Early drug delivery devices (chewing, smoking) of largely plant materials ensured low dosages of psychoactive ingredients. Modern chemistry methods allow for hyper-concentration and innovation of active ingredients, guaranteeing addiction and overdosing instead of old-school good trips. New tech is not always better for us humans.
Awesome perspective on this, Baird. Not only is it more powerful, but the entire ritual around it, leading up to it, and after it is abolished. A double hammer of setting users up for failure.
Great point about the surrounding “rituals”, Sam. A lot of evidence that the frame/setting in which the drug is taken has a very large impact on the outcome.
Sam, you are onto to something here that folds nicely into your book. I had some revelatory, but unguided experiences with entheogens c1983. Me and my wingman got a too cavalier, took too many, scared ourselves senseless. I’m still not convinced that what I saw was not real. Changed my life, months later I moved from LA to Australia and never returned to LA.
I wonder a lot about the "why" of drugs. I too think modern, man-made drugs serve a much different purpose than "ancient" -- or simply natural is the distinction I would make -- drugs.
There's no question that modern, synthetic drugs are deeply sinister. I've known a lot of people before and after they got on SSRIs or other types of pharmaceutical Fuckitol; they more or less become zombies. Not dead, but not much alive either. Literally a type of undead. I suspect this is not a side effect, but an (or the) intended effect.
The question concerning ancient/natural drugs is much more interesting. I haven't done the more exotic ones you covered, but I've eaten a shit-ton of mushrooms back in the day, almost always before a long hike. They're certainly introspective, and it really is a surreal sort of "back-to-the-world" comedown afterward and the following day. At the time, I thought it was the most enlightening shit in the world and even still I think it was quite so -- I really would describe it as a sort of short-cut, a view behind the curtain, a chance at understanding things that may have otherwise taken much longer to come to.
That said, in hindsight I do see psychedelics differently than I did at the time. At the time I thought it was akin to diving into a sort of truth-stream, but I think the truth is it's more like emptying your cup and allowing it to be refilled by something else. I.e., I think psychedelics open a person up to *various* sorts of influences, not all of which are true or benevolent. For all the reported positives like ego-death, emerging more empathetic, etc., there is also a fairly common phenomenon of people on shrooms suddenly being convinced they can fly, only to jump to their deaths. That emptying the cup is, I suspect, a void that can be filled by good or evil.
For Heidegger, the very act of thinking is similar in that it involves both posing a question and foregoing all presuppositions. It is to ask a question and then wait -- in silence -- for an answer that may or may not come, without trying to chase or pin some or other answer down. It amounts to a letting come of what may be dealt out.
This humble questioning at the heart of thinking is, I think, similar in essence to psychedelics. But the most important part that Heidegger is at best ambiguous about is *to whom is the question asked?*
I think it is very important to be clear about to whom the question is asked in thinking, and likewise to be mindful of whom one empties their cup for and with what it may be filled. To use another analogy, if prayer is going to God and God alone, meditation is like putting out a distress call for anyone or anything in the vicinity. I think the same thing applies to psychedelics. While I'm quite sure God was looking out for the younger me tripping balls, I have no doubt that demons also view psychedelic use as an open door to influence people. Indeed, I suspect modern pharmaceuticals are *explicitly* aimed toward demons and demonic influence, given the prevalence of suicidal thoughts among their users and the fact that pretty much every mass shooter is on them. No shit, I wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of satanic ritual involved in the manufacturing process.
In any case, I reckon the point of this wall-o-text is that in all things, and with mind-altering things especially, it is important to be very intentional about to whom one is making an appeal. Every time I hear someone mention "machine elves" I can't help but think they were talking to demons.
This is an awesome riff. My sense is similar to yours. I do not believe they open an alternate reality, and that they merely give the user a different perspective from the one they've settled into. This can be a breakthrough if the user is asking the right person/entity the right questions, but not if the user is trying to hit the easy button as if it were ozempic for the brain.
Thank you for bringing Heidegger into this as well. It always has a way of adding another layer to the conversation.
Fascinating angle on the diagnostic nature of cultural drug use. The lidocaine anecdote captures something deeper than pain avoidance though, it's about maintaining full sensory awareness through acute distress rather than numbing the signal. I've noticed thatsame tension in modern life where people use SSRIs not because they have chemical deficiencis but because the environment itself feels unbearable when experienceed unfiltered.
This is a great riff. The environment as unfiltered is a diagnosis of both the environment and the individual who cannot bear it. One of the reasons I often write of the ancestral environment. I appreciate the thoughts.
