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Prescription for Disaster

some thoughts inspired by the reading of

by Brian Ballard Quass, the Drug War Philosopher

July 4, 2026



I have just read your highly informative article entitled "Who Decided You Need a Prescription?" 1 I now have a much better idea of how our various drug prohibitions came about and the role that the use of opium in the Philippines played in this history. Thanks. While reading the post, a number of corollary considerations came to mind that I wanted to share with you.

Please note that I am making this essay available to paid subscribers only, which essentially means that only you are able to see it, at least for the time being. I did this in part because I eventually hope to earn a little money from my exertions, but mainly because I did not want to post anything that might be misread by hasty readers as criticism of your excellent piece. America's Drug War (the one dating back to the 19th century, I mean) has poisoned the public dialogue on this topic such that readers will be quick to misconstrue subtle arguments to make them gibe with their own propaganda-inspired prejudice.

When I say "propaganda," I mean chiefly the fact that media conglomerates refuse to publish any stories, books, TV shows or movies that highlight wise and beneficial use of drugs, while yet saturating the market with documentaries, movies, magazine stories and tearjerker books and "redemption" novels about drug use gone wrong (failing to point out, meanwhile, that the government is now spending over $50 billion a year to ensure that drug use in America will, indeed, go wrong).

One problem with this propaganda (or rather with the mindset that it fosters) is that it has added a subjective element to ostensibly objective words. This is why, when in doubt, I always use the word "habitue" to describe a regular drug user rather than the word "addict." In the age of the Drug War, the use of the word "addict" is highly pejorative. It can basically be defined in the public mind as: "A person who overused drugs for no good reason until they became a problem user and now is a potential drain on society – or at least in need of prompt medical care from the $37-billion addiction industry in the U.S." Of course, the term "addict" has a number of definitions, but I believe that the one thing upon which all lexicographers would agree is that the addict's use of drugs is problematic.

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Notes for essay entitled Prescription for Disaster: some thoughts inspired by the reading of :

1: Parrish II, Richard Henry. 2026. “Who Decided You Need a Prescription?” Substack.com. Richard Henry Parrish II. June 27, 2026. https://richardhenryparrish2.substack.com/p/who-decided-you-need-a-prescription. (up)




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Ten Tweets

against the hateful war on US




Drug Prohibition is a crime against humanity. It outlaws our right to take care of our own health.

Governor Kotek is "dealing" with the homelessness problem in Oregon by arresting her way out of it, in fealty to fearmongering drug warriors.

The Drug War is a crime against humanity.

In the 19th century, author Richard Middleton wrote how poets would get together to use opium "in a series of magnificent quarterly carouses."

Drug warriors have taught us that honesty about drugs encourages drug use. Nonsense! That's just their way of suppressing free speech about drugs. Americans are not babies, they can handle the truth -- or if they cannot, they need education, not prohibition.

There are plenty of "prima facie" reasons for believing that we could eliminate most problems with drug and alcohol withdrawal by chemically aided sleep cures combined with using "drugs" to fight "drugs." But drug warriors don't want a fix, they WANT drug use to be a problem.

DEA Stormtroopers should be held responsible for destroying American Democracy. Abolish the American Gestapo.

In 1886, coca enthusiast JJ Tschudi referred to prohibitionists as 'kickers.' He wrote: "If we were to listen to these kickers, most of us would die of hunger, for the reason that nearly everything we eat or drink has fallen under their ban."

Getting off antidepressants can make things worse for only one reason: because we have outlawed all the drugs that could help with the transition. Right now, getting off any drug basically means becoming a drug-free Christian Scientist. No wonder withdrawal is hard.

If our loved ones should experience severe depression and visit an emergency room for treatment, they will be started on a regime of dependence-causing Big Pharma drugs. They will not be given any drugs that elate and inspire.


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Book Cover

Break the ice with a sledgehammer: place this book on your coffee table.

This book features 150 annotated images, designed to force brainwashed Americans to confront the fact that drug prohibition is wrong. Here is what author Richard Parrish II says of the book's compiler: "The drug prohibition philosopher provides first-hand, principled, persuasive, and insightful arguments against the current drug prohibition regime..."

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Book Cover

Diary of a Drug Fiend

This is the only full-cast recording of Aleister Crowley's 1922 classic paeon to common sense. It is the first book -- and so far almost the only book -- to stake out a philosophy of drug use that is compatible with human freedom, one in which we learn to use drugs as wisely as possible for the benefit of humanity. This recording was produced by the Drug War Philosopher and your purchases help support his effort to push back against the tragically counterproductive policy of drug prohibition, in the name of human freedom and of humanity's right to heal.

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Unless otherwise indicated, no AI is used in the creation of site content. These essays represent the original ideas of their author and not the ideas that the author SHOULD have based on an algorithmic parsing of existing data. For more on this subject, consider the AI-related viewpoints to which the author subscribes as delineated in the New York Times opinion piece entitled "What 370,000 College Essays Tell Us About A.I.’s Effects on Creativity" by Rebecca Winthrop of the Brookings Institution.

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Copyright 2026, Brian Ballard Quass Contact: quass@quass.com

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