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Wm,
Thanks for another thought provoking letter, I do believe that addiction goes far beyond what is currently recognized, maybe not midol...But President Clinton was recently quoted as saying "There is a growing body of evidence which indicates that tobacco may be addictive"
I say that George Washington knew that tobacco was addictive...
You say you know that " It was my experimentation with weed that led to my experimentation with Cocaine, which led to my experimentation with crack cocaine, which led to a 12 year active addiction" I would have a great tendency to think that it was curiosity which led to your experimentation with Marijuana and it was the same curiosity which lead you down that road you followed ! You made the choices at every step, what to try and what to keep using...When Marijuana didn't do, what you were told it would do to you, (via government propaganda), Natural curiosity lead to find out what else you had been lied to about...But I have seen people and particularly one child who are addicted to chocolate. I knew
this couple who lacked any discipline at all in raising their child, this kid was allowed to have as
much chocolate as he wanted when ever he wanted. The mothers answer was he won't eat
anything else, I saw this child throw plates of food, turn down meat vegetables and fruits...he
would eat cereal if it was chocolate, he would eat chex if he used chocolate milk. If he didn't get
his chocolate he would lay on the floor and throw a tantrum, they always gave in, he got his
chocolate fix. I lost track of my friends some years ago, but I wonder how their little boy turned
out... I know he weighed a hundred pounds in third grade and was always getting into fights and
such... He would be 12 or 13 now what do you think his chances are if exposed to cocaine?Now I wouldn't say that chocolate is a narcotic, I believe that Narcotic from a medical point
of view is something that causes sleepiness or unconsciousness, so thanksgiving turkey is a
narcotic... the point I was making is that what is considered a drug or narcotic is quite subjective,
everything is a drug if you consider if it changes or affects something ... Webster says that a
drug is anything used to make medicine, so certainly sugar and honey apply... What is addictive is not so clear for most people.
Personally I wasn't particularly attracted to chocolate as a child.. I tried cigarettes and beer when I
was fifteen, didn't like them at all. The first time I tried pot two older boys held me down while a
third blew shot guns in my face until I got a headache... Didn't do much for me... Later I smoked
socially, pot made some sense cigarettes didn't.. We all made the choice to say yes or no at some point, what is important is why we said yes or no..
After all is said and done I find that I am addicted to caffeine, and red meat... Three days is how long before the meat craving sets in, caffeine about six hours after rising. If I don't get my caffeine (ice tea mode of choice) I get headaches... Red meat just gives me uncontrollable cravings until it is satisfied, I have gone 2 or 3 weeks... I have tried to give up both but they are the crosses I bear and society accepts them. I do still like pot and hashish, but I have given them up due to the political climate not because I believe them to be bad for me or society. I did find when I went backpacking for three weeks; that with the fresh mountain air and waking to the natural rhythms of nature that I experienced no cravings of any sort...HmmmPoint being if there is such a thing as a gateway drug, chocolate, red meat or milk is my
choice... Do you personally know anyone who didn't do chocolate or red meat or cigarettes
before trying pot??? I do not, the gateway theory is just another ploy to aid an argument without
the facts to back it up... After all Mr Clinton also has said "that Tobacco seems to be a gateway drug also..."
The real point being that this is not about drugs or narcotics, it is about control of the
individual vs government. It is about the choices we make as an individual...
The government is making strong movements toward controlling and eventually outlawing tobacco, this will create another 100 million criminals... Then I expect the shit will hit the fan in a way not seen since alcohol prohibition...
You say ..."Most people are in jail today not because they possessed drugs...but because of the
crimes they committed in the process of trying to obtain MORE drugs, or what they did under
the influence of drugs." This used to be true but with mandatory sentencing more and more
people are being locked up for many years just for possession...
People are being locked up for thinking about buying drugs... I believe the current statistic is a
million people a year just for pot, under mandatory sentences of 3-7 years in most states.
The 1994 figures for federal inmates according to the- American Justice Federation were
* 61 percent of federal inmates are confined for drug offenses.
* Of the rest, 10 percent of federal inmates are confined for
robbery, 9 percent are serving time for firearms & explosives offenses.
You can get LIFE for possessing hashish or growing pot in several states... (Maryland, Kansas for more than 50 plants, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma you could face life for a single plant!!) The punishment does not fit the crime when you can be out in 3-5 for homicide and get probation for involuntary manslaughter... Those who are in jail for those crimes that they committed under the influence or to get drugs are in a different statistic... .The Libertarians point out that prior to 1900 there was no such thing as an illegal drug... and none of the problems associated with them and the black markets we have now... So the real question is where the line should be drawn...
I am extremely happy that you moved up from poverty, drugs etc... Its a hard cycle to beat
when the system is stacked against you... the problem being that the stacking is getting worse
every time a new law is passed...
I am considered to be a white man, but a small percentage of me is native American and that's where my soul is... I have lived around the poverty line almost all my life... I never turned to crime, although I saw many go that route, maybe I was more moral maybe I was smarter, maybe I was lucky... I don't know I like to think I just made the right choices... I am turning 38 next week I have been gainfully employed or in business for 26 years...
whenever I wanted something I earned it, whether it was drugs, new shoes, a car or a house. I
believe its more about morals and making the right choices than anything else..
