What Orson Scott Card Has to Say About Drug Use...

[FizbansTalking_Hat]

I keep hearing that what America needs is to legalize drugs.

After all, a huge amount of our crime is funded by drug money. Let cocaine and heroine and marijuana and speed be legal, and suddenly the mob loses most of its serious income.

Not to mention the huge drop in petty crimes that addicts commit to get money for crack or weed.

The proponents of legalizing drugs invariably cite Prohibition. It failed! It was repealed! Therefore all laws trying to prohibit addictions should be repealed!

But let's look for a moment at Prohibition. Did it fail?

In one sense, no. Prohibition was the result of a massive, decades-long campaign against the liquor-swilling customs of the American male. Even though Prohibition ended up being repealed, the fact remained that the custom of tanking up every day at the saloon and coming home to beat the wife and kids had its back broken.

There are still plenty of regular drinkers, but they represent a smaller proportion of the American male population, and they consume less alcohol.

And Prohibition wasn't repealed because it failed. It was repealed because too many prominent people despised the law and flouted it openly. Because too few people insisted on rigorous enforcement of the law. Because too many people winked at violations of the law.

If those arrogant scofflaws had actually upheld the law, what might America be like? A place where drunk-driving rarely killed anybody at all. Where alcohol-fueled abuse of family members was vanishingly rare. A nation where almost no one lost days to hangovers or binges; where no one had to be fired because of alcohol; where marriages weren't destroyed by alcoholism, where children almost never had to sacrifice their childhood to take care of their drunken parents.

Here's the thing that the drug-legalizers conveniently forget: Drugs are devastatingly harmful whether they're banned or not. And if they were legalized, it is hard to imagine that the drugs themselves would not do far more damage to America than the crimes associated with drugs are doing right now.

A person on cocaine would still be unable to maintain a relationship or be reliable on a job, whether it was legal or not. A person on marijuana would still live in a haze of irresponsibility. Children whose parents were on drugs would be just as neglected as the children of alcoholics.

And even if drugs remained illegal for children, parents who were trying to teach their children not to let their lives be derailed by drugs would no longer have the law on their side. Instead, the kids would think of drugs the way they think of alcohol -- as something that is only "temporarily bad," and underage drug-taking would mean only that they were "early," not wrong.

Sane parents don't want to raise kids who become drug-taking machines, which is all that addicts function as. They want their kids to grow up to be full-fledged, responsible citizens. And they want their society to help them achieve that goal.

Furthermore, since drug-takers are parasites on society, producing next to nothing, but consuming as much as any productive citizen, our whole society would limp along, dragging these useless anchors through the bottom mud.

The drug-legalizers like to paint an idyllic picture of "harmless recreational drug use." But there is no such thing as harmless drug use. Long custom now makes it impossible to ban alcohol or smoking, but we also have long experience with the costs of unrestricted availability of substances that addict and destroy.

One thing is certain: If drugs are legalized, their use will increase vastly over what we have today. So, sure, maybe the drug kingpins will be put out of business; but the toll in broken homes, traffic accident deaths, unproductive workers, and dampened national creativity will more than take up the slack.

You want to know how to end the problem of drugs funding organized crime and provoking petty crime?

Stop tolerating drug use.

Don't leave it up to the police. If you know people who are using, then even if you don't report them, stop associating with them. When drugs are offered to you by someone, cut him off as your friend and ostracize him until he changes his ways.

The only reason drugs remain prevalent in our society is because ordinary citizens -- and, worse yet, opinion leaders -- either take part in drug use or refuse to report it when they see it.

I'm as guilty as anyone. Only once in my life was I knowingly in the same house as an illegal drug. A writer in Raleigh invited me to a party in honor of a writer who was visiting from Virginia. When I showed up, I was shown a plastic bag of something purported to be marijuana -- I wouldn't know -- and asked if I "minded."

To be sociable, I shook my head and tried to pretend that it didn't bother me.

The funny thing is, the people whom I was trying to impress with my "tolerance" were actually grossly intolerant of me. That was made plain both then and later. Drug users aren't tolerant, though they demand tolerance from others. Drug users are utterly, supremely selfish -- if it feels good to them, then they'll do it, regardless of what it might cost others, directly or indirectly.

Even if I didn't have the guts to call the police on the spot, I should have at least turned around and walked out, to show my contempt for people who flout laws designed to keep our society a decent place to live.

So the one time I actually was tested on this issue, I failed miserably.

I can only plead that I was taken by surprise. Now I would know what to do, and I would do it.

Decent Americans don't let other Americans take drugs. When we know of drug use and do nothing about it, we're part of the problem, even if we aren't taking the drugs ourselves.

These poisons hurt us all. And legalizing them will only hurt us more -- especially those of us who are trying to raise children who will grow up and become, in their own turn, responsible, productive parents.

