One Nation Under Amphetamine

“Triple Venti, nonfat, extra whip caramel macchiato!” has become ingrained in our urban and suburban coffee bar setting with the credit going to Starbucks for making it a global phenomena, yet the question must be begged: is this the right direction for America? History would say yes.

Xocoatl, pronounced “Choc-o-lat-le” is the ancestral coffee beverage that the ancient Aztecs drank made of chocolate and cocoa beans that their civilization linked closely to their Goddess Xochiquetzal, the Aztec goddess of fertility. It is no wonder that this application and utilization of the effects of caffeine had been pre-disposed to the most highly esteemed and dominant world power of its time: caffeine has temporary drug effects of stimulation of the cardiac system causing an accelerated heart rate and a sense of euphoria. This stimulant is precisely the temporary relief that a country full of overworked, underpaid citizens could use to boost productivity. Most importantly to consider though is whether the temporary effects of this drug will outlast the long term coast of human ingenuity. It doesn’t take a genius to screw in a light bulb, as they say.

For centuries creative thinkers have been using depressants to fuel their creativity and outlandishness; an action that would compliment quite considerably the atmosphere and attitudes of a thousand screaming caffeine addicts relying on external sources of release as they themselves are just wound, too damn tight. Examples of this are Ernest Hemingway a frequent alcoholic, Edgar Allen Poe who was an opium smoking, absinthe drinking psychopath teetering on the edge of sanity and total breakdown, (most notably written in his poem, “Lenore” regarding his recently departed lover) and a host of “modern” singer songwriters such as Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison (though the list could go on and on). What is the reasoning behind our nations’ undying press for stimulants when it seems as though all the adoring public wants is the expression coming from a man or woman on depressants? First guess would be American law.

Marijuana is scheduled as a Class I narcotic by the DEA, which means it has no legitimate medicinal value and that it is extremely dangerous as an ingestible substance: so much so it is on the same tier as heroin and crack-cocaine. Alcohol sales within the United States to people under the age of 21 are punishable by fine and jail time, regardless of whether the individual has enlisted between 18 and 20. Driving while intoxicated is headed towards the classification of felony with the revised, extended jail terms and increased fine amount and suspensions resultant from even one conviction at the blood alcohol level of .08. As our nation tightens its grip of Nazi-Stimulant-ism, our citizens pay the price every time they opt out of this mad rat race and choose a slower ride.