Pubdate: Thu, 05 Apr 2007
Source: Vue Weekly (CN AB)
Column: Editorial Vuepoint
Copyright: 2007, Vue Weekly.
Contact:  http://www.vueweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2918
Author: Ross Moroz
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

THIS IS YOUR VUE ON DRUGS

If you notice a bit of a common thread running through this week's 
edition of Vue, try not to freak out, as it's entirely intentional. 
You are not high. Well, actually, chances are you might be, which is 
kind of the point. Based on information both official and anecdotal, 
it's clear that drugs are, well, everywhere these days. Whether you 
blame it on the we' ve-got-money-to-burn, work-hard-and-play-harder 
attitude pervasive in our currently booming economy or on increasing 
social acceptance of and openness about recreational drug use, the 
fact is that more and more people are smoking, snorting or popping 
all kinds of things for fun in this town, but thanks to the 
(admittedly dissipating, but still very pervasive) social stigma 
surrounding the consumption of illicit substances-not to mention the 
fact that most are still very much illegal in this country-there is a 
severe lack of frank, dispassionate information available about all 
of these assorted smokables and snortables and what have you.

This is why we have decided to devote much of this issue of Vue to 
exploring the phenomenon of recreational drug use from a variety of 
perspectives. Considering how much of this stuff is going on, there 
is a noticeable dearth of reportage on the subject, and what does get 
printed tends to fall into the pervading extremist dichotomy-you 
know, drugs are either "totally harmless and cool, man" or 
"destroying the very fabric of our society," depending on who is asked.

The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in between, which is why we have 
tried to avoid the deeply entrenched biases and assumptions and 
simply answer some nagging questions we have about the topic, ranging 
from the admittedly irreverent (how would one go about cooking with 
marijuana, if one were so inclined?) to the political and academic 
(why didn't the planned decriminalization of pot ever happen?), from 
the artistic (how did drugs become so intertwined with popular music, 
not to mention film and literature?) to the direly important (what 
does that pill you bought from the kid selling "vitamins" night 
actually contain?) and everything in between.

It goes without saying that Vue is certainly not advocating, 
endorsing or encouraging potentially dangerous (and, as mentioned, 
unlawful) behaviour. We are, however, approaching the topic of drugs 
with the same attitude that has been applied (well, by anyone with 
any brains, anyway) to another fun taboo-sex-for years now: the more 
information one has, the safer and more informed one's choices will 
be. So relax, inhale deeply, try not to cough too much, and see if 
some of what you thought you knew about drugs doesn't just go up in smoke.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom