Leap 4 Love

A new word: drope

English has no good, short word for psycho-active substance, so I coined the word "drope" in 2000.

We can use "drope" instead of the very misleading and inaccurate uses of terms such as "drugs and alcohol", "drugs or alcohol", "drugs", "dope", "substances", "meds", etc.

DEFINITIONS:
drope [< drug + dope] noun. any substance entering a body which alters thought, emotions, or behaviour and thus reduces its pleasure-or-pain response protection. Also: psycho-active or psycho-tropic substance.

verb. to affect oneself or another with drope.

droper noun. someone who consumes drope.

dropish adjective. similar to drope or a droper.

dropy adjective. of, or affected by, drope.

A usual effect of drope is to bolster the user's opinion that its use is under control and justified.

Almost all kinds are addictive or habituating and cause other physical disease and disability

Availability of drope

Legality categories of drope (in many Western countries) :

a. illegal, such as cannabis (marijuana & hashish), LSD, opium, powder cocaine, crack cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, methamphetamines (?Rx), psychedelic mushrooms, peyote, other narcotics, etc.

b. non-prescription legal ("over-the-counter"), such as nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, St. John's Wort (?), solvents to inhale, aspirin, betel nut, chocolate, etc.

c. legal by physician's prescription ("shrink" drope), such as Ritalin, methadone, Prozac, lithium, some slimming drugs, amphetamines (speed) (?Rx), barbituates (downers), morphine, some sleeping pills, tranquilizers, etc.

Those are rough categories, and there are some exceptions and qualifications. Anyway, that general idea is enough for this discussion.

Over the limit

An otherwise good substance can be used as drope. Examples:

1. Sugar. It is drope when it raises one's blood sugar level too high, but not drope when consumed in lower amounts. That can occur from eating too much dried fruit or fruit juice, which contain an unrefined sugar, fructose. A "sugar high", however, is much more likely and common from eating refined sugars, which are white, brown, or in syrup form.

Why refined sugar is so dangerous:

a. Easier to over-consume.

b. Lacks other nutrients.

c. Displaces other things in your diet.

d. Satisfies sweet cravings without providing nutrients, as do fruit or mother's milk.

Whole, fresh fruit is the best form of fruit. I have never heard of over-consuming lactose (a sugar in mother's milk) by breastfeeding.

2. Water. Psycho-active effects occur in people drinking many times as much water as is needed to quench their thirst, enough to make them physically ill.

3. Air. Hyperventilating is dangerous, I've heard. I don't know much about it.

Borderline

Some substances might be borderline in value. These 3 substances below are intended mainly for their physical effects. Even then, they are almost always poor therapy, harmful, or anti-social. They have psychoactive effects, too, I think.

1. Aspirin. Temporarily suppresses headaches, but might cause recurrences of headaches later.

2. Sleeping pills.

3. Anabolic steroids. Used to cheat in training for sport. Might not be physically habituating, but the subject might want to continue getting a large salary or admiring gazes.

Any of those 6 above can cause major problems.

Not included in the definition of drope are drugs which have no significant psycho-active effects, such as penicillin, vaccines, and Antabuse.

Habit

LSD has been called non-habituating--or one of the least habituating drugs.

Many children hate taking Ritalin, but their parents and teachers get "hooked" on having the little devils controlled by it.

Most people, including experts, commentators, and users, judge the kinds of drope mainly by how addictive or habituating they are. More important, I think, is the more general question of how much it alters your life course. From that view, LSD can be quite harmful.

Justification

The definition of drope (including "pleasure-or-pain response protection"), is subjective, circumstantial, and political. It depends on the opinion of the person uttering it.

A substance which is ordinarily drope, by the above definition, can be non-drope when its use is justified.

For instance, I think the narcotic heroin can be justified for people with very painful incurable fatal diseases. There seems to be no point to suffering that pain.

On the other hand, a young, healthy person, instead of dulling that pain with heroin, could allow their emotional pain to prompt them to improve their relationships, their work, their diet, etc. Most people in the latter situation, unfortunately, won't admit that the pain could help in that way at all, or anyway don't want to try. They claim that they are improving their lives as much as they can already and don't benefit from the emotional reminders of sadness, loneliness, boredom, etc.

Many alleged experts claim that "too much" sadness is the "disease" of depression that requires "anti-depression" drugs. I reject excuses like that. They mostly come from those with profits to be made from the drugs and their prescription. They also come from the associates of "depressed" people who won't or don't know how to help otherwise.

