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LSD chemist William Pickard to be released from prison

psymposia.com

211–220 of 393 posts

Re: LSD chemist William Pickard to be released from prison

#211

Government policy: prevent people from ruining their lives with drugs by ruining it for them with prison.

There should be no victimless crimes! This man made a product that others willingly wanted for themselves. There are no victims here.

This can be applied to seatbelts, helmet laws, etc.

Re: LSD chemist William Pickard to be released from prison

#212
post #8

For some reasons the feds in the 90s were unusually interested in prosecuting psychedelics. I'm of the opinion that all drugs should be legal, but even if I wasn't, I think I would still question why LSD manufacturers were getting such long sentences around that time. Never really made sense to me.

Money in the dorm of funding.

Re: LSD chemist William Pickard to be released from prison

#213
post #144

I found this line from the article particularly interesting: “The court concluded that the 20 years served are sufficient for meeting the goals of incapacitation, deterrence, retribution, and rehabilitation.” Deterrence and rehabilitation (yeah, right) I knew were “goals” of the US prison system, but I never realized that “incapacitation” and “retribution” were actual legally-stated goals.

There are different theories of criminal punishment (i.e., different people subscribe to different philosophical justifications). Incapacitation is basically a special case of deterrence, in that you're deterring the individual who's in prison. Retribution is a little more controversial, but plenty of people see it as a valid goal.

Re: LSD chemist William Pickard to be released from prison

#214
post #144

I found this line from the article particularly interesting: “The court concluded that the 20 years served are sufficient for meeting the goals of incapacitation, deterrence, retribution, and rehabilitation.” Deterrence and rehabilitation (yeah, right) I knew were “goals” of the US prison system, but I never realized that “incapacitation” and “retribution” were actual legally-stated goals.

Technically speaking, retribution is a punishment dealt to someone for committing a crime, so any prison sentence is an act of retribution.

Re: LSD chemist William Pickard to be released from prison

#215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ugh. Your post is a perfect example of a valid argument, and yet a bunch of people downvote you instead of just having a conversation. Two sheets is at least a few hundred tabs and that is definitely within the realm of possession with intent to sell, legally speaking. And your conclusion wasn't even harsh like "they earned 20" or anything. You clearly said the punishment was harsh for the crime. Jeez people, learn t…

I downvoted for the initial sentence: "I mean, the organized crime groups that sell these drugs do harm people" By that reasoning every gas station should be closed for selling oil that came from Saudi Arabia. How about them apples?

Since America isn't officially the world police, switching scope like this makes a bad comparison. There are plenty of reasons the US might interact with foreign countries in a way it wouldn't with internal domestic groups.

Re: LSD chemist William Pickard to be released from prison

#216
post #8

For some reasons the feds in the 90s were unusually interested in prosecuting psychedelics. I'm of the opinion that all drugs should be legal, but even if I wasn't, I think I would still question why LSD manufacturers were getting such long sentences around that time. Never really made sense to me.

There was definitely unreasonable fear around LSD. I remember my parents not allowing us to use temporary tattoos because they were concerned they might be laced with LSD.

Like most people using LSD are going to waste it to send a kid on a trip. One of the sillier things that swept America.

Re: LSD chemist William Pickard to be released from prison

#217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, just to add in my own words -- it gives you a fresh perspective, as if your staring at the world from the eyes of a tree. But is it really that important for those in power to maintain a certain narrative/perception? These sentences sound too rough..

IMO, yes, because there is nothing holding the country together besides the perception that the US constitution protects & ensures our freedom. If that perception falls, then there could substantially greater political unrest, even moreso than what we have experienced this summer And LSD and other psychedelics definitely make you rethink the validity of government, period. Let alone the efficacy of the powers that be…

> IMO, yes, because there is nothing holding the country together besides the perception that the US constitution protects & ensures our freedom.

What holds the country together is a lot of people have a lot to lose.

> And LSD and other psychedelics definitely make you rethink the validity of government, period. Let alone the efficacy of the powers that be to ensure safety and prosperity

But this is just the crux of it - it is an illusory experience that has some impact on the user. It isn't any arbiter of truth or knowledge.

Re: LSD chemist William Pickard to be released from prison

#218

Government policy: prevent people from ruining their lives with drugs by ruining it for them with prison.

There should be no victimless crimes! This man made a product that others willingly wanted for themselves. There are no victims here. This can be applied to seatbelts, helmet laws, etc.

I don't know. It could be traumatizing to kill someone in a rather unspectacular car crash just because they weren't using their seatbelt. Same for helmets.

Re: LSD chemist William Pickard to be released from prison

#220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I downvoted for the initial sentence: "I mean, the organized crime groups that sell these drugs do harm people" By that reasoning every gas station should be closed for selling oil that came from Saudi Arabia. How about them apples?

Since America isn't officially the world police, switching scope like this makes a bad comparison. There are plenty of reasons the US might interact with foreign countries in a way it wouldn't with internal domestic groups.

I was arguing from the initial moralistic view about fruit from a poisoned tree.

And by the way, the US has for several generations been the unofficial world police. The US drug laws force other countries to toe the line as well.

But this is going off into the weeds. The real point is that the War on Drugs manufactures crime by design.

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