Posted by name on January 28, 2001, at 14:28:52
At http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010122/msgs/52744.html Dr. Hsuing wrote, "What is it with this thread?"
Discussion of illegal psychoactive substances is inflamed by tension on all sides of the discussion.
Widespread harm to users and their families has resulted not only from the illegal substances but also from alcohol and tobacco, and from efforts to control the substances.
Government efforts to mitigate the harm have generated a body of at times unscientific rhetoric that all too often moralizes rather than informs. Officials often deny harm to users who suffer from efforts to protect the public. They lock them up to keep them from getting trapped by drugs.
Many users live with the constant risk of arrest, and short of that, constant personal stigmatization, or indirect social ridicule to which they are often unable to respond.
Regardless efforts among themselves to share information about best practices, criminalization dampens efforts to effectively educate people who choose to self-administer drugs. Problems are at times a result of inappropriate dosage rather than the mere consumption of the substance. Public policy focuses on abstinence, requiring most pharmaceutical users to respect a licensed administrative authority, and blocking illegal users from social participation (such as through drug testing), rather than providing guidelines for reducing harm.
In the charged rhetorical environment that surrounds illegal drug use, it can only be expected that the topic will cause difficulty for those attempting to administer an asynchronous on-line self-help educational forum. Some administrators of asynchronous on-line learning forums recommend questions that cause cognitive dissonance as a way of breaking through rigid thought patterns. However, navigating dissonance presents administrative difficulties.
IMHO, this is yet another bit of evidence that "one rule" is not sufficient for the task, and that well-constructed guidelines would better help the group in a continued effort to navigate difficult topics.
poster:name
thread:374
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20001124/msgs/374.html