I think earlier psychedelic experiences have contributed in part to expanding my brain - especially in the dream state. Sometimes I'm able to go back to a dream after partially awakening, and often my dreams are epic. These psychedelic experiences have perhaps enabled me to cope with the world I live in, which sometimes sets me apart from others as being different, which is ok by me. For me I call it the work-life balance.
This is a fascinating point. After I did 5 MeO DMT, for 1-3 months I would slip into a mild trip while fading into sleep. One of the strangest sensations I ever had.
Which psychedelics did you do that had such a long lasting impact?
I think early exposures of LSD when I was in my late teens/early 20s opened doors in my brain that may have never opened otherwise. In subsequent years psilocybin mushrooms gave way to a more mellow psychedelic experience. My personal theory is that as my brain ages more neural pathways need to be opened or expanded, though not necessarily to enhance the dream state. For me these experiences are like grounding, so the occasional tune-up is essential.
From what I have felt and what I am seeing, your theory seems to be the norm. I know of many people beyond middle age who are finding a great deal of joy in psilocybin for example. Very easy on the body and very powerful on the mind. Thank you for sharing, Dana.
I tried SSRI’s after my doctor prescribed them for a severely herniated L5 S1. It wouldn’t hurt whatsoever to stand but to sit or lay down would send electric shocks down my leg.
The SSRI was the worst experience I’ve ever had. I was so happy to return to the “pain” of my disc which healed on its own after a few more weeks.
This is fascinating. I have only ever heard of the side effects and never felt them. And it is a lovely irony that the physical pain is preferable to the existential pain of SSRIs. Thank you for sharing.
I quit taking them after the second night. My dreams(nightmares) were me staring at a picture of my 2 young boys and throughout the night their beautiful faces would become bruised and bloodied in the picture. I was paralyzed and could only view the damage being done to them through a still picture I was holding. Worst experience of my life. I was so thrilled to go back to the pain.
In the daytime, I couldn’t read beyond the fourth word of whatever I put in front of myself. I had no thoughts, no creativity whatsoever. With certainty, the most depressing thing I’ve ever done was anti-depressants.
Great piece Sam, your creativity is mind expanding.
You suggest the State is inept or has a dark purpose. I suspect and fear they aren’t mutually exclusive.
The use and experience of entheogens makes me wonder if it provides a view into the real nature of reality. If you consider that our brains construct reality from sensory inputs from our body and perhaps other unknown inputs how can we be confident in what is real and not? We see nothing, our brain produces a construct. Shades of The Matrix.
Thank you Marshall. I agree about the State. There are many players, probably a few who know what they are doing, and most are merely "doing their jobs".
I need to think on your Matrix point. I probably have a far more utilitarian view of entheogens, which is why when I talk to people I always emphasis non-entheogen means of attainting the same end. Unless the individual is already on the right path, entheogens and what they reveal eventually fades away.
I'm glad you wrote this because the lack of ancestral medicine is killing us slowly. And it's not that old either. The book, "The Imortality Key," highlights that Christianity, almost certainly, came from the 'mystery religions', which used psychedelics. In fact, ergot, a fungus on grains and a precursor to LSD, was likely what drove the agricultural revolution. The history is long on our use of these medicines, and yet, today, it's a Class 1 Felony to actually see Jesus.
"The fascinating fact is that so many in the State think this is normal. They believe our ancient cerebral matter, nervous systems, and souls are malfunctioning. They do not ask why we are molding humans to the State and not molding the State to humans."
I am loath to quote who I thought of when I read this, but it is so flawed that rather than fix or change societal conditions that cause us to feel the way we feel, we look to drugs.
Sam, you just took me back to starting late ‘60s when I “inhaled” books by Carlos Castaneda (The Teachings of Don Juan) about his experiences in shamanism with his master, don Juan, a Yaqui shaman. I still can feel the “wind talking” without experiencing the psychedelics that Carlos described, a teaching spirit in peyote plants. Initially, his books were considered to be real but later they were dismissed as fictional. Never mind, Carlos took me on a “trip” and as I was studying Geology, rocks were “talking” to me. BTW, George Lucas said that the characters of Yoda and Luke Skywalker were based in part on Don Juan and Castaneda books.
And Barry when the rocks start talking, all is well in the world. It is probably those who cannot hear non-human speech who will struggle the hardest in life.
