How Anarchism Would Influence Rates of Drug Addiction

[Jawn Disease]

How Anarchism Would Affect Rates of Drug Addiction

Drug addiction can be explained using various models and theories. These include the disease model, the genetic model and the cultural model. Other models exist such as the moral model and the pleasure model, both of which hold zero tolerance for the use of illicit drugs. Since anarchists reject the prohibition of any substances, these models must be disregarded in this discussion. The first three models should be combined to form a synthesis, because it is clear to any rational observer that each individual case has different reasons for developing. Addiction can be regarded as a disease with genetic and cultural causes that may or may not overlap depending on the case.

Traditionally anarchists have expressed a strong preference for a preventative medical model. With regard to genetic factors influencing drug addiction, this preventative strategy would be limited to education of the public regarding this problem, combined with rehabilitative therapy rather than criminalization for individuals who unfortunately develop a drug addiction with strong a genetic basis.

However with regard to the cultural causes of addiction anarchism provides an environment much more conducive to the responsible use of drugs and alcohol. Anarchism entails a social revolution where criminalization is abolished and the product of the collective labour of the workers is spread evenly and rationally. Contemporary cultural factors influencing rates of drug addiction include poverty, racism, a low level of education, and depression. Other less noticeable cultural factors for drug addiction in my opinion include a system of values based on cowardice, materialism, dependance and self-censorship; a hypocritical political culture that stigmatizes and criminalizes some drug use and condones other drug use; and a lack of meaning in the lives of the majority of the population, who receive no gratification from their labour or leisure.

Anarchism proposes to abolish poverty, prejudice, the monopolization of information, and the misery generated by the capitalist system. More importantly, as part of the social revolution a system of values based on courage, strength, honesty, independence, discipline and co-operation will replace the cowardly materialistic denial of the contemporary global capitalist meta-culture.

We hold that these capitalist values are not innate in humans but are simply a product of the massive propaganda machine manufacturing consent and indifference for the State and its corporate handlers, known as the media and advertising industry. This propaganda machine shapes the culture and reinforces capitalist and State control, while maintaining a hierarchical mass ideology damaging to the psyche of those caught up in it. Abolishing this undemocratic media and replacing it with a democratic media sensitive to the interests of the general population (the workers), will end this reinforcement of damaging ideology and enable our societies to adopt a revolutionary class consciousness stressing the aforementioned anarchist values. Just as people who love their country very much are more likely to fight invaders to the death, people who love their lives and enjoy satisfying work and leisure as well as a high degree of material ‘wealth’ and social freedom are much more likely to take steps to protect themselves from losing their independence to drug addiction. As it is, the epidemic of depression, suicide and mental illness in the developed countries can be directly attributed to the massive failings of modern society, and is in many ways both the cause and effect of the simultaneous epidemic of drug and alcohol addiction.

By rejecting attempts by the State to control what substances individuals chose to use, we affirm the responsibility of the individual to conduct him or herself rationally and peacefully. By offering everyone the opportunity to obtain real gratification from their work and leisure we hope to reduce the number of triggers which lead to damaging relationships with drugs. By removing the contradictory criminalization/glorification complex surrounding drug use, we will reduce the number of individuals who reach the stage of drug addiction and the number of individuals who feel alienated by the general population and seek peers entirely on the basis of their common drug addictions. By treating drug use as legitimate (”allowed”), and addiction as a treatable and preventable disease, we will allow the anarchist preventative model of medicine to operate, lowering the chances of use becoming abuse, and the therapeutic alternative to the currently enforced criminalization/incarceration policy will rehabilitate addicts with the crucial understanding that what they did was not ‘criminal’ and they should not be punished for their mistakes but treated for a preventable disease.

[Jawn Disease]

I told my girlfriend I thought anarchy would be instrumental in abolishing most drug addiction. She said I didn't know anything about addiction and that would never happen. I wrote this to sort of get my thoughts out in a clear way. What do you think?

