Manuel Zelaya - Drugs Policy of an Ousted Honduran Presidente

We do not pretend to know the motivations for the recent coup of Presidente Manuel Zelaya, overthrown by members of the Honduran Army last week. Was the CIA involved? These are open questions.

All else aside, we do want to commend and support el Presidente on one particular issue. He was strongly in favour of ending the oppressive and immoral 'War on Drugs.'

It is always suspicious when such a person is overthrown, particularly when the CIA is known for having a history of profiting from the drugs trade and political meddling in the region. As Alex Jones stated, 'The Drug Dealers want to make sure the Drugs stay illegal.'

The Wire

Available on any major torrent tracker, the HBO's 5-season television series The Wire is one of the best shows ever made. The Wire focuses on organized crime, drug abuse, poverty, social services, law enforcement, and politics in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore inner city, like so many inner cities in America, has gone from a once developing industrialised center to a third world backwards wasteland of despair and violence. The fuel for this downward spiral is not surprisingly the war on drugs and its selective or sporadic enforcement and large profit potentials for dealers and suppliers. In contrast to "the game" of drug dealing and related crime, there exist precious few realistically attainable economic alternatives than a life of crime and violence for those born into it. The series addresses all of these issues directly, deeply, and poignantly. The show proves its social value by making it clear that the most effective way to address the disastrous economic situation of the inner-city is to decriminalise all forms of drug sale and use whilst allowing a protected environment for various charitable and social services to administer care to those in need unhindered. Besides its value for the exploration of American inner city life, corruption, and social ills, The Wire entertains and captivates with well-developed, interesting characters at all levels of position and power. Watch consecutively and in order.

9.7 IMDB rating.

The creators of the Wire have a new mini-series, Generation Kill, on HBO.

Heroin

From The Insider - Heroin on the NHS (torrent):

15 years ago the Swiss had one of the highest rates of drug addiction and AIDS in Europe. They decided to radically change their drug laws. To combat the spread of the disease 6000 clean needles were dispensed every day in the Zurich park. In this safe zone, addicts could shoot up openly. Shocked by the thousands of addicts who came forward, the government swiftly took control of the illegal market. They stopped criminalising heroin and made it a medical issue instead. Clinics were set up where addicts, now patients, were given as much heroin as they needed. The results have been astonishing. Drug crime and deaths have gone down dramatically, and addiction has gone down by 90%. Prescribing heroin has almost eradicated the Swiss drug problem. Addicts can now lead normal lives and because heroin is no longer seen as cool and rebellious, far fewer young people are drawn to it in the first place.

Criminalising drug use is a formula for social disaster be it alcohol or even heroin. Drug regulation through taxation, registration, or controlled usage may be beneficial to a society, but the focus of any law should be in maximising the welfare of everyone affected. At the end of the day, what a person does with their own body is their business so long as others are not negatively impacted.

Heroin by the Velvet Underground.

Regulatory Bodies and Societal Detriment

I have made several statements regarding the absurdity of the FDA's announced position that cannabis has no proven medical benefit. It undermines the legitimacy of this administrative authority. Politically motivated lies and interdiction on medicine, the most sacred of human institutions, originating from the medical regulatory body itself cannot be tolerated. A caveat emptor, free market for medicine would be preferable to draconian restrictions by religiously driven inquisitions.

Now there is some hope. Americans for Safe Access has sued the FDA for violating the Data Quality Act. This comes via the Drug Law Blog (RSS), a very informative source for legal developments in the execrable "War on Drugs," a war against human dignity itself.

Proper Drugs Policy

The Confoederatio Helvetica, or Switzerland as it is commonly known, in my opinion the best designed and run State on Earth, has perhaps the most sensible drugs policy in the world. Cannabis is legal for personal use, and each person is permitted to grow three personal plants at a time. Meanwhile diamorphine (heroin), a far more dangerous and addictive drug is treated as a medical condition for which the state provides treatment which often includes supplying the diamorphine itself to addicts unable to overcome their addiction so that they might still function as normal, productive and law abiding citizens. This liberal policy has led to heroin addiction being viewed as a dead end ignoble drug among the youth, and its use has dramatically fallen largely owing to its legal toleration and availability.

