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Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis (Read 9569 times)
freediver
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Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis
Oct 26th, 2013 at 3:05pm
 
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionandethicsreport/5046216

Writer and broadcaster Peter Hitchens, brother of the late libertine Christopher Hitchens, believes that the West has surrendered to a hedonistic drug culture, as Andrew West writes.

Peter Hitchens smoked dope only twice in his life. He may, or may not, have inhaled; it was a long time ago when he was in school.

The well-known British journalist, broadcaster and author—and younger brother of the late Christopher Hitchins—believes he escaped a lifetime of temptation.

‘As a non-smoker, I got no real effect from it,’ he recalled.

‘It was the most amazingly stupid thing to do and I got off lightly.’

As he progressed through university, where he was a ‘Bolshevik puritan, who believed that drug-taking and drunkenness were things which a revolutionary shouldn’t do’, he saw Britain slipping deeper into substance dependence and abuse.

    I think when people were originally taking it back in the sixties and seventies, the passing around of the joint was, in some way to them, the equivalent of the passing around of the communion cup.


He also saw the evolution of a middle class hypocrisy: condemning the cultivation of, and trade in, drugs, but not their use.

‘If the drug is evil, what is it that makes it evil? If it’s inert, it has no more significance than soap,’ Mr Hitchens said.

‘It’s only when it’s used that the evil of it is apparent, so surely those who possess it and use it are as evil as those who supply it?’

His latest book is The War We Never Fought: The British Establishment’s Surrender to Drugs, and it’s brought him to Australia for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas. That leads to the obvious question: what does it suggest about a society when it is a ‘dangerous idea’ to urge that existing laws against drug use be enforced?

‘It suggests to me that I am right in what I say,’ Mr Hitchens told RN’s Religion and Ethics Report, ‘which is that the major countries of the West have for many, many years been engaging in a covert, unstated decriminalisation of drugs which were formerly illegal and this has now reached a point where nobody really takes it seriously in practice that these drugs are against the law.

‘But there’s an awful lot of political grandstanding and posturing, both by politicians who like to pretend they’re doing something and by those who want a final legalisation of drugs, presumably so they can take commercial advantage of it, who rail against the alleged draconian prohibition so that the remaining laws can be demolished.’

Unlike his brother Christopher—who declared himself a libertine on drugs, as in many other areas of personal conduct—Peter Hitchens wants to toughen sanctions against drug use, including cannabis, for which he cites medical research indicating its long-term effects on mental health.

Cannabis is also the focus of his book, not simply because it is the most commonly used illegal drug, but because Mr Hitchens believes it represents a broader political and philosophical cause.

A practising Anglican, he even likens communal cannabis use to an act of communion.

‘I think when people were originally taking it back in the sixties and seventies, the passing around of the joint was, in some way to them, the equivalent of the passing around of the communion cup,’ he says.

‘I don’t mean to be sacrilegious here but I’m just saying there is something about the ceremony of it, the induction which it provided to the new user, to the world of hedonism which has been very important ever since.’

That phrase, ‘the world of hedonism’, represents the meta-narrative behind Mr Hitchens’ book.

He jettisoned left-wing politics long ago, although his writing has evinced a strong communitarian ethos, especially when argues that the Thatcher government of the 1980s destroyed many great British traditions and communities through its economic policies, including privatisation.

He is now a traditional conservative, the type who values family, neighbourhood and nation, and the personal attributes of restraint, mutual responsibility and delayed gratification – everything, he argues, the culture of cannabis undermines.

The cannabis leaf, he said, has become the symbol of the ‘supposed sovereignty over the self, which is what people believe these days to be their absolute right’.

‘That everybody is an island unto himself and that nobody has any business to interfere with what I do with my body. [That] is invariably the response of the drug-taker and the sexual libertine, as I would call them, to any suggestion that the things they do might have any consequences beyond their own individual limbs.’

