Found this online a short time ago.
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A primer on Drug War panic for morons in journalism
OK, I've lived nearly half my biblical span--I know exactly how this works now. IF A RECREATIONAL DRUG:
promotes drowsiness or lassitude: you can frighten people about it by warning that legalizing it will create impaired drivers, impaired pilots, impaired helmsmen of Viking ships, etc.
prevents drowsiness or lassitude: you can frighten people about it by warning that prolonged use induces lack of sleep and hence psychosis.
is expensive: you can frighten people about it by arguing that the crippling costs of addiction ruin human lives.
is cheap: you can frighten people about it by emphasizing its "availability" to the young and the impoverished.
is physiologically addictive: you can frighten people about it by describing in detail the Goya-ish horrors of detox.
isn't physiologically addictive: you can frighten people about it by warning of the nerve-shattering psychological "crash" that invariably follows heavy use.
occurs in nature: you can frighten people about it by warning that manufacturers will steal energy from neighbours and utility companies to grow it.
must be synthesized chemically: you can frighten people about it by talking about the poisons, waste products, and/or dodgy thermodynamics involved.
is easy to make: you can frighten people into believing that their neighbours might secretly have a truckload of it in their basement.
is difficult to make: you can frighten people about it by warning them that only organized crime is sophisticated enough to organize its production. (N.B.: the same product can simultaneously be described as easy and difficult to make if the general public doesn't know any better.)
is novel: you can frighten people about it by simply stating that the long-term effects of use are unknown.
has a long history: you can frighten people about it by finding the most stupid and risky possible method of ingesting it--which will inevitably have its partisans amongst idiots looking for something to be addicted to.
gets you really high: you can frighten people about it by emphasizing its power and allure.
doesn't actually get you all that high: you can frighten people about it by emphasizing the despair and generally lousy lifestyles of the people desperate enough to take it.
can be made readily in your home country: oh ????, it's turning our kids into drug manufacturers!
must be imported from a different climate: oh ????, look at all these evil foreigners who are profiting from our misery and boredom!
is used chiefly by the well-to-do: you can frighten people about it by describing it as "trendy" and pointing to celebrity lives ruined by it.
is used chiefly by lower-class scum: you can frighten people about it by merely pointing in the general direction of said lower-class scum. (Hint: phrases like "poor man's cocaine" come in handy here.)
is often used as an ingredient in, or companion to, other drugs: you can frighten people about it by talking about all the other bad stuff users are taking.
is never used as an ingredient in, or companion to, other drugs: you still have the option of describing it as a "gateway" leading to worse substances (don't worry about contradicting yourself by admitting tacitly, for the moment, that there are worse substances).
carries a danger of overdose: you can frighten people about it by discussing the danger of overdose.
does not carry a danger of overdose: you can frighten people about it by emphasizing the effects of chronic use, since no one is terrified into quitting by the risk of immediate death.
Special note for semi-clever contrarians: you can not only practice the use of this guide by writing an imaginary scare story about licit drugs like alcohol, nicotine, or caffeine--you can actually go ahead and write that piece and sell it, thus breaking new ground in a totally innovative manner! Have fun!
Source:
http://www.colbycosh.com/#dwmj
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Sounds like the play book for our government and its mouthpieces.