Wikipedia: A Threat To Civil Society, No More Monsieur Nice Guy Options Rating

[Jonny Cache]

I have taken morphine for acute pain. Any opiate that effectively relieves pain to an equal degree relieves withdrawal symptoms. The conclusion is obvious: Any opiate that relieves pain is habit forming, and the more effectively it relieves pain the more habit forming it is. The habit forming molecule, and the pain killing molecule of morphine are probably identical, and the process by which morphine relieves pain is the same process that leads to tolerance and addiction. Non habit forming morphine appears to be a latter day Philosopher's Stone. (Burroughs, p. 241).

Burroughs, William S. (1959), Naked Lunch, Castle Books. Appendix, pp. 239–255, "Letter From A Master Addict To Dangerous Drugs", letter dated 3 Aug 1956, originally published in The British Journal Of Addiction, Vol. 53, No. 2.

It's been thirty years since I read Naked Lunch, but I can tell from the cryptic doodlings that I scribbled in the margins that it must have made a deep impression on that former self of mine. I think I will just skip around in the book for a while, try to remember what there was about it, and copy out samples of the passages that I marked.

The above quotation from the Appendix sums up prosaically and most succinctly one of the author's principal messages of the book, elaborated more stream-of-(un-)consciously throughout the wild and wooly narrative that precedes it. I cannot say whether the link that Burroughs suggests between addiction and relief from pain comports with current ideas about the physiology of addiction, but it has always struck me as a theme worth thinking about, partly because of its analogy to areas that are closer to my own more limited experience with unpleasant affects and their urgings on me.

Jon Awbrey

This post has been edited by Jonny Cache: Thu 8th November 2007, 6:10pm

[Jon Awbrey]

A Re*Currently Timely Reference —

Any list of required readings on the psychology of addiction and the political economy of its exploitation would have to include the following book, written by one who knew the problem from bottom to top and from the inside out.

Burroughs, William S. (1959), Naked Lunch, Grove Press. Reprinted, Castle Books.

Jon Awbrey

[Jon Awbrey]

A Re*Currently Timely Quote —

I awoke from The Sickness at the age of forty-five, calm and sane, and in reasonably good health except for a weakened liver and the look of borrowed flesh common to all who survive The Sickness. . . . Most survivors do not remember the delirium in detail. I apparently took detailed notes ...

— William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch

[Jon Awbrey]

Let us continue with our study of the Social Contract between the Pusher and the Junkie.

I awoke from The Sickness at the age of forty-five, calm and sane, and in reasonably good health except for a weakened liver and the look of borrowed flesh common to all who survive The Sickness. . . . Most survivors do not remember the delirium in detail. I apparently took detailed notes on sickness and delirium. I have no precise memory of writing the notes which have now been published under the title Naked Lunch. The title was suggested by Jack Kerouac. I did not understand what the title meant until my recent recovery. The title means exactly what the words say: NAKED Lunch — a frozen moment when everyone sees what is on the end of every fork.

— William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch

If you find the analogy too sinister for your taste, feel free to substitute Spider and Fly.

Jonny

[Jon Awbrey]

The Algebra Of Need —

I have taken morphine for acute pain. Any opiate that effectively relieves pain to an equal degree relieves withdrawal symptoms. The conclusion is obvious: Any opiate that relieves pain is habit forming, and the more effectively it relieves pain the more habit forming it is. The habit forming molecule, and the pain killing molecule of morphine are probably identical, and the process by which morphine relieves pain is the same process that leads to tolerance and addiction. Non habit forming morphine appears to be a latter day Philosopher's Stone. (Burroughs, p. 241).

Burroughs, William S. (1959), Naked Lunch, Castle Books. Appendix, pp. 239–255, "Letter From A Master Addict To Dangerous Drugs", letter dated 3 Aug 1956, originally published in The British Journal Of Addiction, Vol. 53, No. 2.

[victim of censorship]

The Algebra Of Need —

I have taken morphine for acute pain. Any opiate that effectively relieves pain to an equal degree relieves withdrawal symptoms. The conclusion is obvious: Any opiate that relieves pain is habit forming, and the more effectively it relieves pain the more habit forming it is. The habit forming molecule, and the pain killing molecule of morphine are probably identical, and the process by which morphine relieves pain is the same process that leads to tolerance and addiction. Non habit forming morphine appears to be a latter day Philosopher's Stone. (Burroughs, p. 241).

Burroughs, William S. (1959), Naked Lunch, Castle Books. Appendix, pp. 239–255, "Letter From A Master Addict To Dangerous Drugs", letter dated 3 Aug 1956, originally published in The British Journal Of Addiction, Vol. 53, No. 2.

[Jon Awbrey]

Reviving this thread for the sake of a current discussion on Facebook.

Jon