After the Drug War Part 3

by Ballard Quass, the Drug War Philosopher

April 17, 2025

In this third installment of my essays describing the weltanschauung of the ideal post-prohibition world, I would like to begin by identifying the unmentioned downsides of the reigning world view. I can then present my utopian world as the obvious counterfoil to the non-productive status quo to which we are wedded today by sheer unreflecting habit. And what is that reigning world view? For the sake of this essay, at least, I would describe that view as the belief that efficiency is the summum bonum of life, that it is the ultimate good for which human beings should strive. This seems to be the presumption upon which all our technological triumphalism is based: the idea that quicker and easier is always better. From this point of view, the technological revolution (and the capitalist age in general) is a godsend for humanity because it is forever cutting down on the number of steps to complete a task. Better yet, it is cutting down on the number of people required to complete any given task, with the apparent goal (one that we are told is now well within reach) of making people unnecessary for completing any tasks whatsoever, with the possible exception of performing certain bodily functions that we may have to put up with managing ourselves, at least until we are able to upload our brains onto Microsoft One Drive and be done with the material world altogether.

LET'S HEAR IT FOR INEFFICIENCY!

No one seems to have asked the question, however: why do we consider efficiency to be the summum bonum in life in the first place? The assumption behind this view seems to be that maximum efficiency results in maximum happiness, but this is clearly false. It is only true when we think of human beings as soulless widgets that have no interest in process, but only in final outcomes, no interest in the means, only in the ends. When luthiers carve violins out of carefully sourced templates of spruce and maple wood, they are not being very efficient. They could make the instruments far more quickly and easily with the help of an automated assembly line custom-built for such purposes. But, of course, the effort involved is the whole point: the whole point is that the violin makers roll up their shirt sleeves and get busy doing something, something with a human tradition and meaning behind it. In the capitalist west, I have to actually remind the reader of this basic truth because the economic orientation of our society causes us to focus only on outcomes. In the words of Dr. Spock of Star Trek, the whole existence of luthiers is "highly illogical" to us, given that machines are now able to do their job - at least to the satisfaction of Wall Street. And yet, even if we grant that machines could produce the precise end results that a luthier would achieve, that is no proof that efficiency is the summum bonum in life. For efficiency is beside the point when it comes to such crafts: the whole point is the process, the actual business of doing something and especially how that activity makes a conscious human being feel!

What does this have to do with drugs?

The utilitarian weltanschauung that I have described above dismisses the psychological needs of human beings in the exact same way as do the Drug Warriors and their collaborators in the materialist ivory tower. What makes the luthier special has everything to do with their own personal psychology - and this is the one area in which the tech triumphalist has no expertise. If we lived in a world in which psychology were considered to be important (and I mean common sense psychology here, not the passion-free psychology of JB Watson ¹), then human beings are once again what matters in life and the techie can only be quiet, sit back and try to learn something for a change. Moreover, once common-sense psychology matters, we realize that feeling good and inspired and patient with life are all GOOD things - and that if otherwise stress-frazzled people can achieve those states with the help of godsend medicines, then WE SHOULD LET THEM DO SO: nay, we should encourage them to do so. Why? So that they can "tend their garden" a la Voltaire and not be mere eternally dissatisfied denizens of planet earth, eager to hop on the hate-inspired bandwagons of demagog politicians. In such a world, the important thing would be to roll up one's shirt sleeves and get busy with something. Efficiency in the form of technical innovations would be neither good nor bad except to the extent that it promotes or hinders our ability to do meaningful things in life - as opposed to having them done FOR us.

"TELL ME WHEN I'M HAPPY, DOC!"

As has been already implied then, the ideal post-prohibition world would be one in which we take common-sense psychology seriously and stop pretending that we need a microscope to figure out if substances like laughing gas ² really "work." Such substances are on record as giving users glimpses of heaven itself, so when scientists doubt their efficacy, they are expressing a biased world view of their own and not a scientific opinion. They are claiming that materialist reductionism is ontologically true and that no one is "really" happy until a materialist scientist has said so. This is how the Drug Warriors get away with promoting the truly criminal lie that psychoactive medicines have no known uses: our dogmatic scientists claim to agree with that absurd statement. They either agree that drugs have no positive uses or else they demand millions in funding before they would dare to confirm the existence of any of the glaringly obvious benefits that can be seen by a child. In reality, however, the positive uses for drugs are only limited by the human imagination, because guess what: drugs that make one feel good actually make one feel good. Imagine that! Whether a specific drug is good for any given person in any given circumstance is a completely different issue - but, of course, Drug Warriors hate specifics. They want us to believe that a substance that could be a problem for a white young person at one dose in one circumstance must not be used by anybody at any dose in any circumstance. That superstition would be laughed out of educated society in our post-prohibition world.

