[xpe]

I grant that the DEA deserves scrutiny for its handling of the Adderall manufacturers. [1]

[1] https://reason.com/2024/02/26/dea-shuts-down-drug-factory-ev...

Stepping back (hopefully to clear the air), I hope you can see this: it is hard for others to tell when you are using a phrase sarcastically to criticize some other party's usage of the same phrase.

Aside: unfortunately, the use of "war" as in "war on drugs" often corresponds with armed conflict... though to my knowledge, this is not a recognized problem with amphetamine mixed salts.

[adastra22]

War on Drugs.

War on Poverty.

War on Cancer.

America just loves war metaphors. I think you're reading too much into it.

https://www.hoover.org/research/rise-war-metaphor-public-pol...

[xpe]

I’m aware. I am hoping to persuade it is better to not abuse the word as well. How we choose to frame things can help promote useful conversation or hinder it.

I’m detecting an argument that “other people muddle words, so I can too”. Yikes. Can ain’t the same thing as should.

Maybe I should be more specific: The words you wrote can be easily read as a crackpot suggestion that the FDA is seeking to actively harm people with ADHD. (I write this now after having reread the source comment.)

Cancer doesn’t know we are at war with it; neither does poverty. There is no one we can kill to solve these problems. Instead, hopefully, we are seeking understanding of science and human nature so that we can reduce these problems.

Anyhow, I can’t tell if any of my main logical arguments have gotten through, which is a symptom of a bad conversation in my eyes at least. I don’t view this as a debate —- rather as a process of understanding.