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.
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MAP posted-by: Derek