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The issue with this line of thinking is that it is based on the assumption that a "war" is the appropriate solution because the cause of drug related problems i

The issue with this line of thinking is that it is based on the assumption that a "war" is the appropriate solution because the cause of drug related problems is just people's weaknesses and moral failings. The hard Right of course thinks that, and they have pounded this metaphor into society's head ever since the Reagan era. If the real motivation for a "war" really was a matter of public health, then alcohol would be banned immediately. But ... so much money is involved... As commenters here, and Rat Park [1], and "Drug Warriors and Their Prey" [2] explain, such a simplistic notion about the causes is not correct, along with the assumptions about the government's true motivations. There are more complex reasons, based in psychology and sociology, that explain why people have drives to alter their consciousness and why government policy is not actually what it seems a lot of the time. This metaphor of a "war" is deliberately misleading, but simplistic enough to be jammed into people's heads - it is the 20th century equivalent of "Reefer Madness". Thus it is no surprise the Right is so fond of this, even now... they are obsessed with trying to mold society into what they want, versus trying to actually understand and solve problems appropriately. Thus their stereotypical dismissal of 'science' and all that... But as I heard recently, conservatives have always been on the wrong side of history. US society is now evolving and legal marijuana is never going to go away now - primarily because of the money involved (and that is another essay) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park [2] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drug-Warriors-Their-Prey-Police/dp/0275950425 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drug-Warriors-Their-Prey-Police/dp/...

wastewaste 9y ago
What if - I like this inversion of expression - what if it really is a war on drugs, not against? After all, amphetamin was popularized under the Nazis, e.g. The CIA supplied cocain to vietnamese contras. Soldiers are fully dependent on supplies so who knows what's mixed into the food as preservatives. But it's unlikely the hard liner conservatives are just fooling everyone, rather it could be an ironic slogan indeed to reinforce the idea of sheer will. But still the only thing more important to conservatives is the economy and the cold war was an economic war (in hindsight?). Point in case, the CIA experimented with LSD. The population is seen as human capital and perhapsits everyones own responsibility to abstain. Quite naturally, controled selection is able to increase fitness overall, e.g. in terms of fitness and apprehension. (edit: So there is incentive for control and thus also to fight against uncontroled supply.) It's called dope, after all - if you don't know what I mean I invite you to learn what doping in semiconductor fabrication means. I'm highly paranoid, probably, but you know what they say, being delusional doesn't imply noone were pursuing ulterior motives. And actually I would find that kind of covered honesty hidden in plain sight quite sympathetic in terms of plausible deniability. I mean it's only fair because ashamed drug users try the same, being too ashamed to admit, but too proud to lie - and too sophisticated until not.

wastewaste 9y ago

What if - I like this inversion of expression - what if it really is a war on drugs, not against? After all, amphetamin was popularized under the Nazis, e.g. The CIA supplied cocain to vietnamese contras. Soldiers are fully dependent on supplies so who knows what's mixed into the food as preservatives. But it's unlikely the hard liner conservatives are just fooling everyone, rather it could be an ironic slogan indeed to reinforce the idea of sheer will. But still the only thing more important to conservatives is the economy and the cold war was an economic war (in hindsight?). Point in case, the CIA experimented with LSD. The population is seen as human capital and perhapsits everyones own responsibility to abstain. Quite naturally, controled selection is able to increase fitness overall, e.g. in terms of fitness and apprehension. (edit: So there is incentive for control and thus also to fight against uncontroled supply.) It's called dope, after all - if you don't know what I mean I invite you to learn what doping in semiconductor fabrication means. I'm highly paranoid, probably, but you know what they say, being delusional doesn't imply noone were pursuing ulterior motives. And actually I would find that kind of covered honesty hidden in plain sight quite sympathetic in terms of plausible deniability. I mean it's only fair because ashamed drug users try the same, being too ashamed to admit, but too proud to lie - and too sophisticated until not.