Punky Brewster’s Shrooms

The Drug War increases drug misuse by children by: 1) keeping the subject of “drugs” forever on the mind of rebellious youth (see “Synthetic Panics” for how this is accomplished), and 2) encouraging them to fear and despise substances rather than to understand them. In America, it accomplishes this latter goal by having the state police or the DARE organization bribe kids with teddy bears to adopt a jaundiced Christian Science view of psychoactive medicines (never mind that the God of the Old Testament told us that His creation was good). That’s why “crack cocaine” is a byword for “hopelessly addictive substance” in the west, even though that form of coke can be used non-addictively by a person who has been taught to do so. But then drug warriors do not believe in education, but rather fear mongering.

In a recent documentary (“Kid 90”) about the ’80s child star Soleil Moon Frye (AKA “Punky Brewster” of sitcom fame), one of her friends describes how he used a variety of illegal substances, including crack cocaine, “acid,” and heroin (which he says he smoked). “But,” he said, “I always did this little thing where I’d do it and then not do it for a long time, where I wouldn’t get so super strung out or anything.”

Good for him, right? He realized that properly scheduled drug use was the answer rather than substance demonization. Unfortunately, drug warriors don’t want safe use, they want total abstention. That’s no doubt why Brewster’s friend then quickly added the following mealy-mouthed disclaimer: “Which isn’t any excuse, but…”

Really? Why not?

Soleil’s only comment about “drugs” in this documentary was in reference to an ecstatic experience that she had with her friends in a sunny wheat field after consuming a few mushrooms. “I have such a soft spot in my heart for mushrooms,” she says, “I must tell you, because of that experience.”

Indeed, the experience was so positive that she violates drug-war etiquette by failing to follow up this statement with the customary post-facto denunciation of her youthful “drug use,” thereby failing to emulate the seemingly endless list of two-faced British politicians who profess their scorn for the cocaine that they used so liberally in their youth.

The DEA thrives on such drug use. The last thing they want is for folks to use drugs wisely. In fact, William Bennett said of such smart users:

“Users who maintain a job and a steady income should face stiff fines…. These are the users who should have their names published in local papers.”

Had Bennett been around in the time of William James, America’s greatest philosopher would have been demonized as an evil drug user. Surely that fact alone should tell us that the drug war is wrong root and branch.