On this New Year’s Day, I am going to do something crazy. I am going to encourage you to stop what you are doing, turn on the TV and tune to CBS. These are words that I have rarely, if ever, uttered. By default, I am a critic of mainstream news coverage, but I am also a glutton for pain, so on occasion I watch shows like 60 Minutes and CBS Sunday Morning. If for nothing else, it gives me fodder for topics to write about. Not to mention, my wife really loves my contrarian tirades when the old standard narratives come across the airwaves regarding U.S. global hegemony, drug wars, foreign policy and the dog and pony show that is U.S. electoral politics.
On a recent episode of the hip, CBS news-magazine, TV show 60 Minutes, a segment titled Psilocybin Session: Researching Psychedelics to Treat Addiction, highlighted the experiences of several individuals who had voluntarily agreed to undergo psilocybin sessions to treat anxiety, addiction and depression. This is extraordinary on two fronts. First, this story aired on a very conventional, normal network TV station and secondly, the message wasn’t that drugs are bad, they are illegal and they could kill you. By and large, it was a success story, with individuals overcoming great fears and obstacles. To be sure, the process wasn’t always easy, it was scary and terrifying at times, but ultimately, it was a rewarding experience. There were no scare tactics in the reporting and no rehashing of standard government talking points about illicit drugs.
Shockingly, there were several quick hits against government and its detrimental actions that have made illegal for so long, a drug that could have helped so many (notably, however, Big Pharma got a pass). For instance, there has been a colossal gap in research over the past fifty years, on account of government classifying psilocybin mushrooms as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, a 1970 law signed by Richard Nixon. This law, of course, was instituted for your health, safety and well being, if you believe the talking points. Nevermind the incalculable damage the Drug War has perpetuated by locking up non violent drug offenders, but I digress.
Also receiving a very brief mention in the story, was the sordid history of the CIA conducting experiments with psychedelic drugs on individuals who were secretly dosed unbeknownst to them. That’s a completely normal thing to do, for a government just looking out for its citizens, right? Just imagine, if the current day researchers were conducting experiments on individuals without their consent, we would never hear the end of it! It would certainly be just another example of greedy capitalists gone awry. But, magically, if you are in the CIA and you were to do something wrong, just burn the documents like Sidney Gottlieb did, no problem! In 2020, I am looking forward to reading the Stephen Kinsler book, Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control, to delve into this period more deeply.
Each chapter of drug decriminalization and legalization builds upon each other. Earlier this year, Denver voted to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms and although it was not a full blown legalization measure (still illegal to possess or sell), it has rendered possession of psilocybin mushrooms down to the lowest law enforcement priority. Predictably, the reaction from about half of the voters was outrage and exasperation (there will be strung out druggies wandering the city and drug dealers on every corner!!!), based more on 1960’s imagery of hippies tripping on LSD or magic mushrooms rather than any rational analysis of the benefits based on studies from leading medical research centers. Psilocybin itself is non-addictive, poses no risk of creating physical dependence and has a low risk of abuse and harm. This may not be news to you, the enlightened reader, but many are stuck in the 1980’s Say No to Drugs mentality and are struggling to break free. But, there is hope.
You begin saving the world by saving one man at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics. - Charles Bukowski Click To TweetUltimately, a story like this on a major TV network sheds light on the failures of government. This is something to build on; this is something to remind people about and something that can be used.
Similar to the Afghanistan Papers, when it finally gets reported by a “reputable” news source (sigh), that the government and military have been lying to the public for the last couple decades, at least you won’t be called a crazy anti-government kook for not believing the official narrative, and a few people may lose faith in government.
Similar to the lies propagated with respect to the alleged chlorine gas attack in Douma, Syria, as summarized in this article, by Caitlin Johnstone, where the contradictions and fabrications surrounding the official story have now come to light. Knowing this, perhaps a couple people won’t be so quick to believe the government story next time.
Similar to the news that the Supreme Court recently ruled that it’s A-OK to keep secret the food stamp sales totals of grocery stores and becoming wise to the ruse that there’s no way the government would ever use this as precedent to protect themselves, as Jim Bovard wrote in this article, and maybe someone will begin to question the true motives behind a government that would keep seemingly basic information secret from the public.
Similar to the kabuki theater that was the impeachment process, which distracted from any critical analysis of the passage of NDAA 2020 (National Defense Authorization Act), which granted an ungodly amount of money at the disposal of an allegedly wicked and horrible tyrant (that we just impeached but he’ll stay in office and we knew that from the start, but we just wanted to drum up some sound bites for the election season), and maybe one or two people will see past the theatrics and bow out of the political process next time.
Or, maybe not.
Maybe things won’t change, but when communicating with the regular folks out there, it’s nice to have a handful of stories like these at the ready. Here’s what you thought you knew about that and here’s something you didn’t know. Bit by bit, little by little, chipping away at the glossy veneer of a government that is always doing the “right thing.”
