all the time. Those who hire prostitutes may not be married with children or those who use cocaine or heroin don’t end up stealing to feed their drug habit but rather are law-abiding citizens otherwise.
Crime is a generation of the drug laws not the other way around and until we stop this madness of persecuting those that provide me with something I want, then we have a problem. I don’t kill, steal, hurt, abuse or take advantage of others and my use of drugs affects no others but I certainly feel it enhanced my life. In fact, I give my life to illicit drugs (MDMA specifically for treating my PTSD) and I am not ashamed. We need to end the drug war as it is only a war on innocent and good people or the sick people who don’t jail but rather compassion.
Please don’t let the report make you think drug dealers need to be stopped, they need to be made legal just as they were for alcohol prohibition. What happened to the Al Capon’s after the end of prohibition? They went on to controlling the other legal activities (gambling, sex (women)). The laws prohibiting sex for sale and drugs for sale only oppress those predominantly involved in them - women for the sex and drug users and those with brain disorders to be controlled (non - religious people and those who want to open their minds - not listen to the government)!!
Down with oppression of all!!
The very fact that drugs are grouped as being equal with crime without the inclusion of tobacco and alcohol in this is continuing to separate these psychoactive substances as something different then illicit drugs yet they are not. Crimes occur surrounding the use of alcohol and tobacco and they are not without their problems which is mentioned in this report yet still continues to say they are different.
The report is filled with propaganda comments aimed at imposing fear and irrationality such as “illicit drugs continue to pose a health danger to humanity” and that “much of this public debate is characterized by sweeping generalizations and simplistic solutions”. These are both wrong and continue to put misguided attempts to a serious problem. We don’t outlaw automobiles yet they are posing an obvious health threat and the public debate is characterized by rational use of scientific research and professionals from around the world finally speaking out against the harm that the drug war is causing.
The statement “changes are needed….rather than by pursuing the different goals of abandoning such protection” is seriously misguided. The changes being asked for when ending the war on drugs is not one of ending protection to those that are addicted but rather beginning a new way of distributing all psychoactive drugs in a respectful and autonomous manner thus not creating an entire population of “criminals” by making it illegal. It is only humans that make this illegal, not any other supreme being as so many people believe (it being immoral to alter consciousness as some religious people believe). The use of drugs is a fact of our life and simply decriminalizing still only makes 1/2 equation illegal as providing the product is still illegal thus really making the entire equation still illegal.
Let’s apply this to automobiles. So they are made illegal due to the carbon emissions harming humans and it decided that using it is decriminalized but buy it isn’t so, the car dealers still kill each other with the customers caught in the middle. The dealers still work at providing the harmful automobile (oil-gas using instead of electric - that is illegal too) and the product is still uncontrolled thus killing its consumers. How does this help or decrease problems? It doesn’t and it sure won’t reduce the harm done by the so called - car dealership criminals. How about we legalize electric cars and make initiations to those who make it safer and cheaper for people to use rather then the opposite?
Using drugs can be compared to driving a car and both are not going away and we seem to want to do it no matter the harm it may led to (changing climates and potential addiction). Isn’t this defined as addiction, using something even when having negative consequences, in all areas of life (think societal - financial - economy crash, health -chronic cancer and lung problems - social - increased war and competition - etc ) and for what - so we can drive a car?
Another thing that I wonder is why aren’t there reports about legalizing or decriminalizing murder? Why isn’t their a public outcry about this? Because it is wrong without a doubt, we don’t need to discuss this as deep down potentially to the genetic level, it is wrong to kill - plain and simple.
More quotes from the World Report 2009 - “legalize and tax argument is unethical and uneconomical” - why then do we legalize gambling and alcohol and tax it?
Human trafficking has no comparison to using drugs especially if causing no harm which can be done - human trafficking was made illegal years ago when slavery feel in North America - how is this the same as legalizing a drug that has no feelings or future potential of leading a wonderful life? A drug is a object with no life in it and thus no feelings, comparing the control of drugs to humans is absolutely ignorant and indicates having little to no understanding of the problems that arise from drug using, abusing and addiction.
There is no indicating that drugs increase if made legal as has been shown through history as various drugs have been made illegal throughout history including chocolate and tobacco both of which didn’t change in its addiction rates. Use isn’t indicative of abuse or addiction.
The comments of the the debate of the regulated market being naive and myopic are ignorant and hurtful comments again aimed at trying to maintain status quo and attempting to maintain the dominating and harmful control over the drug war to maintain it due to the hidden agenda of these people. It is not to help protect society as is being portrayed.
Indicating that a drug epidemic would be inevitable in developing countries is absolutely again indicating naivety in the problem as they have less problems with drugs not due to the high controls they have preventing the access to drugs but rather due to less class difference meaning less oppression of the poor classes as a result they have less mental health problems resulting in less addiction issues and cases of dislocation or loss of identity or culture.
The report is no0t only further perpetuating the myths of crimes being a result of drugs but also that now they have to get tough on crime as it goes along with drugs. This is true but only due to their generating it. You don’t see Molson Canadian killing Coors but you do see them joining and becoming one powerful company but certainly still not as powerful as the once Al Capone or other Mafia giants made possible due to the prohibition of alcohol. The crime has disappeared as the laws disappeared.
Why can’t we learn that victimless laws (prostitution, drug laws, homosexuality, women having the vote, even the one-child law) generate crime not humans if the humans are not necessarily victim. We can’t necessarily prohibit something that humans do that is natural and not necessarily harmful to another (I’m non the fence about the one-child law) although at times, they may have harm, they don’t all the time. Those who hire prostitutes may not be married with children or those who use cocaine or heroin don’t end up stealing to feed their drug habit but rather are law-abiding citizens otherwise.
Crime is a generation of the drug laws not the other way around and until we stop this madness of persecuting those that provide me with something I want, then we have a problem. I don’t kill, steal, hurt, abuse or take advantage of others and my use of drugs affects no others but I certainly feel it enhanced my life. In fact, I give my life to illicit drugs (MDMA specifically for treating my PTSD) and I am not ashamed. We need to end the drug war as it is only a war on innocent and good people or the sick people who don’t jail but rather compassion.
Please don’t let the report make you think drug dealers need to be stopped, they need to be made legal just as they were for alcohol prohibition. What happened to the Al Capon’s after the end of prohibition? They went on to controlling the other legal activities (gambling, sex (women)). The laws prohibiting sex for sale and drugs for sale only oppress those predominantly involved in them - women for the sex and drug users and those with brain disorders to be controlled (non - religious people and those who want to open their minds - not listen to the government)!!
Down with oppression of all!!
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