1. Licit & Illicit Drugs A century of “drug wars” 1800s America - a “drug fiend’s paradise” (opiates, alcohol, tobacco, etc.) 1906 The Pure Food and Drugs Act 1914 The Harrison Act Criminalization of some drugs

2. Licit & Illicit Drugs “The first casualty of war is truth” Myths/Propaganda are a constant part of the drug wars. Most drug “education” today is still saturated with myths and propaganda.

3. Licit & Illicit Drugs The American link to racism (the key difference??) Chinese immigrants and opium Urban/immigrants and alcohol Urban poor - minorities and heroin The “counter-culture” and drugs Current “search and destroy” practices

4. Licit & Illicit Drugs Two processes that spread drug use and also make drug use more dangerous: 1. Scare publicity (e.g., glue sniffing) 2. “Crackdowns” (e.g., marijuana)

5. Licit & Illicit Drugs Chapter 44 “How to Launch a nationwide drug menace” Glue sniffing started as accidental intoxication Spread into a drug menace as media and police continued to publicize it, even “educating” kids about how to do it “right”

6. Licit & Illicit Drugs Myths about Heroin a “deadly drug” (vs. actual physical effects) heroin addiction myths “overdose” death myth Scare propaganda makes problems worse - nobody knows what to believe!

7. Licit & Illicit Drugs Crackdowns -- esp. marijuana Vietnam War - heroin, speed, etc. San Francisco - LSD, speed, etc. This is the “normal pattern”

8. Licit & Illicit Drugs “The drug problem problem” Recommendations:

9. Licit & Illicit Drugs (1) Stop emphasizing measures designed to keep illegal drugs away from people. Prohibition doesn’t work!

10. Licit & Illicit Drugs (2) Stop publicizing the horrors of the "drug menace” Scare publicity popularizes drugs!

11. Licit & Illicit Drugs (3) Stop increasing the damage done by illegal drugs. e.g., misinformation, needle policies No imprisonment binge back then!

12. Licit & Illicit Drugs (4) Stop mis-classifying drugs. Marijuana, drugs/non-drugs

13. Licit & Illicit Drugs (5) Stop viewing the illegal drug problem as primarily a national problem, to be solved on a national scale. Local problems, local approaches

14. Licit & Illicit Drugs (6) Stop pursuing the goal of stamping out illicit drug use. Increases both use and damage

15. Licit & Illicit Drugs Comment - The growing problem of legal drug use -- a much bigger problem!