Noam Chomsky - Drugs

[@andyb2977]

As usual, Chomsky is exactly right. A former Nixon aide even recently admitted that the War on Drugs was launched, in part, to marginalize the hippie movement.

[@TheEyeball37]

And blacks.

[@waswaswad]

Crazy Horse and Mexicans

[@Jamie-js3qw]

it obviously was which is why he attacked Freak Street in Nepal

[@DarkKnightOmega]

A 13 year old listening to Chomsky brings me hope and joy. I didn't hear of him until I was 28.

[@PlumbDrumb]

I didn't hear him speak until I was 39. Before then all I heard people say about him was "dirty commie" (more or less).

[@DarkKnightOmega]

+PlumbDrumb in a strange way, even though much of what he says is upsetting to hear, it actually motivates me to want to learn more. He is so well-read and well-spoken. He challenges people morally and intellectually. He challenges those in power, but more importantly, the institutions that enable illegitimate power to carry on without challenge. He exposes propaganda for what it is. He and Edward Herman developed the propaganda model of news, the most accurate description for how the mainstream media functions that I've read about. Lastly, he advocates for the suffering and exploited masses throughout the world and isn't afraid to look in the mirror and challenge others to do the same.

[@wellingtonboobs7985]

Chomsky and other scientists should be part of the national curriculum.

[@groghaus1549]

im 17 and though im more interested in enlightenment philosophy i admire Chomsky, Foucault, and even Deleuze too

[@ryankieft]

I was 39 and only 2 hours away from him my whole life and never heard of him. But think of all of those who go their entire lives without ever hearing him.

[@310018918]

Rehabilitation > Criminalization

[@utilitymonster8267]

@@nickright7747, they don’t just ‘believe’ it, it is a fact as well. People who take drugs do nothing wrong; they don’t cause any suffer.

[@per-torereiniurfjell5424]

@@nickright7747 that's why you legalize so you don't fund criminals. Look at what criminalised substance funded Capone.

[@deanerdaweiner3829]

@@nickright7747 you dont NEED to rehabilitate people who HAVENT done anything wrong in the first place

[@martinjugolin2087]

@@utilitymonster8267 People on crack, cocaine, alcohol can indeed kill people under those effects

[@martinjugolin2087]

@@deanerdaweiner3829 They damage themselves, drug addiction

[@cat52]

Noam was way ahead of his time and based facts and logic with these stupid reporters in this interview.

[@jekonimus]

yes. When is this from?

[@bethenawaltz4190]

honestly, it sounds like he's giving a regular talk to college kids in a room, rather than reporters

[@eamon7034]

I simply don't know what I'd do without this man. Targeted criminality causes the greatest harm.

[@hyzercreek]

No, drug dealers cause the greatest harm. DRUGS ruin people, and drug pushers ruin whole neighborhoods. 90,000 people died of drug overdoses last year, tell me again how making it illegal causes harm.

[@beautifullights8484]

@@hyzercreek Safe injection sites, which would require decriminalisation, are the most reliable method of preventing drug overdoses.

[@hyzercreek]

@@beautifullights8484 Best method of preventing drug overdoses is to never take drugs in the first place. Drugs are not a disease, shooting yourself in the head is not a disease, poking you own eye out is not a disease, jumping off a building is not a disease. The needle doesn't inject itself.

[@beautifullights8484]

​@@hyzercreek Abstinence based policy, like the US war on drugs, increases the rate of overdose. All of your examples are reliable indicators of a mental disorder.

[@hyzercreek]

@@beautifullights8484 Yeah, that's why so many Amish and Mormons OD

[@Baron-nv1ez]

Even Chomsky's hate love him, it's like he's so confident that even when people get mad at him they can't help but like Chomsky because of how calm he can remain when being attacked by the other person.

[@ZoldZsolt]

Reefer Madness was never described better before. Gotta love this guy.

[@deafforever3534]

I don't know how you can know somewhere greater than or equal to 99.9% of humans & still show so much patience.

[@boobbbers]

I think sugar should be classified as a hard drug. You can ONLY get it through extraction, you can totally overdose on sugar, and the leading cause of death in the US is heart disease (correlated to sugar consumption). Also, good luck trying to find food to buy without sugar in it too. Go a couple days without sugar and tell me about your withdrawal symptoms.

