AK-Jeff---You've made some good points. I do take issue with lumping heroin and psychedelics together, but in this case you are right to do so....they both render people physically useless.
I am all for keeping powerful drugs out of the hands of idiots. I suppose the only way to do so is to keep them illegal. It's not effective, but at least the government can say "You can't blame us".
The only thing that angers me is that there are some extremely conscientious, responsible, law-abiding folks out there who have to risk their physical freedom in order to enjoy mental freedom. I cannot adequately express the overwhelming goodness.. the permanent and positive mental restructuring, the obliteration of ingrained bad habits and destructive thought processes. I mean, a person can learn in six hours what would have otherwise taken a lifetime, if at all.
An ex-JW can essentially reset himself, shed all those years of ingrained, faulty thought patterns and be born again to a new life. Addicts can truly see what is behind their addiction and start over with a clean slate. Virtually any negative life pattern can be left behind. This stuff can and does take a person to their psychological center, square one, and allows them to observe all the choices they have made up to that point and decide if they want to continue down that road or start on a new one, with a determination and focus previously unfathomable.
But (long sigh)...most people are afraid of what they do not know, and they like to cite the occasional horror story to justify their own opinions. Perhaps I am erring the other way...seeing only my own wonderful experiences and not any of the casualties. I will always be grateful to have been introduced to psychedelics, and grateful for the life long gifts they have bestowed.