[rebelmouse]

I am against tutor way of thinking, only people who ask for help should be rehabilitated. no therapy should be realized against someone's will.
my standpoint is that drug addiction is clear culture problem.
1)people are not born with idea to use drugs, they get such idea when they meet themselves with drugs during their life in present society
2)chemical drugs are created by people and some other drugs people find alone in order to get some level of enjoying in their head, only preventive education can stop individuals to use any drug
3)I visit several years places for drug addicts, my conclusion is that most of them have "adapted character", it means they started to use drugs because they adapted themselves between friends who used drugs.
many present societies are hegemonic, people "must" be adapted, when they have friends who are junkies, they will adapt themselves between junkies. so parents/teachers should learn children to use their brain instead to learn them to be "united or adapted" in society. unadapted person will not use drugs even if he/she is everyday with people who use drugs (I am such example). but adapted persons always make pressure on unadapted, to be the same as the rest of the group, so many times unadapted person must show strong will in refusing of drugs, it means in refusing to be the same as friends.

I don't connect drugs with medias or who knows what, but music culture is connected with drugs and young people are connected with music very much.
I think with abolishing of capitalism would be abolished profit from drugs and production would be reduced very much, maybe even it would become individual/group level of producing, some people like to use it, you can't stop them and they will produce for themselves.

so, in the case of revolution, of course, many junkies would be transfered automatically in new society, and they would get drugs under control of doctors for it (such thing exist already today), and new generations in anarchist society would be learned everything about drugs so young people must decide alone for themselves is it good or not to use any kind of easy/hard drugs. I think we would need several generations to make less per cent of junkies in society (present junkies plus new ones = several generations to reach less per cent of junkies).

[Zazaban]

I personally see only 'the big four' of drugs to be inherently nasty. Those are Heroin, Cocaine, Morphine and Meth (the last one I do not ever like to call a drug, it's basically just random crap.) Most other drugs I've heard positives about, but these four just seem to suck. I feel that some drugs can actually end up benefiting society in some ways.

Addiction is crap though.

[Jawn Disease]

I personally see only 'the big four' of drugs to be inherently nasty. Those are Heroin, Cocaine, Morphine and Meth (the last one I do not ever like to call a drug, it's basically just random crap.) Most other drugs I've heard positives about, but these four just seem to suck. I feel that some drugs can actually end up benefiting society in some ways.

Addiction is crap though.

i went through a stage where I was cracking open beers in the fucking shower and drinking for the rest of the day until I passed out.

Alcohol addiction is a murderous disease

Additionally I'm very close to someone who had an addiction to both PCP and ketamine -- what's called a multiple abuser. Look even smoking pot can be intensely damaging to your emotional and psychic state, if you smoke as much as some friends of mine

[Lucas]

I personally see only 'the big four' of drugs to be inherently nasty. Those are Heroin, Cocaine, Morphine and Meth (the last one I do not ever like to call a drug, it's basically just random crap.) Most other drugs I've heard positives about, but these four just seem to suck. I feel that some drugs can actually end up benefiting society in some ways.

Addiction is crap though.

Yes, exactly, Ayahausca (DMT drink) and psilocybin mushrooms were used by pre-Incan and Incan cultures so that they could perform brain surgery on a specific individual. DMT is not like any other psychadelic (its one of the main proponents in dreaming), it's like you're sober, but in another dimension entirely, so it's pretty effective for complex operations that would induce unbearable amounts of pain - or kill you.
Not to say that we should all start doing that, but that, with a little innovation, some things can be highly beneficial.

Addiction itself is interesting though, and I think it's mostly mental; from my expirience it is. I've said this a couple times in past threads, but certain people can resist becoming addicted to even the 'big four' that Zazaban described. Most people do become addicted, but then again, the general population are highly influenced by drug-use being glorified.

