Caffeine. The gateway drug. —Eddie Vedder
We’ve known for some time that our nation’s drug policy is out of whack, but now we see other negative aspects affecting a broader range
I should probably clarify, since this article is likely to catch the attention of someone somewhere in the bowels of law enforcement: Neither of the pictures shown here depicts a person smoking any illegal substance. I do not have such a photograph anywhere in my catalog. While I’ve known, and continue to be closely acquainted with, a large number of people who do engage in the use of inappropriately controlled substances, I am too keenly aware of colleagues who have photographed such only to have members of law enforcement come along and confiscate all their equipment and computers as “evidence.” While such contrived bullying is remedied in court, I can do without the disruption.
That being said, imagine a world where no creative person ever consumed any form of drug. Music from the 50s onward would be dreadful. Art from at least the 18th century forward would be flat and meaningless. Literature is a little more difficult to track, but certainly from the 1930s and beyond drugs participated heavily in the creative process. Drug use among creatives spans centuries, not decades, and one can make a reasonably accurate argument that much of what we know as fine arts would either not have existed at all or, at the very least, would not have been of equal quality were it not for the influence of various substances along the way.
One might think that our nation’s brief period of alcohol prohibition, from 1920-1933, would have taught us that outlawing popular mood and personality altering substances doesn’t work. Everyone gave it a valiant try, but it failed. The difference between then and now is that, upon recognizing the failure, the law was not merely changed, but the entire Constitution re-amended. For some reason, however, our current crop of politicians have yet to learn that lesson, even though reversing the failed drug policies of today would be much more simple.
As a result, the New York Times reports this morning that mandatory drug-testing is making it difficult to find employees. One employer recounted an instance where hundreds of people were attending a job fair the company was holding. When the company announced that all new hires would have to pass a drug screen, over half left. Mind you, that doesn’t mean they couldn’t have passed the piss test. Of the 9.1 million employment mandated drug tests administered in 2014, only 0.38 percent came back positive, the greater majority of those being for casual marijuana use. Drug testing does not increase productivity or make people more creative. If anything, workplace drug tests are a complete waste of both time and money.
What is mystifying is that while none of this is new information, we still have not done anything on a federal level to solve the problem.
Okay, I’ll admit, the past 12 years the U.S. Congress has failed to solve any problems, so we already know where a great deal of the bottleneck is.
Still, given the travesty of marijuana-based mass incarceration, and the numerous studies showing that marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol, one would think that we would have more than two states who have completely legalized the drug, and more that would have adopted a more sensible approach to other drug use. Can someone explain to me why we’re still putting up with this bullshit?
I could post pages upon pages of facts and figures regarding the failure of our current drug policy, but what has to happen is for people to get behind a sensible replacement; something that would address legitimate problems without making criminals of a third of the population (higher if you’re black or Hispanic). Here’s what a reasonable drug policy needs:
- Complete declassification of marijuana as an illicit drug and reclassification as a medicinal herb.
- Elimination of all workplace drug testing with the exception of those involved in public transportation and the use of heavy machinery. Even there, disqualification for marijuana use should not be immediate but subject to treatment and review.
- Personal use of cocaine and opioids would not be a criminal offense but would require mandatory treatment with regular follow-up.
- Misuse of prescription medicines, including over-prescribing and misprescribing on the part of medical professionals would receive greater penalties. Pharmacists would have the ability to halt and/or question new prescriptions known to conflict with existing medications or where prescribed dosage is deemed unsafe, without any repercussion.
- Psychiatric and addiction treatment for drug, tobacco, and alcohol use would be covered under all major medical health insurance policies.
There is no excuse for us continuing to support such an obviously failed prohibition policy. Change only happens if we make it happen. Tell your legislator now. We need a better drug policy.
Just How Liberal Can I Be?
For years, I have insisted that I am a couple of steps to the left of liberal. Yesterday, I discovered that can be quantified and yes, I’m about as far to the left as the measurement goes. I’m out there. Am I dangerous? I don’t think so, but then, I’ve yet to be pushed to the point that I would need to be. I am loud and obnoxious at times, I think most people who know me will agree with that, but I’m not yet at the point of being ready to lynch everyone connected in any way with Project 2025. I can see myself getting there, but let’s put a hold on that for now.
