What Do You Expect from a Nation Founded by Puritans?

The Sad Essence of Drug Prohibition: The War on Fun

Posted by Jan Frel, AlterNet at 5:31 PM on October 2, 2008.

What kind of society has a war on fun? Ours.

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Don't worry, said the Canadian law enforcer to the Vermont Agricultural Committee about the possible dangers of allowing people have legal access to hemp: "You'd have to smoke 400 pounds of it to even get a smile on your face."

That's the whole concern -- that's why the Ag Committee got together, why the Canadian guy made the trip to talk to the Committee; to say that smoking hemp is not an easy path to fun. Of course it's easy to point out that this concern is a rather scary one for a society to have. But it's true. It's a war on fun -- Mark Ames:

"If everyone would admit that people do drugs because they're fun, then suddenly, the whole 30-year war on drugs thing would seem savage and bizarre: the war on fun. Which is exactly what it is. Drugs are also incredibly practical. They can help you get through rough times. They can numb you to horrible circumstances. They can improve your social skills. Or they can increase your work efficiency."

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What Do You Expect from a Nation Founded by Puritans? [Report this comment] Posted by: Jayzer on Oct 2, 2008 9:15 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] What do you expect from a nation founded by Puritans? Of course, it's been nearly 400 years since the Puritans landed here, but their dour and fearful ancestors still control most of what matters. The prevalence of religious superstition, prideful ignorance about things scientific (creationist myths over evolutionary theory), racism, imperialism, and a hyper-individualist mentality that stresses motivation by fear are all opposed to a healthy, humorous and cheerful hedonism. Of course there would be a war on recreational drugs, in addition to fearful and negative attitudes toward sexuality. Haven't you noticed that the "highest" praise (no stoner pun intended) that the conservative all-American society can offer is that one is a "productive" and "law-abiding citizen" who is "normal"? [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

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