[Jawn Disease]

I've had a lot of experience with addiction, in friends, family and also in myself. Personally I have a depressive streak that runs in my father's family and a genetic predisposition to alcoholism from my mother's side. Now, that doesn't mean I was destined to become an alcoholic -- but as it happened, I did. It can be genetic, it can be cultural, it can be mental... or it can be chosen, as suicide

[Zazaban]

Addiction itself is interesting though, and I think it's mostly mental; from my expirience it is. I've said this a couple times in past threads, but certain people can resist becoming addicted to even the 'big four' that Zazaban described. Most people do become addicted, but then again, the general population are highly influenced by drug-use being glorified.

I only picked those became they seem pretty nasty and harder to control than others. But they can be, William S. Burroughs and to a lesser extent Aliester Crowley are a testament to that.

[Stealth]

I heard something from some right-libertarian source in Canada, which probably has some credibility to it, stating that when heroin was legal and used as a cough suppressant and when amphetamines could be purchased from the local drug store, the rates of addiction were almost identical to what they are at now.

[Insecuritykiller]

Anyone who gets addicted to drugs isn't an anarchist. They are a pussy statist.

Take lots of drugs! They are good for you! i'm serious.

[smith23451]

People are well addicted towards drugs and are facing trouble to get rid of them. As this is not a possible thing to do. For those drug rehab centers were established and these give treatments top the people who are well addicted towards drugs. As we can provide we those various drug rehab centers. So If U had any problem You can visit Us so that U can be provided with information You are looking for.....
_______________________________
Smith
Drug Treatment Centers

[Stealth]

I absolutely oppose forced drug rehabilitation. Freedom sometimes means letting people make poor decisions. It is my opinion that state intervention has failed to stop the drug problem and only makes it worse. Abolishing the state will probably not reduce drug addiction, but it probably wont result in an increase in drug addiction either. There were not any fewer alcoholics during prohibition than there were after it was legalized. The same will likely prove true for other drugs.

I do not believe that Anarchists have to be straight edge. People who impose their straight edge values on others are authoritarians. You have to accept it when people make bad decisions.

I tend to think that natural psychedelics tend to be a lot less harmful and addictive compared to synthetic street drugs or alcohol and tobacco. I believe that smoking marijuana is a healthier lifestyle choice than drinking all the time, though neither one should be taken to excess. I think that occasional recreational use of some types of drugs, including alcohol, is perfectly acceptable. Letting addiction get the better of you is not empowering though, it makes you a slave.


Opium and its derivatives have medical value for pain. Coca tea is probably not really a big deal for recreational use as its barely stronger than coffee. Its the chemically processed forms that become highly addictive.

[Noleaders]

I agree with stealth, if someones addicted its their mistake and the opportunity for help should be there but it should remain an opportunity.

People often forget that the reason drugs are so nasty today is they can only be bought on the black market. In a free society there would be plenty of cleaner ones and available from nice people.

[DjCircitbeat]

Once you are addicted to something no one can get you to quit, This has been proven over and over again when you are forced to quit you will go back to it and most likely even deeper. Normally you have to have a bolder fall on your head to wake you up and realize there's a problem. At this point there should be options for you to get help, most of all very wide open options of help, a free base organization that gives the delicate care that is needed in recovery. I also believe this can work in our society we have now. But most likely be best under an anarchist society though.Key would be having the people helping you having the same experience. These individauls would be more knowable of how to handle every step of recovery. Someone that has never dealt with addiction personally could not help as much as someone that knows exactly every feeling, emotion, and thoughts that go along with recovery. And this person helping someone with addiction should have unlimited access to any resource needed to have a successfully recovery.

[Montanarchist]

I like the way this discussion has gone. I think that if an anarchistic society were in place, drug addiction would be dramatically reduced because of the community support in the area of the potential addict. With more avenues for mental (and dare I say moral?) support, the very idea of using a very addictive substance would be less tempting if one didn't have a need to escape or to excite their situation in life.