Philosophy
One of the comics last night had a great line. He said a friend told him that doing drugs would catch up with him, so he decided to start doing speed. 4-20 seems as good a time as any to think about drug policy.
We draw a distinction on the one hand between substances like alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine, and marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. Caught in the middle are prescription drugs like ritalin that are used medicinally and recreationally. What exactly is a drug? The notion of a substance that changes bodily chemistry is surely too broad since all food does that. "Creates an abnormal state of the body" will get you bogged down in the loaded notion of normal -- athletes carbo-load, but surely spaghetti isn't a drug. If that doesn't deter you, antibiotics are drugs but they restore a normal equilibrium. Is there a way to draw this line? Is it meaningful or problematic if it remains blurry?
Once we have the in/out line determined, how ought we think of these substances? The libertarian line leaves the individual entirely in charge of what s/he chooses to put into his/her body. The utilitarian line looks at the consequences which in some cases is extreemly harmful to both the indiviual and the community, in others less so. This line, of course, does not coincide with our legal/illegal line at all. How should we draw that line? What is the difference between alcohol and, say, marijuana that justifies prohibition on one and not the other? Should they both be prohibited? Both legal? Is there a difference between these and "harder" substances and what is the strongest argument for prohibiting/legalizing any of them?
- Animal Consciousness
I'm teaching a seminar on The Origin of Species this semester with a colleague who is writing on animal consciousness and it's generated a bunch of conversation around these parts, so I figured I'd raise the question here. At what point do...
- Etiquette And Ethics
Been thinking of the line between social mores and morality. Had another funeral this weekend. A not-so-old deadhead friend passed away from cancer and the conversation amongst a bunch of us was whether to wear tie-dye to the service. On the one hand,...
- What Should Replace The War On Drugs?
We've been fighting a war on drugs...which explains why we've been doing it so badly. The Rockefeller plan of locking up ever more non-violent offenders surely is not the answer. But simple legalization in this culture would probably work about...
- Addiction, Baldness, And Extraterrestrial Life
A few final questions today. I cannot tell you how much I love the things you folks ask. Where else can you go from psychology to humor to physics to ethics to superheroes? Good stuff. MT asks, "What is addiction?"Helpful hint from your Uncle Steve, always...
- Go Ask Alice And Try Some Drugs
"A Psychedelic Anti-Drug Film From 1971 That Made Drugs Look Pretty Fun" by Rebecca Onion Slate In this film made by the National Institute of Mental Health in 1971 and meant for use with 8- to 10-year-old students, Alice takes a psychedelic trip through...
Philosophy
4-20: What Is a Drug and How Ought We Deal with Them?
One of the comics last night had a great line. He said a friend told him that doing drugs would catch up with him, so he decided to start doing speed. 4-20 seems as good a time as any to think about drug policy.
We draw a distinction on the one hand between substances like alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine, and marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. Caught in the middle are prescription drugs like ritalin that are used medicinally and recreationally. What exactly is a drug? The notion of a substance that changes bodily chemistry is surely too broad since all food does that. "Creates an abnormal state of the body" will get you bogged down in the loaded notion of normal -- athletes carbo-load, but surely spaghetti isn't a drug. If that doesn't deter you, antibiotics are drugs but they restore a normal equilibrium. Is there a way to draw this line? Is it meaningful or problematic if it remains blurry?
Once we have the in/out line determined, how ought we think of these substances? The libertarian line leaves the individual entirely in charge of what s/he chooses to put into his/her body. The utilitarian line looks at the consequences which in some cases is extreemly harmful to both the indiviual and the community, in others less so. This line, of course, does not coincide with our legal/illegal line at all. How should we draw that line? What is the difference between alcohol and, say, marijuana that justifies prohibition on one and not the other? Should they both be prohibited? Both legal? Is there a difference between these and "harder" substances and what is the strongest argument for prohibiting/legalizing any of them?
- Animal Consciousness
I'm teaching a seminar on The Origin of Species this semester with a colleague who is writing on animal consciousness and it's generated a bunch of conversation around these parts, so I figured I'd raise the question here. At what point do...
- Etiquette And Ethics
Been thinking of the line between social mores and morality. Had another funeral this weekend. A not-so-old deadhead friend passed away from cancer and the conversation amongst a bunch of us was whether to wear tie-dye to the service. On the one hand,...
- What Should Replace The War On Drugs?
We've been fighting a war on drugs...which explains why we've been doing it so badly. The Rockefeller plan of locking up ever more non-violent offenders surely is not the answer. But simple legalization in this culture would probably work about...
- Addiction, Baldness, And Extraterrestrial Life
A few final questions today. I cannot tell you how much I love the things you folks ask. Where else can you go from psychology to humor to physics to ethics to superheroes? Good stuff. MT asks, "What is addiction?"Helpful hint from your Uncle Steve, always...
- Go Ask Alice And Try Some Drugs
"A Psychedelic Anti-Drug Film From 1971 That Made Drugs Look Pretty Fun" by Rebecca Onion Slate In this film made by the National Institute of Mental Health in 1971 and meant for use with 8- to 10-year-old students, Alice takes a psychedelic trip through...