By Paul Weiser
The great solicitude liberal ideology offers "victims" of "drug addiction" is entirely mistaken and counterproductive. But, given the reason why that was all a mistake, what to say of conservative ideology that equally demonizes the drug?
As Theodore Dalrymple documents in Romancing the Opiates, medical response to opiate abusers is based upon a falsehood. To put it bluntly, the opiates aren't nearly as powerful as those involved in treatment or abuse believe. While opiates are, indeed, effective against pain, their main "addictive" component is psychological (the "addict" clings to them) rather than physical (withdrawal is neither difficult nor dangerous). To valorize its clients (abusers), mainstream medicine negatively valorizes (demonizes) the drugs as far harder to kick than they really are, withdrawal as potentially fatal when in fact it's no worse than a bad flu.
To address drugs' inflated danger and seduction, mainstream medicine panders with substitutes (methadone) and dangerous, unnecessary elaborations of "cold turkey" withdrawal. To address those same overrated dangers, police and politicians respond with draconian laws (asset "forfeiture") and blitzkrieg tactics.
The police power goes about this wrong just as the medical mainstream does. Rather than valorize/demonize pushers and "kingpins," treat the whole drug culture as what it is: a pack of fools making an inconsequential vegetable substance their god and their life. If they wander around stoned, lock them up. If they steal, throw them into prison. In both cases, it's cold turkey - just because there's no point in spending a dime to make thieves and vagrants happy. If they sell the stuff, who cares? A dime bag isn't worth ten cents for what it actually accomplishes.
Pushers and kingpins are mean? Fine, fall on them when they commit real crimes. For selling dope... the junk they're pushing is as worthless as their customers.
None of Your Lib (NOLIB) is a weekly column, appearing
each Monday. Email responses and requests
to Paul Weiser
- be sure to specify in the body of the message that
your mail is to NOLIB. Some past articles are in the
NOLIB archives, and you are also invited to
visit
my home page. All responses
are appreciated,
and may be incorporated into succeeding columns in whole
or in part unless the sender requests otherwise. And of
course, the opinions expressed are those of the columnist and
may
not reflect the views or opinions of gte.net.