Pubdate: Sun, 22 Feb 2015
Source: Sun-Herald (Australia)
Copyright: 2015 John Fairfax Holdings Ltd
Contact:  http://www.sunherald.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/431
Author: Clyde Rathbone

PUBLIC HYSTERIA BETRAYS IRRATIONAL VIEW OF DRUGS

Karmichael Hunt is learning that the potency of an illicit drug 
scandal is likely to be far stronger than anything he has ingested. 
In the wake of the allegations against Hunt, a predictable hysteria 
has swept through the country. And while there is no doubt that Hunt 
is alleged to have done something extremely foolish, if so, his real 
crime is underestimating our society's deeply irrational attitude to 
certain substances.

Part of the problem is the catchall term: drugs. A drug is any 
substance that has a physiological effect when introduced into the 
body. Everything we ingest is, by definition, a drug. In terms of the 
effects they produce, it is time we accepted that all substances 
appear on a spectrum. Your favourite coffee or red wine is favoured 
precisely because of the altered states of consciousness it brings 
about. And any reasonable debate about drugs must be anchored to the 
specific effects they produce. We can demystify illicit drugs by 
paying attention to what they are and how they work.

Consider psilocybin. Drug laws have made the active compound in magic 
mushrooms unavailable to researchers for decades. And yet new 
clinical trials have revealed that it may be one of the most useful 
substances on earth. Appearing in The New Yorker, Michael Pollan's 
article "The Trip Treatment" brought worldwide attention to renewed 
research on psychedelics and the exciting results it is producing.

But the war on drugs has done more than deny scientists the 
opportunity to do their jobs. It has ruined lives. Prohibition does 
little to restrict the use of drugs, but it has generated an 
astonishingly large black market. A market that has brought violence, 
death and destruction to nearly every corner of the globe. 
Prohibition has incarcerated millions of (mostly black) people for 
the crime of possessing cannabis, a substance about which the US 
President, Barack Obama, recently said: "I don't think it is more 
dangerous than alcohol."

But while drug laws in the West remain immoral, in many other parts 
of the world they are horrific. Schapelle Corby spent nine years in 
prison for smuggling a drug that is now legally obtained in a growing 
number of countries and is decriminalised in many more. In 2013, 
Tasmanian man Phillip Kevin Baldock pleaded guilty to raping an 
81-year-old woman. Justice Alan Blow said the crime was "horrific" 
and required a substantial prison sentence. Baldock received a 
maximum nine years.

In the coming days Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are 
likely to be executed for heroin trafficking. Consider their fate 
against the fact that in the US, more people die each year from 
prescribed opioid overdoses than from heroin. According to the former 
director of the alcohol and drug service at Sydney's St Vincent 
Hospital, Alex Wodak, this trend is being repeated in Australia.

In 2013, the Australian Rugby Union rolled out its illicit-drug 
policy. I was strongly opposed to the policy and wrote to the Rugby 
Union Players' Association. Here is an excerpt of my email:

"There are a number of federal and state laws which address illicit 
drug use and possession, why should rugby players be subjected to 
additional protocols?

"The fact that there is no distinction within the program between 
different types of illicit drugs is ridiculous. How can anyone mount 
a reasonable argument that heroin and cannabis should incur the same penalties?

"The idea that an adult who happens to be a rugby player could have 
his contract terminated for the victimless crime of occasional 
cannabis (or other psychedelic) usage seems very strange. Especially 
when considered in the context of the relatively relaxed position the 
ARU adopts towards alcohol consumption and prescription medication.

"The illicit drug policy appears as a costly prohibition policy 
motivated by ignorance and politics which do not appear to improve 
the working conditions under which professional rugby players operate."

Predictably, I was ignored, and rugby players in Australia are now 
subjected to a draconian illicit drug policy. One that masquerades as 
a prophylactic in favour of player welfare, but in reality exists as 
a box-ticking exercise to satisfy sponsors.

Drug abuse is a serious problem. A problem that must be treated with 
education, and in some cases, prescription drugs. Karmichael Hunt has 
potentially jeopardised his career and the Reds' season in 
spectacular fashion. We can respond with the national pastime of 
moral righteousness and condemn Hunt. Or we can use his predicament 
to think more clearly about our deranged drug laws and the victims they create.
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