Opium

I am not one to dictate how individuals freely develop their personality. In the 19th century, opium was widely used as medicine and recreationally. All ancestral tribes, both in the East and the Americas, have used hallucinogenic elements that recreate and evade reality to avoid experiencing life "plainly." I recall a friend once telling me, "If they ban alcohol, I'll smoke marijuana, but I need something to get through tribulations." Our director, last month, dedicated two consecutive editorials to the topic of drugs, referencing what is happening in the Netherlands and other developed countries that have allowed the use of opioids, cannabis, and other hallucinogenic agents without restrictions or prohibitions for decades. Up to that point, as Pibe says, "all good"; the problem arises when a person becomes disturbed and it turns into a health issue that impacts a country's GDP. Alerts have been triggered in developed countries; Colombia and Mexico are aware of the bloodshed and anxiety caused by insecurity and cartel conflicts. In religion and politics, we can read many philosophers discussing how religion, football, and politics have nocebo effects on the collective mind. Returning to the editorials of February 22nd and 23rd, 2026, in our newspaper, El Universal, the editorialist wisely states, "The issue lies in reviewing how to regulate more sensibly concerning the effects caused by that drug (hallucinogens), considered less harmful than others." Regarding the deleterious effects on human behavior that the Netherlands, a serious and mature country, now recognizes, we doctors know how they can alter the natural cannabinoid system we are born with, affecting not only the psyche but also the immune and emotional systems, and our other natural defense system. I reviewed some serious literature and observed the damage it causes not only to individuals but also to the core of society, the family. And, with the family, an entire society ends up paying with more human suffering and welfare costs. Following the editorial line: "Unthinkable a few decades ago that the Netherlands could become a nerve center for cocaine trafficking in Europe, particularly through the port of Rotterdam, which has led to the prohibition of the production and sale of designer drugs, i.e., new psychoactive substances, since mid-2025, to prevent drug traffickers from exploiting them." My colleague Christian Ayola has written multiple columns on the topic; I highlight two: "The War on Drugs" and "The Voice of Addiction." From the latter, I take away: "In addiction therapy, we consider it more convenient to call things by their true name, to avoid denial, the hardest symptom to overcome, which prevents the addict from becoming aware of their illness and hinders the possibility of treatment. Therefore, both the congressman and the influencer should elicit our compassion."