With that in mind we could include adderall, cannabis, cocaine, percocet, zoloft, heroin, ambien, methamphetamine, anabolic steroids, nicotine, ritalin & alcohol, among a number of other things.
Some may argue that illegal drug substances should be apportioned as they are not regulated by the government for various reasons or that even if they are intended for medicinal purposes, a qualified practitioner is not present to administer both the substance & the amount of such.
I'll counter that argument firstly by stating that prescription drugs are responsible for a number of deaths just shy of 90,000 each year. Alcohol (which tops out at 110,000) trails tobacco by an astonishing 300,000 deaths. Illicit drugs account for less than 20,000 deaths annually whereas cannabis is in a league all it's own - accounting for zero deaths. That's correct, zero. These statistics alone merit their inclusion.
When you find yourself privy to such facts, you begin to notice the subtle, albeit unintended satire in the media. Advertisements for many of these pharmaceutical aids often precede the 'Drug War' or 'Above the Influence' propaganda. The next time you're in front of the television (or any viral video site), take notice to how simply the adverse symptoms of such prescription drugs fall from the tongue as they list off such obscurities you could experience as a 'heart attack', or 'death'. It's a real-life tragedy drowning in the laughter of those who listen.
Furthermore, statistics published in October of 2008 reveal that 3 out of every 4 Americans believe the War on Drugs is failing. You may be wondering to yourself (and according to the very same poll, nearly 90% of you are), "Does this mean we should increase our efforts to reverse the direction of this failing thirty year-old war?" I may respond by reminding you that this is most definitely a free country (at least to a certain degree), thusly, you can choose to support the infamous war but you should do so knowing that approximately 17 billion (with a 'B') tax-payer dollars are spent each year to keep this archaic mill turning. This may prove to be even more upsetting when you learn that a grand total of $10.7 billion (with a 'B') of your taxpayer dollars are spent annually to arrest & prosecute marijuana offenders (nearly 6% of America’s total criminal justice expenditure). It's also notable that in 2007, 42.1% of all drug abuse violations were for marijuana (89% of those arrests were for marijuana alone). Let me restate at this point that cannabis accounts for zero deaths annually.
As long as we're on the topic of cannabis, I think it's best I address it at this point. The plant commonly referred to as marijuana, weed or pot is the same plant that was smoked & used for industrial use for over 4,600+ years before these United States decided it was a danger to it's population. Throughout the early 1900's, governments began to paint a demonizing picture of the plant - a practice that was, by the year 1930, lead by one Harry J. Anslinger. Anslinger held such positions as Assistant Prohibition Commissioner in the Bureau of Prohibition as well as the (very first) Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (where he held office for 32 years) despite having never earned a high school degree. History would show that the first Commissioner to the FBN would do nearly anything in his expanse of power to draw a negative connotation to the plant. He was noted as saying, "Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men." It's been said that the main reason for the inclusion of cannabis in the FBN's handful of targeted "drugs" is simply because the few other narcotics under their radar weren't time-consuming enough to demand a new bureau. Today, keeping cannabis illegal is still due in part to business ventures as it protects the pharmaceutical & oil companies our government deems necessary to it's respiratory system.
The war on drugs & prohibition of pot seems especially unappealing in times such as ours where the government is scouring the congress floor in search of available resources to support the numerous billion-dollar bills we've been churning out only the past few months when the answer is directly under their noses (no pun intended). The question then arises, if the government were to cease it's "War on Drugs", what would happen?
Chaos? Anarchy? Hell on Earth? Likely not.
Under government regulation, you'll find that any substance can be adjusted & controlled, given a period of time, to an extent deemed suitable by both the masses & their respective governments - you need not look further than tobacco or alcohol. It would be, by no stretch of the mind, a slow & rigorous process but the reallocation of the D.E.A.'s funds & troops alone would prove the motion's success in a short duration of time following even the sole legalization of cannabis.
The truth, after all, is that drugs are not the issue. Many minds are subject to the addictive properties found in some of these substances, leading me to believe that dependence is often the party-at-fault rather than the cartels, doctors or the drug itself. Everyone from your professors to your parents & police officers will harp on about the dangers of drugs, regurgitating propaganda & false or misleading information on the matter when many of us (including the aforementioned authority figures), often prove to be proponents of such drugs. I would never go as far as to assume which ones but it's best to always keep in mind that those sold over the counter are often no better than those sold under table.
Wisdom Speaks in Whisper to Ignorance
SOURCES:
- http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/dcf/enforce.htm
- http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/167/16/1752
- http://www.zogby.com/news/readnews.cfm?ID=1568
- http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101021104/history.html
