[ExI] 'drug abuse'

[Ian Goddard]

ben wrote:

> "spike" <spike66 at att.net> mentioned:
>
> >the topic of drug abuse
>
> Drug abuse?  There's no such thing.  It's a blatant and obnoxious 
> 'social engineering' term.
>
> People don't abuse drugs.
> You /can't/ abuse drugs. It's impossible. They don't have feelings. 
> Can you abuse air? Do people talk about 'abusing concrete' Why don't 
> we talk about calorie abuse?


 The problem with the term 'drug abuse' is not that but how it's used. 'Drug abuse' is prohibitionist-loaded when it refers to any and all illicit-drug use -- if Tom smokes cannabis, that's drug abuse. But in an unloaded context, 'drug abuse' can easily be understood to mean excessive use of drugs, or 'self-abuse by drugs'. So it seems to me that the issue is the *scope* of the term's meaning, not the term per se. ~Ian


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