By: The Mystic
You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence.
Government
Meanwhile, Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey is getting more whacko every day, having just verbally attacked the Netherlands policies, with erroneous crime figure comparisons, etc.
It's almost a suicidal technique. You can't lie to kids. Drug education is a uniformed policeman coming into the first grade and telling all these fucking lies [about marijuana] so that by the time [the kids are] in junior high and they've tried it, they know you're full of shit. Marijuana is a gateway drug -- it teaches you disrespect for authority.
Politicians running for office
They do this by claiming to be "tough on crime" or accusing other candidates of being "soft on crime". In most voters' minds, being for personal liberty apparently does not sit all that well. Since nearly every legitimate crime (those involving an actual victim) has been written at least since the 19th century, BCE with the Code of Hammurabi, lawmakers who want to stay in office must create new crimes. Either that or they must acquiesce to what someone before them mistakenly labeled a crime -- to prove that they are "tough on crime". This helps them stay in power when elections roll around again. Why do most citizens vote for authoritarianism?
Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.
Citizen busybodies
Despite the fact that most people prefer to be told how to live, many of them have their own dictatorial tendencies, i.e., they would not mind having at least partial control over what the neighbors are doing. This is the basis of democracy, a device that gives people the illusion that they control not only their own lives, but more importantly, the lives of others. This authoritarian inclination is strong -- stronger, for some people, than the fondness for personal liberty. When one citizen does something that another would not, the common reaction is "there ought to be a law" -- and they are not kidding! Just a few applications of "there ought to be a law" to actions that happen to be distasteful to someone, and before long we are living in fascism. Unfortunately, most people either are not intellectually capable of figuring that out, or they think they wouldn't mind tyranny.
The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy.
Pharmaceutical companies
The Food and Drug Administration just approved infamous thalidomide (remember the babies?) for the treatment of Hanson's disease (leprosy), but smoking grass to treat nausea resulting from chemotherapy is prohibited in all but a handful of states. Small wonder that the Partnership for a Drug-Free America is so well funded by pharmaceutical companies. [The world's largest builder of prisons, Bechtel Group, Inc. is also a Drug-Free America partner. Can we guess why?] Prison Officials and "Correctional Officers"The more corrupt the republic, the more numerous the laws. America incarcerates a greater number of its own population than does any other nation on earth, and you -- as taxpayer -- are picking up the increasing tab. In 1997, 60% of Federal prison inmates were doing time for drug offenses. To decriminalize marijuana and other drugs would start to empty cells, thus putting a number of penal employees out of work. Of course, Federal, State and local law enforcement could reallocate resources to the capture of genuine criminals, but it is doubtful that there are enough genuine crimes being committed to make up for the political prisoners wasting their lives away for medicating themselves. On the other hand, the program of releasing dangerous criminals early to make room for pot users and venders could cease. (Of course, with fewer prisoners, jailers might have less opportunity to get laid.)
The Christian RightThey call themselves the "moral majority", but they are neither. Even from a literally interpreted Bible-based point of view, the acceptance of Jesus and related teachings was intended to be a matter of choice, not subjugation. As did the architects of the Inquisition, this subgroup of Christendom have decided that what they cannot accomplish by influence and appeal, they will attempt to do so by politics and force -- which is the same thing.
Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.
A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism.
Drug DealersI recall a news story a few years ago about a pickup that was pulled over in my hometown for a minor traffic violation. In the bed of the truck, police officers discovered marijuana plants. The reporter said that the illegal weed had a street value of US$500,000. A half million dollars worth of anything that will fit in the back of a pickup represents a tremendous business opportunity -- but only as long as it remains illegal. The last people in the world who want pot decriminalized are those who sell it at a premium. It grows as easily as corn -- but in more locations -- and requires no particularly special equipment. Unlike the processing of cocaine or methamphetamines, it isn't even necessary to use toxic or flammable chemicals. It is only profitable because of the continuous legal risk factor.Dealers should thank lawmakers for continuing to provide them with this economic boon.
[Here's some other pertinent quotes.]The sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier, because, in the opinions of others, to do so would be wise, or even right. These are good reasons for remonstrating with him, or reasoning with him, or persuading him, or entreating him, but not for compelling him, or visiting him with evil in case he do otherwise.- John Stuart Mill Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power. - P.J. O'Rourke The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the Prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this. - Albert Einstein The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments. - William H. Borah It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong. - Voltaire The right to be let alone is indeed the beginning of all freedom. - Supreme Court Justice William Orville Douglas |
There are no specific prohibitions against herbs such as marijuana, opium or peyote in either Hebrew or Christian scriptures. Nevertheless, many of the Clergy undoubtedly recognize that the use of some drugs under the right conditions produces a mystical experience that competes directly with what Christianity has to offer. The prohibitions on peyote use in the Native American Church -- in direct violation of the First Amendment -- came from Christian motives from the beginning. This was hand-in-hand with other efforts to