POT OR BOOZE?

Beer is not refreshing. It's stinky, rotten grain. You choke it down only because of habit or a desire to alter your state of mind or emotions. The only good drinks are water, mother's milk, and other health food.

People compare pot to booze. For those who have tried both, more of them prefer the former, I think, except for the legal risks.

It seems to me that for them, cannabis is the more deluding. They can more readily see the stupidity of booze. But weed can persuade you that it's really helping you, although it's still just fantasy, just like booze, but seeming to be on a more intellectual, peaceful, artistic, "spiritual", and politically progressive level.

STIGMA OF ILLEGAL DOPE

The stigma of illegal drugs is used by the authoritarian System to entice rebels into using it. Very tricky!

That's "reverse psychology". In other words, people use illegal drugs in part because the System has told them not to. The System profits greatly by luring so many rebels into becoming less efficient at rebelling against that System.

When wanting to conquer aboriginal people, Europeans were clever enough to give them "firewater" (alcoholic drink) to make their whole nations weaker. The wise elders of the tribes tried to keep their people off booze, but it was too tempting for many young bucks.

Almost the same happened to the hippie movement of the 1960s. The war machine couldn't draft us, so they tricked most of our young bucks into trying dope and thus they severely weakened our movement. Otherwise I think we would have succeeded in bringing love and peace to the whole world.

DROPE MODERATION?

Most people think that their drope use is excused by its relative infrequency, low doses, or other "moderation". If you are one of those people and you believe in experimenting on yourself, I challenge you to try my plan. Go without drope for one year of every 7 years, like a sabbatical. Not one day out of 7--that's way too easy.
Do you think that I should try dope, in exchange, if you do that? No, I won't. You're the one who likes risky, biasing experiments, not me. Tell me how it goes, will you?

End of article "Leap 2 is Joy-earned".

3. Drope is religious

Revised 2006 April 22.

For many otherwise hip people, their religion is cannabis. Catholicism is, of course, an alcoholic religion. That's their sacrament. In Islam, they go more for hashish, last I heard. For some indigenous religionists, it's sacred mushrooms, peyote, or tobacco. Almost all modern business people bow down 3 times a day (or more) to worship caffeine and refined sugar, especially.

I've been an atheist since 1965. Two years later I remember first hearing the word hippie. I immediately self-identified as one. But I never tried to delude myself with mind-altering substance: not acid, not weed, not alcohol, not Ritalin. "Good" and "bad" acid trips (LSD) are both delusions. I've had neither.
Now, if you want to be like a typical closed-minded dupe, don't read any further. But if you think my mind might still be able to have deep insights about drugs without being a guinea pig, please read on.

While I make peace with all religions, I also criticize them all. Their drug sacraments are all harmful delusions. Although marijuana makes you tend to lie back and avoid fights, and although another religion's delusion, alcohol, makes them tend to brawl and rape, neither drug is any less of a delusion. Those are both pitiful ways of living.

If you think you need a ritual, find one that improves your mind and your will power enough to help you stay out of gaol. Cannabis and alcohol are too dumb to do that for millions of incarcerated victims.
Turn instead to nicotine or caffeine? Those are not fun or satisfying highs. So what's wrong with sobriety? My fellow hippies, especially when they get to know me, respect my preference for natural highs and lows.

For generations, the alcoholics, being the sadists they tend to be, and being in control of most of the world, have been punishing the flaked-out stoners with prison. Both such sadism and such masochism are a waste of good human beings.

De-criminalization will, I hope, open the door to true recovery, not just of individuals, but recovery of our whole deeply dysfunctional society. Our culture alienates people, who then want to forget the life-long pain of lost love (starting with insufficient breastfeeding) by taking legal and illegal drugs. That includes psychiatric dope.

I've dubbed all those substances "drope"

(dr ugs + d ope). On the other hand, Joy-earned is joy which is real, functional joy, not merely stimulated by a chemical, even if that chemical is found in nature.

One old religion worships the providers of substitute mother love. That's the Hindus, who worship the cow, the milked mother-goddess. In that case, though, it's not so much the substance (cow's milk) itself that's deluding, rather, it's the way it's delivered to a child in an unloving, cruel way (bottle-feeding, especially). Though cow's milk might not be physically deluding, it's unhealthy for a species to drink the milk of a different species.