No. Those stones in Israel can tell quite a few stories. I look forward to the day when I can visit and listen to them. I am about to start reading the Old Testament all the way through and am incredibly stoked.
I've been thinking about this a lot the more I write. As I dig deeper into ideas, I realize how much my thinking was shaped by my schooling as a kid. My mind tries to think along that reestablished groove and it takes considerable effort to think on my own terms, more deeply, without the structure given to me. A conformity as you pointed out. The fight alone is worth it.
I think our backgrounds are similar but quite different.
We are similar in that our professions did not allow ideology to interfere with accurate assessment of reality. What's different is that for you it could mean life or death. My situation was not that intense, but I still had to make sure that I misinterpreted nothing.
In school, 95% is an A. In our reality, 95% is failure.
That last line is perfectly phrased. Perception has much to do with it. Even those who will not be killed if their performance is not up to par can take it deadly serious. They are often the most interesting and fascinating people I have ever met. It sounds like you have placed yourself in this voluntarily serious category. Serious not in the stone cold sense, but vibrantly alive sense.
I’m about 2/3 done. I think it resonates with a lot of what you’re writing from a slightly different angle. Must read? Probably not. If I finish before the copies of my book come in, I’ll throw mine into the box for you!
Great piece, Sam, as ever. The US's toxic 'love affair' with pharma has been, at least in part, driven by pharma/healthcare's immense ad spend - especially on mainstream TV channels. As a Brit, every time I'm over there I am baffled by the amount of those ads depicting a hazy, idealised portrayal of wellness and the inevitable legal disclaimer 'May cause hives, welts, your eyeballs to catch fire' etc. We obvs have a different system and approach to state health here - the NHS - so it faces different problems not being funded by big pharma/personal health plans and in truth alas, only holding itself together with gaffer tape and good intentions. But, I digress! There is indeed always a call to explore the non-linear world for some sort of inner enlightenment, and if it takes a brief whiff of psychedelics or casting oneself adrift within the folds of a sun-faded book, 'fail we may, sail we must' to steal a fisherman's phrase.
Very well said. I'm not familiar enough with other countries policies to comment, but the level of corruption, both intentional and unintentional here, is beyond measure. Still, that is no reason not to do it anyway on our own terms.
I hear you Sam. There is always a mystery surrounding the players who clearly bleed NHS resources dry, from selling them obsolete technology to the type of medicine, or external companies chosen to run services. The Covid-time backhanders were phenomenally prevalent too.
Will: We Americans have gotten this so wrong. We can blame the cartels all we want, but the problem is Big Pharma, the US governments, and our therapeutic society’s fault. I debated one of your countrymen in London on this subject. We did not see eye to eye!
I'll dig into your piece, Peter. The fault lies across the cartels, the government, and ultimately the user. How to un-screw a threefold problem is beyond me. But I do believe genuine creativity can be a path.
Ha! I cannot believe that Christopher Hitchens would have been anything less than compliant and willing to concede on a given topic :) Would have loved to have seen that one crackle and a very incisive article to boot.
This is brilliant, man, perhaps the most resonant of your pieces for me to date, which is saying something. The dissociative effects of many state drugs seem to be a knife in the heart of our empathic birthright. The loss of empathy leads to the loss of an interest in The Story, in the Why of it all and in humanity in general.
You’ve read some of my experiences- the 18 year-old who’s “already dead”, the forced-sober prisoner who’s state-drugged existence has numbed his father to his plea for human emotion, the lives lost and their effect on loved ones- all examples of the need to dig into the why behind the acceptance of and desire for these lidocaines.
Early drug delivery devices (chewing, smoking) of largely plant materials ensured low dosages of psychoactive ingredients. Modern chemistry methods allow for hyper-concentration and innovation of active ingredients, guaranteeing addiction and overdosing instead of old-school good trips. New tech is not always better for us humans.
Awesome perspective on this, Baird. Not only is it more powerful, but the entire ritual around it, leading up to it, and after it is abolished. A double hammer of setting users up for failure.
Great point about the surrounding “rituals”, Sam. A lot of evidence that the frame/setting in which the drug is taken has a very large impact on the outcome.
Sam, you are onto to something here that folds nicely into your book. I had some revelatory, but unguided experiences with entheogens c1983. Me and my wingman got a too cavalier, took too many, scared ourselves senseless. I’m still not convinced that what I saw was not real. Changed my life, months later I moved from LA to Australia and never returned to LA.
When I hear the word "unguided", I know it can take a strange turn. I'm looking forward to hearing more about it the next time we talk.