INVISIBLE DRUG BENEFITS

In my effort to convince you that common-sense psychology does matter, consider again the following description of morphine use by Edgar Allan Poe that I cited in the previous installment of this series of essays:

"In the meantime the morphine had its customary effect- that of enduing all the external world with an intensity of interest. In the quivering of a leaf- in the hue of a blade of grass- in the shape of a trefoil- in the humming of a bee- in the gleaming of a dew-drop- in the breathing of the wind- in the faint odors that came from the forest- there came a whole universe of suggestion- a gay and motley train of rhapsodical and immethodical thought."

Amazingly, I have never known anyone to cite this passage as proof of the wonderful powers of morphine ³ , not even an ecologist with a predilection for chastising the hoi polloi for their failure to appreciate the marvelous minutia of Mother Nature. Yet such drugs have huge and obvious benefits! The Drug Warriors have convinced us, however, that we can never use such substances wisely - which is precisely the paleolithic mindset behind the grunted statement "Fire bad!" Yes, fire and drugs both can be extremely dangerous, but that should not stop us from using the creativity of the human mind to find ways to use them as wisely and safely as possible given their immense benefits.

Recognizing, however, that the reader has only ever been allowed to hear horror stories about opiates, let us consider some accounts of the use of phenethylamines synthesized by chemist Alexander Shulgin as reported in his 1991 book entitled "Pihkal":

"I acknowledged a rapture in the very act of breathing."

"I feel that I can learn faster. This is a 'smart' pill!"

"I learned a great deal about myself and my inner workings."

Once again, we see thoroughly obvious drug benefits that Americans completely ignore. Why? Because of our utilitarian weltanschauung that blinds us to anything that cannot be quantified. Human consciousness yields mere subjective opinions, you see; to be scientific, we must ignore such testimony and look under a microscope to find out what is "really" going on with a human being.

It is actually funny. Thomas Nagel made waves when he published a paper in the Philosophical Review of October 1974 entitled "What is it like to be a bat?" What we really need today is a paper entitled "What is it like to be a human being?" We need a paper in which HUMAN consciousness is taken seriously, and not considered an epiphenomenon by behaviorist scientists who are determined to ignore common sense!

Finally, a quote from the Rig Veda:

"Flow on, Sage Soma, ⁴ with thy stream to give us mental power and strength."

Yet another report of glaringly obvious benefits of drug use, benefits completely unnoticed by modern society.

CONCLUSION

A recap seems to be in order here to make it clear how these various quotes and anecdotes tie together. I began, it will be remembered, by noting that the modern weltanschauung prioritizes efficiency, based on the unspoken assumption that efficiency produces happiness. I then showed how this conclusion was clearly false, using the example of the luthier whose happiness in life comes from making an object - making it as opposed to merely having it be made. I then faulted the existing world view for undervaluing - in fact ignoring - this crucial aspect of life: the psychological value of actually doing things in life, things that connect us with the rest of the real world around us. Then I pointed out that this indifference to particular human motives, to aspirations and intentions, was "all of a piece" with the materialist disregard for common-sense psychological considerations. I pointed out the irony in the fact that Thomas Nagel had made waves for asking "What is it like to be a bat?" and yet modern materialists have never bothered to ask themselves "What is it like to be a human being?"

I now conclude from these various considerations that the ideal post-prohibition world would be one in which common-sense psychology mattered, one in which the focus is not so much on the political party to which one belongs or the religion that one practices, but rather on the extent to which one feels at home "in their own skin," in the world, and with their fellow human beings.

I keep coming back to the quote from Voltaire to describe this world, for it seems to say it all, psychologically speaking: it would be a world in which we "tended our own gardens. "

AFTERWORD

I have elucidated the purblind inhumanity of the materialist mindset in this essay and unveiled the paleolithic reasoning of the many Americans who echo their superstitious forebears in shouting "Drugs bad!" Unfortunately, the hardcore Drug Warriors still have a few cards up their sleeve. They will no doubt be putting on their puritan hats right about now and accusing me of promoting a world of drug-induced idleness and debauchery. I will no doubt need an entire essay to put their fears to rest, assuming such a thing were possible. But I will end this essay with a brief response to such concerns, not just to satisfy doubters, but to better illustrate the common sense nature of the alternative weltanschauung that I am proposing: one that actually takes human consciousness seriously and believes that glaringly obvious psychological benefits are, in fact, benefits!

Be it known, then, that in the post-prohibition world of which I write, human beings would still be judged and ostracized for laziness and boorishness and aggression - and for all the actions for which we judge and ostracize today - with the big exception that no one - no one - would be judged and/or ostracized for merely possessing or using a so-called drug. Neither would the use of a drug be deemed an excuse for bad behavior. Indeed, the crackdown on bad behavior in our utopia - our crackdown on real crime of all kinds -- would naturally be more effective than it was under the old weltanschauung. Why? Because our officers would not be rushing about trying to stop people from using plant medicine or experiencing self-transcendence or worshiping God or Indra, etc., as they see fit. They would not be trying to stamp out drug cartels, nor playing whack-a-mole with the latest demonized substances. They would spend all their time combatting actual crimes. Imagine that!

And, of course, in such a world, Drug Warriors would finally get it through their thick heads that attempts to improve one's mind and mood are not crimes - that, to the contrary, attempts to stop people from so doing is the real crime: that, in short, prohibition is the problem ⁵ , not drugs!