In spite of everything above, industrial and medicinal hemp are great resources. That is, medicinal for the body, not the fictitious soul. I remain an atheist regarding taking drope for so-called metaphysical reasons, for religious ecstasy, for easing the pain of emotions and social problems, etc.

Few if any "anti-drug" campaigns, of course, mention any of the above. That's because they are phony and self-serving. The truth they withhold would be liberating.

Most governments actually want you to stay droped and unliberated and religious. Then they can exploit you and pretend to be trying to help you.
Religionists tend to be loyal, obedient citizens, even when their rulers are evil. Rebel dopers, on the other hand, are perfect political scapegoats. With the excuse of protecting society and of reforming the "criminals", the government locks away many of its most rebellious subjects.

End of Article # 3, "Drope is religious".

Article # 4. We could easily end youth smoking

Revised 2006 April 22.

Why do almost all hit movies nowadays show smoking? Maybe you hadn't noticed. In the 1970s, smoking in movies went into a decline. Many actors prided themselves in refraining from smoking on screen, even if they smoked in their private lives. They knew that young movie-goers were greatly influenced to smoke by movies. As role models, the movie people wanted to be ethical.

In the years since, however, the tobacco companies have been prevented from using many of their former means of promoting smoking to youth. Movies are now their biggest and best remaining avenue.

Movies are very effective at recruiting children and teens to smoke. So effective that hardly anyone notices. Therefore, they've been able to get away with it.

Why are movie directors and actors co-operating with the tobacco cartel? For one reason, there are many new actors desperate to enter the big time. I think the ones willing to smoke on screen are given an advantage. More importantly, though, it seems that the tobacco companies, desperate for their products to be in the movies, are putting much more pressure onto the movie industry. The public has become complacent, too.

With corporate mergers, movie and tobacco companies more often wind up in the same conglomerates. Also, tobacco companies now pay the movie companies directly to have their products on screen ("product placement"). Also, some unethical, money-hungry actors, such as Sylvester Stallone, are actually contracted to smoke in movies.

As a result, I think, youth smoking rates, which had been falling, have stabilized. What should we do? Does "freedom of speech" guarantee the tobacco companies a chance to brain-wash our youth of all ages?

Society doesn't allow other things to be shown to children. Wholesome nude images don't hurt children at all, yet they are censored. At the same time, extreme violence, including smoking, is allowed to be shown to them.

If the general public were aware of all this, I think they would support banning smoking in movies for youth.

If we did that and tightened restrictions on the few other ways the tobacco companies promote smoking to children, we could pretty much end the recruitment of young smokers in about 5 years. Otherwise, we might never win.

Movie reviewers, too, if they were ethical, would warn audiences against movies which show smoking. But all the major reviewers recommend all the popular movies which glamourize the nicotine habit.
Even if a minor character or a villain smokes in a movie, that encourages the audience to smoke. Especially the rebellious kids in the audience, many of whom emotionally identify with the villains.

Surprisingly, even a anti-smoking ad which shows smoking will psychologically stimulate the viewer to smoke. Most of us don't notice because we're not insecure 12-year-olds. However, the human mind doesn't "see" negatives. "Monkey see, monkey so."

Actors generally don't realize their influence

Christina Applegate smokes in the 2004 hit movie The Anchorman, starring Will Ferrell. In real life, she's a Christian. She made her name as the daughter in the television comedy series Married . . . With Children (which I like). To make matters worse, the clip of her smoking in the new movie was shown to promote the movie on a television talk show. Neither Applegate, the host, nor anyone else on the show, even mentioned the smoking. Everyone is so used to it now, I guess, that they don't even think of commenting. (Or they are willing shills.)

With a ban on smoking in movies for youth, the movie companies would simply cut out all the smoking, except for the very few movies directed at adults-only audiences. That ban wouldn't cost the taxpayers anything!
All the expensive government (and private) education which tries to dissuade youth from smoking will continue to fail as long as the movies are allowed to promote that unhappiness and death to our kids.
Hardly anyone first starts to smoke as an adult. Without recruiting children, the tobacco industry would die. Imagine adopting this plan and then, a generation from now, hardly anyone smoking!

End of article "We could easily end youth smoking ".