I wonder a lot about the "why" of drugs. I too think modern, man-made drugs serve a much different purpose than "ancient" -- or simply natural is the distinction I would make -- drugs.
There's no question that modern, synthetic drugs are deeply sinister. I've known a lot of people before and after they got on SSRIs or other types of pharmaceutical Fuckitol; they more or less become zombies. Not dead, but not much alive either. Literally a type of undead. I suspect this is not a side effect, but an (or the) intended effect.
The question concerning ancient/natural drugs is much more interesting. I haven't done the more exotic ones you covered, but I've eaten a shit-ton of mushrooms back in the day, almost always before a long hike. They're certainly introspective, and it really is a surreal sort of "back-to-the-world" comedown afterward and the following day. At the time, I thought it was the most enlightening shit in the world and even still I think it was quite so -- I really would describe it as a sort of short-cut, a view behind the curtain, a chance at understanding things that may have otherwise taken much longer to come to.
That said, in hindsight I do see psychedelics differently than I did at the time. At the time I thought it was akin to diving into a sort of truth-stream, but I think the truth is it's more like emptying your cup and allowing it to be refilled by something else. I.e., I think psychedelics open a person up to *various* sorts of influences, not all of which are true or benevolent. For all the reported positives like ego-death, emerging more empathetic, etc., there is also a fairly common phenomenon of people on shrooms suddenly being convinced they can fly, only to jump to their deaths. That emptying the cup is, I suspect, a void that can be filled by good or evil.
For Heidegger, the very act of thinking is similar in that it involves both posing a question and foregoing all presuppositions. It is to ask a question and then wait -- in silence -- for an answer that may or may not come, without trying to chase or pin some or other answer down. It amounts to a letting come of what may be dealt out.
This humble questioning at the heart of thinking is, I think, similar in essence to psychedelics. But the most important part that Heidegger is at best ambiguous about is *to whom is the question asked?*
I think it is very important to be clear about to whom the question is asked in thinking, and likewise to be mindful of whom one empties their cup for and with what it may be filled. To use another analogy, if prayer is going to God and God alone, meditation is like putting out a distress call for anyone or anything in the vicinity. I think the same thing applies to psychedelics. While I'm quite sure God was looking out for the younger me tripping balls, I have no doubt that demons also view psychedelic use as an open door to influence people. Indeed, I suspect modern pharmaceuticals are *explicitly* aimed toward demons and demonic influence, given the prevalence of suicidal thoughts among their users and the fact that pretty much every mass shooter is on them. No shit, I wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of satanic ritual involved in the manufacturing process.
In any case, I reckon the point of this wall-o-text is that in all things, and with mind-altering things especially, it is important to be very intentional about to whom one is making an appeal. Every time I hear someone mention "machine elves" I can't help but think they were talking to demons.
This is an awesome riff. My sense is similar to yours. I do not believe they open an alternate reality, and that they merely give the user a different perspective from the one they've settled into. This can be a breakthrough if the user is asking the right person/entity the right questions, but not if the user is trying to hit the easy button as if it were ozempic for the brain.
Thank you for bringing Heidegger into this as well. It always has a way of adding another layer to the conversation.
Fascinating angle on the diagnostic nature of cultural drug use. The lidocaine anecdote captures something deeper than pain avoidance though, it's about maintaining full sensory awareness through acute distress rather than numbing the signal. I've noticed thatsame tension in modern life where people use SSRIs not because they have chemical deficiencis but because the environment itself feels unbearable when experienceed unfiltered.
This is a great riff. The environment as unfiltered is a diagnosis of both the environment and the individual who cannot bear it. One of the reasons I often write of the ancestral environment. I appreciate the thoughts.
I think earlier psychedelic experiences have contributed in part to expanding my brain - especially in the dream state. Sometimes I'm able to go back to a dream after partially awakening, and often my dreams are epic. These psychedelic experiences have perhaps enabled me to cope with the world I live in, which sometimes sets me apart from others as being different, which is ok by me. For me I call it the work-life balance.
This is a fascinating point. After I did 5 MeO DMT, for 1-3 months I would slip into a mild trip while fading into sleep. One of the strangest sensations I ever had.
Which psychedelics did you do that had such a long lasting impact?
I think early exposures of LSD when I was in my late teens/early 20s opened doors in my brain that may have never opened otherwise. In subsequent years psilocybin mushrooms gave way to a more mellow psychedelic experience. My personal theory is that as my brain ages more neural pathways need to be opened or expanded, though not necessarily to enhance the dream state. For me these experiences are like grounding, so the occasional tune-up is essential.
