To punish drug takers is like a drunk striking the bleary face it sees in the mirror. Drugs will not be brought under control until society itself changes, enabling men to use them as primitive man did: welcoming the visions they provided not as fantasies, but as intimations of a different, and important, level of reality.

Summary

This quote suggests that punishing individuals who use drugs is futile and ineffective. It likens the act of punishing drug takers to a drunk person assaulting their own reflection, implying that society sometimes fails to acknowledge its own contribution to the drug problem. The quote argues that the solution lies in changing society's perspective on drugs, perceiving them not as mere fantasies but as valuable glimpses into an alternative and significant reality. Only through such a shift can drugs be effectively controlled.

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