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December 30, 2009
Getting high is bad, but getting high without consequences is evil!
There's an old saying that if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is, and that was my reaction to the idea of a safe alcohol substitute that avoids drunkenness and hangovers: The synthetic alcohol, being developed from chemicals related to Valium, works like alcohol on nerves in the brain that provide a feeling of wellbeing and relaxation.I'd second Glenn Reynolds, who says "Faster, please," except I suspect that this is one of those substances which might be developed, but which will never be approved. Substances that make you feel good are bad enough, but a drug that makes you feel good without negative consequences? Forget it. I hate to sound overly cynical, but I think that what William S. Burroughs said about the anti-drug mentality applies: The idea that anyone can use drugs and escape a horrible fate is anathema to these idiots. I think it's worth noting that the guy who's trying to develop the new alcohol was fired for questioning the very mindset of which Burroughs complained: The new alcohol is being developed by a team at Imperial College London, led by Professor David Nutt, Britain's top drugs expert who was recently sacked as a government adviser for his comments about cannabis and ecstasy.Sounds good to me, but then, I don't run the FDA. There would be countless hurdles, and the biggest one would be the moral hurdle: any drug that would make you feel good without being harmful would be seen by many as the epitome of evil. "No one's ever tried targeting this before, possibly because it will be so hard to get it past the regulators.The moralists would of course get an assist from conspiracy theorists, who could be expected to evoke the usual Brave New World analogies. But the main objection is simply that it is immoral to get high, and immoral to alleviate emotional pain. What has never been clear to me is why it isn't immoral to alleviate physical pain. While I understand the idea that "weakness" is less than admirable (and therefore enduring pain is virtuous), the drawing of a moral line between physical and emotional pain seems rather arbitrary. Given the choice, many would prefer physical pain to emotional pain, yet it's OK to chemically alter perceptions of the former, but not the latter. Morality can be such a pain. Especially when pain is morality. posted by Eric on 12.30.09 at 11:04 AM
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Since cannabis has been around as a drug for 5,000 years shouldn't it have an even more privileged position? M. Simon · December 30, 2009 01:00 PM Post a comment
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Conspiratorial Brave New World analogies can work to get drug research funded by the dread ZOG itself. That's how the LSD guys did it, for example. And if Leary hadn't had such a loud messiah complex (or the assignment from ZOG to act like he had one), LSD might still be legal.
Don't "envision a world" if you want that world bankrolled by the state. Envisioning is their job, and they guard it jealously.
Shut up.