From what I have felt and what I am seeing, your theory seems to be the norm. I know of many people beyond middle age who are finding a great deal of joy in psilocybin for example. Very easy on the body and very powerful on the mind. Thank you for sharing, Dana.
Excellent piece!
I tried SSRI’s after my doctor prescribed them for a severely herniated L5 S1. It wouldn’t hurt whatsoever to stand but to sit or lay down would send electric shocks down my leg.
The SSRI was the worst experience I’ve ever had. I was so happy to return to the “pain” of my disc which healed on its own after a few more weeks.
This is fascinating. I have only ever heard of the side effects and never felt them. And it is a lovely irony that the physical pain is preferable to the existential pain of SSRIs. Thank you for sharing.
I quit taking them after the second night. My dreams(nightmares) were me staring at a picture of my 2 young boys and throughout the night their beautiful faces would become bruised and bloodied in the picture. I was paralyzed and could only view the damage being done to them through a still picture I was holding. Worst experience of my life. I was so thrilled to go back to the pain.
In the daytime, I couldn’t read beyond the fourth word of whatever I put in front of myself. I had no thoughts, no creativity whatsoever. With certainty, the most depressing thing I’ve ever done was anti-depressants.
I wish everyone on earth could hear this. What are we doing as a culture that makes this preferable to life itself?
Your piece nailed it here;
‘They do not ask why we are molding humans to the State and not molding the State to humans.’
We are molding obedient, conforming, happiness machines to consume. I think it’s so unnatural it requires being anesthetized.
"The general population doesn't know what's happening, and it doesn't even know that it doesn't know,"
Chomsky
We can add to Chomsky: many do not even want to know in the first place.
Great piece!
Thank you!
Great piece Sam, your creativity is mind expanding.
You suggest the State is inept or has a dark purpose. I suspect and fear they aren’t mutually exclusive.
The use and experience of entheogens makes me wonder if it provides a view into the real nature of reality. If you consider that our brains construct reality from sensory inputs from our body and perhaps other unknown inputs how can we be confident in what is real and not? We see nothing, our brain produces a construct. Shades of The Matrix.
Thank you Marshall. I agree about the State. There are many players, probably a few who know what they are doing, and most are merely "doing their jobs".
I need to think on your Matrix point. I probably have a far more utilitarian view of entheogens, which is why when I talk to people I always emphasis non-entheogen means of attainting the same end. Unless the individual is already on the right path, entheogens and what they reveal eventually fades away.
There is much to talk on here.
I'm glad you wrote this because the lack of ancestral medicine is killing us slowly. And it's not that old either. The book, "The Imortality Key," highlights that Christianity, almost certainly, came from the 'mystery religions', which used psychedelics. In fact, ergot, a fungus on grains and a precursor to LSD, was likely what drove the agricultural revolution. The history is long on our use of these medicines, and yet, today, it's a Class 1 Felony to actually see Jesus.
Immortality Key here: https://amzn.to/4jpg0c2
You need to frame this: "it's a Class 1 Felony to actually see Jesus."
Well said!
"The fascinating fact is that so many in the State think this is normal. They believe our ancient cerebral matter, nervous systems, and souls are malfunctioning. They do not ask why we are molding humans to the State and not molding the State to humans."
I am loath to quote who I thought of when I read this, but it is so flawed that rather than fix or change societal conditions that cause us to feel the way we feel, we look to drugs.
A great piece, yet again. Thank you, Sam.
You have me interested! If you don't want to drop it here, send me a DM. Very curious to hear what connection you drew from this.
Sam, you just took me back to starting late ‘60s when I “inhaled” books by Carlos Castaneda (The Teachings of Don Juan) about his experiences in shamanism with his master, don Juan, a Yaqui shaman. I still can feel the “wind talking” without experiencing the psychedelics that Carlos described, a teaching spirit in peyote plants. Initially, his books were considered to be real but later they were dismissed as fictional. Never mind, Carlos took me on a “trip” and as I was studying Geology, rocks were “talking” to me. BTW, George Lucas said that the characters of Yoda and Luke Skywalker were based in part on Don Juan and Castaneda books.
I didn't know that about Yoda and Skywalker!
And Barry when the rocks start talking, all is well in the world. It is probably those who cannot hear non-human speech who will struggle the hardest in life.
And rocks don’t lie, especially now in Israel.