Ketamine

A friend of mine this week participated in an Army research study to test the effect of low dose ketamine on functional and cognitive ability. This research may have implications to administering ketamine as a less impairing analgesic for soldiers than opiates. The doses were so low that he experienced none of the effects of anaesthetic levels such as dissociative or out of body experiences to his chagrin. He was quite pleased to have tried this controlled substance in a safe and legal context whilst being paid and contributing to the advancement of medical science. Ketamine perfectly illustrates the deleterious effect of puritanical political leaders and lawmakers on medicine, scientific research, freedom, and safety. To paraphrase Orwell, the 'War on Drugs' is a war by the State upon its own citizens, and has little to do with the destructive impact of drugs on people's lives. Fearful of corrupt local law enforcement, and unable to access proper medical care or quality drugs as ravers and other users have been driven deeper underground. In such a miasma, Scientific researchers are unable to properly analyse the effects of the drug over the relatively large preexisting population of users. This translates to loss of life, poor health, and needless suffering for soldier and citizen alike.

I have previously mentioned ketamine.

Psilocybin

Yet another illegal drug proves its medical benefits. Psilocybin has been shown an effective treatment for some people suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Psilocybin, or "Magic Mushroom," is a commonly used hallucinogen which greatly influenced thinkers like Terrance McKenna and is an important sacrament for many aboriginal Americans. This relatively safe substance should be decriminalised the world over along the Dutch model. Additional funding should be granted to studying the potential medical uses for this and other criminalised substances.

New Scientist article on Psychedelic Medicine.

Contraception

Perhaps one of the most important inventions of the 20th Century was the development of effective contraception technology especially the birth control pill. The hormone-free male version of this pill currently under research could make women much healthier with minimal impact on male health and long term fertility. Let us hope that this drug proves safe and effective.

Cocaine

It is amazing how much crime and human destruction occurs owing to the illegality of certain substances. This article from the BBC shows that now poisoning, fraud, and abuse of animals can be added to the normal crimes of trafficking, possession, and sale of a controlled substance. Moreover, consumers of the recreational "champagne" drug, cocaine, are now ingesting carcinogenic additives. Traditionally, cocaine was cut with caffeine. Now it seems dealers whose objective is to maximise profits and whose product is unregulated and untestable because of illegality are moving on to more pernicious cutting agents, ie Phenacetin.

While I would be someday interested in trying traditional coca tea or chewing coca leaves especially in the mountains, ingesting processed cocaine whose dosage is about 1000 times higher is very unhealthy causing cardiovascular and brain damage. Processed cocaine is also extremely addictive. The hydrochloric acid in processed cocaine destroys nasal passageways, mucous membranes, and sinuses.

Despite such drawbacks, adults who are educated about the risks of cocaine should have the right to buy it from licenced distributors and consume it at their discretion. At the very least, laws worldwide should be made to reflect the policies of Bolivian president and former coca farmer Evo Morales: Yes to coca, no to cocaine. As with most illegal drugs, legalisation of cocaine would dramatically reduce crime by lowering the price, legitimising the producers and distributors, and lowering the associated health risks by ensuring a clean supply. Cheap processed cocaine would likely reduce the demand for cheaper more destructive forms of the the drug including crack and freebase.

The ongoing war by the US in Columbia against FARC which includes the use of chemical weapons against farmers and their crops is simply immoral.

In the wake of Milton Friedman's passing, let us remember that human freedom to control one's own life, beliefs, and economic behaviour also includes the freedom to alter ones own body chemistry or mental processes. With freedom comes responsibility. Irresponsible self-destructive personal behaviour affecting only the user and those emotionally affected by the user is no grounds for a general government interdiction on drugs.

Possible Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease

In research by Gary Wenk on Alzheimer's model rats funded by the US Government, a synthetic cannabinoid agonist with anti-inflammatory properties was shown to improve memory and orientation. The study reveals further medical uses of cannabis, a plant whose usefulness has been understood for millenia.

The Seeds of Revolution

If anything could destabilise the French state and lead ultimately to la 6eme République, it is the restriction of tobacco consumption. French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has announced just such a move in new policies designed to ban tobacco consumption in certain public locations. Vive la Revolution!

Age of Intelligent Machines

I just watched a talk Terence McKenna gave in 1999 entitled "Psychedelics in the Age of Intelligent Machines." This is a very insightful perpective on the potential future interaction between human consciousness and emergent Superintelligent Machines created by human intelligence. McKenna has been strongly influenced by psilocybin from personal experience as well as historical and anthropological research on its influnce on ancient human cultures. His traditional wisdom provides a unique perspective into the technology dominated future of our descendants. Unfortunately, the editor of the video superimposed often distracting visuals over the image of McKenna speaking for much of the video.

It may make more sense avec, but I was able to appreciate this talk sans drogue.

*Update* For those interested in the topic of Transhumanism and Superintelligence: check out Nick Bostrum and Ray Kurtzweil.