Evening all,
I figured I'd use tonight's post to share a little of my own story and how I came to the inevitable conclusion regarding a lack of god/s and that follows unbiased self reflection and inquiry into reality. I was born in Durban South Africa to a Roman Catholic father and Methodist mother. Neither were particularly religious, though I was baptized Roman Catholic. Parental guidance in terms of religion pretty much stopped there, (for the (ex)Catholics out there, I didn't even have my first holy communion.
Fast forward around nine years to a rather rebellious little shit at age 16. My mom had recently had a stroke and my whole family was learning to adjust ourselves to having to care for her, it was most definitely a difficult time in my life and I grasped for anything that would give meaning to what had happened to my mom and so I researched. Anyone that knows me knows that I have a lot of difficulty with half measures, for me it's all or nothing.
As a result I researched every religion I could think of (other than Christianity funny enough) and found nothing that felt right except LaVeyan Satanism. For those of you who don't know, LaVeyan Satanists do not believe that either Satan or God are actual beings, they see Satan as more of an idea representing pride, carnality and enlightenment, they do however practice magic. For the South Africans among you it will come as no surprise that I kept my newfound "faith" very much to myself.
This stage of my life did not last long, it was at around this time that I first came into contact with marijuana, something that helped me deal with the realities of having to help care for a recently disabled mother. Combined with the fact that none of my spells ever came to fruition, the fact that the use of illicit drugs is forbidden by the Church of Satan made me re-asses my beliefs again and became atheist almost by default.
The next few years were fairly troubling, both for myself as well as my family, I became more and more rebellious, caring less and less for those closest to me. My school work suffered, at one stage I was an A student, though dropped out of high school without finishing. Eventually my parents could no longer deal with me and I was shipped off to a christian rehabilitation center.
I would be lying if I said that Christianity had no part in me managing to grow up enough to realize that being constantly stoned was not a solution to my problems. In my typical fashion, after embracing the idea of Christianity, I threw myself at it with vigor. Once leaving rehab I quickly found a church and became a regular, I attended at least three church related events a week, studied my bible, and genuinely believed every word. I was the kind of annoying christian who would happily debate anyone and everyone who had a different point of view and would dismiss scientific data out of hand if it did not agree with my opinion.
It was around this time that I met my wife (we are separated), and moved to England. My wife and I had a beautiful daughter and life couldn't have been better. It took around four years for the romance to wear off (we had known each other for little over a month before getting married). That last year in England was both the best and worst time of my life, I was a young single man in England and took advantage to my new found freedom. Partly by visiting various clubs (I remember the crowbar, just off Tottenham Court Road fondly) and partly by giving myself the opportunity for honest self reflection and research. It was during that last year in England that I finally got what all the Atheists I had previously debated were trying to tell me.
It broke (and breaks) my heart when I was forced to leave England because I could not renew my VISA, but here I am, back in sunny, (though bloody cold at the moment) South Africa and finding an anger building inside me. Colonialism has a lot to answer for but the Christian faith is certainly one of the worst. It seems almost every day we see stories in the news about con-men *cough*preachers*cough* who are stealing from an already impoverished people. So I decided to see what I could do to help. If I am able to do nothing else, hopefully I will be able to help as many people as possible see reason and logic.
Anyway, that's my story, I hope I haven't bored anyone to death, to lighten the mood I'm posting another Tim Minchin video, this time entitled "The Good Book":
As always, please feel free to comment and follow, also remember to like the facebook page.
Ta,
G
Showing posts with label drugs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drugs. Show all posts
Saturday, 18 June 2016
Friday, 10 June 2016
Eat your drugs, stay in vegetables and don't do school!
Evening all,
So as you may or may not have deduced from the title, today's post is all about drugs, more specifically my opinion in terms of the legalization, legislation and control thereof. It's a difficult subject to be sure, my initial thoughts are that adults have the right to do with their bodies as they please, provided that their actions do not infringe on the rights of others (suicide bombers and rape come to mind). Though as anyone who has had an addict in their lives will attest to, drug addiction is not quite that simple. Addicts have an unfortunate knack of pulling those close to them into their drama, whether it be theft to maintain their addiction or drug dealers showing up uninvited to collect outstanding payments, through to the agony of having to watch a loved one spiral downwards on their road to overdose and death.
In most nations, what most of us consider illegal drugs have traditionally been criminalized, with hefty jail time attached to anyone caught in possession of them, though the worlds opinions have slowly started changing. The Netherlands have had a relatively lax attitude towards drugs since the 1970's, with cannabis being legal in designated areas, magic mushrooms enjoyed the same conditions up until 2008 when they were completely banned due to a sharp increase in accidental deaths related to the drugs hallucinogenic effects. More recently, various American states have legalized cannabis, some strictly for medicinal purposes and others to include recreational use. Uruguay has also recently legalized the recreational use of cannabis, though the law itself has not been implemented due to legal requirements regarding suppliers.
The fact that current worldwide drug policies are at best ineffective and at worst a black-hole that authorities throw money into is well documented, in America in 2009 the feral government spent over $2 billion housing drug related prisoners, with a total bill to fight the war on drugs reaching an astonishing $15.9 billion annually. A massive 46% of Americans today admit to having used illegal drugs, most saying that it is now easier to buy purer, cheaper drugs than it has ever been despite the record amounts being spent to curb them. The war on drugs has failed, and it is without a doubt time for change.