5. New Swiftian plan for in-school fundraising

(Humour)

[Below is my response to sick food being sold in schools because they "can't afford" to forgo the bribes from the sick food pushers! It was published as a letter to the editor in the Vancouver Courier newspaper, BC: Vancouver, 2003 November 23, page 11:]

1. Kids must pay to enter playground.

2. Auction off the cafeteria to a fast-food chain.

3. The school uniform is a big gunny sack---but students don't have to wear them if they buy exemptions.

4. Video game and slot machine room.

5. Sell ghost-written essays to students.

6. A sweatshop for students who misbehave, fail a test, or have "attention deficit".

7. Set up a racket for wagering on school teams.

8. A tax on acts of bullying and hazing.

9. Red-light district under the bleachers (staffed by students and teachers).

10. Sell cigarettes, beer, marijuana, meth, crack, heroin, and Ritalin. (Everyone knows the students would buy them off-grounds anyway!)

End of article "New Swiftian plan for in-school fundraising".

6. Cold Turkey is the best "reality" show on USA television

Revised 2006 February 19.

The second season was broadcast 2005 April 19 to June 21. 1 hour long.

Re-runs are showing in some areas. The Web publication (see below) is not always helpful about that, but you can try it.

(In Arizona lately, re-runs are Saturdays 5 p.m., Channel 51. The printed television guides have often been wrong.)

Kick Butt (shown in British Columbia) might be a similar show. It was supposed to have returned in 2005 November, but I didn't get to see it. See end of article.

If you watch telly, I want you to see the weekly series called Cold Turkey. It is by far the best of the "reality" shows, as far as I've seen.
Why? Because the participants are working for the good of all instead of for the benefit of only one final winner. No one leaves involuntarily. There is conflict, but not the treacherous kind. They're all trying, with varying degrees of willingness and success, to quit smoking tobacco.

A little after I first watched it, I saw the first episode of a similar show, Biggest Loser (NBC), about losing fat. Unfortunately, that's a loser of a show. They vote people out of the cast, like that stupid sadistic show, Survivor.
Cold Turkey does use prize money, but it's not so much money that any of the contestants will gain much by making the others start smoking again.

Urge your smoking friends and relatives to watch. It should appeal to the older kids, maybe 8 years old and older.
See www.paxtv.com/shows/coldturk/. Their new Web address is www.ionline.tv.

Read there, for example, what happened to the first season's cast after that season finished.

TIME & CHANNEL GUIDE, U.S.A.

Cold Turkey is on the i Network, formerly PAX Family Network, in the USA.

In Arizona> Phoenix and Tempe, watch Channel 51 KPPX.

PAX was really bad about such last-minute changes, changing too late to appear in your local printed listings.
It is or was also on DirectTV Channel 255 and EchoStar Channel 181.

COLD TURKEY, THE MOVIE

The 1971 comedy movie with the same title is completely different, but very good, too. It's one of my favourite movies.

It stars Dick Van Dyke, Pippa Scott, Bob Newhart, Jean Stapleton, Tom Poston, and "Bob and Ray". Written and directed by Norman Lear. See www.imdb.com/title/tt0066927/fullcredits.

COLD TURKEY (television) NOT IN CANADA

I could find no showings in Canada for Cold Turkey on their Web site: www.paxtv.com/shows/coldturk/.

Maybe it's seen in Canada on cable from USA stations, but that's not mentioned at the Web site. Check www.paxtv.com/stations/list.cfm. In Washington State are just 2 Pax stations, KWPX and KGPX, but I don't know if they are on cable in Canada--not in Vancouver, Parksville, or Qualicum, according to the Shaw cable Web pages.

It's also on DirectTV Channel 255 and EchoStar Channel 181, but I don't know if those go to Canada. Tell me if you know, please.

BRING BACK CHELSEA!

The episode Cold Turkey II on 2005 May 31 disappointed me greatly. What happened was that cast members succeeded in bullying one of their number out of the show. That was Chelsea, age 21. Cold Turkey is my favourite programme, but hounding her out showed a really low aspect of human nature. That was too much like that stupid, inhumane show "Survivor".

The first season of Cold Turkey (2004) was better and more inspiring, I think. That was in large part because everyone remained for the entire season. That was partly because Francesca refused to leave, but also partly because the other cast weren't so vengeful, as far as I could tell. The fact that Fran stayed made them all into better people.

Yes, I know Chelsea was unpopular, perhaps for good reasons. However, it shows the cowardice and hypocrisy of the others who weren't a good example to the viewing public of how to achieve something difficult: success for everyone in the cast. Intolerance of Chelsea's irritating aspects shows just how immature and unkind the older (supposedly more mature) cast members are.

