I donât know what to make of this quote from NIDA Director Nora Volkow:
At first glance, it's nice that she at least admits that there's a lot of nonsense being passed around by anti-drug crusaders. It's not exactly news to anyone, but hearing this from Nora Volkow still surprised me. Anything resembling candor coming from a longtime prohibitionist like her is worthy of recognition.
Unfortunately, it's hard to take any of this seriously given Volkow's extensive track record of making crazy exaggerations. After the encounter I had with her, she really shouldn't be lecturing anyone about not crying wolf.
More likely, Volkow simply appreciates that being associated with crazy and excessive propaganda has done immeasurable harm to the credibility of the drug warrior elite and their prohibitionist agenda. If there's one lesson worth taking away from the drug war politics of the Bush era, it's that nobody wants to hear that crap anymore. Distancing herself from the excesses of her fallen peers is a smooth move for Volkow, but it won't work unless she actually stops trying to scare and manipulate everyone about the harms of drugs.
"One of the issues that's happened is that we've sent out all these messages; we've cried wolf too many times," Volkow said. "We don't need to exaggerate; the data speaks for itself. Armed with this knowledge, kids can make decisions." [San Diego Union-Tribune]
At first glance, it's nice that she at least admits that there's a lot of nonsense being passed around by anti-drug crusaders. It's not exactly news to anyone, but hearing this from Nora Volkow still surprised me. Anything resembling candor coming from a longtime prohibitionist like her is worthy of recognition.
Unfortunately, it's hard to take any of this seriously given Volkow's extensive track record of making crazy exaggerations. After the encounter I had with her, she really shouldn't be lecturing anyone about not crying wolf.
More likely, Volkow simply appreciates that being associated with crazy and excessive propaganda has done immeasurable harm to the credibility of the drug warrior elite and their prohibitionist agenda. If there's one lesson worth taking away from the drug war politics of the Bush era, it's that nobody wants to hear that crap anymore. Distancing herself from the excesses of her fallen peers is a smooth move for Volkow, but it won't work unless she actually stops trying to scare and manipulate everyone about the harms of drugs.
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