Corrections to the blogosphere, the consensus, and the world

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Designer drugs

When it comes to illegal drugs we are like Macaulay's puritans, who objected to bearbaiting not because of the pain it caused to the bear but because of the pleasure it gave the spectators. If we were worried about the harm caused by drugs, we would put the CSIRO to devising new drugs that did not have these unpleasant effects; but we do not.

3 comments:

John said...

Non-addictive heroin? Healthy cigarettes? Seems like a market failure to me, since such things would be in high demand. Perhaps the Government should sponsor research?

Shithead said...

Yes, but if there were no harmful effects, what would be wrong with addiction? I'm addicted to food and drink, and if I have none for an extended period I go into withdrawal and eventually die, but I can't say I feel guilty about it. We object to addiction because it is seeking a non-standard goal, diverting our attention from the struggle for existence in a capitalist society, but that rationale is in many ways questionable.

C. lalis said...

CSIRO is devising new drugs that did not have these unpleasant effects but they are not able to do so.

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