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The Dark Side of the Monticello Foundation

by Ballard Quass, the Drug War Philosopher





April 27, 2022



In response to "The Dark Side of Thomas Jefferson," published October 2012 in Smithsonian Magazine.

What about the Dark Side of the Monticello Foundation (aka the Thomas Jefferson Foundation), which betrayed Thomas Jefferson's legacy of natural law in 1987 by inviting the DEA onto his estate to confiscate the founding father's poppy plants? Natural law didn't just give us life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It gave us what Locke called the right to 'the use of the land and all that lies therein.' If we're to judge Jefferson by modern standards, then the writers who ignore this act of betrayal on the part of Monticello should worry about how they'll be judged in the future, when Americans finally stop demonizing Mother Nature's plant medicines and start learning how to use them wisely for the benefit of humankind.





Monticello Sells Out Thomas Jefferson




In 1987, the jackbooted DEA stomped onto Thomas Jefferson's estate of Monticello and confiscated the founding father's poppy plants in violation of everything that he stood for politically speaking. And yet the Thomas Jefferson Foundation pretends to this day that the raid never took place. They give no explanation to their visitors as to why the Foundation sold out the man whom they were meant to be honoring. And so all their visitors get a sanitized version of history, designed to let Americans feel that everything's fine, that there is no drug war, and life goes on. What an absolute disgrace, this so-called Thomas Jefferson Foundation. They should remove all the signs in Albemarle County that read "Hallowed Ground" -- because those grounds have been dishonored by the Foundation itself. THEY SOLD OUT THOMAS JEFFERSON -- and are now so pusillanimous and cowardly that they will not even admit that the raid ever took place -- a raid to confiscate flowers, for god's sake.

I wrote a letter to the head of Guest Services at Monticello and he responded: "I'm sorry you do not think that we are doing enough to explain the DEA raid." I responded in turn: "But you are doing NOTHING to explain the raid! You are pretending it never happened!" I then asked the director of guest services to correct me if I was wrong -- and he had nothing further to say. What absolute schmucks! Jefferson is spinning right now in his thoroughly dishonored grave.

  • Jefferson Bashing on Medium.com
  • The Dark Side of the Monticello Foundation





    • Ten Tweets

    against the hateful war on US




    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.

    The first step in harm reduction is to re-legalize mother nature's medicines. Then hundreds of millions of people will no longer suffer in silence for want of godsend medicines... for depression, for pain, for anxiety, for religious doubts... you name it.

    AI is like almost every subject under the sun: it takes on a very different and ominous meaning when we view it in light of the modern world's unprecedented wholesale outlawing of psychoactive medicine.

    The problem for alcoholics is that alcohol decreases rationality in proportion as it provides the desired self-transcendence. Outlawed drugs can provide self-transcendence with INCREASED rationality and be far more likely to keep the problem drinker off booze than abstinence.

    There are endless drugs that could help with depression. Any drug that inspires and elates is an antidepressant, partly by the effect itself and partly by the mood-elevation caused by anticipation of use (facts which are far too obvious for drug warriors to understand).

    Alcohol is a drug in liquid form. If drug warriors want to punish people who use drugs, they should start punishing themselves.

    Drug War propaganda is all about convincing us that we will never be able to use drugs wisely. But the drug warriors are not taking any chances: they're doing all they can to make that a self-fulfilling prophecy.

    In the age of the Drug War, the Hippocratic Oath has become "First, do no good."

    Drug warriors are too selfish and short-sighted to fight real problems, so they blame everything on drugs.

    Someone needs to create a group called Drug Warriors Anonymous, a place where Americans can go to discuss their right to mind and mood medicine and to discuss the many ways in which our society trashes godsend medicines.


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    Copyright 2025, Brian Ballard Quass Contact: quass@quass.com

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