[@darkthought784]

boobbbers yes.

[@ometta7]

Sugar is an essential nutrient in just about every food. I think you're talking about refined sugar, not sugar in general. Fruit is very high in sugar, as are some vegetables.

[@alrhayul5536]

ometta7 Dishonest assertion; refined fructose and sucrose are toxic chemicals. Fructose found in whole fruits/vegetables is lower in concentration and the effects are mitigated by fiber. While glucose (A.K.A. carbs) is an essential energy source, many foods that are eaten have molecules that are converted into glucose during digestion. Most of it goes to the brain, what isn't used by the brain is stored in all other cells, and the tiny amount (

[@gallectee6032]

@@alrhayul5536 Glucose cannot be stored as fat as it has to be converted into a lipid beforehand. The process itself (de novo lipogenesis) uses up about 30% of the energy (so the

[@juanmonge7418]

Sugar was the cause of the Atlantic slave trade.

[@soluyll8915]

Quick rundown on "sugar". Glucose: found in starches such as potatoes is mostly used as energy for cells, and the only energy source used by the brain (other than air). Very important, needless to say healthy if not overconsumed Fructose: Found in fruits and vegetables, is regulated by fiber that inhibits digestion in the body. A simple molecular structure which the body uses as a immediate source of energy. Highly addictive and rare to find in wild life. Fructose Extract/ Refined Fructose: Pure or highly concentrated fructose extracted out of plants and strip of all fiber and nutrients. Without fiber to regulate digestion the fructose is immediately filtered by the liver, when in high enough dosages the liver is overwhelmed and sends the fructose directly into the blood stream where it then releases the chemical insulin in order to remove it from the body via urination (possibly sweat too, not sure). The excess fructose that enters the cell is converted into fat due the body's attempt to rid itself of the toxin. Refined fructose A.K.A refined sugar has numerous long term health effects and is highly addictive. Fructose has no nutritional value and is thus responded to as a toxin by the body's immune and digestive system. WHO and other medical organizations do not recommend the consumption of refined fructose, however research suggest that consumption of up to 5 grams a day may be relatively safe. Up to 5g's per day.

[@hyzercreek]

Your post is utter foolishness. Sucrose is a disaccharide, and every molecule of sucrose contains a molecule of fructose. Nobody ever said sugar is good for you, but to single out fructose and not include sucrose is just stupid. Where did you hear that fructose is allowed into the bloodstream? The only sugar found in the blood is glucose. Urinate the fructose out? Nobody ever finds fructose in urine. Pretty much every sentence in your post is wrong. Fiber doesn't inhibit digestion, just because it's not digested itself. And saying fiber has "nutrition" is idiotic. How can it have nutrition if it's not digested?

[@Jamie-js3qw]

ouchh@@hyzercreek

[@hyzercreek]

@@Jamie-js3qw Ouch I guess, but I just re-read the OP and found about 5 more points that were wrong. Fructose is naturally found in most fruit. It's nature's way of attracting animals to eat the fruit and spread the seed, because fructose is the sweetest of all sugars. It is totally natural and harmless....toxic? Wow! Insulin doesn't cause the body to eliminate sugar by urination, it causes the body to eliminate sugar by transporting it into fat cells where it's turned to fat. And.....sugar eliminated by sweating? Good greif!! Have you ever heard of anybody sweating sugar?????? Oh my God can you imagine how many ants that would attract when you sleep? This writer knows absolutely nothing.

[@kentallard8852]

The gin ban was 18th century. There were two famous woodblock printings made to promote this, early propaganda, depicting "gin lane" as a scene of debauchery and violence among the poor and "beer street" as good proper upstanding middle class merchants and professionals

[@veryliberalprogressiveathe6117]

Legalize, Tax, and Regulate All Drugs on a Federal level and provide rehabilitation for addicts and release all non-violent drug offenders from jail

[@LuxAeterna22878]

Play this at half speed and you get drunk Noam Chompsky still managing to make salient points about drugs and alcohol.

[@jackieboyborden]

God I love this guy

[@fanaticoamador]

Chomsky is so well educated and knowledgeable... I wish more people would listen to him, specially politicians

[@TommyLikeTom]

level 100 linguistics gives you the ability to talk without moving your lips

[@HealthyAnt]

The man!

