An Open Letter to the
Drug Enforcement Administration
To Whom It May Concern:
For
years, I believed in the DEA. I believed that drugs were evil. I believed that
the war on drugs was necessary. I believed that the DEA was honest, that they
protected Americans from evil cartels and drugged-out psychopaths and boogiemen
everywhere. But now I wonder.
Before I go any further, let me clarify that I am not a drug addict. I don’t even support the use of most drugs. But
in college I began using marijuana, and I soon discovered that nearly everything
that the DEA, anti-drug programs and my parents told me about it were lies. In
fact, the DEA’s unwavering hatred of the drug is what made me want to try other
drugs, so I did. And I have discovered that marijuana isn’t the only drug I’ve
been lied to about.
But
herein lies the problem created in our society. I am a well educated pro-drug
advocate, but if I were to sign my name to this letter, my life could be
destroyed in an instant. Even if I didn’t use drugs, speaking up in favor of
drugs would ruin my reputation and probably my life. The reason why you at the
DEA can continue to twist facts and influence the American public, as well as Congress,
is because you have made it all but criminal to support drug use. The people
who use drugs are automatically ignored because they are assumed to be drug
addicts, un-educated, scum of the earth and bad for society. But this is just
another stereotype perpetuated by you. In
reality, drug users can be geniuses. Steve Jobs, for one. Or they might not be scientists or doctors,
but people like George Carlin and Louis C.K. used drugs and did not become useless,
homeless idiots. Unfortunately stand-up comedy is one of few fields that allow
a person to be honest in their opinions and still keep their job. However, most of
what these people say is discredited to being “just a joke” when in reality
they are telling the truth. Many stand-ups could have easily been great
politicians, they just chose to be honest with their words rather than spew to
Americans what their political party tells them to say. But I digress.
My
biggest problem with your policy on drugs is that you deny people the ability
to experience life. I’ve come to realize that when we’re young, our minds are
open to learn anything. We know nothing and as such we let our teachers and parents
and TV and movies and music and politics fill our minds. But at some time as we
mature we stop learning and begin to try teaching ourselves. We become so
ingrained in our own ways that we completely shut out everything that we have
been taught as “wrong.” We immediately discredit any opposing views and deny
anything that we don’t want to believe. We will deny science, statistics,
logic, reason, truth, anything that makes us feel like what we know is
wrong. This is a problem that
affects more than just the drug culture though, just look at the fighting in
the Middle East. What I’ve learned from my small experience with drugs is that they
allow you to open your mind. That phrase scares a lot of people. They think that means you'll go crazy. What it really means is that drugs give you the ability to see with open eyes again, to be
able to distinguish the truth from the lies and actually learn what is right, to be
able to change your mind about things that used to be fundamental to you,
because you finally accept the truth. And the best part about it is that you
never feel like an idiot for being wrong before because you’re glad to finally know the
truth.
But
the DEA isn’t against experiencing life, I’m sure. You just care because “drugs
are dangerous.” And they sometimes are. So are high-fructose corn syrup sodas,
cigarettes, alcohol, cars, cell phones and sex. But there’s a big difference
between drugs and soda in the minds of the DEA: Drugs are illegal and must be
proven helpful whereas everything else in the world is legal and must be proven
harmful. I understand that these drugs have been illegal for a long time now,
and at some point they were legal and it was decided they were harmful. But
remember when that was? It was a time in America completely different from now. Most drugs were made illegal during the Cold War, right after a Communist
witch-hunt perpetuated by politicians and government officials, when fear was what
drove America to power. A period when government studies of drugs should’ve been
laughed at for their bias and poor information. The DEA made drugs illegal
because they wanted them illegal, but that was 40 years ago. Now we are better
educated, we have real evidence that marijuana can be helpful to people, and
you refuse to listen at all. You won't even take it down even just to schedule II.
I’d like you to think about how you
got to where you are in life right now. Were you the hardest worker at the DEA?
The best at your job? Are you the smartest person in the room at meetings? Or
did you just kiss ass and play the politics game all the way up? How can you
ever expect to grow as a person if you just sit still and do what you’re told?
Even if you do support drugs, or even just think that marijuana’s not as bad as
it’s made out to be, you can’t voice your opinion on it. You can’t be against
the hive mind; any sign of weakness from the DEA just fuels the hippies,
doesn’t it? No. In reality, the only things that fuel hippies are munchies.
But what about the children? Well
here’s where I think the solution to the drug problem lies. Everyone is afraid
that if the nation’s youth get their hands on drugs they will harm themselves.
And I agree whole-heartedly. Children should not use drugs. I was already 18
when I first tried marijuana, and I believe I am better off for it. I do not
believe that people under 18 should use drugs. So instead of making drugs
illegal for everyone, including adults, to keep it out of the hands of kids,
enforce an age restriction. But I mean really enforce it. We already have them
for tobacco and alcohol, but the police clearly turn a blind eye to a lot of
that. Instead of cracking down on the 60 year old veteran who wants marijuana
because he’s got terminal cancer, crack down on people who make fake IDs and liquor stores that sell to minors. Parents need to stop ignoring their kids and
letting them drink or use drugs.
We need drug education to actually educate the kids, not scare them. The
market for drugs would be huge and could be easily regulated and taxed, all
while keeping it out of kids’ hands.
I am an adult. I will die someday
whether or not I use drugs, whether or not I smoke cigarettes, whether or not I
go skydiving. So why not just let me use drugs? Make it a rule that I have to
be in a secure room, watched by people with guns to make sure I don’t harm
anybody if you have to. Fine. But why shouldn’t I be allowed to use them? I
drink soda that’s horrible for me, I drink alcohol which is worse for you and
more addictive than many drugs, I smoke cigars and I believe in the principle
that there is no reward without risk. So lets minimize the risks of drugs by
regulating them. No more drugs cut with poison, no more messing around with drug
dealers and cartels, no more jail time for carrying a small amount of
marijuana. These are the real risks taken by those who use drugs.
Sorry if I’ve wasted your time, as
I realize most DEA agents and administrators will be completely unmoved by this
letter. Honestly I’d be shocked if anyone in the Administration were to even
read the whole letter. But I thought I’d share my opinion anyways. Thanks for
your time.
Sincerely,
An Anonymous Taxpayer