In the next installment of this essay series, "After the Drug War," I will explain how we will save the taxpayer billions by abolishing the DEA and spending a fraction of their bloated budget on establishing a network of pharmacologically savvy empaths around the country to serve as advisors for safe drug use and to provide common-sense drug-assisted therapy as needed - thereby putting an end to the psychiatric pill mill ⁶ upon which 1 in 4 American women are now dependent for life.

Finally, a note to all those who think that young Americans will never be mature enough to use drugs wisely: Let us suppose that you are right. It follows then that there is something wrong with America, not with drugs! So why do you insist that all other countries in the world outlaw the drugs that America is unable to handle? Isn't that the mother of all denial?

And you wonder why I am complaining? What else can I do when you will not even let me vote with my feet?! You have strong-armed the entire world into denying me my birthright: Mother Nature's godsends and the substances inspired thereby. Scientists tell us there may be life now on another planet. Are you going to outlaw drugs there as well because American culture is immature?

The fact is Americans can handle drugs. The majority of drug users use safely despite the attempts of prohibitionists to make that impossible. It is the prohibitionist mindset that has put American young people - and indeed the entire world -- in harm's way. How? By refusing to teach safe drug use and refusing to regulate drugs as to quality and quantity. It cannot be said enough: young people were not dying on the streets when opiates were legal in America: it took drug prohibition to accomplish that.

Notes:

1: The purblind coldness of the Behaviorist doctrine is made clear in the following words of its founder, JB Watson, as quoted in the 2015 book "Paradox" by Margaret Cuonzo: "Concepts such as belief and desire are heritages of a timid savage past akin to concepts referring to magic." (Surely, Watson was proactively channeling Dr. Spock of the original Star Trek series.) (up)
2: Forbes Magazine's Laughable Article about Nitrous Oxide (up)
3: Three takeaway lessons from the use of morphine by William Halsted, co-founder of Johns Hopkins Medical School (up)
4: Blue Tide: the Search for Soma (up)
5: Drug Prohibition is the Problem, not Drugs: what the movers and shakers get wrong in the drug re-legalization debate (up)
6: Antidepressants and the War on Drugs (up)

After the Drug War

"After the Drug War" is a series of essays describing the philosophical principles of the world that will exist after prohibition -- one in which we seek to use all drugs for the benefit of humanity and in which the bad guys are ignorance and racism rather than drugs themselves. This is a world in which we finally admit what has been obvious since 1920s America, that prohibition is the PROBLEM, not drugs. This is a world in which we recognize that the Hindu religion itself was inspired by a drug -- a drug that inspired and elated -- from which it follows that it is the suppression of religious liberty to outlaw drugs that inspire and elate.

After the Drug War

After the Drug War part 2

After the Drug War Part 3

After the Drug War Part 4

Medications for so-called 'opioid-use disorder' are legion

Ten Tweets

against the hateful war on US

Americans were always free to take care of their own health -- until drug warriors handed doctors a monopoly on providing mind and mood medicine. Instead of denouncing this attack on our healthcare autonomy, doctors began demonizing self-care as a mortal sin.

We have a low tolerance for the downsides of drug use only. We are fine with high risk levels for any other activity on earth. If drug warriors were serious about saving lives, they'd outlaw guns, free flying, free diving, and all pleasure trips to Mars.

If Americans want less government, they should get rid of the Drug War Industrial Complex, rather than abandoning democracies around the world and leaving a vacuum for Russia and China to fill.

Now the US is bashing the Honduran president for working with "drug cartels." Why don't we just be honest and say why we're REALLY upset with the guy? Drugs is just the excuse, as always, now what's the real reason? Stop using the drug war to disguise American foreign policy.

Healthline posted an article in 2021 about the benefits of getting off of antidepressants. They did not even mention the biggest benefit: NO LONGER BEING AN ETERNAL PATIENT -- no longer being a child in the eyes of an all-knowing healthcare system.

Drug warriors have harnessed the perfect storm. Prohibition caters to the interests of law enforcement, psychotherapy, Big Pharma, demagogues, puritans, and materialist scientists, who believe that consciousness is no big "whoop" and that spiritual states are just flukes.

The so-called "herbs" that witches used were drugs, in the same way that "meds" are drugs. If academics made that connection, the study of witchcraft would shed a lot of light on the fearmongering of modern prohibitionists.

ME: "What are you gonna give me for my depression, doc? MDMA? Laughing gas? Occasional opium smoking? Chewing of the coca leaf?" DOC: "No, I thought we'd fry your brain with shock therapy instead."

The outlawing of opium eventually resulted in an "opioid crisis"? The message is clear: people want self-transcendence. If we don't let them find it safely, they will find it dangerously.

Irony of ironies, that the indignant 19th-century hatred of liquor should ultimately result in the outlawing of virtually every mind-affecting substance on the planet EXCEPT for liquor.

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After the Drug War Part 4
Driver's Ed and Drugs

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