Killjoys and K-2 - Why, Exactly?
K-2 is a new drug enjoying a tidal wave of publicity because it supposedly mimics the effects of pot without its most unfortunate side effect, which is getting hassled by the police. On that basis alone, people are wanting to ban it.
What?! Why?! Does the K in K-2 stand for killjoy?
There have been ZERO studies demonstrating that K-2 increases the risk of automobile accidents. There have been ZERO studies demonstrating that K-2 causes cancer. The production, distribution and marketing of K-2 does not support a vast underground criminal empire.
Yet, immediately upon hearing of the very existence of a drug that can get you legally high, the neo-prohibitionists sprang into action.
State Rep. Peggy Mast, an Emporia Republican, hadn’t heard about K2 until informed by The Kansas City Star. But she’s worried enough to suggest the state should take action.Did Mast ask about whether the drug is harmful before seeking to deprive Kansans of a legal high? Of course not. The mere thought of Kansans being able to get high legally triggered the Pavlovian urge to ban it.
“I would be very happy to sponsor a bill to make this illegal,” Mast said.
Mast sponsored legislation a few years ago that outlawed the hallucinogenic plants jimson weed and salvia divinorum.
What kind of a messed up reaction is that?! The fact that people can get legally high is immediately viewed as a problem that must be attacked.
Now, to be completely fair, I'll concede that the stuff probably has some unfortunate health effects and probably does not help your driving ability, though nobody has proof of either concession. But, to be completely fair in return, you must concede that health and traffic concerns are not the real trigger of the Pavlovian "Ban" reflex. If, by some stroke of stoner luck, it turned out that K-2 had anti-oxidants to prevent cancer and actually improved driving judgment and reaction times, do you think the law-and-order folks would suddenly approve?
If so, why didn't they study those things before calling for a ban?
All we really need to know is that young people have found a way to enjoy themselves that doesn't involve competition or religion, and we'd better put a stop to it right away.
I just don't understand that impulse.
Labels: drugs
posted by Dan at 11/05/2009 05:53:00 AM
4 Comments:
les who can't figure out his identity says:
It's a common fear of conservatives and fundamentalists of all stripes--the nagging feeling that someone, somewhere, is enjoying him/her self. You could cite the same lack of studies showing significant harm for marijuana and other drugs; yet we spend millions and jail a higher proportion of our population than any country on earth, out of fear and ignorance.
To get the right answer most of the time, just ask--what would the Taliban do?
Ah...if you don't understand the impulse then you must be one of "them".
There are those, always those, who know what's best for the rest of us.
And then there are the rest of us, left to perpetually wonder - WTF?
Forget logic or common sense - those who know will always, short of violence, have their way.
(...course, many of the rest of us simply ignore them.)
Legalize all drugs... problem solved.
JW, how dare you? What makes you think you own your body?
Maybe when the government finally goes broke people will come to realize that spending money to control the peaceful behavior of others is not a good investment.
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