What is a liberal? Well, technically, it’s this:
If that is the definition of liberal (and it is), then why the fuck isn’t everyone trying to be liberal? What is there within that definition that holds any level of negativity? Why is that not something that every human on the planet should long to achieve? Conservatives keep trying to paint being liberal as something to avoid, but how the fuck can you even come close to being a decent person and not be liberal? I don’t understand. I never have understood. I think Conservatives are just jealous because their brains aren’t working.
Yesterday, this thing popped up in my Facebook newsfeed from the Pew Research Center offering to let me see where I fall on the ideological spectrum. How could I possibly resist an offer to confirm what I’ve known to be true for years? Of course, I took the test! And what was the result?
Your best fit is…
Progressive Left
… along with 6% of the public
See that spot there, alllllllllllll the way to the left? Yeah, that’s me. Only six percent of the population are anything like me. I’m not surprised, though, are you? I’ve always known that I’m a rare bird. And I’m not one who’s prone to half-ass things. If I’m going to be liberal, then I might as well over-stuff myself on liberality. I don’t see any reason to be any other way.
What does all this mean? We need something here that goes beyond the label, don’t we? Why, thank you for asking! Yes, we do, and I happen to have that data right here, ready for your perusal. First, let’s consider how Progressive Left is defined:
Progressive Left, the only majority White, non-Hispanic Democratic-oriented political typology group, have very liberal views on virtually every issue and support far-reaching changes to address racial injustice and expand the social safety net. They are among the smallest typology groups, but also one of the most politically engaged. They feel less warmly toward the Democratic Party than Establishment Liberals or Democratic Mainstays, but those who voted in the 2020 general election were nearly unanimous in their support for Joe Biden. They are the only group in which a majority say they like political leaders who identify as democratic socialists.
As for how I actually stand on the issues:
The results shown below are based on a survey of 10,221 adults conducted July 8-18, 2021.
Share of Progressive Left saying the same as you
Share of the general population saying the same as you
GOVERNMENT
You answered: Religion should be kept separate from government policies
94%
72%
RACE AND IMMIGRATION
You answered: America’s openness to people from all over the world is essential to who we are as a nation
97%
66%
You answered: A lot more needs to be done to ensure equal rights for all Americans and most U.S. laws and major institutions need to be completely rebuilt because they are fundamentally biased against some racial and ethnic groups
71%
25%
You answered: It would not bother you at all to regularly hear people speak a language other than English in public places in your community
78%
38%
You answered: White people benefit at least a fair amount from advantages in society that Black people do not have
96%
57%
FOREIGN POLICY
You answered: The U.S. has gained more than it has lost from increased trade
20%
41%
You answered: There are other countries that are better than the U.S.
75%
23%
You answered: In the future, it would be acceptable if another country became as militarily powerful as the U.S.
83%
36%
PARTIES AND CANDIDATES
Thermometer ratings:
You rated Democrats 90.
Progressive Left, on average, rated Democrats 69. The general public, on average, rated Democrats46.
You rated Republicans 0.
Progressive Left, on average, rated Republicans 10. The general public, on average, rated Republicans 42.
You answered: I usually feel like there is at least one candidate who shares most of my views
83%
60%
OTHER ISSUES
You answered: Experts are usually better at making good policy decisions than other people
85%
61%
You answered: Business corporations make too much profit
93%
64%
You answered: People being too easily offended by things others say is a minor problem in the country today
57%
28%
You answered: People saying things that are very offensive to others is a major problem in the country today
63%
53%
You answered: Greater social acceptance of people who are transgender is good for society
88%
38%
You answered: Overall, people who are convicted of crimes in this country serve too much time in prison
81%
28%
You’ll undoubtedly notice that there are a few places where my opinion and those of the general population are way off balance. Let’s take a look at those.
Only 25% of people said that A lot more needs to be done to ensure equal rights for all Americans and most U.S. laws and major institutions need to be completely rebuilt because they are fundamentally biased against some racial and ethnic groups. What is in that statement that you do NOT agree with? Are you really satisfied with what’s being done to make sure everyone has the same rights, regardless of race, creed, religion, national origin, or sexual identification? REALLY? Because I’m not and a lot of the reason I’m not has to do with the inherent bias of most US laws and major institutions. Laws written by white men, for white men, and with complete disregard and disdain for anyone who is not a cis white male absolutely overwhelm this country and the society that we’ve created. I’ve said it before and I’ll take this opportunity to say it again: We need a new Constitution, one created by intelligent people who have an eye on the future and can see how our biases and phobias result in negative outcomes for marginalized people. If we do not have Liberty for each and every last person, we don’t have any Liberty at all!