[@counsela9240]

Fascinating!

[@ketp87]

Great clip, more with the history lessons please!!

[@uttaradit2]

More Chomsky = less ignorance

[@hyzercreek]

Chomsky is ignorant. He says drugs are not a problem, criminalizing it is a problem. He's nothing but a fool.

[@audis430]

A Gem

[@musick2138]

pls provide a DESCRIPTION. Recorded (aired?) WHEN? WHERE? ...

[@swingyflingex3458]

+musick2138 yeah, that'd be cool

[@Chomsky94]

nice old one. Thanks :p

[@uttaradit2]

Ignorance is the worlds biggest killer - discuss.

[@gunkwretch102]

actually coffee, or more specifically caffeine kills thousands of people each year from heart attacks, marijuana kills 0

[@QueenDarkKingHeart]

+gunk wretch I doubt it. One hit from a weed bong makes me have more severe heart palpitations than four or five cups of black coffee ever could. At any rate, neither substance is ever going to be lethal unless you have a pre-existing heart condition.

[@gunkwretch102]

science shows this, its not that you have an overdose when you drink coffee, its that years of drinking coffee fucks with your heart and can eventually lead to heart attacks

[@QueenDarkKingHeart]

gunk wretch That's plausible. But I still maintain that I think someone is more likely to have a heart attack from a single "overdose" of weed than an "overdose" of coffee. (Overdose in parentheses because no such thing exists unless you have a specific condition which makes you susceptible to heart palpitations.)

[@fredericdemazagran9227]

+QueenDark KingHeart hahahahahaha...an overdose of weed

[@BollocksUtwat]

You maintain it based on what? Your personal experience?

[@davidfeld22]

Two of the most deadly American substances are alcohol and tobacco. Beer and cigarettes will kill you and others. Law enforcement and treatment expenses are split 2/3 for enforcement and 1/3 treatment. The habit is not criminal. It's tragic, but not criminal. More lives most probably would be saved if we spent 2/3 on treatment.

[@hyzercreek]

Right, so saying alcohol and tobacco are harmful means cocaine and heroin are fine? You are an idiought.

[@ItsRamzi]

To listen to another contemporary intellectual on this matter, search for B-Real.

[@Tychoxi]

Anybody knows this audio's source?

[@racso932]

When was this recorded?

[@aaaatttt101]

How do you get enough people to listen to this?

[@sydparrott8552]

Where can I find the entire lecture?

[@yasminea.4681]

*Enrilichman, former aide of Nixon.

[@LeslieDugger]

Noam chopsky me up a line.

[@tonyballoney5552]

Another Chomsky video down the Pipe.

[@comporellon]

is there a link to the whole talk/interview?

[@Crouchy232323]

The problem with young people nowadays is their having a short attention span. Be it due to drugs or excessive consumerism, I don't know. I'm thirteen and I can te

[@Crouchy232323]

The Left Testicle Yeah me too. Like I said most folk my age don't have the concentration to be able to even do the one th

[@Crouchy232323]

***** True. Kids in my class are almost cha

[@DarkKnightOmega]

I think the lack of attention span for the younger generation has to do with more finely tuned distractions (on tv, cell phones, ads everywhere etc.) Older ppl didn't have it around in such great abundance. The collective effect is ppl are used to constant stimulation, expecting it, and don't even possess the ability to read through text above a sixth grade reading level. This isn't based on research I've read, just observation. But if ppl, young or old, don't hone their attention spans, they lose the ability to think and perceive matters deeper than surface level interaction.

[@noreexic]

+Benjamin Lynch Are you that oblivious to this troll?

[@Crouchy232323]

InterestingName Who are you calling a tro

[@ludvigforsgren4336]

Does anyone know were I can find the original speech (or lecture)?

[@globaldigitaldirectsubsidi4493]

Whattabout DMT, hun?

[@Eoin_D]

This was pre fentanyl or prescription opiods but still stands

[@Amanda53424]

What year was this?

[@athenaa23]

When is this from?

[@billmitchell2080]

A friend of mine died yesterday from tobacco.

[@notimelikethepresent4739]

1:22 One of the rare times I disagree with Noam. The first would be Sugar.

[@BollocksUtwat]

Sugar isn't a drug and if it is then all food is a drug. Its cute to try and explain sugar is one but that's more a rhetorical device for explaining how we view drugs as absolutely insane.

