Cypher

Aren’t blowjobs awkward when they suck?

whatisshelties:

…is that Perry?

and couldn’t you tell the difference with the padded side being on the outside? lol.

Why do people think Zombieland is Juno?

Every time someone starts talking about Zombieland, they say their sick of Michael Cera’s characters being the same. Yet, Cera is not even in it, same thing with Ellen Page. She’s not in it.

Shit’s funny.

Though, I did just notice that a Metric song is magically playing on radio.

So the lady from the show Bones did an episode on Law & Order:SVU. Season 3 episode 17. I just watched it and I was a little off put to think that she was helplessly attacked.

The United Addict

            Drugs, drugs have been an essential part of the human experience for thousands of years. Characterized by the affect they have on the body and mind, drugs have evolved from herbalist rituals to essential substances to survive. In the last century, the substances that cause the affects we seek have danced with the labels, medicinal and recreational. However, the substances cannot label themselves; it is society’s responsibility.  Originally, laws concerning drugs where aimed at users, not the drug itself. Limiting the sale of alcohol and other substances to specific groups of people in the U.S. during the mid-eight-teen hundreds was common. It wasn’t until the nineteen hundreds that the U.S. government started intervening with their drug laws.

            In 1906 the Food and Drug Act sought to correctly label food and drugs. And as drug related violence grew in America, there was a voice for further restrictions. The following year, 39 states enacted prohibition of alcohol for twelve years where 64% of Americans lived in “dry” territories. The Harrison Tax Act of 1914 treated addiction as a medical issue which taxed and allowed physicians to administer drugs to patients. In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act taxed marijuana growers, distributors, sellers and buyers which made it almost impossible to procure. Some State laws made it illegal, though it was marked unconstitutional as the user or seller would have to declare themselves, thus incriminating self, which violates the 5^th Amendment.

            In 1962, the Food and Drug Administration made amendments investigating effectiveness of drugs, 6133 were pulled from the market. This marked the first direct involvement of the federal government in the safety and effectiveness of products. In 1965 the federal government directly prohibited amphetamines, barbiturates then three years later Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD). This was the first federal prohibition of drugs followed by the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. This put drugs under the act under Federal Jurisdiction and excluded Alcohol, nicotine and caffeine.

            Historically, most drugs we find illicit now served medicinal purposes. Opium can be cited in Homer’s “The Odyssey,” three thousand years before current events being used as a medicine and for pleasure. Marijuana was used mainly for rope, cloth and paper but was less often used as medicine. Though, medical use of Marijuana was banned in China as opium was considered a better medicine. LSD was used in the 1950’s by the scientific community and psychologists to relieve psychological neurosis and come to a clear conscious and is reveled as the safest drug known to man. Through modern testing and in moderation, drugs can still find a beneficial place in today’s society.

            In 2001, Portugal changed their drug policy in an attempt to lower HIV cases linked to drug use. Portugal decriminalized all illicit drug use and instead of imprisoning those sick with addiction offered free treatment. The country achieved their goal of lowering HIV infections from 2001’s 1,400 cases to 400 cases in 2005. The Netherlands are also known for their non-enforcement attitudes towards coffee shops that sell marijuana and have seen the lowest number of users among younger adults in Europe. European countries that hold a similar stance towards “soft” drugs are also among the lowest percentage of drug users, and these users are now usually among a higher age bracket.

            According to the Uniform Crime Reporting Program in 2007 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, about one point eight million arrests were made for drug violations in the U.S. Of the drug violation arrests, eighty-two point five percent of the arrests were for possession alone, not including distributors. Continuing the trend, forty-two percent of these possession arrests were for marijuana, which is widely considered a “soft” drug. The U.S. Census Bureau report five point three-nine billion dollars was spent in 2008 on Marijuana Prohibition alone.

            Could revoking the federal prohibition in the U.S. on “soft” drugs such as Marijuana and decriminalizing small drug possession be of a greater benefit to the country than the current drug policy? Revoking the federal prohibition would decrease the amount of money and time spent on “soft” substances; help create effective treatment for those who seek it and access to medically beneficial drugs. The War on Drugs has been just that, another war instigated by the U.S. government, leaving thousands dead all for pseudo ideologies.

            Before continuing, defining “soft” drugs is imperative to this dialogue. A soft drug could be categorized by substances which cause no withdrawal symptoms from sustaining use by the user. The psychological dependence is not put into question as that is an issue of individual moderation. Decriminalization of small drug possession would include a policy similar to Portugal’s, anything smaller than a ten days’ supply. Regulations similar to alcohol and tobacco should be implemented to retain a level of control, including correct labeling, age limitations and quality control. Based on these factors, soft drugs would include but not be limited to, Medical Marijuana, LSD25 in therapeutic environments, Peyote (Mescaline), Psilocybin Mushrooms and DMT for ritualistic and religious acts.