Beyond even the personal failings that Mr Hitchens believes drug use unleashes, he points to a greater harm to our sense of citizenship. He invokes the writer Aldous Huxley, whose novel Brave New World prophesied a society in which a population dulled by the drug SOMA would come to embrace its own servitude.

A drug culture, argues Mr Hitchens, nurtures a ‘stupefied population’.

‘For me, it’s quite simple. We were given, by God, our faculties so that we could observe what is around us and respond in a moral fashion,’ he said.

‘If ... we deliberately dull them, so that we do not see or hear or feel or even smell the wickedness which is going on around us and turn ourselves into passive, giggling beings, self-satisfied and set apart from the world around us, we are shirking our responsibility as human beings.’
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muso
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Re: Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis
Reply #1 - Oct 31st, 2013 at 5:51pm
 
freediver wrote on Oct 26th, 2013 at 3:05pm:
‘If ... we deliberately dull them, so that we do not see or hear or feel or even smell the wickedness which is going on around us and turn ourselves into passive, giggling beings, self-satisfied and set apart from the world around them


We see plenty of evidence of that in the news. People can commit some really horrendous crimes when under the influence of drugs. Their sensitivity is dulled.
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Re: Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis
Reply #2 - Nov 4th, 2013 at 9:55pm
 
muso wrote on Oct 31st, 2013 at 5:51pm:
Their sensitivity is dulled.


Not nearly as much as listening to.Alan, watching Today Tonight, and ranting away on this board all day while the real world sits intert, out there.

Smoking dope doesn’t desensitize people nearly as much as dogma.

Toke on that, leftards.
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Re: Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis
Reply #3 - Nov 4th, 2013 at 9:55pm
 
muso wrote on Oct 31st, 2013 at 5:51pm:
Their sensitivity is dulled.


Not nearly as much as listening to.Alan, watching Today Tonight, and ranting away on this board all day while the real world sits intert, out there.

Smoking dope doesn’t desensitize people nearly as much as dogma.

Toke on that, leftards.
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Re: Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis
Reply #4 - Nov 4th, 2013 at 9:58pm
 
Don’t adjust your brains. It makes you see double.
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Re: Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis
Reply #5 - Nov 5th, 2013 at 10:16am
 
Hitchens makes some interesting points.

The drug-taking, hedonistic culture appears to come about through a number of influences:


Libertarian arguments, which Hitchens states.


A "hip" or "coolness" aspect to it.


The attempt to fill the void of nothingness with meaning. To flee reality momentarily to make life bearable. 
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ian
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Re: Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis
Reply #6 - Nov 5th, 2013 at 10:58am
 
I think your last statement is more likely in regards to cannabis, People have been smoking it for thosuands of years it is not a modern phenomenon.
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Re: Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis
Reply #7 - Nov 5th, 2013 at 11:34am
 
ian wrote on Nov 5th, 2013 at 10:58am:
I think your last statement is more likely in regards to cannabis, People have been smoking it for thosuands of years it is not a modern phenomenon.


Yep, and not just cannabis either - alcohol is almost universal, and just about every culture uses some sort of locally available plant such as coca, khat or opium. 

I'd say it's only a "problem" now because rest and relaxation is expected to take a back seat to productivity and profit.
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BatteriesNotIncluded
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Re: Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis
Reply #8 - Nov 13th, 2013 at 4:18am
 
Health and safety are powerful laws now with everyone having a duty of care. Unions --> developed world etc...
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*Sure....they're anti competitive as any subsidised job is.  It wouldn't be there without the tax payer.  Very damned difficult for a brainwashed collectivist to understand that I know....  (swaggy) *
 
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Re: Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis
Reply #9 - Nov 18th, 2013 at 11:50pm
 
Postmodern Trendoid III wrote on Nov 5th, 2013 at 10:16am:
Hitchens makes some interesting points.

The drug-taking, hedonistic culture appears to come about through a number of influences:


Libertarian arguments, which Hitchens states.


A "hip" or "coolness" aspect to it.


The attempt to fill the void of nothingness with meaning. To flee reality momentarily to make life bearable. 


