“'We are not waging a war on drugs; we are waging a war of defense -- a defense of the basis of humanity, and that is our brain,' said Dr. Bertha Madras, the White House deputy drug czar in charge of reducing demand for drugs.”

Well, I know I’ll sleep better at night knowing Dr. Madras is on the job defending…what was it, again?  The basis of humanity?  Sounds to me as if it’s a big job.

And I’m truly happy Dr. Madras says we’re no longer waging a war on drugs.  That war was truly starting to suck.

But a defensive war for the basis of humanity that is our brain?  Is Dr. Madras’ brain on the defensive?  Perhaps it goes on the defensive when it comes to her explaining or actually succeeding at her job of reducing drug use.  But what her brain actually does remains a mystery.

For one thing, a defensive war is no way to wage a war.  Would General Ulysses S. Grant have fought a defensive war against the Confederacy?  Hell no.  General Grant would have proclaimed, “Get me another bottle of whiskey from the case the President sent me!  I’ll show you a f%#king war!”

A really offensive war against the human brains of drug users is more descriptive of the policies supported by Dr. Madras.  With little or no apparent social conscience applied to the psychological consequences of arrest, incarceration; social, political, legal and professional ostracism, legal fines and costs, and whatever else current legal policies bring to bear in the endless persecution of the drug user, Madras’ favorite brain war machine continues to devour its own children.

Giordano

You know, I think Madras actually believes what she said, to her very core. She has to.

It's a common psychological phenomenon among zealots and fundamentalists of all stripes to wrap their beliefs in an epic context. Just as both Osama Bin Laden and Jerry Falwell see the Iraq War as an epic battle between good and evil that will determine the fate of the universe, so do Drug War zealots see their fight through a holy lens. Indeed, they must see it this way, in order to justify the atrocities carried out every day in the name of "defending the basis of humanity."

Ironically, I actually agree with her. This fight IS about defending the basis of humanity. And the basis of humanity is cognitive liberty. Once we no longer have sovereignty over our bodies and minds, our humanity is ceased -- we become drones.

So bring it on, Bertha. Humanity's worth the fight.

"So no, she's actually not very interested in "defense" against the harms of drugs."

Ahhhhh, but she explicitly stated that THAT was not her goal. She was talking about the "basis of humanity, and that is our brain". Let me translate this modern-day sentence into how it would have sounded in the Middle Ages where such euphemisms were not so prevanlent:

"The basis of humanity" = morality
"Brain" = soul

She is a religious crusader doing her Inquisition thing. If that requires us to fling a gagged and bound witch into a lake to see if she floats or drowns, so be it. The loss of her LIFE is of so much less RELEVANCE than her immortal SOUL.

The piles of crap have shiftet a bit around and some of the stuff has different names. Yet it's the same thing happening all over.

Abolish the ONDCP and we get rid of the Drug Czar and the entire BS associated with this bureaucracy.

sicntired@mac.com,Vancouver,B.C.Canada I lost count of the friends and acquaintances I've lost to drug overdose.It sure did cure them from their drug abuse.Hearing someone say something as evil as this makes me wonder what rock she crawled out from under.