"It may be worth mentioning the three major periods of history: When man believed that happiness depended on God, he killed for religious reasons. When man believed that happiness depended form of government, killed for political reasons. After long years, more like nightmares, we arrive at the current period of history. The man awoke and discovered what in fact had always known: that happiness depended health and then began to kill for therapeutic reasons ... Today is that medicine has replaced religion and politics. "
drug use and drugs for personal or social welfare has been an ancient practice. In the myths, rituals or sacred texts of varied cultures drugs are an essential element (the soma, the wine, the "myrrh", cannabis, cocaine or snuff). Over time, drug use has been tolerated or punished, more or less, depending on the substance, the time and place. Thus we come to this situation so ably pointed out the Perich: drug is smoked a joint in La Rioja or drink a Rioja in Arabia.
With the institutionalization of medicine and psychiatry from the eighteenth century and the rise of social control mechanisms of state to this day (nursing homes, hospitals, prisons, orphanages, workshops, correctional therapeutic communities, day care centers, centers dispenser) the rights of citizens have been regulated up to the current situation where they are considered unable to to be safeguarded for its own sake. The drug is considered a social problem, both for therapeutic states, as a "science" institutionalized coercive, cruel and paternalistic. The and certain multinational states have used and use drugs as a form of social control and as a way to get significant revenue. Drug-financed states, guerrilla wars, coups, tax havens, banks, multinationals and individuals.
From our perspective the drug conflict is the effect of various factors such as Empire
prohibitionist legal framework is perhaps the most important factor has been dead and sick relative drug use, has filled the prisons of consumers with long sentences and disease has spread, institutionalized corruption and mafia profits soared. Recall that the drug trade and has been punished by amputation, with life sentences, with long sentences or the death penalty in many states. The myth and magnification of the intrinsically pure evil of drugs, besides not having a scientific or epistemological foundation minimally acceptable, has terrible perverse effects on the welfare of individuals and society. Is it not ethical and aggression against citizens and civil society with the false attribution of evil to a substance? The very prohibition and repression "can not be considered a criminal act by its effects? The ban is well-known perverse effects for some time. Do not forget the tragic consequences of the famous "Prohibition prohibiting the use of alcohol in the U.S., and ultimately had to be repealed to avoid mass poisonings by adulteration, ethyl with irreversible comas, killings and the rise a few gangs that have since had a power comparable to that of the states themselves.
Despite official statements that raise insist that drugs are bad that kill , creating dependency (enslaved people), which is one and and mental ISEASE is immoral to allow their use, moral arguments and scientists not convince the public and many professionals, but curiously states
The drug is a social problem, in part because he has given to address the issue without prejudice or morality and in part, because it favors certain political, economic and military states, institutions and international organizations. Prohibitionist criteria and coercive powers assumed by the dominant (and acolytes), for certain sectors of science and institutions such as WHO
The arbitrary and discursive contradictions regarding the consequences of drug use, international and national laws or health policy applied to drugs and their consumers will raise questions such as, for example, because substances that are considered true panacea for humanity (cannabis, heroin or LSD-25) has passed represent evil of our time. How substances are freely sold in pharmacies, no problems whatsoever with consumers, they become very dangerous and detrimental to the public. The pseudo-scientific arguments have not convinced the public but the bans have been imposed. The case of LSD-25 is quite paradigmatic, because once discovered and tested on thousands of people, and a wide variety of diseases, scientists, intellectuals and institutions around the world, proposed as an ideal in the treatment of different disorders behavior or as a better means of introspection or as a means of entertainment experiences. But the identification that was created between the LSD-25
"The relative slowness with which incorporate the new term" dependence "to the legal texts and regulations is due in large part to the character" formal "of them. When the current attitude toward addiction has evolved from punitive treatment, the phenomenon will recognized everywhere as a matter of psycho-socio-pathology, and this is reflected in the legislative language. " [1]
"Coupled with the drug will eroticism, pornography and violence, often Pharisaic disguised pacifism of some hairy, before antisocial, nihilists, and carriers of the virus that can ruin our civilization (...) It is easy to see the nefarious influence of the drug-communism. A few days ago Interpol-London reported to have arrested three drug traffickers English complicated promaoístas activities, and whose objectives include the promotion of drugs consumption. Who can forget such strike action or unbridled student rebellion or pacifism that exploit systematically, almost simultaneously, in the world? Do we not all have a common origin? But China, while poison does the Western world thanks to the lame complacency of our comfortable and selfish world, taking steps to eradicate the pest from its soil. In a single day in Guangzhou, 275 addicts were shot. With such a speedy cure the Chinese insurance are of no a relapse. " [2]
The drugs as social problem occurs when certain substances are used as a means of destruction by invading armies as a business, for example, the opium used by the British in China or alcohol used by the European invaders against indigenous populations in Latin . O when used intensively to combat famine. Or when used in urban and industrial to neutralize the political and social participation. Also, when certain substances are attributed to evil qualities as did the Inquisition
When comparing drug policies between different states, for example, Spain and Holland, excel data to challenge certain intransigent positions and negligent . For example, in Spain, rates of HIV infection among injecting drug + intravenous rates have reached 65%, compared with a rate of 10% in the Netherlands. Likewise, we can say on the rates of liver infection. Transmission of hepatitis among drug intravenously was well known health and the media, however, did not take the necessary measures. Obviously, maintaining the coercive and punitive legal positions or device caused infections and deaths. Refuse to provide syringes and condoms to consumers or in prisons causes infections and deaths: is not a social crime? Question the use of condoms, education about safe sex or safe consumption among consumers causes confusion, misinformation and neglect. Similarly, political or professional rejection dispensing syringes, methadone, cocaine or heroin contributes to the spread of disease, increased mortality rates, the indignity, the criminalization and stigmatization. The dominant model establishes the protection of citizens by treating them as children: they are not full citizens. With the help of science people are reduced to objects. Dominant moralizing imposes its dogmas at the expense of the health and lives of millions of people. What can we say of those entities that refuse to provide information on the use of condoms or sex education or condemning the death spread to millions of people?
do not believe that decriminalizing drug trade and that some people avoid misuse, negligent use. But surely disappear if perverse and deadly effects the ban has produced (punishment, criminalization, detention, secrecy, disinformation, infections, disease transmission, deaths by "overdose", forgery and criminal mafias and more). Decriminalization avoided, largely negligent use and maintain minimum levels of social conflict.
While our dominant social morality speaks slogans as "drugs kill", "drugs are bad", "hooked on drugs" or "drug abuse is a disease," the truth is that the dominant professional discourse defends these arguments from a position of power, authority based on ethical, not epistemological authority.
[1] 1. H. Halbach's (1968). Chief of Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology
[2] Reboredo Mato JM (1969). Brigade Chief
