Having read Liquidocean's posts on legalization of drugs in general, I think I second one of the points he and others emphasized--the WOD equals bread and butter to a lot of government employees. Face it--in an age with few serious enemies, Americans need something to pour billions into.
Also, I'm convinced now that the illegalization of drugs is less an issue of promoting public health than a program meant to keep the populace more manageable. Dozens of drugs have been made illegal without any research being done into their effects, positive or otherwise. This is looking more and more like a pissing contest with the "unsavory element" in society, native and foreign. To those in power, drug use is a pox on society, and druggies are the roaches in the kitchen--offensive to enlightened sensibility. So I don't think the WOD is really about drugs at all--it's about the struggle of perceived reason against "lowly" animal passions--like the human quest for pleasure. Western Civilization has spent the last 400 years striving for the conquest of reason over matter. This hasn't always been successful, but it's persistent, and it's going nowhere fast.
However, I'm not sure legalizing MDMA or other drugs would make everything better.
To get the effects Liquid talks about, we'd need a "reverse" WOD perhaps no less radical than the current one--re above paragraph.
I think that many, people have addictive personalities. That is, they can be easily hooked by certain experiences or substances.
If you think that you're not one of these, you probably just haven't hit the right button. Anyways--widespread availability of drugs would exacerbate this condition. Most people simply don't have the maturity and willpower to resist, or if they do, it's been beat down by a lifetime of indoctrination.
Who's to say that the responsible drug users wouldn't eventually look down on "mere junkies?" They do it now. If you dislike the slot of society labeled "alcoholics", just imagine two dozen more of those regarded with the same disdain. Not pretty.
Even if the drugs were legalized, it might not make much difference at all. I doubt drug use would ever become widespread in America given legality--it's radical nature
(the alteration of perception with powerful substances) would forever limit it to subculture status. There will just always be a small segment of society attracted by the lifestyle. End of story.
Any comments?
