Abstinence Only

Hello all,

I wanted to write a little something relating to a discussion I recently had with a substance abuse counselor in regards to a fairly stark difference of perspectives between myself and my parents. Simply for a little background, in an attempt to be more forthcoming and leave less in the dark between myself and my parents I have hoped for quite some time to share my perspectives with them regarding one's right for the responsible use of psychedelics.

As someone who has personally seen the benefits of these illegal & monitored substances mirrored in many other forms such as Kundalini yoga, meditation and reading to name only a few I must say I align most closely with the notion expressed by the writer, Graham Hancock. Hancock expresses the right of the individual to be sovereign over one's own consciousness opposed to the state controlling the right to essentially "explore our consciousness." From this perspective, I made a comparison in my conversation with the counselor regarding the similarity of my current situation to that of the Abstinence-only sexual education debates that have been taking place well over the last decade. Taking this a step further, I found some interesting similarities between Abstinence-only (A-O) programs aimed at both sexual activity and drugs (a grossly over simplified term in and of itself).

According to the SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States) a "...study, conducted by Mathematica Policy Research Inc. on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, found that abstinence-only-until-marriage programs are ineffective" (see link below). Similarly, health education around the nation and much of the globe teaches essentially the same in regards to substances. One primary difference is that there is no end point such as marriage in relation to the use of various substances.

Another study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania found an interesting result when looking at A-O education from a different angle. After reviewing the statistics of 6th & 7th grade student having received A-O courses that expressed notions of until you are ready vs. married and promoted contraception without a moralistic tone found that nearly 20% fewer students had sex in the next 2 years compared with other education programs. My reason for mentioning this study is based primarily on the notion that we must EDUCATE our children first before we attempt to enstill moralistic dogma on a subject that is far less understood than compared to sexual activity.

In closing, I would like to make my support clear for the re:education of our drug prevention classes. I am in no way in opposition to the efforts made to keep individuals away from destructive habits and choices that will not only affect their own lives but those around them. I simply hope that some day soon we will help to awaken the world to the inherent benefits of what ever we may refer to these substances as; be they entheogens, psychedelics, sacred plants or any other name. In the words of William Shakespeare,

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

Thank you for reading ~ please feel free to share your thoughts on the issue.

http://www.siecus.org/_data/global/images/research_says.pdf