"In some people's concept of an ideal society, it would be no holds barred for any substance you might wish to ingest, but that would not necessarily be a good or healthy idea. There are definitely some bad things out there unsuited to a general audience, and it should be the province of medicine to help people identify what is safe and what is not. The involvement of government, law enforcement and their version of moralism to the current degree into this equation has been an unmitigated disaster.

In my opinion, the people and politicians that are opposed to legalizing drugs, seem to think that legalization means our society will become a free-for-all of drug consumption. This is yet another myth that we need to expose to the public at large. Like cigarettes and tobacco we, as a society / community, will need controls and laws. Who better to tell an individual bent on shooting up some heroin, what is the potency and safe quantities for injection than a doctor or treatment specialist. Currently, the only source of this information comes from street dealers who really care less about health and safety. Legalizing drugs and placing them in the hands of "recreational drug consultants." would do more to lower overdose deaths than the continued zero-tolerancee policy and attitude.

This idea, that our government can erase all illegal drugs from the planet, and that incarceration will stop and eliminate all demand for experimentation with substances is what I like to call a policy of zero-intelligence.

When John Q Public starts to disseminate that approx. 40 billion of his tax dollars per year are being wasted on an impossible goal in a futile effort, his vote will swing. He does however, I believe want to be assured that his children will not become drug zombies. Preventing a society of drug zombies could be more assured if the current 40 billion spent for law enforcement, prisons, and weapons were to be redirected to education and drug clinics.

Many complex questions are raised. I have not always totally agreed with Szasz; I do think that mental illness exists. I agree that our attitudes toward psychiatric conditions have been far too paternalistic, much as they are for "illicit" drugs.

The longer I have been involved in this process, however, the more "radicalized" my concepts regarding drugs have become. I believe that the same is true of most people who genuinely open the floodgates, try to remain objective, and read everything they can on drugs, drug policy, etc.

I see no logical alternative to decriminalization, and ending the War on Drugs. It is time to declare peace. I like the Swiss and Dutch models. Drugs should be legal and safe. It should remain a crime to sell drugs to minors(less than 18). I am no fan of alcohol abuse whatsoever, but things were much better when the drinking age was 18. Far too many young adults are being arrested for what everyone does on the sly.

I do see a place, both for herbal cannabis, and for the various alternative delivery techniques, and some of the the synthetics in the pipeline. The cannabinoid mechanisms are so complex, and affect so many disease processes, that it certainly makes sense to have a large number of available tools to apply to the issues.

In some people's concept of an ideal society, it would be no holds barred for any substance you might wish to ingest, but that would not necessarily be a good or healthy idea. There are definitely some bad things out there unsuited to a general audience, and it should be the province of medicine to help people identify what is safe and what is not. The involvement of government, law enforcement and their version of moralism to the current degree into this equation has been an unmitigated disaster.

Not all physicians will be qualified or interested in this model. Rather, in the future we may see a new field of recreational drug consultants. There would need to be some transactional immunity for such a specialist, for no malpractice carrier would imagine writing policies for them!

As to references, Szasz is interesting, as are Bonnie, Joel Miller, Dan Forbes, Dan Gardner, and the many others quoted in these postings.

I can't thank you enough for your work here, in your lab, in your clinic, and in your publications. I say this both as a reformer and one who has been in years BP -- before pot -- literally disabled by migraine headaches.

My question concerns the work we do here - specific to MJ - in the context of the overall drug war and how you would square (or compare) your views about drug abuse being a medical problem with more libertarian views, e.g., those of Dr. Szasz? See, for example, his recent book, "Pharmacracy" [, the ad for same in Reason Online [http://laissezfairebooks.com/product.cfm?op=view&pid=SZ8436&aid=10262], and an interview with him in the same journal [http://www.reason.com/0007/fe.js.curing.html].

