This reminds me of an article I read today in our local university's research mag. It describes "rapid detox," a method of eliminating opiates from the opiate addict while the patient is under general anesthesia. The process takes about six hours, and the patient experiences none of the adverse side effects suffered by those who go through traditional detox. The article states that this process also may provide hope for alcoholics (whose bodies produce an opiate-like substance in reaction to the alcohol, which is why it is so damn addicting). Of course, this process only deals with the physical addiction, not the emotional dependence on opiates, so counseling is recommended for those who undergo this procedure. And here's the kicker: a better than 70% success rate, which is better than any program out there.

Many long-term opiate addicts could benefit from this type of detox program; it is humane, and it does not entail jailing anyone. Think of the swell of enthusiasm for rapid detox if offered on a volunteer basis to anyone experiencing addiction to opium, morphine, or heroin--or any of the synthetic opiates like Dilaudid. Does the federal government really think that the only way to deal with addiction is through harsh penalties that often debilitate the addict more than their addictions ever could?

My point is this: we have the technology right now to end serious, hard core addiction to opiates and, quite likely, alcohol. Yet, the DEA and its cousin agencies demand that the only way to curb the national addiction rate is to treat addicts worse than we treat animals (at least the lions at the zoo get a relatively natural habitat).

This is a moral outrage, and I intend to write my local newspaper in response to the article (I'll post a link when they get their site working; right now, it is down), demanding that the people of West Texas start treating hard core addicts like the human beings that they are.

One last statement (to bring it back around to cannabis): if rapid detox were to become the norm for dealing with opiate addiction, wouldn't the legalization movement become that much stronger? Such an approach would necessitate legalization because people would be able to see concrete evidence that long terms in prison are counterproductive in comparison to rapid detox and regular counseling for 6 months to a year. Plus, in order for rapid detox to become a viable option for the addict, the addict must be free to reveal his or her addiction without fear of penalty.

So much promise can evolve from the development of this simple procedure. I urge you to write your congresspersons and senators in support of expanding state or federally-funded rapid detox centers across the country and simultaneously relaxing the laws that keep real addicts from pursuing this very reasonable alternative. This may be the opportunity the legalization and regulation movement has been looking for. Let's seize it.

They escalating it and it's got to snap back in their face.

I had a very interesting conversation with a young guy here (19 years old) who wants to be a cop but says he can't because "I couldn't bust my friends." I inquired what he meant and he was referring to the fact that as an officer even here in relatively tolerant Key West he would have to arrest his buddies for hootin' up some jib now and then.

I asked him if he would be a cop if we had no drug war and all he was responsible for was arresting people who hurt other people or property (and not those who at worst hurt themselves) and his eyes lit up as he said "I would be at the academy now." This was a nice kid, the kind you would want as a cop, who grew up here in Key West in a family that suffered from a lot of substance abuse, yet the thought had never occured to him that we could end this war or at least tone it down by separating hard and soft drug markets.

His enthusiasm only soared when I told him this was possible --- that's not either "drug abuse/addiction" vs. "just so no" --- and that our drug education for kids is dishonest. "I knew that", he told me, "but I never thought you could tell kids the TRUTH about drugs but now that I think about it, it does make sense."

My point is that I think I won a convert, but I was kind of shocked that these kids are practically programmed to think like prohibitionists, are too young to question the propaganda they are fed, and thus easy to convert once they feel they won't be shunned or arrested for even advocating reform of the drug laws.

I guess I better leave this state today as I spreading dangerous ideas like freedom. I need a Xanax to relax me for the flight but have no idea where to get a 'script for it here in Florida:) Everyone here recommends a Dr. N. Bush, yet when I inquired I was told her license expired and she closed her practice -- something about going back to hospital to do a residency in addiction medicine:)

Signing out,

"Since none of [Constable Brown's] assertions turn out to be true, it is obvious that any police officer can get a search warrant by literally lying and making up whatever information they require to get in your house," said Emery. "The terrifying thing is that any pot smoker in Canada could have their homes invaded by big uniformed secret police Nazis because of second hand pot smoke."