
Colleen's book is a great compendium of well-researched facts about the Drug War that should make any sane person think twice about supporting that demonstrably deadly policy. I myself have garnered a trove of insights from the book, particularly when it comes to the seemingly endless life-destroying injustices to which young people are subjected when they are arrested for mere possession of drugs. And yet I come at the issues raised in the book from a completely different perspective and a point of view of which Colleen seems to be completely unaware, and so I see a whole list of issues that do not even seem to be on the author's radar. This is partially no doubt because we are writing for two different audiences and hence we are emphasizing different aspects of Drug War injustice -- and yet there is no escaping the fact that we draw different conclusions as well, at least on the subject of drugs in general. We both agree, however, that drug relegalization is the way forward -- not the half-baked policy of drug decriminalization, which only keeps the cartels and gangs in business.More than tranquil, I was completely at peace, in a beautiful, benign, and placid place.
A glimpse of what true heaven is supposed to feel like... A true healing potential.
I was caught up with the imagery, and there was an overriding religious aspect to the day.
"It's not surprising that drug use as a choice is prevalent in policy and in societal beliefs."
"There are alternate views to the more black and white 'Choice vs. Detox' model. The disease model minimizes the risk that patients will be blamed and punitive penalties applied. However, some are concerned that the disease model may send the message that the individual has no control or personal responsibility in finding recovery. -page 26"
"Simply needing a medication for a medical purpose is not addiction. -page 59"
"If all patients unite to advocate for their rights, advocacy will be more powerful. -page 65"
"The benefits of using medications in treatment are scientifically indisputable." -page 72
"Addiction often comes from self-medicating physical or emotional pain that isn't properly treated. -page 101"
"Few believe that the War on Drugs has worked. -page 104"
"Saying 'legalize it' out loud, or even suggesting that it should be talked about, can get funding pulled from your organization." -page 196
"Most cannabis reform has been legalization. -page 214"
"Harm reduction acknowledges that a drug-free world is neither practicable nor achievable. -page 240"
"Would it be preferable for loved ones to never use an unprescribed drug? Yes. -page 267"
"Lives can be saved simply by a kind word to a person who has been stigmatized by everyone else... One little sentence of support can change a life."
I passed a sign that says "Trust Trump." What does that mean? Trust him to crack down on his opposition using the U.S. Army? Or trust him not to do all the anti-American things that he's saying he's going to do.
I have dissed MindMed's new LSD "breakthrough drug" for philosophical reasons. But we can at least hope that the approval of such a "de-fanged" LSD will prove to be a step in the slow, zigzag path toward re-legalization.
Westerners have "just said no" to pain relief, mood elevation and religious insight.
Drug prohibition is superstitious idiocy.
It is based on the following crazy idea:
that a substance that can be misused by a white young person at one dose for one reason must not be used by anybody at any dose for any reason.
"Arrest made in Matthew Perry death." Oh, yeah? Did they arrest the drug warriors who prioritized propaganda over education?
Think you can handle a horse? So did Christopher Reeves. The fact is, NOBODY can handle a horse. This message brought to you by the Partnership for a Death Free America.
The best harm reduction strategy would be to re-legalize opium and cocaine. We would thereby end depression in America and free Americans from their abject reliance on the healthcare industry, meanwhile ending gang violence and restoring the rule of law in Latin America.
It is folly to put bureaucrats in charge of second-guessing drug prescriptions: what such bureaucrats are really doing is second-guessing the various philosophies of life which are presupposed by the way we use psychoactive drugs.
In the 19th century, poets got together to use opium "in a series of magnificent quarterly carouses" (as per author Richard Middleton). When we outlaw drugs, we outlaw free expression.
"The Harrison [Narcotics] Act made the drug peddler, and the drug peddler makes drug addicts.” --Robert A. Schless, 1925.

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