Some of you asked if my talk on Thursday at University of Illinois, hosted by Young Americans for Liberty, would be available as video online. Sorry, but that didn’t happen.
It was a good session with a nice turnout and some great participation in the Q and A part.
While I can’t give you a video or audio, I can share my powerpoint as a pdf file. I bet many of you can imagine what my talk was like from seeing this outline.
on John Walters and William Barr linked to Nazis: “More that might be useful, Mount Sinai researchers have identified a brain pathway that is affected by addictive drugs: 18-APR-2024–…researchers,…” Apr 18, 23:11
on John Walters and William Barr linked to Nazis: “More on opiate receptors. I had a physician who recommended Salvia Divinorum. He later asked me to keep his recommendation…” Apr 17, 11:40 on John Walters and William Barr linked to Nazis: “I’ve applied what little mental skills I have to the study of cannabinoid G-coupled protein receptors like CB1 and CB2…” Apr 16, 16:35 on John Walters and William Barr linked to Nazis: “University of Leipzig researchers examine the molecular mechanisms of the opioid receptors and their different functions: 12-APR-2024 — Drugs that…” Apr 14, 17:36 on John Walters and William Barr linked to Nazis: “Researchers at Dartmouth College reveal Cannabis receptors are among receptors implicated in the way the brain regulates emotions: 3-APR-2024 …”Our…” Apr 6, 09:59 on John Walters and William Barr linked to Nazis: “Corrected links: University of Basel: Liberalization of medical marijuana and mental health in the USA Health Economics Policy and Law:…” Apr 4, 19:24 on John Walters and William Barr linked to Nazis: “Swiss researchers investigated what effects if any medicinal marijuana had on mental health in the United States. Their results show…” Apr 4, 19:21 on John Walters and William Barr linked to Nazis: “Interesting question. All of it played a role. I think religious differences and conflict are the main motivators behind drug…” Mar 31, 23:17
Awesome presentation Pete. Awesome. I drop in here about every day, familiar with every frame, and was blown away. How long did it take you to present this discussion? It’s worthy of wider distribution.
Looks great. You hit all the most important points. One picayune complaint; when you listed the many negatives and positives of drug prohibition, you used the term ‘abuse’ whereas the term ‘use’ would be more appropriate. The term ‘abuse’ is over-used–when I was a lad, masturbation was termed ‘self abuse’ though I never felt abused when I did it. In the same way, the drugs never complained to me that I was abusing them. Semantics are important. If we can change the words used, we can change the mindset.
While I agree that the term ‘abuse’ is frequently, well, abused, I think in this case Pete’s use of ‘abuse’ was proper use, not abuse. 🙂 Pete describes the sole (potential) benefit of prohibition as follows:
To the extent that prohibition dissuades some people from becoming non-problematic users of certain drugs, that represents, not a benefit of prohibition, but an additional cost. People who would have otherwise been able to safely and responsibly enjoy an activity are prevented from doing so by the state’s violent threats. Of course, this assumes that you don’t have some weird puritanical objection to people enjoying themselves. Unfortunately, that’s NOT a safe assumption when it comes to the supporters of prohibition.
OK then, perhaps an additional item on the ‘harms’ list could be that many people, who would not become ‘problem’ users, are robbed of the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of cannabis by prohibition? IOW showing that all use is NOT abuse, and that prohibition is actually robbing people of a benefit.
Exactly.
Powerful stuff Pete and I’ll bet that it moved every member of the audience even if they were in complete agreement with you. I also agree with primus in that the use of the terms use and abuse are not synonymous as you well know, so there’s no point in discussing it further. Awesome presentation Pete!
as always Pete, a thousand thanks for all your work…
OT… thousands rally for legalization in Israel:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/pot-legalization-activists-demonstrate-in-jerusalem/
and because it’s Saturday and… well…
An example of how our teachers can affect our lives… my college film and photo instructor (Harold “Casey” Case), who also became a very good friend, gave me a book. A simple non-fiction, Planet Steward: Journal of a Wildlife Sanctuary, by Stephen Levine,
http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Steward-Journal-Wildlife-Sanctuary/dp/0913300322
led me to some beyond wonderful living situations and when I’m done here in Eugene I may once again just find an isolated and lonely corner of the west in need of a caretaker and grow old in the peace and quiet of the great outdoors. That’s one of the plans anyhow…
But that book took me to Opal Creek and Oregon’s high desert (I helped keep it that way;) and provided me with deeply soul enriching experiences.
So dog bless the teachers! Even the smallest of kindnesses can bestow great rewards…
check out joseph, ore. it gets cold but it has good soil judging by my uncle wren’s garden.
yeah, I know Joseph, OR. I spent a year working for The Nature Conservancy in the Warner Basin (4500′ elev). My driveway was 10 miles long and we were the only ones on the whole road. So quiet I could hear my neighbor’s cows and he was 5 miles across the lake…
uncle Wren and aunt Wealthy were retired from a life of sheepherding when i visited them in joseph about 1978. they were old but they still grew their own vegetables in big garden.
Excellent Pete. I knew the “sneak and peek” warrants were being abused but never saw any statistics on it before. Its a real eye opener.
here is another article on the jerusalem protests: http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.586271
Happy 4/20,,lite em if you got em bum em if you don’t…if you think it is going to be rough getting through 24 hours of 4/20 wait 6 years and go for an entire month.
Happy 4/20 Clay, same goes for the rest of the couch.
Yeah, what Viggo and Clay said. HAPPY 4/20!!!!
Drug war fever is raging throughout Tennessee as it moves to criminalize pregnant women who use illegal drugs. By consuming anything but Big Pharma’s second-rate legal products, mommy can go to jail for up to 15-years. The governor may sign the bill despite the fact that:
The signed bill could lead to a mother aborting her fetus, rather than face prosecution for her drug use. Yet, the bill is being driven forward by anti-abortion groups. It’s also being attacked by other types of activists. The new Tennessee law-to-be provides a truly iconic example of people engaged in protecting fetuses, babies and children from prohibitionists.