More particularly, how can we respond to his view that if one's main concern is the drug war overall (I mean, as long they are making our soceity "free" of any drug, the damage to civil liberties, and many other things, would likely be just as egregious as it is now), it may be counterproductive to legalize MJ? Moreover, what do you think of the idea that docs should be paid for their advice and knowledge of drugs, not their acting as "agents of the state" by "allowing" people to access certain drugs, which should be a right of any free person?

I know you are extremely busy -- doing some of the most important work there is to do on this planet, as far as I am concerned -- so if a textual reply is not possible, could you perhaps just point us to an article, book, author, etc., that you feel provides the best response to what I call "pure libertarian" arguments and viewpoints, such as those held by Szasz?

Thanks, and God Bless,

so diversify is all they can do to keep their jobs, confiscatory seizure laws, etc., though they would some "splaining" to do every time 60 years of their false rhetoric is paraded before them once cannabis is available and not found to as harmful as they predicted.....

also, now that I mention "pharmacracy", I have to ax Dr. Russo something, infra.

Be well, all of you -- Proud of You!

busted 22 folks... seem peaceful enuff...

What so weird about it is some folks wearing

SPACESUITS, I supposed, to freak or encourage the population to start using meth??

sigh!

,,they will hold out as long as they possibly can get away with
on cannabis,,,but they will make sure to have an ample supply
of other demonized substances to keep the Gravy Train screamin'
down the track....

..It's hard to imagine,,,but the Drug-Pig empire has all this down
to a science.They know what they are up against,and they will gladly
spend millions of tax dollars to hire the best advisors,,,just like they've
been doing for years.......Just look at how successful they've been so
far!...They managed to rape the Constitution,and Bill of Rights before
anyone knew what was going on.They have formulated a very effective
campaign of disinformation,and media domination,,that has basically
blinded America to real,,important issues.........This whole thing is
much worse than most think it is......The founders of our country would
be SHOCKED,,,and they would be bewildered as to why there is no public
outrage towards our bloated,criminal government......the situation is
alarmingly astounding,,,and disturbingly astonishing...d

d
d

As for this article - Hutchinson states,"The fact is that interdiction works. I think the question is whether we, budgetwise, can devote enough resources to consistently make interdiction a part of the law enforcement arsenal."

In other words, interdiction costs too much.

We need to do what we can to keep drugs out of the schools

Such scrutiny is inappropriate in the classroom

Day 19, 05:13 PM EST (Results are delayed 15 minutes)

Total Votes: 1,629

percent votes

Yes (1,133)
(70%)

Yes,,,FoM....You are right about it being used as an excuse to further
intrude into our lives,,and break down our doors...

There's no way they are gonna let their drug war end....they will
simply adapt it,and adjust it any way they can to maintain the "Demon Drugs"
image.........we may see Marijuana laws gradually reform,,,but the drug war
is too big of an institution to eliminate,,,,,,,that is,,unless everyone woke
up and elected Harry Browne,,or Ralph Nader as president,,,,,,but that's
about as likely as Gary Condit saying;"yea,,I had the bitch whacked,,she knew
too much"...

..

It is again clear that the black market status exacerbates the problem. If the illegal market was eliminated, there would be the possibility of getting real help to those in need, and they might actually be interested in it once the the threat of incarceration were removed.

I believe the reason the crack cocaine "epidemic" receded was because people started to realize that this drug caused many problems in the users. Young people could see first hand the effects in their elders, and it wasn't good. In addition there was too much violence, and so the people involved managed to turn down the level.

I bet Hitler said the same thing about containing and exterminating the Jews.

Hutchinson backtracked somewhat yesterday from an earlier statement that going after those who procure medical marijuana, which is illegal under federal law, would not be "a priority" in his DEA.

"It is the law of our land," he said. "The Supreme Court affirmed the law ... The specifics of that (policy) are still being formulated. I'm certainly not backing off of it the law, because you have to worry about sending a serious signal to society that this is still unacceptable."

So what he is saying is that if you are sick and dying, we are gonna arrest you for taking medical marijuana. However, if you are a drunk cop on your way to work drunk (twice the legal limit) and happen to run over and KILL innocent people you don't have to go to jail!