Drugs are the enemy of every family. They're vampires that suck the life out of everyone they attack, and they especially prey on the young.

Legalizing them will only force us to remember why we made them illegal in the first place.

[Romeo]

Bravo, Mr. Card! Give that man a Ranyhyn!

[Revan]

I say let them do drugs, just don't have no sympathy for them if they're hurt because of it... If the poeple who take drugs are screwed up, then they deserve to be. Thankyou for your time.

[Loredoctor]

Gee that's a bit harsh, darth! You've obviously never seen someone you love's life ruined because of drugs. Why should someone suffer mental illness or a debilitating state of existence because of drug use? I would give anything for my brother's life to be normal, but saying that he deserves to rot because of having used drugs is a very childish and stupid statement, darth. Think before you post next time.

[Revan]

Gee that's a bit harsh, darth! You've obviously never seen someone you love's life ruined because of drugs. Why should someone suffer mental illness or a debilitating state of existence because of drug use? I would give anything for my brother's life to be normal, but saying that he deserves to rot because of having used drugs is a very childish and stupid statement, darth. Think before you post next time.

Not as in Medical use. I got addicted you know full well. And it's because I was weak. I would have deserved to rot for being so weak-willed for giving in to drugs... ok... the drug was only Ritalin... and I had it originally for my ADD... but by the end of it's use, I couldn't do without it... I was a screwed up big time. Didn't speak to no-one, couldn't do work... Hated myself more than I can describe... a screw up. Because of Drugs. So no, I have not seen "someone you love's life ruined because of drugs." I've gone through it myself. I was messed up because I was idiotic enough to believe that I needed them... I speak from experience Ur-Vile... not out of Randomness, or childish ignorance.

[Loredoctor]

I dont care what your excuse is. Your statement is still offensive.

[Revan]

I dont care what your excuse is. Your statement is still offensive.

What? You expect me to feel sorry for some person who's addicted to drugs? Are you serious?

[Romeo]

Forgive Darth - he knows not what he says (and doesn't yet realize that it's not always *what* you say, but *how* you say it). With age will come wisdom, and through his posts I do see great potential in the lad. I think I would have been an angry teenager myself if I wasn't so busy being an oblivious one.

Weakness. What would the world be without it? If everyone was strong, where would be the motivation to better yourself? How can faith be tested (and therfore strengthened) if it weren't for temptation? Remember that it's not the destination that matters - it's the journey. We all end up rotting in the ground in the end. It's what we do in between that marks us as good or bad. And weakness is just another hurdle that we all have to leap (in one form or another). It's not something that a specific person is blighted with and should be punished for - it's something in their path that they might have trouble getting over. Some people can do it on their own, and some need help. I suspect that the people who need (and obtain) help get more out of the experience than the person who lithly bounds over each obstacle.

And don't confuse drugs with prescription medication, even though on a chemical level they're the same thing. Abusing prescription medication is not the same as buying crack, although it may feel the same for the end user taking the drugs. Using illegal drugs supports a whole line of other criminal activities, and therefore has harsh side effects that you never see.

[Loredoctor]

I dont care what your excuse is. Your statement is still offensive.

What? You expect me to feel sorry for some person who's addicted to drugs? Are you serious?

Darth that's not the issue I take offense to. It's the statement - let them rot that ires me greatly. Further, you make sweeping generalisations that obscure the complications of drug use. It's not that simple to say everybody is weak who use drugs, or all people who use drugs are x. Fundamentally, people are at fault for giving in to drug use. But who are we to argue that they should suffer for their mistake?
What? a woman who takes drugs should be left to die? to degrade? What if she becomes a normal citizen later in life? People like you would rather label someone as 'flawed' or 'weak' and deny them help. People like me, would see potential in every poor soul and help them grow to be better people.

[Revan]

I dont care what your excuse is. Your statement is still offensive.

What? You expect me to feel sorry for some person who's addicted to drugs? Are you serious?

Darth that's not the issue I take offense to. It's the statement - let them rot that ires me greatly. Further, you make sweeping generalisations that obscure the complications of drug use. It's not that simple to say everybody is weak who use drugs, or all people who use drugs are x. Fundamentally, people are at fault for giving in to drug use. But who are we to argue that they should suffer for their mistake?
What? a woman who takes drugs should be left to die? to degrade? What if she becomes a normal citizen later in life? People like you would rather label someone as 'flawed' or 'weak' and deny them help. People like me, would see potential in every poor soul and help them grow to be better people.

I meant those who got addicted to drugs. Not all drug users. Some people need them to survive, I didn't mean those type of people. And am hurt that you think I would say such a thing like that... I do not think all drug-users are weak. Just the addicts.

[Loredoctor]

but i meant addicts as well. You just cant say 'let them rot'. Don't get hurt if I accuse you of thinking that, I think the rot statement is nasty, too.

