To demand that a person pee in a cup whenever you wish him to, without a documented reason to suspect that he has been using an illegal drug, is intolerable in our republic. You are saying to him, "I wonder if you are not behaving in a way that I approve of. Convince me that you indeed are. Outrageous. Intolerable.
Interpretation
Forcing someone to prove their innocence is unjust and undermines individual rights.
This quote by Alexander Shulgin asserts that demanding a person to take a drug test without a valid reason reflects a distrust in their character and infringes upon personal freedoms. It critiques the broader implications of such demands in a democratic society, where respect for individual rights and dignity should be paramount.
In practice
During a seminar on individual rights, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of personal freedoms.
How long will this last, this delicious feeling of being alive, of having penetrated the veil which hides beauty and the wonders of celestial vistas? It doesn't matter, as there can be nothing but gratitude for even a glimpse of what exists for those who can become open to it.
How he could be a good user of LSD," I asked, "And know about the spiritual dimension - all that sort of thing - and still be a crook? I don't understand." "Then it's time you did. Psychedelic drugs don't change you - they don't change you character - unless you want to be changed. They enable change; they can't impose it.
I believe if God doesn't give you a miracle, you are a miracle of God for somebody else's salvation.
Ancient Egyptians believed that upon death they would be asked two questions and their answers would determine whether they could continue their journey in the afterlife. The first question was, 'Did you bring joy?' The second was, 'Did you find joy?
(W)e do not count heads before enforcing the First Amendment.
Events, circumstances, etc., have their origin in ourselves. They spring from seeds which we have sown.
This life is not man's own show; if he becomes personally and emotionally involved in the very complicated cosmic drama, he reaps inevitable suffering for having distorted the divine 'plot.'
There is nothing absurd or impracticable in the idea of a league or alliance between independent nations for certain defined purposes precisely stated in a treaty regulating all the details of time, place, circumstance, and quantity; leaving nothing to future discretion; and depending for its execution on the good faith of the parties.
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