Theos-Talk Archives (April 1998 Message tl00003)

---Darren <dport@ozemail.com.au> wrote:

> How can we say that any plant is illegitimate. That is to say in the
great
> scheme of things a natural creation is against mans law. To me this is
> patently absurd. Perhaps synthetic drugs should be controlled - but
they
> should still be able for therapy sessions in controlled settings. 

Whether plant or synthetic, they still have the same physical effects
on the brain.  (With the exception of dissociatives)

> All the negative views of drugs from people on this list seem to
revolve
> around drug dependency. From my own personal experience I can say this
> seems to be mainly from Opiates - drug addiction is 
far worse with nicotine
> and alcohol than marijuana (see recent WHO report on cannabis if you
doubt
> this).

This is true, but I can't say that cigarettes and liquor are going to
help anyone's spiritual evolution either.

> How is it that indigineous peoples seem to integrate drug use into
their
> cultures with little friction. The Amazonian tribes live in harmony
with
> the jungle and they use psychadelic snuff's almost daily.

There is quite a bit of difference in the lifestyle of indigineous
tribes and Capitalist countries.  If everyone in today's
technologically advanced societies ingested a daily dose of
'psychadelic snuff's', we'd find ourselves in chaos <--(Chuckie's
world).  The culture is different.  That is the reason why there is
little friction.  And just because it is a culturally accepted
principle does not mean that it is not harmful both to body and soul.

> To subvert the indiviuals rights in favour of the greater good of the
> community is a declaration of fear. I'm so afraid of what my
neighbours
> might do to me etc etc 

I'm not sure I agree with this.  I was a supporter of the "law" which
surpassed the child molester's right of privacy.  If there were child
molesters living in my community, I would want to know what they
looked like and where they lived so I could tell my kids to stay away
from them.  With respect to drugs, I wouldn't want my next door
neighbor to have a bad trip one day and destroy myself and/or my
property.  Because drugs have the 'potential' to cause very dangerous
side-effects, (even marijuana can cause a person to flip out and do
things s/he normally wouldn't which could be dangerous to "innocent"
people), they should be restricted.  Why should the community have to
live in fear?  It is true that many laws have been created as a
'declaration of fear', but so what?  I would rather be confident
knowing that most people will not do anything to harm me then be cowed
by paranoia that anyone could do anything they wanted and get away
with it.

> Like DEATH said in Monty Pythons Meaning of Life - " You Americans
make me
> sick, all you do is talk - let me tell ya this and I gotta tell you
that" -
> Just remember America has a big collective Karmic debt coming soon.

> THE ALMIGHTY NOS
> Bodhisattva of Sarcasm

I have one question.  Do you know what chemicals, any chemicals, do to
the brain on a cellular level?  It isn't pretty, especially with
regard to certain drugs, and there really is no argument as to whether
or not they are harmful to the nervous system.  They are.  If you get
a high, you are manipulating the synaptic structures in your brain,
and this, especially after extended use of a particular chemical, can
become permanent.  The only drugs that I know of that do not do this
are dissociatives (PCP, Ketamine).  They more or less just block off
synaptic receptors.

And as far as we Americans go, I don't think we have any more to worry
about than anyone else.  We only have 200 years of Karma to pay off. 
Most other countries have a thousand or more...:)

---
Jaqi.
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