No .. Hitchens makes no interesting points..
it is the same old  lame argument ...

as pointed out by a prev poster.. there is  NOTHING NEW about drug-taking  in ANY human culture.. except for the Inuit, apparently.. 'cos nothing 'll grow there.. 

So it continues to be a farce.. these drug laws continue to do far more harm..than good.. 
OOHH yeah BUT they provide plenty of profit ,  guaranteed jobs for compliance officers and a huge level of logistical support..cost...Court time  etc....  which could MOST DEFINITELY be put to BETTER use.

As for it being a slap on the wrist, and basically being ignored.. au contraire.!!

Where I live,  every week we have a POLICE BEAT... in our local paper, and apart from B & E's and traffic accidents.. the local cops have always got reports of individuals, being pulled over,  searched,  and charged for possessing small amounts of cannabis,  and 'drug paraphenalia'.

Every week they report 2-6 or more incidents,... a vehicle was pulled over and when searched ,, it was found... blah blah.
and there are many more,  not reported. And what about where they  stopped people and found nothing..?? that doesn't get reported.

Personally.. THIS IS A CRIMINAL waste of resources, and a social  DISASTER.  Just look around you...  Sad

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Re: Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis
Reply #10 - Nov 21st, 2013 at 2:12pm
 
Mattyfisk wrote on Nov 4th, 2013 at 9:55pm:
muso wrote on Oct 31st, 2013 at 5:51pm:
Their sensitivity is dulled.


Not nearly as much as listening to.Alan, watching Today Tonight, and ranting away on this board all day while the real world sits intert, out there.

Smoking dope doesn’t desensitize people nearly as much as dogma.

Toke on that, leftards.

Advertising, yeh we all know how it works  Grin
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*Sure....they're anti competitive as any subsidised job is.  It wouldn't be there without the tax payer.  Very damned difficult for a brainwashed collectivist to understand that I know....  (swaggy) *
 
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Re: Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis
Reply #11 - Nov 21st, 2013 at 2:19pm
 
Emma wrote on Nov 18th, 2013 at 11:50pm:
Postmodern Trendoid III wrote on Nov 5th, 2013 at 10:16am:
Hitchens makes some interesting points.

The drug-taking, hedonistic culture appears to come about through a number of influences:


Libertarian arguments, which Hitchens states.


A "hip" or "coolness" aspect to it.


The attempt to fill the void of nothingness with meaning. To flee reality momentarily to make life bearable. 


No .. Hitchens makes no interesting points..
it is the same old  lame argument ...

as pointed out by a prev poster.. there is  NOTHING NEW about drug-taking  in ANY human culture.. except for the Inuit, apparently.. 'cos nothing 'll grow there.. 

So it continues to be a farce.. these drug laws continue to do far more harm..than good.. 
OOHH yeah BUT they provide plenty of profit ,  guaranteed jobs for compliance officers and a huge level of logistical support..cost...Court time  etc....  which could MOST DEFINITELY be put to BETTER use.

As for it being a slap on the wrist, and basically being ignored.. au contraire.!!

Where I live,  every week we have a POLICE BEAT... in our local paper, and apart from B & E's and traffic accidents.. the local cops have always got reports of individuals, being pulled over,  searched,  and charged for possessing small amounts of cannabis,  and 'drug paraphenalia'.

Every week they report 2-6 or more incidents,... a vehicle was pulled over and when searched ,, it was found... blah blah.
and there are many more,  not reported. And what about where they  stopped people and found nothing..?? that doesn't get reported.

Personally.. THIS IS A CRIMINAL waste of resources, and a social  DISASTER.  Just look around you...  Sad


I have to disagree: on dope you can make some very bad decisions including giving up work to smoke it all day and then where do you turn.... Madness and violence ensue until the lesson of false work is learned!

