Ain't the War on (some) Drugs Just Grand?

[Gösta H. Lovgren]

(Note - This thread (imported from Discuss Lavallette) is the latest sally between between a calm, logical man of reason who believes in freedom {ahem, he said modestly} and a calm, logical man of reason who professes a belief in freedom, yet often argues against it.)


-----Original Message-----
From: DiscussLavallette@yahoogroups.com [ mailto:DiscussLavallette@yahoogroups.com (DiscussLavallette@yahoogroups.com)] On Behalf Of G. H. Lovgren
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2007 8:01 PM
To: DiscussLavallette@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Discuss Lavallette] Liberator Online: Ain't the War on Drugs just grand

(From the Liberator Online, a Libertarian newsletter)

* * *

Toad Away: New Highs in the War on Drugs

Just mark it down as yet another glorious victory in the War on Drugs.

A Kansas City, Missouri man has been arrested and charged with... possessing atoad. More specifically, possession with the intent to get high off the toad's venom.

After raiding a home on suspicions that drugs were being manufactured there,police arrested David S. Theiss and his toad. To be precise, his Sonoran Desert toad.

When this breed of toad gets angry or scared, it secrets a venom containing bufotenin. Bufotenin, when ingested, is a hallucinogen. Thus the federalgovernment, ever vigilant of what we do with our bodies and minds, has outlawed it.

County prosecutor Daniel White was careful to point out that mere possession of a toad -- even a Sonoran Desert toad -- is not, per se, illegal. (After all, this IS a free country!)

But possession with the intent to use its venom to get high *is* illegal. And, since Theiss was charged with several drug offenses -- among them possessing mescaline, a controlled substance extracted from a cactus -- he surely musthave owned the toad for sinister reasons. In such cases, prosecutor White says, the toad is considered "drug paraphernalia" and owners must face the consequences.

Naturally, the Internet is part of the menace. Prosecutor White warns that some Web sites feature instructional videos on how to extract the venom and smoke it.

Theiss was released on bond. However, the toad was kept in custody at a police crime lab. (Somehow, that doesn't seem fair.)

United Press International reports that Theiss "is believed to be the first (person) in the Kansas City area to be charged with toad-licking."

But if vigilant Kansas City Drug Warriors have their way, he will certainly not be the last.

Now in our view, arresting people for owning a toad, or smoking toad venom, is stupid and idiotic and laughable, not to mention tyrannical. And judging from the hundreds of mocking news stories around the world that have been written about this case, many people agree.

But... is it any less absurd and tyrannical than arresting people for, say, growing and smoking a common plant, something we have heard from reliable sources happens quite often in the US of A?

Once America was hailed as "the land of the free," but now we can be hauled off by the cops for owning a toad for non-government-sanctioned purposes. What would Thomas Jefferson say?

Source: Associated Press /Kansas City Star http://www.kcstar.com )

**********

[Gösta H. Lovgren]

-----Original Message-----
From: DiscussLavallette@yahoogroups.com [mailto:DiscussLavallette@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of G. H. Lovgren
Sent: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 8:09 AM
To: DiscussLavallette@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [Discuss Lavallette] Liberator Online: Ain't the War on Drugs just grand


At 12/17/2007, Bill responded:

I think that this is a fine example of the resultant IQ of those whose life is so drab that they must lick toads for pleasure�same with those who choose to inject chemicals into their brains to make their life meaningful. This is not funny. It is very sad. It testifies to the extent that some must go to escape reality.

The medical use of marijuana is fodder for reasonable discussion, not this.

Bill

[Gösta H. Lovgren]

I think that this is a fine example of the resultant IQ of those whose life is so drab that they must lick toads for pleasure�same with those who choose to inject chemicals into their brains to make their life meaningful. This is not funny. It is very sad. It testifies to the extent that some must go to escape reality.

The medical use of marijuana is fodder for reasonable discussion, not this.


I think it is. Why do you want to control what other people do in their lives (when those actions have no effect on you or anyone else)? Isn't part of the "freedom" we so loudly proclaim in this country the right to do whatever we want in the privacy of our own homes?

Or not?

Swede

[Gösta H. Lovgren]

At 12/18/2007, Bill wrote:


It is a myth perpetuated by the Left that those who take hard drugs or hallucinogenic drugs (or alcohol) have no effect on the balance of society.

The growth of the entitlement/welfare community saw to that.


The conservative society is based on the protestant work ethic. Our society flourishes when each of us, through our work, contributes to the betterment of the community. Our society erodes when a significant number of us drink or lick toads to the point where our work contribution is lessened and/or our demands upon society�s safety net to survive become significant.


Separate the hallucinating toad licker from �free� trips to the emergency ward�unemployment insurance�welfare payments�and society supported recovery clinics, and your argument makes some sense.


Another example is the person who shows up on the job each morning with a roaring hangover. He is unable to live up to the employment contract that he has with his boss. He depends upon his fellow workers to carry him. He is cheating both his employer and his coworkers. Once fired from his job he falls back on society�s safety net for his survival. Same is true if he comes in with visions of lovely colors passing before his eyes.


We are each and every one of us affected by what the toad licker does in the privacy of his home.

Bill