[@notimelikethepresent4739]

Huh? Wtf are you on about LOL...

[@ometta7]

Sugar is an essential nutrient, same with fat. First would actually be caffeine, which is alarmingly addictive but so commonplace that we give it to children.

[@juliusmerlino2027]

ometta7 yeah but how much damage does sugar kill

[@chrissimi788]

I just saw another video of Noam Chomsky where he said the two most lethal substanced around are tobacco and sugar

[@juliusmerlino2027]

Why was it criminalized in other European countries?

[@BoomerangPutting]

FTA

[@atomoyoga]

There is people still today who believe the problem is cocaine and weed... This man was way beyond his times and still is

[@hyzercreek]

There is still people who think cocaine and heroin are not a problem. These people are known as idioughts.

[@jeffryphillipsburns]

Everything said here was a commonplace by 1970 or so. That doesn’t mean it can’t fruitfully be said again, but that doesn’t make Chomsky’s remarks “beyond his times”.

[@com.mariobiro]

It's making me sad that only 31 732 ppl watched this already... More people dies in drug war's all over the world every month. I would say it is one of the major reason why this whole society is so fucked up. Even tho we have internet, advanced communication technologies and so on, people rather give attention to nonsense bullshits, and smart guys like this are underrated, living in some kind of shade on edge of the society...

[@richidpraah]

Another good rant about drugs vs. capitalism: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6DakJKwaLaibsU

[@MarshallMathersthe7th]

I don't agree with this at all, tobacco and alcohol being bad doesn't make harddrugs good. The number of deaths is simply lower for harddrugs because they are illegal. I wouldn't want to know what happens when cocaine and heroin suddenly become legal and people get addicted. Only have to take a look at certain areas what harddrugs do to people. I can't understand how an intellectual like Noam actually defends this shit, even if it was a while ago. I only agree with marihuana, but that is softdrugs.

[@HipsterBane69]

you're wrong, but that's ok because you don't know any better.

[@arturobandini4078]

He never said that tobacco bad = hard drugs good. He didn't come close to it. He was highlighting the disproportionality of criminalising those drugs, but leaving alcohol and tobacco freely available despite the severe social consequences of booze and cigarettes. Also, I am not aware of any proof that criminalising drugs makes for lower deaths. Hopefully you're not trying to suggest that decriminalising drugs would mean that everyone is going to go out trying hard drugs...that wouldn't happen.

[@HipsterBane69]

@@arturobandini4078 i just want to say i LOVE john fante!

[@MarshallMathersthe7th]

@@arturobandini4078 How are you so sure about people not going to try harddrugs when it is widely available? How many people still start smoking today even though everyone knows the dangers of smoking and that it is highly addictive. Answer: alot. And the problem with harddrugs is that unlike tobacco other people are affected by it. Already now that it is illegal you have many places in America (skid row i think it is called? where there is an epidemic off drug-addicts. What is gonna happen when it will become legal and widely available? What will other countries think if say cocaine is legal from now on in Europe? Drugs smuggling will increase severly. And ever seen someone having withdrawal symptoms from Heroin? You just don't want people to have to go through that, it is horrible. And what Noam forgets, Tobacco and alcohol are freely available because it is not a huge drain on society. Nobody has ever become homeless thinking of nothing else than tobacco. This happens with harddrugs alot, cocaine, heroin, they lost everything and sold everything just to be able to use again. Alcohol is used by many, from low to highclass in society, afcourse there are people who are hopelessly addicted to alcohol and also lost everything. But that percentage is way lower than for example heroine or cocaine.

[@MarshallMathersthe7th]

@@HipsterBane69 Sure buddy, you just don't agree with what i said.

[@jplino3466]

Actually Marijuana IS good for you.

[@thatbuckmulligan]

No it's not.

[@mcivor321]

It's not, can give you psychosis

[@nebojsagalic4246]

Tobacco is as bad as hard drugs, but alcohol, unlike either, CAN be consumed in moderate healthy quantities.

