This is the next installment of the Despise the Shame series in which we work to strengthen all citizens of the world — to end the madness that is the never winnable "War on Drugs."

As has been pointed out in the essay, "Drug Free America?" every society, civilization, and group of cave-people had various remedies for ill feelings, poor health, and even passing the time. Does this mean we are in favor of getting "wasted?" Partying your butt off?! NO! But we realize the overwhelming majority (99.9999%) of problems blamed on "drugs" are really due to the prohibitionist mindset and practices. Practices that Jesus did not tell us to engage in.

You Will Be Accused By Them

Yes, there is much shame you will face. Despise the shame! People will label you with all sorts of slander and libel. Here is just a short list of insults and insinuations you will face:

• You will be accused of being soft on crime.
• You will be accused of having no respect for the law.
• You will be accused of being un-Christian/un-Jewish/un-Muslim/un-(insert belief system here).
• You will be accused of being in favor of drugs.
• You will be accused of being in favor of letting children do drugs.
• You will be accused of being immoral and, "sending the message," that drug use is fine and to be encouraged.
• You will be accused of being an addict yourself.
• You will be accused of wanting to legalize rape, murder, theft, etc…
• You will be accused of being in favor of violence, drug cartels, crack houses, dealers, needle-strewn public places, and more.
• They will make it personal — completely ignoring all the evidence the War on Drugs is an abject failure — and ask you what drugs you use.
• They will act like the self-righteous Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14, who stood aloof and thanked God he was not like the sinner.
• They will equate any use as abuse.

Advice for the Non-Religious

For those who are not aware of the teachings of Jesus — that he says it's a blessing to be persecuted unrighteously — it can be a bitter pill to swallow to take such abuse. So focus on the many people in prison who do not belong there you will be setting free, focus on the lives saved once we pull our armed forces out of dozens of countries we've invaded to "fight drugs," focus on the hundreds of billions of dollars we will no longer be wasting fighting this ever escalating futile war, focus on the people who want help but hide due to threat of imprisonment, focus on how we can undercut the black market and end its myriad ills, and on and on.

Brief List of Resources

But if you've read this far you are probably already aware of the myriad failings of the War on Drugs. This essay is not meant to list all of them here. You can find tons of information about the failings of the War on Drugs here:

• Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
• Drug Truth Network — Hundreds of radio shows with tons of facts. See the sidebar "Drug Truth Net Podcasts" to subscribe to their podcasts or go directly to their site listing each of their shows.
• Drug Policy Alliance Network
• Drug War Facts
• Consumer Reports, Licit and Illicit Drugs
• Etc… that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Letting Others Know, One-on-One

There are some flyers and handouts you can use in the LEAP forum. Just print them and hand them out as you run errands, sit in the sports stands, walk through the mall, etc…