Evidence of that conclusion is how sorry everyone was when Chelsea actually was leaving, which shows how guilty all the others felt. They admitted that they liked her, but their egos wouldn't let them admit they were wrong. I think they should redeem themselves and ask her to return.

If they won't do that, I think the show's producers should replace Chelsea with someone even more problematic. Make the cast earn their money! Who said it should be easy? Everyone deserves to be supported in quitting smoking, even if it is tough to give that support. How important is some lost sleep or hurt egos? Chelsea didn't actually assault anyone. I'm not a Christian, but it wouldn't have hurt the cast "to turn the other cheek"!

KICK BUTT

Re-runs were supposed to have been shown 2005 November 15 to December 18.

I haven't had a chance to watch Kick Butt. It looks like a similar show to Cold Turkey. It might even be better than CT, I don't know, since it is a BC non-commercial production.

It was first broadcast for 5 weekly episides starting 2005 May 3 on Knowledge Network in British Columbia, on Cable 5 in some areas.

See www.knowledgenetwork.ca/kickbutt or telephone 604-431-3222.

Tell me what you think of it, please: korkyday@yahoo.com.

End of article: "Cold Turkey is the best "reality" show on television."

7. Smoking is for losers

Revised 2004 September 20.

Smoke: Lose self-respect. Lose respect of others. Lose friends. Lose love. Lose sexual function. Lose money. Lose hope. Lose will-power. Lose freedom. Lose health. Lose your mind. Lose your life.

However, people pretty much know that already. In this part, I'll detail more about how people take tobacco to try to get some Joy-unearned. They earn more pain, but they are trying for the joy.

End of article "Smoking is for losers".

Article # 8. The 12 steps from drope to Joy-earned

Revised 2006 February 19.

These are suggested "steps", that is, verbal statements and commitments to make to oneself--and maybe to others.

1. I now realize that I cannot drope beneficially. Even low doses delude and weaken people. Drope fools a body's pleasure-pain motivation system by distorting feeling and thinking.

2. I realize that I can restore my sanity, starting with a simple act of will, preferably with others' encouragement. Droping is the opposite: a quest for unearned feelings, relief, abilities, or knowledge, whether ending in addiction or not.

3. I boldly decide to return to my undroped state, to immerse myself in society's love, and to use a realistic withdrawal plan.

4. I make a searching, courageous moral inventory of myself.

5. I explain to myself and another person the exact nature of my errors and weaknesses.

6. I am entirely ready to rectify my life and to elude traps, like so-called moderate, responsible, recreational, or medicinal drope use.

7. I humbly ask others for help, avoiding those who pressure me or tempt me to slip, including professionals.

8. I list all persons I have harmed, so I can face reality and make amends.

9. I make direct amends whenever I can without causing further harm.

10. I continue to examine myself. When wrong, I promptly admit it.

11. I study, ponder, and discuss Joy-earned.

12. I neither coax nor assist others to drope. Instead, having awakened from my drope stupour, I offer the joyous, hopeful alternatives.

The above is my new variation of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), of Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and of other such recovery groups.

My version mentions no god or higher power. It encompasses all kinds of drope. I have tried to make it more empowering, not humiliating. I encourage you to use whichever version you prefer, or to write your own.

The steps are always suggested. No group, as far as I know, tries to enforce them.

For comparison: The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

--from www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/default/en_about_aa_sub.cfm?subpageid=17&pageid=24

End of Article # 8, "The 12 Steps from drope to Joy-earned".

Article # 9. Extreme Recovery Camps

2006 April 22.

Most recovery programmes available nowadays are much too mild, limited, and/or flawed. Addicts (and other victims of unearned joy) need a much more radical programme to relieve their many sufferings.

Some of the better efforts, like the Montreaux Clinic, have been forced by government to close. Others, like the Betty Ford Clinic, are expensive.

Others just accept defeat and are political substitutes for real help, such as safer injection rooms. The latter should exist for some unfortunates, but those human beings must have better options, too, such as described below.

Much cheaper for society will be to help each person recover from as many of their problems as possible, all at once, not one at a time. If you recover from only one problem, you're still unhappy and dysfunctional.

I believe that this programme of mine should be tried experimentally, at least.

