Pubdate: Thu, 03 Jul 2003
Source: Eye Magazine (CN ON)
Copyright: 2003 Eye Communications Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.eye.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/147
Author: David Silverberg

HIGH TIME FOR THIS ARGUMENT

Saying Yes: in Defense of Drug Use

Those friends of ours who drink beer by the gallons but tsk-tsk any mention 
of drugs will change their tune after reading the latest indictment on the 
US drug war Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use. Jacob Sullum argues for 
illegal drugs to be shelved in the same category as alcohol, where its 
users can be regarded as responsible citizens rather than demonized addicts.

Sullum, who previously blasted "health Nazis" in For Your Own Good: The 
Anti-Smoking Crusade and the Tyranny of Public Health, has a rep for 
rattling the conservative cage. His latest romp through drug policy digs 
into age-old research, anonymous interviews and those classic anti-drug ads.

Sullum structures his book cleverly: after detailing alcohol's history in 
its abstinence and moderation stages, he explores individual misconceptions 
that the drug war pushes on an unknowing public. Drug-induced madness, 
sloth, lust, violence and limb-shaking addiction get torn to shreds under 
Sullum's critical knife. Of particular interest is his charge that 
marijuana as a gateway drug is illogical dot-connecting. "One could observe 
similar correlations between recreational activities. People who go bungee 
jumping are probably more likely to try skydiving than people who don't go 
bungee jumping."

Sullum's only faults, though, are his reliance on stats and his tone. His 
voice resembles a kid whining for his toys and the pace slows during 
lengthy told-you-so surveys that support his arguments on drug abuse or 
MDMA toxicity, for instance.

But the numbers do strengthen the theoretical threads and Sullum once again 
fires pot shots at the suits who are supposedly looking out for our health. 
In Saying Yes, he offers compelling evidence on how drug prohibition is 
only hurting body and soul by forcing addicts to associate with sketchy 
dealers and pushing casual users into pariah territory. He also has a 
message that could headline any Canadian drug reform bill: drug use is not 
the end of the world.
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