My suggested solution is not by any stretch of the imagination popular, but what you have to remember with the worldwide drug problem is the fact that the problem actually has little to do with the drugs themselves, but rather with the actions that addicts take in order to maintain their habit. Most drug users steal because they have prior convictions for drug possession and are unable to fulfill their potential earning capacity. Ending the prohibition on drugs would not only free up the money that is currently being spent on fighting the war on drugs, but increase revenue as governments are able to tax the drug trade. Conservative estimates say that in the US alone, the federal government could add an additional $80 billion annually to it's coffers over and above the savings it would make.
This additional money could then be pumped into education and healthcare of addicts. This tactic has proven it's effectiveness with tobacco as more and more people come to the conclusion that the negative consequences outweigh the benefits. With not a single cent being spent on prohibiting tobacco, the number of adult smokers in the US has been cut almost in half thanks to campaigns aimed at education.
The additional benefit to legalization, legislation and control of the drug market is quality. The average gram of cocaine or heroin found on the street contains astonishing amounts of other substances that dealers cut the drugs with in order to increase their profits. It is more often than not these other substances that lead to the medical conditions that are so often fatal.
Most of the research I've done for this bit has been from a NPO in America called LEAP, (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition), for more info please feel free to have a look at their website: http://www.leap.cc/
The funny clip of the day comes from Australian comedian Jim Jefferies explaining what a coke wank is (yes, it's exactly what it sounds like)
Per usual, I don't own the content, though the man is funny as all hell, so please feel free to check out his other stuff. I've linked his official page below:
http://www.jimjefferies.com/
As always, thanks for reading, please comment, subscribe and remember to like the facebook page!
https://www.facebook.com/theangryafricanatheist/
Ta,
G
So as you may or may not have deduced from the title, today's post is all about drugs, more specifically my opinion in terms of the legalization, legislation and control thereof. It's a difficult subject to be sure, my initial thoughts are that adults have the right to do with their bodies as they please, provided that their actions do not infringe on the rights of others (suicide bombers and rape come to mind). Though as anyone who has had an addict in their lives will attest to, drug addiction is not quite that simple. Addicts have an unfortunate knack of pulling those close to them into their drama, whether it be theft to maintain their addiction or drug dealers showing up uninvited to collect outstanding payments, through to the agony of having to watch a loved one spiral downwards on their road to overdose and death.
In most nations, what most of us consider illegal drugs have traditionally been criminalized, with hefty jail time attached to anyone caught in possession of them, though the worlds opinions have slowly started changing. The Netherlands have had a relatively lax attitude towards drugs since the 1970's, with cannabis being legal in designated areas, magic mushrooms enjoyed the same conditions up until 2008 when they were completely banned due to a sharp increase in accidental deaths related to the drugs hallucinogenic effects. More recently, various American states have legalized cannabis, some strictly for medicinal purposes and others to include recreational use. Uruguay has also recently legalized the recreational use of cannabis, though the law itself has not been implemented due to legal requirements regarding suppliers.
The fact that current worldwide drug policies are at best ineffective and at worst a black-hole that authorities throw money into is well documented, in America in 2009 the feral government spent over $2 billion housing drug related prisoners, with a total bill to fight the war on drugs reaching an astonishing $15.9 billion annually. A massive 46% of Americans today admit to having used illegal drugs, most saying that it is now easier to buy purer, cheaper drugs than it has ever been despite the record amounts being spent to curb them. The war on drugs has failed, and it is without a doubt time for change.
My suggested solution is not by any stretch of the imagination popular, but what you have to remember with the worldwide drug problem is the fact that the problem actually has little to do with the drugs themselves, but rather with the actions that addicts take in order to maintain their habit. Most drug users steal because they have prior convictions for drug possession and are unable to fulfill their potential earning capacity. Ending the prohibition on drugs would not only free up the money that is currently being spent on fighting the war on drugs, but increase revenue as governments are able to tax the drug trade. Conservative estimates say that in the US alone, the federal government could add an additional $80 billion annually to it's coffers over and above the savings it would make.
This additional money could then be pumped into education and healthcare of addicts. This tactic has proven it's effectiveness with tobacco as more and more people come to the conclusion that the negative consequences outweigh the benefits. With not a single cent being spent on prohibiting tobacco, the number of adult smokers in the US has been cut almost in half thanks to campaigns aimed at education.
The additional benefit to legalization, legislation and control of the drug market is quality. The average gram of cocaine or heroin found on the street contains astonishing amounts of other substances that dealers cut the drugs with in order to increase their profits. It is more often than not these other substances that lead to the medical conditions that are so often fatal.
Most of the research I've done for this bit has been from a NPO in America called LEAP, (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition), for more info please feel free to have a look at their website: http://www.leap.cc/
The funny clip of the day comes from Australian comedian Jim Jefferies explaining what a coke wank is (yes, it's exactly what it sounds like)
Per usual, I don't own the content, though the man is funny as all hell, so please feel free to check out his other stuff. I've linked his official page below:
http://www.jimjefferies.com/
As always, thanks for reading, please comment, subscribe and remember to like the facebook page!
https://www.facebook.com/theangryafricanatheist/
Ta,
G
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