            In 2010, the U.S. Federal Government spent fifteen billion dollars on the “War on Drugs” according to the Office of National Drug Policy. Currently, the U.S. national debt matches the U.S. Gross Domestic Product, perhaps it is time to seek new forms of revenue and cut spending. According to a report established by the CATO Institute, “Approximately $8.7 billion of the savings would result from legalization of marijuana and $32.6 billion from legalization of other drugs.” This report refers to a total of $41.3 billion per year saving from government expenditure enforcing prohibition. To further illustrate its point, the report explains taxing Marijuana alone could generate approximately another $8.7 billion. These numbers are drawn from estimates established using numbers published by the F.B.I., the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Census Bureau.

            Aside from the possible savings and revenues, local police departments could focus their time and effort in investigating and arresting dangerous criminals. The lowered prison population could be a population of future working tax payers, consumers of more domestic products. Those who seek treatment from narcotics would seek treatment more often and raise the possibility of successful rehabilitation. This reduces the overall amount of addicts and eventually demand would go down. As demand decreases, so do those who supply addictive narcotics. As less drug related incidents occur, the police’s attention can be focused on keeping peace.

            As focus shifts from incarcerating drug offenders to treating those addicted to harder substances, effective treatments would be sought after to reduce the amounts of replaces. This would create a demand for jobs in an industry seeking to help their fellow man, as opposed to the current trend of privatizing prisons due to the overflow in state and federal prisons. Successful rehabilitation of drug addicts can be considered far more beneficial to the United States’ quality of life as neighborhoods once ravished by poverty and drug related issues can be cleaned up and develop into a positive environment for the youths.

            Similar to Portugal’s success of reducing the amount of HIV incidents due to their decriminalization policy, Portugal also managed to reduce the amount of drug induced overdoses. One-hundred people die a day in U.S. due to drug overdose, mostly in part to opiate prescription drugs. Death statistics collected by the government show that most overdose cases are middle age people, who might be on several prescription drugs. Focusing on viable treatment could lead to studies that would help lower these overdoses, not just on illegal narcotics.

            Currently, some states have legalized the use of medical Marijuana as an alternative to liver-damaging painkillers and/or as an appetite stimulant. Some argue marijuana is just as harmful; however marijuana is partly harmful due in part to the process of smoking it. The active ingredient Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was isolated and can be taken in pill form. THC not only reduces pain, it also stimulates appetite in patients with decreased appetites. The medical use of marijuana has been known for ages; however it hasn’t been until recent year through modern science that we could reduce harmful side-effects.

            During the 1950’s LSD was tested as a psychoanalysis tool by both scientists and psychologists alike. Betty Grover Eisner, Ph. D wrote a book called, “Remembrances of LSD therapy past” in which she explains, “What I have attempted to do with this book is to document the intellectual interactions among some of us working with what can be extraordinary therapeutic tools when used appropriately.” This entire book alone cites endless amounts of cases of therapeutic use for LSD. Most are driven to LSD out of curiosity then continue to use for the insight that brought upon to them. Creating paradigm shifts otherwise difficult to conjure through regular means. Paradigm shifts that could release emotions, pent up thoughts and of course rid one of their inhibitions. Eisner explains how one therapeutic LSD session could match that of five-hundred hours of regular therapy.

            Eisner’s experience with LSD is difficult to match in today’s society were most have a strong misconception of holistic substances, including “magic mushrooms” and peyote. Because of the misconception, it is difficult to find trust worthy people who can distribute these medicines. Going further, the quality of these substances is always questionable and beyond that, having to experiment with proper dosage could be dangerous and difficult. The legalization of these therapeutic entities could help ensure the right amount, the right variation, the right supervision to be given to the right patient. Early therapeutic use of LSD was to treat alcoholism and other addictions.

            Those who protest the legalization and decriminalization of illicit substances claim it would simply create a society of addicts and criminals. Exclaiming how drug prohibition has deterred users by making it harder to obtain. Yet, graphs developed using household surveys held by Johnson and Gerstein, demonstrated a boost in illicit drug use since the start of the prohibition. Marijuana was mainly used for the hemp by-product as a cloth material yet its use as a consumable multiplied by more than one-thousand percent by the 1950’s.

            According to the DEA’s “2008 Marijuana Sourcebook,” marijuana is proven to be linked to the use of harder substances, yet in 2002 researcher Andrew Morral explained otherwise. The study looked at data from the National Household Survey on Drugs and Abuse between 1982 and 1994. The Rand Drug Policy Research Center found conclusive evidence that teens that use hard substances did so regardless of marijuana use or not. Marijuana was simply the most readily available drug to teens.

            The preface to the World Drug Report 2009 written by Antonio Costa talks on the immorality of legalizing drugs to generate revenue. Stating, “Any reduction in the cost of drug control (due to lower law enforcement expenditure) will be offset by much higher expenditure on public health (due to the surge of drug consumption).” Yet, the War on Drugs, has not only cost billions of dollars in tax payer’s money, it has created a black market which protects drug cartels and gives them power over poor countries, costing thousands of lives.

            The attempted drug prohibition of the last century has been an ill devised attempt at removing personal freedom. Bill Hicks reminded us twenty years ago of this with his, “It’s not a war on drugs; it’s a war on personal freedom.” quote. The prohibition act assumes its citizens are not educated enough to make their own decisions about what they put in their bodies. This clearly makes it an issue of education, rather than condemnation. Educating people on the honest truth regarding drugs could let them make their own decisions.