Nothing But Love :: golf blogger

NOT CARRIE NATION

i have been having a hard time putting into words my feelings about drugs and alcohol in a way that makes sense. this post has been a work in progress for quite a while.

i AM NOT CARRIE NATION. i do NOT believe that alcohol -- and even many drugs* -- are evil and should be banned. i don't. i do believe that many drugs are useful medically (duh), but should NOT be used recreationally. further, i believe some drugs should not be used under ANY circumstances.

i do believe that we in america have developed our own weird cultural attitude about alcohol. we have a pathological relationship with it. also, i do NOT believe we are alone in the world in this. i DO believe that as we move farther and farther from the traditional european attitude wherein alcohol is considered a "food," (as opposed to the american view of alcohol as a "toy"), we become increasingly sick. i had a conversation with a friend recently who said that it became clearer and clearer to him on a recent trip to europe that the only drunks in the pubs, restaurants, etc., were tourists -- mostly americans.

i do NOT believe that alcohol and drugs are a toy. and let me be clear about this part: i do NOT see any difference between alcohol and marijuana. alcohol users can get all self-righteous about this point if they want because marijuana is (horrors!) illegal. perspective, people. time and space. that's a whole research paper devoted to the arbitrary and capricious nature of laws as a reflection of cultural mores. not goin' there. nope.

as an adjunct to the legal "thing," i actually DO believe that the "war on drugs" has been ineffective and an amazing waste of time and money. shocker ahead: i do believe in the decriminalization of marijuana* and maybe some other drugs. wow. breathe. you can do it. take your time. i'm still here.

we've demonized drug users to the point where we've actually made it HARDER for addicts to seek treatment and recovery. "how's that workin' for you, america?"

i do believe that we as a culture have some growing up to do as a culture (and the hard work that goes along with it) to change our childish and slavish devotion to alcohol as a necessary adjunct to "grown-up" playtime. the more we "try" to pretend we're grown up (as opposed to actually growing up), the more ridiculous we look. and EVERYBODY is paying the price for that.

*marijuana, peyote, etc. although i think that the marijuana of today is NOT the mostly safe marijuana of our childhood. notwithstanding the gateway-drug argument, of course. just like alcohol.

Posted by Stacey at September 1, 2009 07:16 PM