[Paleopsych] drug war

[Werbos, Dr. Paul J.]

At 11:33 AM 8/18/2004 -0700, Michael Christopher wrote:

> >>I think we should separate out types of crimes-
>victimless crimes, property crimes, and
>crimes against other people. I think our prohibitions
>against pot and psychedelics reflect a societal horror
>of ecstatic experience.<<
>
>--Agreed. More specifically, drugs that connect the
>right and left brains are denigrated, while "numbing"
>drugs are accepted.
>
> >>If we approve of using alcohol, a brain poison, to
>numb the pain of our existence, why not smack?<<

I do not approve of those kinds of drugs -- but it's clear that the global 
drug war
has been a bust. The power and danger of global drug combines is second only to
the "Al Queida" federation. It is a threat to global security on a scale 
that few appreciate.

In my view, the only hope is through something few would accept
in the US --

to go to a modified "British system."
Probably Soros' research foundation in Baltimore has the best
real technical understanding ..

But crudely...

The US has a tendency to get lost in black and white thinking.
When extreme conservatives and extreme politically corrects
can't get a majority... we fall into the grey fuzz zone
between the two. As in drug policy.

But sometimes real success is possible only if people learn to think in colors.

And so... SPECIFICALLY the highly addictive and noninjected and potentially
fatal drugs, like cocaine, should be subject to a self-financing system of 
state clinics
for registered addicts. That's the "liberal" side.

But folks who have second violations of selling the stuff to people outside 
that system
(after the clinics are established) should have the death penalty. Women who
give birth from a pregancy in which the fetus is exposed to this stuff 
should be automatically
guilty of criminal child abuse, and automatically deemed unfit mothers, and 
sterilized. That's
the conservative part.

But the clinics themselves should make easily available and free all kinds 
of medical assistance
to prevent such pregnancies (especially the ... delayed action six-months 
things and tube tying.)
And the stuff should emphatically not be encouraged; information should be 
available about
the problems -- but  all addicts should know the locations.

Summary: pull all the money out of it, and offer death penalties. That 
should dry up
a lot of the cartels. The benefits to democracy in Latin America would
be substantial and immediate.

As for heroin -- those guys are doomed all by themselves. For now, the need 
for change is not
as great there.

=============

Just my view...

Best,

    Paul








>--Because admitting a mistake is difficult when that
>mistake has harmed people's lives. The drug war has
>created more crime than it deterred, and admitting it
>would be impossible for those who have invested their
>political reputation in the process.
>
>As for prison deterring crime, it may have that
>effect, but we don't know the long term consequences
>of having a large per capita prison population. It
>could end up backfiring dramatically. We do love short
>term solutions in this country, since they provide
>immediate feedback. We just don't understand, or want
>to understand, the long term.
>
>Michael
>
>
>
>__________________________________
>Do you Yahoo!?
>Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers!
>http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
>_______________________________________________
>paleopsych mailing list
>paleopsych at paleopsych.org
>http://lists.paleopsych.org/mailman/listinfo/paleopsych