Nobody in government wants to admit that the War on Drugs is a colossal failure.

I know a bit about addiction and the War on Drugs. I spent 22 years in recovery, counseling addicts. I have been in the cannabis business, and understand how the drug war economy works.  I spent a year and a half in jail for cannabis and a psychedelic drug. I watched my wife die due to government meddling in her medical care. I have seen the War on Drugs up close and personal, and I did not like what I saw.

Using opiates is a suicidal gesture.  It is something people do because they want to escape their lives. Here are some non-solutions to that problem:

• Isolating people does not make them want to be present in their lives.
• Imprisoning people does not make them want to be present in their lives.
• Tearing peoples’ families apart does not make them want to be present in their lives.
• Banning people from working does not make them want to be present in their lives.
• Vilifying people in the media does not make them want to be present in their lives.
• Impoverishing people does not make them want to be present in their lives.
• Waging a civil war against people does not make them want to be present in their lives.
• Kicking peoples’ doors in does not make them want to be present in their lives.
• Tapping peoples’ phones does not make them want to be present in their lives.
• Brutalizing people does not make them want to be present in their lives.
• Making people into criminals does not make them want to be present in their lives.

There are countries that have solved this problem. Switzerland and Portugal are great examples. And there are countries, like ours, where the government takes sick people and treats them like criminals.  It is in the “lock ’em up” countries that the Opiate Epidemic is in full flower. In the (very few) “leave ’em alone” countries, it is waning.  This is not to say that we should ignore or tolerate actual crimes committed by addicts.  If an addict violates the rights of another, than they should be dealt with just like any other criminal.  But they should not be punished for being addicts.

If you care about somebody with a drug problem, Elect Nobody.  Because Nobody should persecute your loved one for being an addict.

Here is a TED talk by the author of “Chasing The Scream”:

Everything You Think You Know About Addiction Is Wrong!

By Johann Hari

A fine endorsement today from the Union Leader:

Original Article

Five more people have filed for Keene city positions — including a mayoral contender with an unusual name.

Nobody, formerly known as Rich Paul, filed for mayor early Wednesday morning, though the paperwork wasn’t posted with the other declarations on the city’s website until Thursday.

A YouTube video posted Wednesday on the Free Keene blog shows him in a court hearing to legally change his name to Nobody. In the video, he tells the judge he is changing his name out of “a combination of performance art and protest.”

In a text message this morning, he wrote that “the system is broken, and Nobody can fix it.

“Nobody cares about the poor, Nobody will end the wars, Nobody will end the genocidal war on drugs,” he continued.

Original Article

KEENE — Nobody wants to become the next mayor of Keene.

“I’m running because Nobody knows how to run your life better than you do, Nobody deserves that kind of power, and Nobody tells the truth anymore, and I want to be that guy,” said the candidate named Nobody.

Free State activist Nobody, who legally changed his name from Rich Paul earlier this summer, is in the running to become Keene’s next mayor.