Pubdate: Tue, 22 Feb 2011
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Copyright: 2011 The Leader-Post Ltd.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361
Author: Sam Morrison, The Leader-Post

THE NEW PROHIBITION: FROM THE INSIDE OUT

The drug war is an issue filled with almostunending controversy -and 
how to broach the issue, even more so. This sad state of affairs 
mainly manifests itself in the demonization of drug use, which is 
partially precipitated by the rule of law, but also by otherwise 
ideological barriers.

How the decision to make the possession and use of mind-altering 
substances, synthetic and natural, a punishable act is beyond even 
the most crafted and intellectual minds -unless a largely conjectural 
argument is allowed to form one's opinions.

In the interest of a largely benign act, an insurmountable degree of 
opposition to these absurd laws has been under way for the better 
part of 40 years. Artists, pundits, actors, comedians, lawyers, 
politicians, scientists, students, law enforcement and even religious 
fanatics have all voiced their anger at the discriminatory and 
unbalanced statutes that prevent acquisition and consumption of 
inherently nontoxic and even beneficial substances.

 From the summer of love to the days of insurrection to now -the days 
of discussable complacence -a prolonged and biased recognition of the 
use of drugs has been at the center of this sideshow act. It is 
almost an amazing feat that authority has managed to stymie further 
investigation into psychedelic, and otherwise mindbending, materials. 
Research should continue, and allowance of personal preference should 
never be modified or policed.

When one recognizes what "drugs" are, then it becomes clear they are 
tools for altering perceptions or probing the nature of mind and the 
varying degrees of awareness. These substances either inhibit or 
exacerbate the natural perception systems in the body by binding to 
neurotransmitter receptors on the body's cells, eliciting a desired 
or less-than-welcome effect. These effects, however, are not from the 
drug; they are merely allowed to come to the front of experience and 
guide one's mentation by posing as, or imitating, the endogenous 
neural chemicals, like serotonin, dopamine, etc.

To create a comparable distinction for nondrug users, let's consider 
a few seemingly contra-dictory positions that contribute to the 
continuance of drug enforcement.

As consumerist fashion becomes widely accepted, more and more scents 
and perfumes seem to be popping up, like malignant skin cells. Most 
of these seemingly harmless chemical concoctions actually are made 
from petroleumbased substances and have a nature that is even more devious.

These "perfumes" are sprayed or applied to a surface so as to let the 
liquid contact air and evaporate.

As these substances evaporate and rip the hair from one's nostrils 
upon inhalation, they actually elicit a perceptual response in another being.

Now, how can a substance that enhances creativity, spiritual and 
artistic, creates a ethereal film between one and one's experience, 
and generally betters the lives of the people who use it, be more 
condemnable than a vastly unknown chemical amalgam that forces 
perceptions onto another being?

In the interest of space restraints, the author must resist from 
"talking toxicology" as this mere word can stir up so much 
information that an entire entry can be written of various 
toxicological problems in regard to controlled and uncontrolled, 
over-the-counter or prescribed, medicines.

These problems with social convention need to be seriously addressed 
before we find ourselves in a predicament with no way to justify it. 
Already, many are waking up to the explicitly authoritarian stance on 
the subject, but this isn't enough. Millions of lives ruined, in 
order to keep a truth and fact suppressed, just to masquerade as an 
intelligent and well-adjusted society.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D