○Response to Drug Users
In Prout Village, where there is no monetary economy, the incentive to sell drugs for profit disappears. However, there remains a possibility that individuals may become addicted to substances such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamines through some initial exposure.
According to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 67.7% of methamphetamine users are repeat offenders. Drug users often become socially isolated after being treated as criminals post-arrest, leading to a sense of guilt and an inability to seek help, which reinforces the cycle of addiction.
Rather than forcing cessation through punishment, over 80 countries—including Canada, Switzerland, and Portugal—have adopted harm reduction strategies that prioritize reducing health risks in cooperation with users.
In the Canadian model, for example, small rooms are prepared for drug users to safely consume substances. Harm reduction kits are provided, containing clean, disinfected supplies such as tourniquets, distilled water, drug-heating instruments, and syringes. Users bring in their own drugs and administer them within these rooms, where law enforcement is not permitted to make arrests. These facilities serve as points of contact where support staff can listen to users' concerns and offer continuous assistance.
One significant benefit of this approach is the reduction in the spread of diseases like HIV, since users no longer share syringes. In Canada, drug overdose deaths dropped by 35% over two years, and the number of people entering drug withdrawal treatment increased by over 30% in one year—demonstrating measurable success.
In Prout Village, responses to drug users are adjusted according to the individual's condition:
Response to Drug Users in Prout Village
○On the Death Penalty
In Prout Village, the core internal purpose of a human being is defined as not being ruled by the Ego. The Ego is connected to memories of the past, and those memories determine present behavior. When someone commits a crime such as murder, their actions and motives are often influenced by these past memories.
In this context, attaining No-mind—not being ruled by the Ego—means not being swept away by unconscious, emotionally negative patterns arising from past memories. This path leads to the elimination of misguided behavior such as criminal acts.
Therefore, ending a person’s life through the death penalty would deprive them of the opportunity to learn how to distance themselves from their Ego. For this reason, the death penalty is not used in Prout Village. Instead of execution, individuals are guided to face their inner self in a Rehabilitation Facility.
○Euthanasia and Voluntary Stopping of Eating and Drinking (VSED)
There are three types of euthanasia:
1. Active euthanasia: When a patient clearly requests it and is suffering unbearable pain with no hope of recovery, a doctor directly administers a lethal drug.
2. Physician-assisted suicide: Under the same conditions, the doctor prescribes a lethal drug, and the patient takes it themselves.
3. Passive euthanasia: Based on the patient’s will, life-prolonging treatment is stopped during the terminal phase with no hope of recovery, thereby hastening death.
Reasons for desiring euthanasia include unbearable physical pain and suffering, loss of physical functions leading to inability to be independent or severe limitations in daily life, and mental suffering such as despair and loneliness.
Acts of euthanasia or suicide that lead oneself to death are basically prohibited, often linked to the country’s religious beliefs. However, active euthanasia is legally permitted in about 3 to 4 countries, physician-assisted suicide in about 5 to 7 countries, and passive euthanasia in more than 50 countries.
There are concerns that legalizing euthanasia might increase people who use it lightly or be pressured socially to use it forcibly.
In Prout Village, since humans suffer due to the Ego, it is recommended not to be ruled by the Ego. As an opportunity to learn the appropriate distance from the Ego, Prout Village does not promote euthanasia or suicide as a way to escape mental suffering.
However, if there is no treatment for severe physical pain, for the patient it becomes torture or hell. In that sense, instead of euthanasia, the option of Voluntary Stopping of Eating and Drinking (VSED) is left open.
VSED is a method of stopping eating to face death. In the Netherlands, a survey from 1999 to 2003 showed an average of about 2,800 deaths per year due to VSED. In Japan, about 30% of doctors involved in terminal palliative care have reported seeing patients who try to hasten death by VSED. VSED is an act where the person chooses whether or not to eat; others cannot forcibly feed them.
In VSED, even after nearly zero fluid intake, death usually occurs after about one week to ten days. Some doctors state that with appropriate support, this can be a peaceful way to die.
Similar practices have long existed in India’s Jainism, called Sallekhana. This involves gradually reducing food intake and ultimately choosing death by fasting. It is permitted only for terminal patients, in cases of famine, old age with lost functions, or incurable illness, and is conducted under monastic supervision. It is distinguished from impulsive acts like suicide.
Prout Village neither promotes VSED, euthanasia, nor suicide. However, if someone chooses VSED, they should do so after discussion and agreement with family and friends.
○Proposed Address System
The proposed address system for Prout Village assigns the northernmost circle with a diameter of 1,333 meters as number 1. From there, numbers 2 through 6 are assigned clockwise, and number 7 is assigned to the central circle with a diameter of 1,333 meters. Using the same method, numbers 1 to 7 are assigned for circles of 444m, 148m, and 49m diameter as well. Thus, addresses will be somewhere between PV11111 and PV77777. In the Flower of Life Prout Village, PV11111 corresponds to due north, and PV77777 corresponds to the central plaza of the municipality. For a vertically elongated Prout Village, numbers are assigned from north to south in the same way; for a horizontally elongated village, from east to west. The full address format is:
“Six Continents name, Country name, Prefecture name, Municipality name, PV54123.”
○Global Common Standards
In a monetary society where resources, goods, and money flow between nations, it has become difficult for any single country to solve complex social issues such as resource depletion, war, climate change, poverty, political corruption, and plastic waste. The system where each country prioritizes its own interests and competes for survival makes cooperation difficult and creates conflict structures.
Prout Village operates on a system where people can live without competing for profit. Therefore, in order to realize a sustainable and peaceful society, it is necessary to establish common standards that all countries and people must observe. The following outlines those standards.
