now the public imagines, i claim, that "treament" consists of no other than Carl Jung himself sitting down with a deeply troubled addict and talking with her about the childhood traumas that led to her brain disease and making a compassionate conservative diagnosis and after many years of therapy effecting a cure, at which point the patient may be permitted to apply for a driver's license.

the fact is that this is only the initial charade, the charade that the prisoner must play to in order to qualify for "treatment" rather than prison. the prisoner must pretend, whether he thinks so or not, that he has a disease, that his life is a mess as a result of drugs and that he has been saved in the nick of time from destruction by the law - when in fact it is most often the case that the prisoner's life was made a mess by the law while taking a quite harmless drug. i recall, for example, how our own freedom fighter had to pass some sort of quiz or interview in order to qualify for "treatment" rather than prison. he expressed some concern over his answer to a question wherin he stated that marijuana was an herb, not a drug, and was concerned that this answer could disqualify him. well, too many answers like that and it's prison. the authorities gotta make sure that none of their "patients" are going to make trouble, influence other "patients" with the truth or otherwise interfere with the profit and welfare system for drug warriors.

once "treatment" begins it's a different story, a trivial bureaucratic system of constant piss tests and constant threats of prison. only with the "disease of addiction" does a relapse require imprisonment. many diseases linger for years with alternating periods of remission and inflammation, but only the "disease" of taking drugs requires the perpetual threat of prison in its treatment. it's ridiculous, evil, stupid.

as far as quitting dope or alcohol goes, the fact is that people, when they are ready, simply quit. even alcoholics anonymous has only about a 10% success rate, and that when numerous relapses - without imprisonment - are accounted for. very very rarely does a person sober up permanently after one aa treatment. nevertheless, the political "disease" of taking dope requires the constant threat of imprisonment.

This new treatment thing is going to become a quagmire of corrupt government "outsourcing",
and a whole new industry is going to pop up in the next year or so.It
will be owned by subsidiaries,and phantom companies....The same wonderful
companies who are the privatized prison owners......Instead of any meaningful
reform of the laws,,,we will see a twisted "treatment" fiasco that will serve
to delay legalization. ....

...Only people with problems need treatment....It is ghastly to think of "treatment",forced
upon innocent civilians who enjoy Marijuana.

i hope to see the "treatment" system absolutely overwhelmed. by the way, "treatment", whatever that is, does not work. i have personally met people who have been "rehabilitated" as many as twenty four goddamn times.

even with a light load, the system would quickly degenerate to a mechanical and perfunctory system of piss testing and form filing. first of all, the average recipient will be a better educated, more experienced and generally more capable and competetent person than the typical "counselor". so the counselor, in most cases, really has nor wishes to do anything substantial. she simply fills out forms, makes threats, orders piss tests and collects a paycheck. second, for the majority of cases - marijuana criminals - there is of course no valid "treatment" to give. only a game of charades can be played. the treatment system for marijuana brain disease will almost instantly degenerate to a corrupt scam of ripping people off with the threat of prison - a system of legalized extortion. just wait til parents have to start paying huge sums of money to keep their kids out of prison for smoking a joint while the Little Scourge of bush broads lays a path of devastation through our communities each weekend. there could be protests and complaints!

so i agree with Charlie's statement above, and i take it literally. drug warriors do need treatment and the drug wars allow them to obtain it. they entrap people who are better than they and then exercise arbitrary and cruel authority over them. drug warriors, having no resources of their own, no ideas or ambition or real interests, need to victimize people in order to feel better about themselves. the vacuous personality of the drug warrior feeds off people of substance. truly this is a disease and it devastates our communities, young and old alike.

It seems to me to be far less cumbersome to the penal system to provide treatment than jail. Don't for one moment believe that the "criminal" won't be stiffed with the bill for treatment, and it involves no financial dues of incarceration (food, board, 24 hour guard surveilance).

With the treatment scenario, they'd be much subsidy left over from the significant decrease of imprisoned citizens to divert towrds treatment facilities. Also, this would contribute to keep real criminals not being released prematurely. I'm all for keeping rapists & murderers in jail, especially over having herb-users.

I think Law Enforcement needs treatment to help them withdraw from harrassing hard working, tax paying, otherwise law abiding citizens who prefer cannabis to alcohol or tobacco to feed their head.

The alternative to treatment and incarceration is freedom to do it, gosh darnit! Land of the free, remember?

Why do people who smoke pot need treatment?

Isn't it enough that we are healthier than cigarette smokers, and slimmer because our metabolisms handle food better?

Attention Law Enforcement:

Let US have Cannabis. Stop bothering us about seeds, smoke and bongs, and go fight REAL crime. Justice is supposed to be blind, not wear blinders.

- Soon narcosoft.com will sell THC-free Cannabis scented insence, perfumes, and tobacco. This particular cannabis activist sincerely hopes you know where you can stick your probable cause...