Pro-Drugs Column Runs In UK

London’s esteemed Times newspaper ran a pro-drugs piece by one of its columnists, Martin Samuel (left). This is amazing. In the United States even articles that simply make policy arguments against drug prohibition - while still echoing the ”drugs are bad” mantra - are almost never published. (See Eric Sterling’s post, LINK.) Samuel’s piece was a flat-out defense of recreational drugs. Wow.

Here’s an excerpt:

Now I don’t see my views on drugs reflected too often in the mainstream media, so here goes. This is the comedian Bill Hicks quoted in performance at the Laff Stop, Austin, Texas, December 1991. “I don’t do drugs anymore,” he said, “but I’ll tell you something honestly: I had a great time doing drugs. Sorry. Never murdered anyone, never robbed anyone, never raped anyone, never beat anyone, never lost a job, a car, a house, a wife, or kids. Laughed my ass off, and went about my day. Sorry.”

Martin Samuel, “Better to Have an E Than a Bee,” Times, 4 Jan. 2008. LINK 

[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google] [StumbleUpon]

Deadly Nuts: If Peanuts Were Portrayed Like E

Drug War Logic 

This cartoon is based on national news coverage of an ecstasy (MDMA) death in 2002 and the anti-E government ads that followed. E kills roughly 3-9 Americans a year. Peanuts kill roughly 50-100 Americans a year. The death rate of first-time ecstasy users has been estimated by one study to be between .002% to .05%. Comparatively, .1% of Americans are estimated to have a life-threatening peanut allergy.

For more on illicit drug death rates see Drug Myth #4 in the Drug Legalization Primer.

Source

  1. Robert Arthur, You Will Die: The Burden of Modern Taboos (2007). LINK 
[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google] [StumbleUpon]

Recreational Drugs Provided Recreation

This month I attended a party. At this affair numerous successful adults from an array of professional backgrounds used illicit recreational drugs that included cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine, LSD, marijuana, mushrooms, and nitrous oxide. There were no minors involved. No one used these substances and drove. No one got hurt or overdosed. Many had used these substances for years without being harmed and without becoming addicted. Despite having a delightful time with these drugs, all of the users were able to stop their merrymaking and return to their jobs sober.

For benefits of illicit drug use see Drug Myth #7 in the Drug Legalization Primer.

[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google] [StumbleUpon]