I was educated as a physicist, but I spent most of my working career (over 30 years at MIT) doing mostly engineering on infrared sensors, high energy laser systems, and radar systems. Prior to working at MIT I had been a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malaysia for three years. Besides living in Malaysia, I have also lived in the Marshall Islands, Hawaii, and Ireland. ( I seem to have spent a lot of time on islands…) I enjoy the arts as well as the sciences, and I am the founder of a music event in Hawaii called The Kauai Music Festival. I recently embarked on a new career as a writer of books, both fiction and non-fiction. I have completed my first novel and I am now working on a non-fiction book about Ireland. My interests are wide-ranging, as you can tell from my blog. I am happy to receive comments but as a rule I won’t reply unless you ask me to. I figure I have had my say with the blog and you should be able to have your say too.
If you like my blog, you might be interested in reading my novel about a worldwide pandemic. It’s called The Viral Epiphany. You can order a paperback version from Amazon here. Or if you have a Kindle Reader you can take a look at it and order it here.
Hey Uncle Rich!
Your blog is better than my economics class.
Garrett
I’ve read a couple of your posts and enjoyed them. 🙂
I’ve read a couple of your posts and enjoyed them. 🙂
Interesting blog.
What is your take on the new/not-actually-new topic on legalizing drugs to increase state profits and to decrease crime?
This is an interesting question. I think the principal issue to be resolved is whether the drug in question has any therapeutic effects. If it can be scientifically shown that the drug in question, e.g. marijuana, does have therapeutic value then I think it should be treated like any other prescription drug. I doubt that making marijuana a legal drug would have a major impact on state profits though – and it probably wouldn’t do much to decrease crime either since I believe that most users smoke it for “recreational” purposes. Heroin was originally created as a pain killer for cancer patients and it worked remarkably well – which is why it was called “our heroine” or just heroin. In the end the medical industry found other, equally effective drugs, and heroin was outlawed because of the extreme dangers of heroin addiction. I don’t think marijuana is in the same class as heroin, but I am not aware of any major journals, such as the New England Journal of Medicine, printing articles that say marijuana has medicinal properties that cannot be found elsewhere. I think the jury is still out on that issue, but I am also not sure if any serious scientific studies are even being done now in this regard.
In any case, I think a case by case analysis has to be done. For example morphine is very effective against pain, and it is approved for medicinal use, but it is tightly controlled because of its addictive properties. Marijuana is probably not nearly as powerful as morphine and also probably not nearly as addictive. The real question is this: does marijuana perform a function that other drugs cannot perform, and is it actually addictive? Until the scientific studies are done and the results reported in a reputable scientific journal, I see no reason to legalize its use as a prescriptive drug. Legalizing marijuana or similar substances for recreational use is an entirely different issue. Cigarettes, which provide a nicotine hit, are a legal recreational “drug”. So is alcohol. In the case of marijuana we should ask whether marijuana is as harmful or helpful to society as cigarettes and alcohol and decide accordingly. Theoretically we should be consistent. Remember that at one time cocaine was legal (recall how Coca Cola got its name) but eventually the drug was found to be too addictive and the cause of too many problems. I suppose one could compare marijuana with alcohol and say the effects are pretty much the same; however, the problem is that alcohol is sort of grandfathered in while marijuana is sort of a newcomer, and society today is not as accepting about mind bending drugs as it was hundreds of years ago. In any event, I don’t think the question is about recreational use of marijuana; it is about medicinal use. So, happily, I don’t have to answer the recreational drug use question, and as for the legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana – show me the evidence.
Garrett, I know you asked Dr. McSheehy the question, but I had an ephphany on this a couple of years ago as I was replying to a burning question about taxes at a blog. It’s very obvious that billions if not hundreds of billions has been spent on the “war” on drugs (which I happen to believe has been spent promoting the war by governments against their people FOR drug addiction, but that’s another subject), and the value of drugs would plummet if they were legalized and controlled.
Whose interest is served by government bans on drugs?
Compelling answers regarding cartel banks and their puppets in government, wars, secret services, oil, and etc. in HOW THE WORLD REALLY WORKS.
Apparently it IS conspiracy.
I’m reading your “About” page and doing the Wayne’s World “We’re not worthy!” bow! =) Your resume and experiences are great and your writing is wonderful. I found your blog by searching in WordPress.com for health care reform because I am so exasperated trying to find someone to listen and speak to about how important an issue it is to those of us experiencing or who have experienced health problems and the unfortunate circumstances that come with it in this country. I feel I am floating in space trying to reach for Canada and screaming “The solution is so close!”. So thank you so much for allowing me to comment on your pages and vent, mull and question political wisdom! Joan
Just thinking and I think of all sorts of weird ponderances, but if the legal use of drugs like cocaine, opium, marijuana and others, that were in use for medical and recreational use over the previous hundreds of years, had been stopped just because of the physical danger of use and not also the political and moral reasons for making them illegal, would we have as violent and widespread a drug war going on? I know people say temptation to use something illegal is there but if nobody told you drug use was morally wrong would that come into play? And it has become such a big political issue in the last century. It just seems to go with alcohol prohibition. Tell people it’s wrong and the gangsters made sure alcohol was plentiful but also a bloody business.
I’m interested in your book…but have a Sony Ereader,not a Kindle. Can it be purchased in any other format?
Thank you for your interest in The Viral Epiphany. At the present time the book is only available for Kindle reading devices; however, we are working to have a paperback version of the book available on Amazon in the near future.
I’m happy to report that my novel is now available in paperback too! If you are interested you can view and order it from Amazon from the link below:
Aloha Rich!
The last time I had seen you was back in 2003 when I was invited by you and BMI at the very 1st Annual BMI Kauai Music Festival, ypu, longtime ago…
I would like to contact you if possible and you can reach via my email address.
Hope to hear from you!
Aloha!
Kealii Blaisdell
Hi uncle Rich,
I read your profile, it’s great to know that you are a writer. I too write but just a fresher sorts :), your blogs are very informative……..can you please tell me how to subscribe to your blogs.
Also, let me know are your novels available in bookstores….here in India?
Regards
Hi Daisy,
There is a new signup box on my blog for subscriptions. Just click it and you will be subscribed.
Thanks,
Rich
Hi uncle Rich,
I read your profile, it’s great to know that you are a writer. I too write but just a fresher sorts 🙂 , your blogs are very informative……..can you please tell me how to subscribe to your blogs.
Also, let me know are your novels available in bookstores….here in India?
Regards
Hi Daisy, I don’t think my novel is available in India, but you might be able to order it from Amazon.com .
Hi,
See my work too: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/daisykumar-1125980-culture-influencing-our-critical-thinking/
I have great interest in different cultures… why don’t you write something anything on this topic. Would like to know your thoughts too!
Regards
Hi Daisy,
Thanks for the idea. I will give it some thought.
Best,
Rich
Hello,
I’m a text researcher working on Gale’s forthcoming textbook, At Issue: Should the Federal Income Tax be Eliminated?, scheduled to be released in the first quarter of 2014. Gale, as a part of Cengage Learning, is a leading provider of high quality educational and reference materials for academic, professional and library markets worldwide.
The editors of this volume would like to include an article of yours which appears at: https://richmcsheehy.wordpress.com/2010/12/18/the-fairest-tax-of-all-and-the-only-tax-we-need/
Please let me know of an email address to which I can send more information and a Permissions Letter to.
Kind regards,
Kiran Kaur | Text Researcher
Q2A Bill Smith