Only 23% of people said that There are other countries that are better than the U.S. Wow, you’re letting your patriotism blind you. If you genuinely love this country, these United States, then you have to look honestly at the places where we’ve declined over the years and realize that there are a lot of countries that are doing things better than we are. Consider that we’re not in the top 10 in any of the following categories:
Would it help you to see this dismal picture as a graph? Fast Company happens to have put a couple together just for you. The first, for general comparison, is how the world as a whole is doing.
Now, look where the US ranks in addressing these issues:
Granted, 2016 is a little old on the data front, but the US has not improved at all! In fact, on factors such as how satisfied people are with their way of life, the US ranks down in the 30s, below Greece and Poland. So don’t go telling me that we’re the best country in the world. We’re not even close! We have tremendous room for improvement and plans such as Project 2025 would take us in the WRONG direction!
And then, only 28% of Americans think that overall, people who are convicted of crimes in this country serve too much time in prison. I’m just going to go ahead and assume that the 28% are people of color. I don’t see any way that anyone but white people, and I mean those of ya’ll who are so Caucasian that the sun reflects off you like a mirror, could ever be okay with the amount of time people spend in prison in this country.
The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any independent democracy in the world, and the highest rate of incarceration per capita and in absolute numbers of any country. As of the end of 2023, the U.S. had around 1.8 million people incarcerated, which is nearly 16% of the world’s total prison population, even though the U.S. only has 4% of the world’s population. The U.S. also has a higher percentage of incarcerated women than any other country, accounting for almost 30% of the world’s incarcerated women.
By comparison, China, where one can be jailed simply for thinking the wrong thing, only had 1.6 million people incarcerated.
But the question was specifically about how long a person is in jail. How do we rank there? According to Pew Charitable Trusts, the average amount of time that people spend in jail has been steadily increasing over the past decade. Just-released national data for 2020 shows a 6% jump in average length of stay over the previous year. The longer stays were primarily driven by people whose bail had been set at more than $5,000.
According to the Council on Criminal Justice, Comparisons of average sentence length for homicide shows that the U.S. has the longest sentences among nations at 40.6 years, compared to 34.2 years for Mexico (ranked second) and 6.1 for France. The higher average sentence length in the U.S. may partly reflect the fact that American policies allow for sentences exceeding 100 years. The U.S. holds a substantial portion (40%) of the world’s population of people serving life sentences, as well as the vast majority (83%) of those sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. While most jurisdictions with life sentencing laws have a provision for release, the amount of time people must serve before becoming eligible varies widely. In Belgium, Denmark, and Finland, it’s 12 years or less. In Georgia, it’s 30 years, and in Texas, it’s 40 years.
Do you think maybe we’re looking at this in the wrong way? JUST MAYBE?! How can we even begin to call this Just? We incarcerate so many people for so many years that jailing has become a big business! In what universe can anyone see that as Just? So yeah, I have a problem with how long people are in jail and I think that you should be as well!
Oh, and let’s not forget these gems:
And that list goes on and on and on. How are we not ashamed of ourselves? How are we not knocking down the doors of our state and federal legislators to fix this problem? How do we fucking sleep at night knowing that we are responsible for some of the worst injustices in the world?
If we go by the line chart I posted at the beginning, roughly 45% of Americans are left of center. I don’t understand how that can be possible in one of the most highly educated populations in the world. Are we not paying attention or do we just not fucking care? I have to question why it is that so many people are either content with exactly the way things are or are willing to make matters significantly worse through the implementation of the horrible and wildly egregious ideas coming from disasters such as Project 2025.
In my mind, that only 6% of people in the US agree with me is mind-boggling. I don’t think that any of my positions are unsupported by fact. In fact, I know I could justify every last one of my answers on the survey. If the information is there, and if that information is readily available to everyone in the US, why are there so many people to the right of me?
I’m going to need all of you to do better. If you’re not sure where you are on the spectrum, take the test for yourself. Go ahead, I dare you. Then, see if you can factually justify your position. Let’s have this conversation and see where we end up.
I can’t be the only person who is this liberal. Where’s the rest of the six percent?
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