As an entheogen enthusiest as well as an activist for personal freedom I sometimes pause to examine some of my beliefs about how I would like the world to be. For example I would be overjoyed if this country and indeed the rest of the world would abandon the tyranical and wastfull war on drugs. I long for the time when the majority of people will recognize that people have the right to alter their consciousness any way they see fit and that they should be able to do that by consuming whatever substance they choose.
Even though I work every day twards realizing that goal, I can't help but wonder if we can ever have a world like that. I notice that behaviors and lifestyles that are out of the mainstream sometimes take generations to gain the tolerance let alone acceptance of the majority. Just look at the homosexual community in the US. A generation ago being gay was seen as antisocial, immoral, sinfull, illegal and dangerous. Today, while there are still those who still believe those things about Gays, those attitudes are starting to fade. However gays still do not enjoy complete acceptance by the mainstream and it may take another 30 year before being gay is seen as just another lifestyle. Drug use is even more problematic when it comes to gaining acceptance. We are still living at a time when drug use and drug users are seen as antisocial, immoral, sinful, illegal and dangerous. Homosexuality is for the most part now seen as being something that you are born with and not a choice (why this should make a difference I do not know) which has helped the general public sympathize with the plight of homosexuals. Drug use is seen as a choice and indeed it IS a choice but it is a viable choice for those who wish to alter their perceptions. Will the Just Say No attitude ever change? There are some signs that such attitudes are changing, but as long as the consumption of drugs to alter our minds is seen as ESCAPIST and somehow a sign of weakness we will always face a certain stigma from the public.
Take for instance the medical marijuana legal rollercoaster of the past 4 years. First, President Obama campaigned on a platform that you shouldn't keep sick people away from their medicine. Further he suggested that medical marijuana was a low priority and that dispensaries and patients would not be harassed. Now, 4 years later with his 2nd term in jeopardy, President Obama is allowing his Justice Department to use threats and intimidation to cow state and local authorities. States like California that had a thriving medical marijuana industry are now facing threats of closure form local authorities. I actually feel sorry for these local officials. In many cases the US Attorney General has suggested that by granting business licences to these California LEGAL businesses, that they are somehow committing a Federal offense. So local officials are caught between carrying out the will of California voters or facing Federal drug prosecution.
Poles show again and again that most Americans favor legal medical marijuana. However this doesn't matter to the president. Drug prohibition is big business and the Obama administration has never met a government program it wanted to cut, so naturally they need to ramp up spending again for the drug war. Its all an endless cycle. Peoples attitudes have obviously changed but the government doesn't know or care about this. Government has to enforce control over people.
Until such a time that psychoactive drugs become legally available for all Americans, the only way that we can exercise our human right to consume what we want, is be outlaws. The suburban shamans mixing up ayahuasca or yage in their kitchen to share with his friends. The covert mushroom growers who are looking to grow just enough for their own use and maybe a bit more for friends. The medical marijuana patient that has to grow his own in order to secure a supply of his medicine. All of us in the psychedelic underground, we must stay the coarse. Our time will come. It may take decades but I have no doubt that legal access and use will be available in our lifetime. Until then, keep up the fight. Keep up the research. Keep the drums beating.
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