Charles Hayes, local resident and founding member of the barn led a discussion on the subject of drugs — legal, illegal, over-the-counter, and prescription. He discussed their relative dangers and benefits, and policies that could increase awareness about them while reducing their harm. Charles focused on the topic of psychedelic plants and chemicals, some of which are used legally in religious ceremonies and are once again being used in legal scientific research to treat such medical issues as PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) in victims of violent crime and war, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), cluster headaches, opiate and alcohol addiction, and end of life depression and anxiety.
An open discussion ensued in which there was some controversy, especially from two attendees who are former law enforcement agents. Of particular interest was how best to talk about drugs with young people. For the most part everyone kept an open mind and left with some good information and new ideas. After the presentation, Charles gave out signed copies of his book, Tripping: An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures.
The Barn Blog 
My assertion Friday night that the Drug War disproportionally incarcerates minorities was met with some resistance in the audience. But anyone who wishes to investigate this will find big disparities in the numbers of arrests and convictions and in the length of sentences for whites and minorities, respectively. A recent Queens College report on marijuuana possession arrests in New York City from 1997-2007 revealed that Gotham is the world’s marijuana arrest capital; blacks and Hispanics comprised about 83 percent of arrests, whites 15 percent, while the rate of drug use for each group is roughly similar. The report found that police routinely “manufacture” arrests for possesion in public view (as opposed to those for concealed contraband) by stopping young black men on the street and goading them into emptying their pockets. The issue of racial disparty is one of the most publicized and easy to document with statistics. Look it up for yourselves.
Thanks for coming out and listening to me so intently. It was a fun night.
Feel free to contact me with your comments and questions, about the book, the talk, the issue of drugs, whatever. All drug-related e-mail goes to my Trippingtales@aol.com address. Cheers!
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