Are Illegal Drugs Harmful and Addictive? Dr. Carl Hart, Neuroscientist, Says Mostly No
80 to 90% of the people who use illegal drugs don't have a drug problem, according to decades of research from Dr. Carl Hart.
I first heard or Dr. Carl Hart through his TEDMED Talk which you can see here:
I was reminded of him again recently when I saw this interview with John Stossel:
Dr. Hart has an important perspective on drugs based on decades of research. Most people (myself included) got their education about drugs from the "this is your brain on drugs" commercials we grew up with. From what I've read and watched since then, it seems the problem with addiction is more about the individuals and their need to escape uncomfortable realities than it is about the actual chemical's influence over the body.
That said, Opiates do seem to be pretty destructive. See the history of Opium in China for more on that story. I was talking with a doctor friend of mine recently who works in a NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and sees first-hand the destructiveness of opiates on mothers and their babies.
So where does that leave us? Should we put people in cages for altering their bodies with chemicals if there's a chance 10% or so of them won't handle it well? Should everyone be regulated by violent government force, even if 80 to 90% of the people who use these drugs can do so in a healthy way?
Where is the logic behind allowing some chemicals (coffee, alcohol, nicotine) but banning others, when some of the legal drugs are more harmful than the illegal ones? According to www.drugwarfacts.org, we have hundreds of thousands of humans currently living in cages, paid for by others, because they decided to put a chemical into their body.
Almost 50% (92,000 prisoners) of sentenced federal prisoners on September 30, 2015 (the most recent date for which federal offense data are available) were serving time for drug offenses
Sixteen percent of state prisoners were serving sentences for drug-related offenses (206,300 prisoners).
This does not make sense.
And I didn't even get into the history of Cannabis prohibition.
I'll let Adam Ruins Everything do that:
What do you think of illegal drugs and the war on drugs?
It's probably the best example of laws created by puritanical busybodies turning a non-crime into a "crime."
"No victim, no crime" makes sense to me. I hope humans can move past this ridiculousness.
Amen!
Here's another good video that goes along with this post:
Not only are is the Drug war a fundamental breach of individuals' freedom, there is nearly no evidence that it has actually worked. If there was tangible evidence and data to suggest that the drug war was lowering drug usage, supply, and drug overdoses, then a rational argument could be made for the continuation of the drug war.
Even if this evidence was present it is still a massive intrusion into individuals freedom, but the fact that the drug war has been an absolute failure should validate the need for a new strategy. The opiate epidemic is truly an awful thing, but the government trying to enforce their way out of the opiate crisis is a completely ineffective method in the long term.
If there is a demand for a good, then the supply will follow, specifically in regards to black market goods because of the increased profit margins sellers receive compared to traditional products. The current structuring of laws sends many offenders to prison for much longer sentences than needed, which has consequences throughout the country, but specifically in low-income areas.
The government could never obtain the amount of resources needed to successfully achieve the goal of the drug war through enforcement. You mentioned the old TV ads of this is your brain on drugs, and I think that the governments continuation of their "propaganda" makes individuals question all information that the government is telling them about drugs. If the government tells teenagers exaggerated and untrue facts about marijuana, when those teens get older and realise that much of what they learned was simply not true, then are more likely to disregard all of the drug education they received through public school or government information.
An individual's feelings regarding drug use should be largely irrelevant to their beliefs on it. Even if an individual believes all drugs are dangerous and discourages their use, the continuation of the war on drugs is not a viable method for stopping drug use.
I think one of the most effective ways to reduce drug use is to simply present honest information. Instead of saying that marijuana will give you this or that type of cancer, I believe information should be presented in a manner such as, "You may never well enjoy marijuana, but these are the consequences and effects it can have on your life.". Individuals who are interested in drugs already know that they may like them, because so many people do. This wouldn't be promotion of condoning drug use, but simply an objective and honest look at drug use that individuals would likely be much more receptive to.
Thanks for laying this all out there. I agree, we as a species need to be more rational about this whole topic.
Nice post, Luke, thanks.
The war on drugs has actually served its purpose very well.
It has expanded the power and influence of the state immensely. It has succeeded in brainwashing a vast segment of the population into a totally absurd and self-contradictory mental space.
The populace has been conditioned to react violently against the use of natural, God-given substances, and to support violence and incarceration against any who do. The same propagandized masses embrace and pay a huge price for "designer drugs" promulgated by monied powers that turn children into zombies and that produce "certain fatal events."
The core problem is state worship and the belief that it is acceptable for a man or group of men to wield such authority over us. 😄😇😄
Very well said. :)
Thanks... Steem on! ;)