We Are Protected From Ourselves

Thoughts From a Broad by maggie

In the early nineteen hundreds, Coca-cola contained cocaine.  People loved it.  It made them feel good.  Sales soared and it became the most popular drink ever, besides booze, of course. 

Nowadays, people are sent to prison for using cocaine or selling it. 

When marijuana came along, people loved it.  It made them feel good.  It became increasingly popular.  Soon it was outlawed. 

People are sent to prison for using it or selling it or growing it. 

Of course, the cat is out of the bag and people are still using these drugs for various reasons.  Some medicinal.  Some for sexual enhancement.  Some to increase appetite.  Some for the calmness and well-being that their lives lack.  Some people say it helps them to cope with everyday problems.  Some say it increases their mental alertness.  Great writers have written great books while using these substances.  Great artists have created great works of art, great song writers have written and sung the best music ever, while using these forbidden substances. 

There have been years of study on these drugs.  There has been great controversy.  Is it harmless?  Is it harmful?  Is it addictive?  Is it habit-forming?  Just when we think we have all the answers, some new study will raise more questions.  We do know one thing.  Both these drugs are derived from plants.  That is probably all we know for certain. 

So what are the store shelves now filled with?  Ginzing to enhance sexual experience. Maybe it does not say that on the bottle but that is a well-known expectation.  We have St. John's Wort to calm you and help you to cope with everyday worries.  Ginkgo Biloba to increase your mental alertness.  It has also been heralded as a sexual enhancement. 

These herbs are, of course, derived from plants.  There has not been years of scientific study, at least in the US, on the effects of using these products.  They are available with the vitamins at your nearest pharmacy.  People love them.  It makes them feel good. 

Now, I am totally against doing illegal drugs.  This is not to say that I don't think at least one of the drugs above really should be legal.  Most likely, if this was 1902, I would be drinking four cokes a day.  And if it was 1929, I would be enjoying a reefer.  After all, it would not be illegal and everybody else would be doing it (much as they are today).  Since no studies would have been done yet, I would not know any better.  I might even think it enhances my sexual pleasure, calms me, helps me to cope with everyday worries, maybe even increases my mental awareness, who knows, because this is 2013 and I cannot partake. 

My question is: if I take a daily dose of Ginzing and St. John's Wort or Ginkgo Biloba, am I, in fact, taking the illegal drug of the future?  Well, I have heard that the Federal Government, who believes that marijuana is more dangerous than cocaine, is considering removing some dangerous substances from the market place, such as Vitamin D3 and Vitamin C among many others.  Under their dogmatic protection, I think we will be OK, don't you?