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From: jin@hropus.UUCP (Jerry Natowitz)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,net.med
Subject: Re: Drug Abuse - True Problem or Media Hype?
Message-ID: <695@hropus.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 21-Sep-86 14:17:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: hropus.695
Posted: Sun Sep 21 14:17:38 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 27-Sep-86 22:06:31 EDT
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Organization: Bell Labs, Holmdel, NJ
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Xref: watmath talk.politics.misc:258 net.med:4842

> These two drugs, alcohol and tobacco, have
> wiped out more people then all the wars in our history, so why not introduce
> more drugs into our society?
> 
> ray

I think the drugs are quite introduced into our society.  At this point
the question is what is the least damaging to society: legalizing drugs,
continuing on our current path, or an all out war.

Drugs (of one sort or another) have been a part of society
since the first time people ate fermented fruit, drank the liquid the
floats on sour dough, or munched on one of the myriad of psychogenic
plants or animals.

Cross-species data indicates that birds seek out and eat fermenting fruits
getting quite intoxicated in the process.  I'm sure there are many other
examples, I'm just not up on ethology.

I think that overwhelming proportion of damage done to society "by drugs"
is a direct or indirect effect of the non legal status of the drugs.
-- 
Jerry Natowitz (HASA - A division)
Bell Labs HR 2A-214
201-615-5178 (no CORNET)
ihnp4!houxm!hropus!jin
or ihnp4!opus!jin

Isn't it interesting how the beautiful little red flower in the forest
becomes so ugly when you discover it's a candy wrapper.