throwa20201203

MUCH appreciated!

> You can also checkout where journalistic prizes go.

I had never thought of this. It seems like a great technique for international/interlingual research, in general. Thanks for suggesting it!

> By far the most numerous, annoying, and belligerent tourists are going to be the drunk ones, but the Netherlands did not crack down on alcohol consumption.

This is the most conspicuous thing about drug policy in most countries.

In particular it's conspicuous because alcohol (famously) impairs judgment of all other drug-decisions. The main premise of AA is that alcohol is the ultimate gateway drug and cause of relapses. (I don't endorse AA's literalism and AA's attitudes about cannabis border on a crime-against-humanity IMHO. They are so powerful and they have done, and continue to do, SO MUCH DAMAGE by maintaining that old garbage. Founder of AA was a psychonaut anyways. Sigh.)

I'm from an opiate-epidemic-plagued state. My family's been affected, every extended family has been affected, every close friend has been affected. (Affected like -- 1+ members of that/their family having severe addiction problems.)

And you know what's the most consistent factor in the relapses? Alcohol. It's there every time. This is anecdata of course but ... we are lacking hard data that can displace the anecdotes many of us have. Alcohol abuse is so widespread that we can't really control the variable (seemingly).

</rant>

@pmoriarty, I really, really appreciate your comments on this thread. Looking forward to the readings that come from the sources you've linked.

Please forgive the nuisance but would you mind noting -- how can we check what you mean by "reputable"? The reasons I'm asking: current media climate; long history of white-supremacist thinking in that area of this space-rock; etc

[edited to add:]

Also, as mentioned elsewhere in this thread -- the Dutch government has been taking a certain kinda turn.

I'm also asking as someone whose family has been affected by the opiate epidemic in the US. I'm someone who's concerned about drug policy, first domestically but also globally. I want harm reduction. I'm in the middle of a career change and may be focusing on this going forward (if I can find out how).

So I promise you, I'm not trying to beg-the-question, I'm legitimately curious about your comment and just trying to deal with the language barrier.