SEPARATE MEDICINE AND THE STATE

Dear Sir:

Methamphetamine hydrochloride is sold as Desoxyn to children for
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and to adults for obesity so
there is truth in what youths are telling each other and Steinbach MLA
Kelvin Goertzen about so-called "crystal meth."

For older Canadians, we would understand amphetamine, the class of
drugs from which meth emanates, as "bennies" from the '60s.

Banning those products after the "speed kills" campaign of the '60s
is, in fact, what led to black market crystal meth being manufactured
in home labs everywhere. The economic laws of supply and demand are
immutable. Crystal meth has simply become the drug de-jour for
politicians to rail against.

The periodic table ensures a never ending supply of new demon pleasure
drugs to rail against. Addiction is the fear "dragon" favored by
politicians today. Addiction is a fine old English word that used to
clearly be understood as a moral judgment has come to be defined by
law as a medical disorder known as "dependency."

Addiction is a culturally conditioned term that used to stigmatize
disapproved-of behaviors. Addictions are the latest in a long line of
"demonic possession" theories that find receptive ears in our
theologically-based culture that is conditioned to believe in
"destroyed will."

Today, medicine occupies the pedestal of esteem formerly reserved for
the church so humanity has learned how to do our moralizing in
medical-sounding terms like addiction. The wisdom of the ages as
demonstrated in the parable of The Fall has it that human beings are
endowed with free will. There is always a choice. The moral of the
parable is universally known; the forbidden fruit always tastes sweeter.

Understanding that, it has always confounded me why people of faith
would support the mistake of prohibition. Even more perplexing to me
is why the more subliminal message of the parable is not heeded. The
Serpent is the truth teller and The Supreme Authority punishes the
children, not the tempter. In the millions of words I have seen
written on addiction, the one word I have never seen associated with
it is temptation. Yielding to it and resisting it, where does that
come into the picture?

And what in the world has medicine got to do with people choosing to
use pleasure drugs? Addictions are medicalized morals, gambling,
boozing, drug use, self-abuse, you name it, in the therapeutic state,
there are no sins, just mental disorders. The notion that the state
could protect children from noxious substances would have startled
Aristotle, not to mention Thomas Jefferson. Household electricity,
garden, farm and household chemicals are all very dangerous. Parents
protect the children from dangers in a free society. Risk aversion
ought to be an individual choice in a free country too.

So thank you very much, Kelvin Goertzen, and all the other politicians
are promising to rid the world of the natural right to self-medicate.
We tried your sinful ways of aggression many times in the past to no
avail when it came to instilling moral character in people. All manner
of beatings, jailing, and executions world without end have been tried
and liberty has been the only system yet devised that could instil
moral fibre in individuals and therefore the community.

Milton Friedman and lead libertarian thinker Dr. Thomas Szasz have
made the case for a free-market in all drugs for over 40 years based
on their understanding of the wisdom of the ages. Personal
responsibility is the price liberty demands. Absent patents,
prescription rights and drug prohibition, drugs would be cheap for our
largest consumers; our seniors.

It's about time someone pointed to the vain gloriousness of
criminalizing the natural right to self-medicate with whatever
substance a free man chooses. Regimentation of thoughts against drugs
is not the proper use of state power. True conservatives would embrace
strong family and weak state values. True conservatives would protect
our God-given right to use the plants of planet Earth as the valuable
properties that they are. True conservatives ought to think about a
separation of medicine and state.

Chris Buors

Libertarian, president, Manitoba Marijuana Party Winnipeg
MB