Anybody read "Confessions of An Economic Hitman"? From what I remember, it had some interesting things to say about the drug war.
I was on the metro earlier, deep in meditation, when a ruffian came over and started causing trouble. He started pushing me with his bag, steadily increasing the force until it became very annoying. When I turned to him, before I could ask him to stop, he immediately started hurling abuse like a scoundrel. I performed a basic chin na - carotid artery strike combination and sent him to sleep. The rest of my journey was very peaceful, and passersby hailed me as a hero - Warrior Man
I can only comment on Colombia because I live here now and I can say that I have seen more coke during my time in London and in Rio de Janeiro than I have seen here.
Of course it exists and there are addicts here everywhere where drugs are available but it is worth considering cultural factors as well when one discusses drugs.
The family unit is a lot stronger in countries such as Colombia than most (not all) of Western Europe and North America. Since I was a kid I have seen drugs all over the place.
I had lived in the UK when I was younger and during my school days I would see drugs brought in by various classroom d!ck heads. What would follow would be a frenzy of kids begging to try this stuff out while I and a couple friends would walk away in hurry from the idiot's fraternity.
The designed break down of family values in many Western countries has not only contributed to their drug (consumption) problems but also to other delinquencies!
This is the cultural level of the problem!
That book is on my list. It is apparently an amazing book.
Here is an interesting interview with its writer, John Perkins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6WstddMJZQ
Yeah, that's why pet tigers, home anthrax kits, and personal nuclear weapons should be legal. I mean, who are these fools kidding? People just want them more because they are forbidden. Just think of the tax revenue you could get. Plus, um, alcohol is really, really bad too.
yes, people do stupid things. I would prefer that they pay in cash to get messed up so that a portion of that money can go to their future health care thereby by passing their natural stupidity.
everybody alters their brains every day in the environment they live in or via the food they eat or water they drink.
seeking to control people results in loss of control utterly.
unless you're prepared to kill everyone, don't even bother with that tack because historically it has been shown to fail time and again.
only by bringing it (the substances not the people) under controlled rule of law can we remove the criminal aspect from it and responsibly use peoples sorrows to help them in the long run.
Kung Fu is good for you.
Very interesting book. Having gotten sick of "great" or "important" books accumulating on my book shelf, I just ordered the audio book from Amazon. His view on the drug situation in places like Colombia and Afghanistan is certainly not what you see on CNN or ABC World News Tonight. lol
Last edited by Faruq; 02-16-2009 at 11:20 AM. Reason: correcting period to comma
I was on the metro earlier, deep in meditation, when a ruffian came over and started causing trouble. He started pushing me with his bag, steadily increasing the force until it became very annoying. When I turned to him, before I could ask him to stop, he immediately started hurling abuse like a scoundrel. I performed a basic chin na - carotid artery strike combination and sent him to sleep. The rest of my journey was very peaceful, and passersby hailed me as a hero - Warrior Man
The only form of control that works is the Death Star (Please board up the exhaust vent...)
------
Jason
--Keep talking and I'm gonna serve you dinner...by opening up a can of "whoop-ass" and for dessert, a slice of Lama Pai!
God gave us free will. Therefore he is pro-choice.
Historically, it has also been done half-assed, so I don't find that to be relevant. Validating drug use will only make the problem worse, much like how alcoholism and lung cancer strikes millions of Americans, costs billions, if not trillions in accidents, deaths, and hospitalizations, and generally wreaks havoc on society. Prohibition didn't work? Ok, fair enough. It failed for a number of reasons. But what we have now is far worse. Try explaining to a mother why her daughter died. Because someone had the right to drink. Because there is NOTHING in place to keep that person from hopping into his car. Because we don't want to infringe on their "freedoms". Spare me the liberty or death argument, because I don't buy it. Spare me the "prohibition don't wurk" speech, because we know that. It was a half-assed effort, but I'm sure it saved a few lives.
The weakest of all weak things is a virtue that has not been tested in the fire.
~ Mark Twain
Everyone has a plan until they’ve been hit.
~ Joe Lewis
A warrior may choose pacifism; others are condemned to it.
~ Author unknown
"You don't feel lonely.Because you have a lively monkey"
"Ninja can HURT the Spartan, but the Spartan can KILL the Ninja"
No it didn't. People drank more during prohibition then after. A 10 year old is less likely to score a six pack of beer now than he is to score a doobie. Legalization will curtail child exposure. You can ban whatever you want, people will find a way to get it. Especially if its taboo.
Yeah, those are all so comparable to drug use and so widespread in society.
Please. It's not like I'm saying everything will magically get better if various substances are legalized. But statistics from other countries have shown usage rates do tend to decline post-legalization, and it's much easier to keep things associated with drug use rather safer when they're out in the open. Or would you rather go the other way and have people get drunk on bathtub hooch with who-knows-what in it and likely cause even MORE problems than alcoholics and drunk drivers do now?
Dude, I'm a cab driver. It's not like I'm insulated from the reality of what drugs and alcohol do to people. I take slobbering drunks to bars at 7AM. Even the people who get in my cab who AREN'T on something generally have stories. But as ugly as that can be, and as many problems and tragedies as that causes, you can't solve the problem by plugging your ears and going "la la la it's illegal now." It's going to continue regardless, and the only responsible way to address that is openly and with the FACT well in mind that intoxicating substances always have been and likely always will be part of life as a human being for a large percentage of the population. Anything else is sticking your head in the sand and pretending life is nicer and more Disney-esque than it is.
In all honesty, you wanna see fewer drug-related tragedies, the thing to focus on is elimination of poverty.
Oh, is that all?
This may sound selfish but a ten year buying booze or a "Doobie" for that matter is not a threat to me. However a 24 year old buying alcohol (or drugs) at a corner store and then getting in his car and driving is very much a threat.
At the very least making drugs or alcohol illegal makes it harder to get for the average person. As I've said before I've heard stats that say on weekend nights over half the people on the road having been drinking......now add drugs that can be easily obtained at the corner "sustance" store and it's a recipe to hurt a lot of innocent people.
Aside from that I have no qualms with anybody doing anything to thier body....as long as it doesn't hurt others. I know plenty of people who maybe once or twice a year (Special occasions) might do some fairly hard drugs.....as long as they can handle it...go for it!