No. Those stones in Israel can tell quite a few stories. I look forward to the day when I can visit and listen to them. I am about to start reading the Old Testament all the way through and am incredibly stoked.
I was thinking "Brave New World" before I got to that point in your essay.
It is appalling, the degree to which people presume that the state is there to see to all their needs and make them comfortable.
Just a few weeks ago I did this piece, reimagining the classic poem Invictus into something more suitable for the modern age. I call it "Invidious."
https://individualistsunite.substack.com/p/the-captain-of-my-soul?r=z324w
It is stunning. And history merely repeats itself when it comes to blind obedience to the State to such a degree it is actually boring.
I'll check out your piece!
We no longer go to school to expand our minds, we got to school to learn to conform.
I've been thinking about this a lot the more I write. As I dig deeper into ideas, I realize how much my thinking was shaped by my schooling as a kid. My mind tries to think along that reestablished groove and it takes considerable effort to think on my own terms, more deeply, without the structure given to me. A conformity as you pointed out. The fight alone is worth it.
I think our backgrounds are similar but quite different.
We are similar in that our professions did not allow ideology to interfere with accurate assessment of reality. What's different is that for you it could mean life or death. My situation was not that intense, but I still had to make sure that I misinterpreted nothing.
In school, 95% is an A. In our reality, 95% is failure.
That last line is perfectly phrased. Perception has much to do with it. Even those who will not be killed if their performance is not up to par can take it deadly serious. They are often the most interesting and fascinating people I have ever met. It sounds like you have placed yourself in this voluntarily serious category. Serious not in the stone cold sense, but vibrantly alive sense.
Great stuff, Sam. Have you picked up a copy of “Against the Machine” yet?
Thanks Lou. I have not. Do you recommend taking the time to read it?
I’m about 2/3 done. I think it resonates with a lot of what you’re writing from a slightly different angle. Must read? Probably not. If I finish before the copies of my book come in, I’ll throw mine into the box for you!
Rock on thank you!
Great piece, Sam, as ever. The US's toxic 'love affair' with pharma has been, at least in part, driven by pharma/healthcare's immense ad spend - especially on mainstream TV channels. As a Brit, every time I'm over there I am baffled by the amount of those ads depicting a hazy, idealised portrayal of wellness and the inevitable legal disclaimer 'May cause hives, welts, your eyeballs to catch fire' etc. We obvs have a different system and approach to state health here - the NHS - so it faces different problems not being funded by big pharma/personal health plans and in truth alas, only holding itself together with gaffer tape and good intentions. But, I digress! There is indeed always a call to explore the non-linear world for some sort of inner enlightenment, and if it takes a brief whiff of psychedelics or casting oneself adrift within the folds of a sun-faded book, 'fail we may, sail we must' to steal a fisherman's phrase.
Very well said. I'm not familiar enough with other countries policies to comment, but the level of corruption, both intentional and unintentional here, is beyond measure. Still, that is no reason not to do it anyway on our own terms.
I hear you Sam. There is always a mystery surrounding the players who clearly bleed NHS resources dry, from selling them obsolete technology to the type of medicine, or external companies chosen to run services. The Covid-time backhanders were phenomenally prevalent too.
100%. The grift during the last 5 years was unprecedented. Once the government had a reason (Covid-19) it took full advantage.
Will: We Americans have gotten this so wrong. We can blame the cartels all we want, but the problem is Big Pharma, the US governments, and our therapeutic society’s fault. I debated one of your countrymen in London on this subject. We did not see eye to eye!
https://petermaguire.substack.com/p/a-modest-proposal-for-an-augustinian
I'll dig into your piece, Peter. The fault lies across the cartels, the government, and ultimately the user. How to un-screw a threefold problem is beyond me. But I do believe genuine creativity can be a path.
Ha! I cannot believe that Christopher Hitchens would have been anything less than compliant and willing to concede on a given topic :) Would have loved to have seen that one crackle and a very incisive article to boot.
This is brilliant, man, perhaps the most resonant of your pieces for me to date, which is saying something. The dissociative effects of many state drugs seem to be a knife in the heart of our empathic birthright. The loss of empathy leads to the loss of an interest in The Story, in the Why of it all and in humanity in general.
You’ve read some of my experiences- the 18 year-old who’s “already dead”, the forced-sober prisoner who’s state-drugged existence has numbed his father to his plea for human emotion, the lives lost and their effect on loved ones- all examples of the need to dig into the why behind the acceptance of and desire for these lidocaines.
Thank you for yet another monster