Pubdate: Wed, 31 Oct 2007 Source: Winonan (WI, Edu) Copyright: 2007 Winonan, Winona State University Contact: http://www.winona.edu/winonan/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4164 Author: Carl Hunter DRUG LEGALIZATION WILL CREATE EDUCATED SOCIETY Earlier this month San Francisco's Public Health Department helped sponsor an all-day discussion about opening up a legal drug injection center inside the city. Wait, what? A place where you can bring heroin, cocaine, or any other intravenous drug of choice and shoot up? Absolutely! And not only shoot up but with free syringes and a safety net of supervision by a trained medical staff so if you overdose, they'll save you! Conservatives around the U.S. are already mocking those "crazy liberals" for wanting to put tax dollars towards assisting the decrepit drug abusing derelicts that put a drain on society as it is. Where is Darwinism!? Meanwhile, liberals rejoice at this "novel idea" as a breathe of fresh air, finally they see that things aren't working and are willing to try something new. What is man's purpose if not to aid his fellow man! First, the idea isn't exactly unheard of; 65 centers exist in eight different countries. But the Vancouver center is the only one in North America. So, while the idea may be new to us, the rest of the world has already experimented and moved on to implement even crazier ideas like prescribing dosages of heroin for addicts (Switzerland has done this for more than 10 years). Lucky for us, in order for Canada's federal government to permit Vancouver's crack house-er facility, it had to undergo a 3-year scientific evaluation of its impact (they did this back in 2003; you can view the 2006 report at www.cmaj.ca, search for "pilot injecting facility"). The study reported it to be a success. In terms of what? Ninety-five percent of users reported high levels of satisfaction. Well, if that isn't ironic. The center was used an estimated 700 times per day by their target population and observed a decrease in public injections, decrease of injection related litter, with an increase in usage of the city's treatment facilities. So let's recap. If you create a safe haven for people to inject drugs, they will use it. Not only will they use it, but they will PREFER to use it more than using in public where they can get arrested. WHOA no kidding! There was an increase in detox treatment, but most people who used the facility continued to use it without seeking treatment. Addictions cause people to act in irrational and desperate ways. The stronger the addiction, the more risk taken on by the individual to continue it. Laws don't stop addicts, it deters starting. Drivers of starting are greedy peddlers looking for a profit, natural human curiosity, and a misunderstanding or ignorance of its effect. Society can't stop curiosity, we can't stop greed either but we can decrease the profit margins and increase education/awareness. In 1997, the FDA ruled to permit pharmaceutical companies to launch ad campaign's directly to consumers. Since then, the number of people on "prescription" drugs has jumped dramatically. Everyone has been trained to think they have a problem and there is an easy pill to fix it-just ask your doctor if it's right for you. Doctor's are motivated to push prescriptions as they often make money by doing so. Since its marketed on TV, people who take such drugs don't even consider themselves to be "on drugs." Aderol and anti-depressants aren't that much different than amphetamines and cocaine. Consider a "revolutionary idea:" Have the government create another "stupidity tax" to go along with the lottery. Let's mass produce heroin, cocaine, and every other "illicit substance" and distribute them through prescriptions at extremely low costs. All proceeds will go into treatment centers, research and marketing campaigns designed to increase awareness of the effect of different substances and addiction in general. Think of all the money saved by no longer fighting drugs but profiting from it while creating a more educated society. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek