Amphetamines are popular socially accepted drugs that are easily found in all parts of society. I might say that can’t be true, think how terrible meth is, how many lives it has ruined and think of all the state sponsored meth projects. It is a very close relative of the terrible drug that plagues our nation, amphetamine/speed, it is with us, it is encouraged, the government wants it to be enforced, and doctors prescribe it frequently (around 30,000 .000 times last year, accurate statistics seem to be hard to come by). Speed is prescribed for all ages, people of all social strata and economic capabilities. Medically prescribed speed accounts for about 50% of the speed used in the US, so the total number of illegal and legal speed drug users in the US is very large (just twice the 30 million). Amphetamine-type drug use/abuse is not unique to the US, it is a global problem, even though the US produces and consumes more than 80% of all speed in the world.
Why are drugs so popular? We don’t have a war on drugs and what if we just say “no” to drugs? In the early 1980s, “just say no to drugs” was an anti-drug slogan promoted by the popular president, and at the same time, that administration was importing tons of illegal drugs into the US, with no thought of future consequences negative social. was Iran Contra). In the early 1980s, that popular president was the biggest drug trafficker in the world and that is the most direct possible government promotion of drugs. He put cheap drugs on the streets and also started “The War on Drugs” (I guess he didn’t want competition).
The pharmaceutical branch of the medical industry makes huge amounts of trucking money with the manufacture and sale/sale of drugs to the US, the world. Profits from the sale of medications to treat ADD/ADHD symptoms and symptoms experienced by people who have difficulty living in our fast-paced, complex and fragmented society make up a significant portion of these truckloads of money. In one of my old articles by the same title, I talk about a GW Bush-backed initiative that would require psychological testing for “all” school-age children and if the child/student fails the test, they will be prescribed medication to treat the symptoms of ADD/ADHD that the test was designed to detect. That initiative did not go away and is still floating in the sea of political money that supports Washington, DC.
The ramifications of this initiative surfaced unsuccessfully in some states, and California recently successfully enacted a law that could mandate students to take drugs without parental permission. I’m sure ADD/ADHD was top of mind for the good politicians who pushed and pushed for the bill, along with the Flu Shot of course. The doctor will have to order a few more trucks to handle the increased profits made from this future government-mandated drug. ADD/ADHD can be successfully treated with alternative treatment modalities. I and many others have personal experience with that. You need to realize that once trucks are purchased, they need to be filled.
Is there such a thing as a “smart drug”? That may seem like an obvious statement, but many believe that enlightenment, intelligence, superpowers, you name it, can be found in drugs. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) goes to great lengths to prove that intelligence, enlightenment, and superpowers cannot and will not be found in drugs. My experience working with individuals with traumatic brain injuries has shown me that smart drugs simply do not exist. Drugs of the psychotropic (speed) type, if taken for a long period of time, cause a decrease in wide-range IQ tests and a decrease in the efficiency of reaction time (reaction time increases, worsens). View the results of tests conducted by NIDA, regarding the use/abuse of amphetamines.
Nearly 70% of all college students are taking a medication to help them with their college studies (schoolwork) and most of these medications are medically prescribed. Students say that these wonder drugs make them more alert, better able to focus and do more without sleep. These ignorant college students (I was going to say ignorant, but that sounds a bit strong to future government and industry leaders) sound a lot like amphetamine addicts in their descriptions of “smart drugs.” Have you ever heard of “Tweakers”? Amphetamine Tweakers need very little sleep, can demonstrate amazing focus and concentration, can maintain focus and concentration for long periods of time, have high energy, can perform tasks well (at first), feel good about themselves while using their drug (at first), think they are doing well (while under the influence), most have become addicted, and as a result of their drug of choice, most have great difficulty maintaining a functional and productive life. College students believe they have their drug use under control, that the drug is working for them, and that sounds a lot like a Tweaker. Am I going to stop these “smart drugs?” have a point to ponder.
We humans have used many different drugs for many years, for many reasons, and their use, along with the reasons for their use, is increasing dramatically. As mentioned above, college students use drugs regularly, our soldiers are prescribed drugs to better tolerate war conditions (I have some experience with war and would never want to tolerate it), truck drivers are prescribed speed to help keep them on their toes and I know a counselor who is taking drugs to keep from abusing his family. Psychotropic drugs are everywhere and you can’t predict where this will all end up, because this is too new.
The government supports and facilitates increases in drug use and abuse by enacting laws that make getting high easy and profitable. Drugged people are easily controlled, think less clearly and if they become addicted they are easily enslaved. The tonnage of drugs produced and used in the US, as a concept, is as difficult to grasp as the likely terrifying social implications. In this article we have dealt only with the broad class of amphetamine/speed drugs and there are many more. RSBBbrown