A DRUG IS A DRUG
All addictive drugs manipulate the same brain systems (Link to the Limbic System; and Dopamine). Every psychoactive substance involves both benefits and risks. Opiates, for example, have enslaved millions in addiction. But they’ve also provided incalculable relief to those suffering from pain. So are they good or bad?
Drugs are amoral. Thus, the key question isn’t whether a drug is good or bad. It’s whether otherwise normal drug use escalates into abuse, how to prevent it, and what to do if prevention fails. Furthermore, a drug’s legal status is irrelevant to how it operates in the brain.
Information is the best educator. But the information has to be objective, not tainted by our moral preconceptions. For it to be credible, information about drugs must include the good, the bad and the inconvenient, their potential benefits as well as their risks. Research reveals, for example, that small amounts of alcohol (repeat, small amounts) entail many health benefits.
In large quantities, on the other hand, it’s dangerous, even acutely toxic. In the past, we have allowed value judgments to cloud scientific understanding and popular knowledge. The benefits of alcohol were suppressed for decades. Scientists weren’t even allowed to investigate marijuana for fear they might discover medical benefits.
We must resist the temptation to hide the potential all the facts regarding drugs for fear they’ll provide an excuse for additional use.
People who get into trouble with drugs need no excuse.