Description of proposed Extreme Recovery Camps

1. Before travelling to a camp, a potential patient agrees in writing to stay in camp until the staff judges them either cured or hopeless, or until a court releases them. Maximum stay is 5 years.
2. They get no passes to leave, except for marriages, funerals, etc., if approved. If they leave without approval, they will not be re-admitted unless a camp has a vacancy that no one else wants.
3. The cost is covered by government health insurance. If a patient leaves early, they must repay the cost to the insurance plan.
4. Small camps are built far from any human activity or road and from each other, at least 20 kilometres. Most are near the ocean or river and are accessible only by boat.
5. Such isolation makes it harder for people to leave, since they have the choices of hiking out, stealing a canoe, or waiting for the fortnightly supply boat.
6. The first patients build the camps and cabins, etc. It's all inexpensive, made of scrap and recycled materials, and very rustic.
7. Each camp holds maybe 50 people, including patients and staff.
8. At first, only patients who volunteer and who are not under legal duress are admitted. When enough camps are built, they will accept others. That will include patients who choose a camp over prison or other sentence, those who have been thrown out of a camp or left before recovery, and foreigners. Soon, all local people who want in will be accepted and shipped immediately to a camp.
9. The first time a patient misbehaves seriously, they go to the brig and wait for the next boat out.

Joy-earned treatment

10. Patients with a variety of problems are treated, such as drope (psychotropic drugs), insanity (mild or severe), eating disorders, fatness, unrelenting or extreme unhappiness, gambling, pornography, vidiocy, insomnia, sloth, anti-social or inhumane feelings or behaviour, self-harming, etc. However, they need not admit to any problem more specifically.
11. A variety of therapies are offered, but what cures them is mostly just the isolation, calm, contact with the wilderness, health food, work, exercise, and the comraderie of others.

Other types of therapy offered: mega-vitamin, herbal, group discussion, counselling, 12-step, JE 12-step (see Article # 8 above), reading, hug, hug-restraint, dance, live music, acting, role-playing, story-telling, writing, art, massage, anger release, psycho-analysis, reality, comedy, nude, family visits, lactation, re-lactation, sleep, games (non-electric), gardening, composting, crafts, sewing, small repairs, acupuncture, sweat lodge, religion, ritual, maturbation, and 2-person sex (under certain conditions). They might video-tape patients for self-analysis; the resulting videos will be viewed on pedal- or hand-powered monitors.
12. Nowhere in camp will be any weapons, drope, other addictive substances, sick food, television, recordings, radio, computers, electric games, electric shavers, baby bottles, pacifiers, motor vehicles, power tools, washing machines, refrigerators, sex toys, etc. The supply boats will have few of those.

All literature, board games, song books, and other materials are carefully selected to be therapeutic: not violent, racy, gory, criminal, mindless, frivolous, etc. They can be educational, enlightening comedy, and heartwarming drama.

13. In addition, overtly political and religious literature will be allowed, if requested by a patient.

14. The only electric equipment is smoke alarms, squeeze torches, hearing and other medical aids, and staff cell phones (for emergencies only). The only electricity sources are batteries and green power (solar, wind, human power, etc.).

Camp staff

15. The staff of each camp is a workers' co-op. They are paid minimum wage as if they worked every week for 48 hours. They are also paid generous bonuses based on how long their released patients live successfully.
16. All staff rotate every 2 weeks and have 2 weeks off.
17. The staff do not cook or clean (etc.) for the patients. Patients do chores. If one doesn't cook or wash dishes, they can eat cold food on their unwashed plate. They may wash clothes by hand or wear them dirty. Patients are trained to co-operate, share, and conserve nature.

Other camp conditions

18. Staff and patients may bring their young children.
19. Each camp has a sauna and warm cabins. Everything is designed for low harm to the environment. Heating is by scrap wood, green power, etc.
20. Each camp is supplied with organic food (mostly non-perishable), non-drope medicine, used clothing, literature (as above), writing supplies, manual typewriters, sports equipment, accoustic musical instruments, art supplies, etc.
21. Unlike most prisons, the camps are not full of dope and weapons. On arrival, all patients, staff, and visitors strip and are searched. They may not bring in anything except medical necessities, not even clothes, except by special permission.

22. Since there are no weapons, there is no hunting. Fishing is allowed.

Specialized camps

23. Patients may choose a camp that is monosex or mixed; nudist or not; specialising in certain problems; by religion; by language; using a certain therapuetic philosophy; etc.
24. Youth camps are for minor patients coming without an adult family member.
25. A camp for fire-bugs is in the desert with huts of stone and a minimum of flammable material.

End of Article # 9, Extreme Recovery Camps.