Daniel E. Williams and “The Naked Truth about Drugs”
April 17, 2008
In a recent post, I condemned the legions of “keyboard commandos” on the internet. In addition, I mentioned one of the perks of being a blogger – meeting interesting people. Daniel Williams, 2008 Presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party, falls squarely into that category. Daniel is also the author of “The Naked Truth about Drugs”, a copy of which he graciously sent to me. Here’s a quick review. Comments and criticism are welcome. By the way, he’s the naked guy in the photo.
In the first paragraph of the prologue, Daniel mentions that not only is he in favor of legalizing all drugs, but that he has personally experimented with each of them (I assume this means that he did, in fact, inhale). In doing so, Daniel violates the first “rule” of presidential politics - he tells the truth.
The next 163 pages of The Naked Truth about Drugs reads like an encyclopedia of drug classes laced (pun intended) with personal anecdotes. The result is, needless to say, an interesting read. Daniel pulls no punches and spins very little (from what I can tell). In the process, he argues that people have the fundamental right to do what they wish with their own bodies – a concept that most people, at least on the surface, agree with.
Daniel makes clear the undeniable truth that drug prohibition is a relatively new phenomenon to the developed world and, in particular, the United States. To help emphasize this point, he recounts not only the presence of cocaine in the original Coca-Cola recipe (old hat) and other tonics throughout American history, but he also ties those drinks to the founding fathers and other revered Americans from days past. For example, he writes about Vin Mariani, a cocaine-laced wine produced in Europe during the latter half of the 19th century and widely distributed in the United States, an undeniable fact of history. And although he does not include color photos and first person testimonies of “prominent” Americans indulging, isn’t it more reasonable to assume that they did partake rather than to cling to the more puritanical-cherry tree chopping-slave emancipating myths that most of us were taught in grade school? Multiple substances now deemed illegal were available at the corner pharmacy. Were they only purchased by low-lifes? I doubt it.
Many of Daniel’s claims throughout The Naked Truth about Drugs are backed up by solid references, including peer-reviewed medical journals and government data which, surprisingly, often contradict the political rhetoric in support of prohibition. However, there are a few references, for example, the etymology of the term “hashish”, which are widely disputed but, ultimately, don’t retract from the message of the book – the total repeal of drug prohibition. Does it really matter how hashish got its name?
Daniel recounts multiple run-ins with law enforcement officials and some pretty hard partying to say the least. Most of it is fun to read, but the chapters relating to his military service and the mental states of those charged with operating America’s European-based nuclear arsenal will likely spin some heads. Fortunately, that’s the only spinning he does. For example, most Baby-Boomer political candidates claim to have reacted to President Nixon’s corruption with outrage. Daniel did too, but he went a step further and, “rolled a big fat joint and smoked it down to the nub” (page 103) – a revelation that could actually bolster his support among younger voters.
At the end of the day, the main thrust of The Naked Truth about Drugs is supported by one major statistic – a 2% addiction rate before prohibition, and a 2% addiction rate after almost a century of drug prohibition. I would have liked to have seen a few more references (primarily historical) and a comprehensive index of topics discussed in the book but, in general, I enjoyed it. In addition, I laughed out loud more than a few times as Daniel tells stories with so much apparent honesty it makes you wonder how he’d fare in a debate with the other “real” candidates. Personally, I hope he gets the chance. If the measure of a “real” candidate were honesty, he may be the only “real” candidate on the stage. I just hope he remembers to wear clothes.
Disclaimer: This is a book review. My own opinions on the War on Drugs can be found here.
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Thanks for the review. You captured the essence of my work - drug prohibition hasn’t worked and never will. The salient point, one you discerned, is that our addiction rate has remained unchanged throughout all this insanity.
What has changed is that drug prohibition has created a brutally efficient and corrupting black market that, in pure economic terms, is roughly equal to 8% of the world’s GNP.
I’ll send along a more thorough response later, but, for now, any reader of RHM’s review can visit my website - http://www.thenakedtruthaboutdrugs.com - and click on Contact Us, then send me your mailing address and I’ll send you a gratis copy.
Thanks Daniel for offering our readers free copies of the book. Classy move.