[Revan]

but i meant addicts as well. You just cant say 'let them rot'. Don't get hurt if I accuse you of thinking that, I think the rot statement is nasty, too.

The rot comment is gone... But I have no sympathy for those that get addicted... just as I had none for myself.

[Loredoctor]

Thankyou Revan.

[Revan]

Thankyou Revan.

No probs. I understand why you were a bit annoyed.

[dANdeLION]

Do you? Or are you just trying to be polite, and still feel the same way inside? That's okay, I guess, but it's not a settled matter that you choose whether or not to have an addiction. I didn't choose to escape addiction when I was younger; but I did, but not because I avoided it in anyway; quite the opposite. My mother and brother weren't so lucky.

[Revan]

Do you? Or are you just trying to be polite, and still feel the same way inside?

I still feel the same way as I did before... but I didn't mean it so harshly.

[duchess of malfi]

I truly wouldn't be surprised if they someday find that some people are more "prone" to become biochemically addicted than others to various substances. ie one person can regularly have a few beers or glasses of wine and not become an alcoholic, and a second person will become one from the same amount of drinking. That doesn't make the second person any "weaker" than the first, just unluckier in the great genetic crap shoot of life...

As I see the problem every day I am at work (I have worked in hospital pharmacies for over 15 years now), I honestly think that addictions to legally prescribed medications are every bit as socially disruptive as the illegal ones. People will do anything to get their hands on controlled substances, and while they will usually keep some for personal use, a lot of them also end up in crack houses being sold right along with the street drugs.

Lastly, in a least some cases, I think that controlled substances are overprescribed. There is a little boy I know well on the middle school wrestling team that my husband coaches. He had been on ritalin for years for ADD. With the hard physical work of the wrestling season, he was able to stop taking it for most of the season. When wrestling was over, he had to start taking it again. I have wondered if this child really has ADD, or if he just needs large amounts of physical exertion...needs which are not otherwise being met by his family and by the school...and if those needs were to be met, if he would need the damned medicine at all.

[UrLord]

You know why kids have ADD? They get too much damned sugar! It's amazing to see parents buy their kids a double scoop of ice cream at Baskin Robbins (which, for the record, has more than 3 times the level of sugar that an adult should consume in one day), and then while their kids are bouncing off the wall, complain that they are completely out of control. Then they say that maybe they should see if the kid has ADD.

You know what? Your kid isn't suffering from ADD, he's suffering from crappy parents!

The boy you're talking about probably just had more energy than he had an outlet for, so physical exertion would naturally help without that ritalin crap.

As far as addictions go, my uncle was an alcoholic, and died for it. It's upsetting, but I still have no sympathy for those who try to blame others for their addiction. I've heard people say that addiction is a "disease," and the poor "victims" have no control over it, so they are not at fault. You have to love the mentality that tries to convince people that they are not to blame for their own mistakes, that everything is fault of that nebulous demon "society."

[Bucky OHare]

As I see the problem every day I am at work (I have worked in hospital pharmacies for over 15 years now), I honestly think that addictions to legally prescribed medications are every bit as socially disruptive as the illegal ones. People will do anything to get their hands on controlled substances, and while they will usually keep some for personal use, a lot of them also end up in crack houses being sold right along with the street drugs.

Very interesting thred.
Just a query, but doesn't marijuana have medicinal purposes? helping ease the terrible pain for people with MS?

I'm not attacking anybody here (don't shout at me! i bruise easily ) but i would have thought that in america of all places, people are all for the rights of the individual. People should be free to do what they like without any interference from the state, eg there are v few restrictions on gun ownership, so if anywhere in the world allowed you to take drugs if you wanted, then america would be the place. In reality America has quite harsh laws for drug offenders. It seems a strange duality, don't you think? You can go into the desert or mountains, build up an arsenal of uzis and start your own cult, but you can't smoke dope (legally).

[Romeo]

Ur-lord, I'm sure I wouldn't be the first to dispute your statements, but I'm a bit quicker at the keyboard than the others. heh heh

Sugar overdose is a problem, but NOT the cause of ADHD. I have it, and my son has it. And we've been very careful with his diet, since I had problems as a kid with artificial colors and flavors - they would wind me up so much that I'd literally bounce off the walls. (and I still get leg twiches if I eat too much stuff that has artificial colors in it - especially red) But our kids never really got hooked on soda or cool aid - they drink milk and water almost exclusively. And for the past couple years we've been trying to buy organic. So although we're not "health food fanatics," I do think we have a much healthier diet than the typical (or is it stereotypical?) family.

But if you're up for the challenge, come visit for a couple days. One day I'll give my son his medication, and the other I won't. I'm sure you'll have no problem figuring out which day is which. Hint: the day without medication is the day that you look for protective clothing, plug your ears, pack your bags, and change your airline reservations to leave early.