Let me begin with a well deserved insult. I have found that too many Kossacks can’t think outside the box. Two years ago I posted an article saying that we need to throw large quantities of money at finding supremely benign substitutes for dangerous drugs. And received a ho-hum response.
Why is finding benign substitutes for dangerous drugs important ? Duhh…. We need to eliminate the profit from trading in substances that make so many Americans feel good, while endangering their brains and their health, and that have created murderous gangs in low income neighborhoods, both here and in our southern neighbors Mexico, Honduras etcetera. That have put about a million Americans currently in jail . That endanger our children.
There is immense demand for euphoric substances. Far too many people are unhappy. Our stupid legislators have failed to see this as a grand opportunity and have instead implemented dire punishments for seeking euphoria. This is really ironic in a society that claims to value freedom .
From personal observation I know that many substances are supremely seductive but at the same time quite dangerous.
Our legislators have, thinking inside of tiny boxes, failed to see that we could take advantage of this desire to feel good.
We need to devise substances (or diets, or combinations of diet and exercise) that fulfill several criteria: happy mood; high energy; high intellectual clarity. To this I would add high sociability, low irritability and hostility, excellent memory, and excellent vibrations and aura.
Such substances or diets or disciplines could revolutionize our society and greatly enhance productivity and quality of life. And reduce the outrageously large numbers of Americans in jail. And get rid of the gangs who trade illegal intoxicants.
Let’s face it, far too many Americans are seduced by substances that induce temporary euphoria, but that in the long run are deleterious to mental and physical health. Some of these substances may be far less harmful than is currently advertised, because we have a liquor industry that wants to monopolize euphoria.
How many of us have never tried a substance that violates Federal law ? Maybe 30 per cent. But maybe 70 percent have tried some of the various contrivances, and some become far too enamored, and are constant users, and some of this group will become coke whores, or thieves, or just descend into psychosis, or get locked up.
I think it is worth megabucks — billions, not millions — to look for benign substitutes for dangerous substances that will make us feel good, have better memory, be more intelligent, be more tolerant, have more energy, be healthier, live longer, be friendlier and nicer, be “self-actualizing”, be less subject to anger and depression, experience “funktionslust” — the experience of functioning superbly and achieving good things.
If successful, such a quest could vastly improve quality of life in America. And everywhere else.
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Post Script: Obviously, the research should be conducted with rigorous safeguards to avoid the kind of nonsense that occurred at Harvard in the 1960s with LSD and Alpert and Leary. That created such an unholy mess and damaged many lives.