「Municipality Operation Rules」
●The location of a Municipality must be at least 7 km inland from the coast, considering tsunami risk.
●The size of a Municipality, whether large or small, is determined based on whether it can be sustainable if scaled to a global population of 10 billion.
●The natural environment on the surface must be maintained as close to 100% intact as possible.
●Resources that only deplete must not be used. Only cultivated or 100% recyclable materials are allowed.
●Construction of concrete river embankments should be avoided as much as possible, preserving the natural river landscape.
●Bridges are primarily wooden arch bridges and stone masonry.
●Buildings should not be taller than surrounding trees to avoid damaging the landscape.
●The inland area 7 km from the coast and mountainous areas are managed by the surrounding Municipalities or jointly by multiple Municipalities.
●Construction of large-scale facilities should be discussed with surrounding Municipalities and considered for land between the coast and 7 km inland.
●Matters difficult for a single Municipality to decide (large facilities, rockets, artificial satellites, large scientific experiments, etc.) are escalated to Prefecture Parliament, Country Parliament, and higher organizations for discussion.
●Residences should not be built along rivers; historical flood data must be checked, and buildings constructed tens of meters away from riverbanks.
●Riverbanks are designated for riverbed parks, sports grounds, reservoirs (including aquaculture), and flood retention areas.
●Construction must consider landslides and slope failures, building at a distance beyond predicted sediment reach. For example: slopes over 30 degrees, slopes with sudden steep sections over 5 m high, valley-shaped slopes, slopes with wide gentle inclines above, etc.
●In cases of continuous heavy rain for two days, narrow mountain valley areas are assumed to experience torrents.
●Housing and road layouts are based on the Flower of Life pattern and hexagonal grids.
●Roads must be flat and accessible for wheelchairs, strollers, and visually impaired people. Asphalt and concrete use should be minimized.
●Ramps must be installed alongside stairs for wheelchair access.
●Foothill areas prone to landslides or slope failures are used for agriculture such as fields; roads and housing are set away from slopes.
●Efficient irrigation channels are installed to collect rainwater for agricultural use, as a measure against future warming, drought, and heatwaves.
●No traffic signals; intersections are designed as roundabouts.
●Toilets and changing rooms must be provided for men, women, multi-purpose (including wheelchair access), and gender-free use.
●Underground fire hydrants are installed near residences, with hoses buried to reach houses.
●Agricultural supports such as stakes and fences mainly use bamboo; nets are made from thin bamboo strips.
●Municipal landscapes are beautifully designed to be attractive and uplifting places to visit or stay.
●Separate surnames for spouses are allowed; the family decides children’s surnames. Names can be freely changed but records remain.
●Every person belongs to some Prout Village, and through creating a personal ID, they receive a share of the Municipality’s resources.
「Municipality Response Procedures」
●Bullying
Anyone who discovers bullying can report it verbally or by email to any Municipality. The Leader then reports it to the Municipality to which the perpetrator belongs, and that Municipality considers the response.
As a measure, when organizing group activities such as cram schools or sports teams, the representative informs participants at the start of one rule: if bullying occurs within the group, the perpetrator will either be banned from participation or separated to conduct activities in an individual location. By communicating this rule upfront, it becomes easier to address bullying even if the representative and perpetrator are friendly. This approach applies equally to adult groups as well as children’s groups.
●Child Abuse
Similar to bullying, anyone who discovers child abuse can report it to any Municipality, and the perpetrator’s Municipality will consider the response. Child abuse severely impacts children’s brain development, emotional regulation, and social relationship skills, creating a foundation for future violence and antisocial behavior, so early intervention is essential.
●Other Criminal Acts
When any criminal act is discovered, the discoverer reports it to the Municipality, and the Municipality of the perpetrator considers the response.
○The Flow Toward Abolishing War
War requires armies, but the reason soldiers obey their commanders is because staying within the organization guarantees safety, livelihood, and benefits. This applies to many kinds of human organizations.
In a dictatorship or military state, there are always some forms of safety, livelihood, or benefit guaranteed, and therefore soldiers follow the orders of their superiors. Through this mechanism, presidents can use police and soldiers to enforce fear and make the people obey.
However, if Prout Village as a moneyless society spreads worldwide, maintaining police or armies becomes increasingly difficult.
This leads to the abolition of war itself, as well as the disappearance of armies and weapons. In democratic states, military reduction can occur through the will of the people, but in dictatorships or military regimes—where information is often tightly controlled—the flow will be as follows.
In the Case of Dictatorships
Even if the state enforces strict information control, it cannot achieve a complete blockade. The flow of awareness through comparison → dissatisfaction → defection → internal rebellion becomes hard to avoid. For example, in dictatorships that impose heavy censorship, people from that country who live in Japan or the U.S. can experience Prout Village, and then share that experience with family and friends back home, spreading the awareness.
Such developments occur because living in Prout Village provides clear advantages.
Benefits of Living in Prout Village
Compared with monetary societies, where dictatorships or military regimes can maintain armies, a moneyless society creates a social structure where sustaining an army becomes difficult.
In a world where Prout Village has spread, it becomes difficult to maintain armies, and even if a military state forms a military organization, expanding its territory of conquest becomes structurally difficult.
Through this process, society changes nonviolently, and the military strength of nations at war is also weakened. In considering the risk of attacks from dictatorships or military states against Prout Village, the abolition of military power for defense should be carried out last. In addition, since repression and attack risks are higher within dictatorships, support will be provided after Prout Village has spread in neighboring countries.
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