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.