It has long occurred to me that there are a number of elements to the whole issue of illegal drugs including production, distribution and end-users. Under our present systems, each element is very heavily related to criminal behavior at massive cost to society. Many things have been tried by society including 'soft' alternatives such as methodone - and in fact the initial use of heroin was encouraged in turn of the century England as a soft alternative to Opium. To date nothing has worked, most especially the much touted 'war on drugs'. What if we were to seek a technology-based solution whereby the relief/pleasure of a narcotic could be acheived instead using an electromechanical device that could replicate the same feelings in the user. An early fictional concept was featured in Woody Allen's movie 'Sleeper' but more recently a clinic in Winston/Salem has stumbled on a real 'orgasmatron'. While Dr. Stuart Meloy was working on a new device to treat chronic pain, he was surprised to discover it could also bring pleasure to his female patients.

While Meloy, an anesthesiologist and pain specialist in Winston-Salem, was putting an electrode into the spine of a female patient with chronic back pain, the woman reported a decrease in her pain and a delightful, but very unexpected, side effect. Many other female patients have gone on to replicate the experience.

Consider what might happen if sufficient R&D money was made available to take this research and expand it to address drug addiction. If a majority of users found that it worked it is possible that modern crime as we know it could be reduced dramatically at all levels with billions in savings and reduced human misery in every modern society. No doubt many voices would oppose it on moral grounds but the rewards could be massive.