[@peterptchronic9696]

+Nebojsa Galic Tobacco kills far more people than hard drugs. Tobacco and alcohol make up five times the amount of deaths of illicit drugs and I believe prescription drug overdoses also outnumber illegal drugs. The overwhelming majority of people who use hard drugs use them in moderate quantities and aren't addicts. You have a misunderstanding of how addiction works. It's not the substances that cause the addiction (although some are physically addictive), it's down to the person who has the addiction and the social conditions they are in. Please read either Dr Carl Hart or Gabor Mate on this subject, two experts in the field of addiction.

[@TheMelonFarmers123]

alcohol affects more organs in the body than Marijuana or cocaine

[@nebojsagalic4246]

Gil Rybak But it is nowhere near as addictive, and there is such a thing as a healthy quantity of alcohol.

[@dropj3]

+Nebojsa Galic That's not true at all. alcohol is much more addictive then a lot of other drugs. LSD, MDMA, mescaline, marijuana, DMT et cetera.. all are less addictive and less harmful then alcohol. I can name more if you like and even provide studies..

[@nebojsagalic4246]

Nash Ensinck People can have a beer a day and not become alcoholics. The same can`t be said of tobacco or heroin, ot cocaine or any other hard drug. Alcohol/cigarettes are legal and cheaper so people use them MUCH more than hard drugs, and so get addicted far more often. The same is true of perscription drugs. Yes they all currently kill more people, but only because they are cheaper and more available. I know LSD does not cause addiction, it is still dangerous as it can, like all hallucinogens, create extremely nasty hallucinations as well as pleasant ones, and people who are having horrifying hallucinations are a danger to themselves and others. To get a comparable effect with alcohol, you need to rutinely drink yourself half to death.

[@kostalion777]

It is misleading how my man Chomsky is interpreting the statistics. Tobacco is bigger killer than hard drugs because way much more people use it and in more quantities. Imagine if as many people would use cocaine, meth and heroin and as often as people use tobacco, meaning on daily bases. Is that kind of a world we would want to live in? Its not only about killing, its same with marijuana. Chomsky is always worried what make people passive and distracted from what Governments do and their policies, what will happen in this regard if as many people would be high with marijuana all the time as there are tobacco users.

[@alvinrobertsonjr7625]

kostalion777 look into countries in Latin America.. there are a few that have decriminalized it and drug addiction is down..

[@tonywords6713]

yeah we don't need your hypothesis we have evidence to back up that your claim is bullshit. For the record MILLIONS of children take meth daily before they go to school, it's called adderall moron.

[@sirmungus7113]

There’s no reason the government should ban tobacco. Alcohol is definitely the most dangerous drug and it’s definitely a gateway drug. I don’t like the idea of legalizing hard drugs, but the trafficking has to be dealt with more seriously.

[@sirmungus7113]

I don’t see anyway to crack down on alcohol either. Probably less advertising. Also maybe a crackdown of alcohol in colleges

[@taushifh.9065]

Cigarettes, alcohol and all drugs should be banned. Not medicine. Well, some medicine as well, but mainly drugs for recreational use. There is no benefit in these products for human beings and if there is some benefit, the harm is greater than the benefit. The Western world seems to be stuck in its perpetual hypocrisy considering its laws regarding cigarettes, alcohol and drugs. When profit is put over progress, then this is the result I guess.

[@reginvaersson2879]

You used 'harm' and 'benefits' just as bad and good are used - If the people would agree that the benefits are smaller than the harm, nobody would take those drugs.

[@taushifh.9065]

Regin Vaersson Our subjective view of whether or not these drugs are harmful or beneficial is not an acceptable way of deciding whether or not we should use them. Lets look at the facts about drugs then make a choice.

[@reginvaersson2879]

taushif hayder A choice is always subjective. Most people know what consequences the drugs theyr taking can have - They know the facts and decide to take them for obvious benefits anyway. To ban something needs a reason, a legitimit reason.

[@taushifh.9065]

T.a.w Bailey Yes, you as an individual have the right to ruin yourself, but that does not mean it should become a social norm. All measures should be taken to prevent it. You sound like an anarchist. You can't have rule where you want it and anarchy where you want it.

[@taushifh.9065]

T.a.w Bailey Everyone has flaws. That doesn't mean we give in and succumb to whatever remaining flaws we don't have. That is the mentality of a weak person. The reality is that drugs have detrimental effects on an individual and on society as a whole.

[@thetoughguy7]

weed is a drug and should be banned as well. Great job Noam!