Alcohol is of course just as bad and so we have the human condition. MTV and THE WITCHES WAND have a lot to answer for but we are all responsible yet as we all have a drinking problem we are really in a funky rut somewhat y'all!  Cool
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*Sure....they're anti competitive as any subsidised job is.  It wouldn't be there without the tax payer.  Very damned difficult for a brainwashed collectivist to understand that I know....  (swaggy) *
 
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Re: Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis
Reply #12 - Nov 21st, 2013 at 3:35pm
 
I enjoyed cannabis very much until it started making me paranoid. I've had some brilliant ideas when stoned - it's such a shame I can't remember them later. With a pen and paper I handy I could have saved the world.

With responsible use, most recreational drugs are harmless fun.

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I can't do this, but I'm doing it anyway.
 
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Re: Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis
Reply #13 - Nov 21st, 2013 at 9:30pm
 
Emma wrote on Nov 18th, 2013 at 11:50pm:
Postmodern Trendoid III wrote on Nov 5th, 2013 at 10:16am:
Hitchens makes some interesting points.

The drug-taking, hedonistic culture appears to come about through a number of influences:


Libertarian arguments, which Hitchens states.


A "hip" or "coolness" aspect to it.


The attempt to fill the void of nothingness with meaning. To flee reality momentarily to make life bearable. 


No .. Hitchens makes no interesting points..
it is the same old  lame argument ...

as pointed out by a prev poster.. there is  NOTHING NEW about drug-taking  in ANY human culture.. except for the Inuit, apparently.. 'cos nothing 'll grow there.. 

So it continues to be a farce.. these drug laws continue to do far more harm..than good.. 




I am interested in how some people need more fantasy than reality.
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Re: Peter Hitchens on the cult of cannabis
Reply #14 - Nov 21st, 2013 at 10:30pm
 
freediver wrote on Oct 26th, 2013 at 3:05pm:
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionandethicsreport/5046216

Writer and broadcaster Peter Hitchens, brother of the late libertine Christopher Hitchens, believes that the West has surrendered to a hedonistic drug culture, as Andrew West writes.

Peter Hitchens.....

......Beyond even the personal failings that Mr Hitchens believes drug use unleashes, he points to a greater harm to our sense of citizenship. He invokes the writer Aldous Huxley, whose novel Brave New World prophesied a society in which a population dulled by the drug SOMA would come to embrace its own servitude.

A drug culture, argues Mr Hitchens, nurtures a ‘stupefied population’.

‘For me, it’s quite simple. We were given, by God, our faculties so that we could observe what is around us and respond in a moral fashion,’ he said.

‘If ... we deliberately dull them, so that we do not see or hear or feel or even smell the wickedness which is going on around us and turn ourselves into passive, giggling beings, self-satisfied and set apart from the world around us, we are shirking our responsibility as human beings.’



Q.
Why do people choose to use cannabis, or for that matter, any other drug ?

What is it about the effect of a physiologically or psychologically altering drug that people are drawn too ?

I was told by my nephew, when i caught him smoking cannabis [in my home], that he used cannabis because its use helped him to cope with the close proximity of his mother.
[i'm serious]






I have tried cannabis and i have tried tobacco, but i didn't want [i felt no desire] to continue their use.

I have never sought out, or used any stronger illicit drugs.  [....mainly because i have always believed that their use would be likely to harm my psyche and my perceptions, and my ability to reach a meditative state.]

I must admit that i really, really, liked the effect of that pre-op drug that i was administered [when i was in hospital for an op many years ago]. 'dreamy'!!!  ....but i didn't try to obtain any, later.     and i do not recall what that drug was [called].

I have always drunk a little alcohol.   [....amount-wise, i drink alcohol more for just the taste in my mouth, than for an 'effect'.]






One of the finest 'drugs', which i try to use every day, is a sedate MB ride in/on the local forest trails.  [i did 3 x 5 km rides today]

That, is a fine 'drug'!!

I appreciate the good things [in this life] which i am able to experience.

And that appreciation [of what is good] is a blessing from God, imo.

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"....And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."
Luke 16:31
 
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