For all of you out there in the streets who need a laugh, here's one:
Yes, meth is not that bad for you. Never mind that prisons are loaded with meth users, and cops are scared of what it does. I saw it first-hand when I worked a side-job at a probation department handling thousands of files of offenders who were pushed by their addictions into criminal conduct.
Dr. Carl Hart's study tries to downplay the real issues. Sure, some things about the meth epidemic are overstated, but one only needs to go to a city like Stockton or out in the desert of San Bernardino County here in California to see the havoc it is wreaking. The tell-tale sign that there is a problem here is the fact that he also downplays the crack epidemic of the 1980s. I lived in downtown LA during that time.
It was a zombie wasteland for years.
Eventually, the addicts died off and people learned to stay away from it for the most part. But, the damage was done.
Hart says that only 15% of those who are exposed to meth become addicts. OK, so now here's the big question: what is the exposure/contraction ratio for tuberculosis? Lower than that... and we quarantine TB patients.
It seems like a low number, up until you realize that this largely a theoretical number... that strangely overshoots the addiction rates for alcoholism (~10%) by 50%. We control alcohol for lower numbers, but somehow we are 'overreacting' to meth?
Sure, plenty of people try it once and get scared. There are others who can 'take it or leave it.' I don't think any rational person would say there is a drug out there that 'creates' addiction. Addiction requires a number of factors to be in place. But, one of the keys is supply: you can't get addicted to something you can't get.
If you do have an 'addictive personality' or predisposition, which would you rather try to recover from: meth or alcohol? I think the general consensus is alcohol.
Yes, meth can be used in small doses to treat ADD and ADHD... the key here is small doses. Cocaine in Coca-Cola and cocaine in crack are different. Same with opium and heroin. Refining and concentrating can make all the difference in the world.
So, who sponsored this study? These folks:
Yes, the philanthropist George Soros, who set up this foundation to help Soviet countries come out of Communism and embrace, er, well, I guess the same kind of capitalism that Soros uses to make lots of money. So, why would they have an interest in drug policy in the US?
Soros has long advocated legalization. Again, the question is why legalization is good for his style of aggressive, international corporate-capitalism.
But, don't worry. Everything will be OK. Just do what you are told. Keep taking your drugs. You will be taken care of. Someone will always care for you and have your best interests at heart. </sarcasm>
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