The War on Medicine
Corporate Lobbyists are keeping alternatives to expensive and harmful mental health treatment on the back burner to prioritize profit over people.
We’ve talked about the war on drugs before, and how it’s all but formal that the victory goes to the blue corner, congratulations to drugs! But there’s a darker side to the war on drugs that is often overlooked, beyond the racist criminal policing practices, and the oppressive statutory regulations that have created generational poverty in America’s most diverse cities, but the shadowy and expensive war on medicine.
The for-profit lobbies of big pharma sticking their noses into the legal process to keep prohibition strong, to incentivize the purchase and distribution of their harmful synthetic drugs that have crippled multiple generations with addiction and chronic pain. We’re at a point where we’ve seen recreational and medicinal legalization of marijuana reflect dramatically lower rates of opioid addiction rates and overdose deaths in any given geographic jurisdiction.
But Pain pills aren’t the only cash cow for Big pharma. Mental health treatment is an economy of its own. Xanax, fluoxetine, citalopram, sertraline, escitalopram, clonazepam, alprazolam, lorazepam, and hundreds more on an endless list of medications that are dolled out to treat anxiety, depression, PTSD, and any number of diagnosed mental health conditions simply fuels the profit of mega-corporations while regarding patients as statistics rather than as individuals.
The industry profits off treatment, but not off of cures. And even though there has been some incredible research into the use of natural medicines to treat and cure these ailments, the corporate medicine lobby has done its best to keep America’s legislatures bought and paid for, with the natural alternatives criminalized heavily.
Last night I sat down with James Davis, of Baystaters for Natural Medicine, to talk about his organization’s efforts to pursue localized decriminalization of possession and use of controlled substances, in effect nullifying federal and state drug laws at the town and city level. They’ve seen some remarkable successes early on, and have started sweeping across Massachusetts as one city after another hears their pitch and votes to become a safe haven for the production, possession, and utilization of natural medicines as an alternative approach to therapy.
Psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA have all shown remarkable results in long-term studies and testing for the treatment of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and a litany of other mental health conditions, yet they remain labeled as dangerous controlled substances by federal drug control laws. And while prohibition has followed its traditional course of failure, it has forced accessibility to these treatments solely to the illicit black markets, where patients are forced to self administer without professional guidance, or the necessary support to ensure the success of their treatment.
But change is a-brewing in the culture of these here United States, as more and more people are waking up to the corruption of corporate medicine being so heavily involved in our legislative process, and the sentiment is shifting against prohibition, as cities in Massachusetts are following James’ lead in becoming sanctuaries of personal medical freedom for psychedelic therapies. Learn more about James’ work with Baystaters for Natural medicine by checking out their website BaystatersNM.org.
With any luck, their success will spread beyond Massachusetts, and start to take hold in the rest of New England and the rest of America soon.
Subversive #69: "Psychedelic Therapy" feat. James Davis
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Bay Staters for Natural Medicine is leading the fight for the legalization and normalization of psychedelic therapy in Massachusetts. James Davis joins the show to talk about the importance of their mission, and the successes they've had in paving the way for the rest of us in the larger fight!
Disclaimer: Nothing in this episode should be construed to glorify or encourage the illicit use of controlled substances. All information provided is for informational and educational purposes only.
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