HARD ON DRUGS
The recent public debate, about whether an aspiring British politician should declare publicly, whether he used drugs in his earlier days, beggars a question. What attitude do you take to drugs?
Do you smoke cigarettes? Would you be willing to admit publicly whether or not you take hard drugs? Are you someone who would commit to prison anyone caught smoking marijuana, even for the first time? Do you draw a distinction between say marijuana, and cocaine? Are you someone who generally conform to the dictum of law? Or do you regularly question laws which are legal, but you believe should be scrapped?
And what about alcohol, what attitude do you take to people drinking alcohol? Of course, it is legal, but do you realise that alcohol probably causes much more damage to our lives than so called hard drugs.
My attitude to drugs goes across the board. All drugs can be destructive, and this is some thing that needs remembering. Even approved prescriptive drugs can be dangerous, and should be be treated with caution. I am someone when faced with with a minor ailment do take generic drugs for relief, but only as a last resort.
Marijuana, even when it was fashionable, was never part of my experience. As someone who never succumbed to the smoking habit, I found the need to get high on drugs very difficult to appreciate, and therefore was never attracted to use it.
The need to get doused in alcohol I understood a lot better. Although I would hardly describe myself as a regular drinker, my experience with alcohol did teach me about intoxication, but even then, the extremes were obvious. Too much of anything easily becomes destructive. And when continued to excess, soon creates a dependency syndrome.
Of course, peoople also become dependent on prescribed drugs. This quite easily suggest that the habit plays a greater role in abuse, than the actual substance. Maybe we should therefore be a lot more sympathetic, and tolerant to so called abusers. Sympathy for me, means a greater understanding of why we use drugs socially, and why finally some people find it difficult to control, and end up acquiring a habit.
Would I send someone to prison for smoking marijuana? The answer is no. I believe even if they have broken a law, that I would find a much more practical way of offering punishment. In dealing with the problem, I would extend much more energy in targetting the supplier. Those who profit by flooding the market with hard drugs, will reap the the hardest punishment of all.
The recent public debate, about whether an aspiring British politician should declare publicly, whether he used drugs in his earlier days, beggars a question. What attitude do you take to drugs?
Do you smoke cigarettes? Would you be willing to admit publicly whether or not you take hard drugs? Are you someone who would commit to prison anyone caught smoking marijuana, even for the first time? Do you draw a distinction between say marijuana, and cocaine? Are you someone who generally conform to the dictum of law? Or do you regularly question laws which are legal, but you believe should be scrapped?
And what about alcohol, what attitude do you take to people drinking alcohol? Of course, it is legal, but do you realise that alcohol probably causes much more damage to our lives than so called hard drugs.
My attitude to drugs goes across the board. All drugs can be destructive, and this is some thing that needs remembering. Even approved prescriptive drugs can be dangerous, and should be be treated with caution. I am someone when faced with with a minor ailment do take generic drugs for relief, but only as a last resort.
Marijuana, even when it was fashionable, was never part of my experience. As someone who never succumbed to the smoking habit, I found the need to get high on drugs very difficult to appreciate, and therefore was never attracted to use it.
The need to get doused in alcohol I understood a lot better. Although I would hardly describe myself as a regular drinker, my experience with alcohol did teach me about intoxication, but even then, the extremes were obvious. Too much of anything easily becomes destructive. And when continued to excess, soon creates a dependency syndrome.
Of course, peoople also become dependent on prescribed drugs. This quite easily suggest that the habit plays a greater role in abuse, than the actual substance. Maybe we should therefore be a lot more sympathetic, and tolerant to so called abusers. Sympathy for me, means a greater understanding of why we use drugs socially, and why finally some people find it difficult to control, and end up acquiring a habit.
Would I send someone to prison for smoking marijuana? The answer is no. I believe even if they have broken a law, that I would find a much more practical way of offering punishment. In dealing with the problem, I would extend much more energy in targetting the supplier. Those who profit by flooding the market with hard drugs, will reap the the hardest punishment of all.
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