I was looking through a stack of old floppies and found this half-written essay on one of the disks. I wonder what else i I would have said if i finished it.... and before anyone reads it, i do apologize for the choppiness and the overuse of innapropriate words, and the syntax errors....this WAS two years ago...

The attempt of a moral argument for drugs attacks much broader issues than just the immediate health and legal problems associated with drug use. In order to form a cohesive and adequately comprehensive argument for drugs, the issue of why drugs are stigmatized must be addressed. Thus, an attack on the commonly held belief that drugs are “bad” must argue against the very precepts of society as the world has constructed it. In order for drugs to become socially acceptable, even laudable, there must first be a drastic paradigm shift. Are the values that capitalistic societies uphold really the values that should be upheld? Is drug use labeled as immoral because it is dangerous to the individual, as is so often proclaimed, or because it threatens the existing power base?

It is not without good reason that most countries adopt a strict anti-drug policy. Drugs are seen as a matter of great international importance; among the first international intelligence sharing between post-Cold War Russia and the United States had to do with information regarding the movements and activities of drug cartels between the two nations.

Among other reasons, drug use has been viewed as immoral because it poses a threat to society. In particular, the societal norms of Western civilization mandate a control of one’s senses and actions, and drugs are seen as detrimental to such capacity for control. Indeed, an individual under the influence of a highly potent hallucinogen such as PCP, or in the grasp of a debilitating heroin addiction, is in many ways an inactive member of their society. The drug addict is effectively a non-member of society- one who contributes marginally, if at all, to the advancement or sustenance of the state or government, while at the same time contributing to the deteriorating effects of underground economies and organized crime that threaten to undermine the control governments have on their citizens as well as their economy. The nonexistence of conventional methods for control in the drug world make violence the necessary means of control, thus directly threatening the lives of anti-drug task force workers and innocent bystanders alike. Drug use creates an alternative society, based on different mores and relying on an alternative, underground economy, operated by underground organizations (drug cartels) which rival established nations’ resources and power, and thus posing a very real threat to the livelihood and safety of the citizens of established nations.

The question then arises as to whether the values held by society are necessarily the values that are best for humanity. Is capitalism, and the relentless pursuit of money, any less damning than the relentless pursuit of drugs? People commit suicide due to drug problems, but people also commit suicide because of money problems. Likewise, society condemns drugs citing health risks, while it does not condemn risky activities such as extreme sports. Gambling is a multibillion dollar industry, yet it creates addictions that ruin lives; tobacco and alcohol are extremely hazardous, yet the government wouldn’t dream of pulling the plug on such large revenue generators. It is notable, however, that tobacco does not alter the consciousness, and thus poses no threat to established society. Though alcohol does alter the consciousness, it is nevertheless accepted, thus illustrating yet another paradox.

Societal condemnation of drugs has proven to be extremely case-specific, and aimed towards self-sustenance. Drugs are criticized as deadly and a major health risk, but many indigenous cultures have used drugs as part of their religious rituals without the observed hazardous effects that occur in Western society. Drugs, particularly hallucinogens, cause the user to too often think “outside the box”- an activity that can be dangerous in a society where homeostasis is maintained by conformity.