From: "E. ALLEN SMITH" <EALLENSMITH@ocelot.Rutgers.EDU>
Date: Sat, 13 Jul 1996 13:56:41 +0800
To: blancw@accessone.com
Subject: Re: FW: [RANT] Giving Mind Control Drugs to Children
Message-ID: <01I6ZUBURN18984TP7@mbcl.rutgers.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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From:	IN%"blancw@accessone.com"  "blanc" 10-JUL-1996 06:04:36.86

>	As Tim said, the selective application of drugs or persecution =
>regarding their use points to a great hypocrisy (and deterioration of =
>character), and the more widespread the acceptance of hypocritical =
>double-standards, the higher the rate-o-meter goes up in favor of =
>statism.  At the very least, all the confusion surrounding drug use will =
>create "disrespect for Authority" (which in turn will inspire statists =
>to propose further crack-downs, pardon the pun, on "criminals").

	Actually, my Ritalin was one of the things that led me to come to the
conclusion that drug laws were nonsense. It's a Schedule II drug that I never
felt _any_ addiction to; I was off it on evenings, weekends, and during
holidays. So at least in my case it had a pro-libertarian effect.

>	It makes me think of those Communist countries (remember them?) where =
>political dissenters were been labelled insane - the protesters were the =
>ones identified as having the problems, not the State.  The imprisoned =
>troublemakers were then drugged, thus taking care of their "irrational" =
>behavior and lack of appreciation.

	The matter is that Ritalin isn't acting as a mind control pill, or
whatever the hysterics are claiming. Indeed, I nominate it as one of the more
transhumanist drugs I know of (for adults with ADHD and children), and I've
done somewhat of a study of the subject.
	-Allen