Drugs

[4D]

Have you ever taken drugs yourself 4D?

I've had a cup of coffee this morning. 

It's quite an expansive subject that everyone will have an opinion on. My opinion is that globally drugs do more harm than good, or if they didn't exist would the world find something else to destroy itself?

[Honkytonk]

I've had the odd spliff now and again, and had a good time with some mushrooms once, but other than I'm not really 'into' taking drugs. Then again I don't begrudge people their own choices. If you want to do that shit, go ahead.

Booze is a more sneaky, pernicious drug than, say, Heroin. I've seen the effects of both long-term on people and whilst heroin is more 'hardcore' lets say, its effect is more immediately obvious than alcohol, whose long-term effects aren't really studied hard enough because the government and alcohol industry make too much money from not caring. Not that I'm saying we should ban booze, fuck no, I NEEDS IT.

Most of the major problems with illegal drugs come about because unscrupulous people out to make a quick buck get involved. Criminals running a supply chain is never a good idea- not everybody is as 'nice' as Walter White.

[herthab]

I'm in healthcare and I have to be honest that I have seen far more damage to people who are alcohol dependent than those who are on hard drugs

In the interests of balance surely the percentage of those who regularly drink is far greater than those who take hard drugs?

[Flashheart]

I've had a cup of coffee this morning.  

It's quite an expansive subject that everyone will have an opinion on. My opinion is that globally drugs do more harm than good, or if they didn't exist would the world find something else to destroy itself?

Even though the world may be a better place without recreational drugs, the fact remains that they do exist and will continue to exist for as long as there is a demand. People can say till they are blue in the face that drugs are bad but it is impractical and ineffective. If somebody is curious and wants to experiment then they will.

A blanket approach of 'drugs are bad, mmmkay' is really quite naive. Drugs do have their merits even if the merits are outstripped by their dangers. I don't think it's sad that people use drugs to have fun because they really can be lots and lots of fun. What is sad is that dependencies can develop along with other negative effects. Maybe with a more pragmatic approach to drugs the numbers of people that are harmed by them can be reduced. As somebody has already alluded to, moving the supply chain from the criminal element could be a good start.

[jayohaitchenn]

That's a sensible comparison. Grow up? I think you might want to take a long look at yourself.

Why do you think some substances are illegal and others aren't,  do you think the powers that be, scientists etc have less understanding than the bloke on the street? 

I'm glad you brought that up. Most scientists agree with me. Here is the result of 5 seconds of googling:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/17/british-drug-policy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Nutt

You are the one who has no clue what you are talking about, and I'm the one with first hand experience. I say again, grow up.

[jayohaitchenn]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HarmCausedByDrugsTable.svg

[jayohaitchenn]

The governemt sacked their expert becasue they didn't agree with his findings...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/nov/02/david-nutt-alan-johnson-drugs?guni=Article:in%20body%20link

[Honkytonk]

Even though the world may be a better place without recreational drugs, the fact remains that they do exist and will continue to exist for as long as there is a demand. People can say till they are blue in the face that drugs are bad but it is impractical and ineffective. If somebody is curious and wants to experiment then they will.

A blanket approach of 'drugs are bad, mmmkay' is really quite naive. Drugs do have their merits even if the merits are outstripped by their dangers. I don't think it's sad that people use drugs to have fun because they really can be lots and lots of fun. What is sad is that dependencies can develop along with other negative effects. Maybe with a more pragmatic approach to drugs the numbers of people that are harmed by them can be reduced. As somebody has already alluded to, moving the supply chain from the criminal element could be a good start.

Something me and my mates posited back at school was the idea of our annual 'drugs are bad mmmm'kay?' 'drug day' being just that. A day where we were allowed to take drugs in a safe environment to see their effects and understand them better.

Obviously thinking about it now giving drugs to schoolkids is probably not the best idea in the world, but the whole 'experimenting in a safe environment' thing has its benefits. I'd say a good proportion of drug-related deaths are from inexperienced or first-time users. I know in some Scandanavian countries they've started giving heroin addicts clean, safe, warm places to inject, with fresh needles and a nurse on standby in case anything goes wrong. They get their kick, do it safely, and then leave. I do think our big cities would benefit from that.

[4D]

There is a lot of mileage for debate on this subject, it just strikes me as a little sad that people can't get along quite happily on this planet without feeling a need to get off it. I'm not trying to be preachy, I enjoy a few beers, but when you hear people saying "I had loads to drink, threw up this morning.... can't remember a thing about last night " that's pretty sad too.

[Honkytonk]

There is a lot of mileage for debate on this subject, it just strikes me as a little sad that people can't get along quite happily on this planet without feeling a need to get off it. I'm not trying to be preachy, I enjoy a few beers, but when you hear people saying "I had loads to drink, threw up this morning.... can't remember a thing about last night " that's pretty sad too.

It is sad, but then again I'd rather people in the middle east got shitfaced than launch missiles at each other. Lesser of two evils.

[4D]

I'm glad you brought that up. Most scientists agree with me. Here is the result of 5 seconds of googling:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/17/british-drug-policy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Nutt
The
You are the one who has no clue what you are talking about, and I'm the one with first hand experience. I say again, grow up.

Be interesting to see what you're opinion is in say 20 years time.

[Flashheart]

We are intelligent beings that can manipulate the world around us to our benefit. I don't think that's sad at all, we just need to fix the negatives.

[jayohaitchenn]

[jayohaitchenn]

Be interesting to see what you're opinion is in say 20 years time.

Having an intellectual debate with someone who doesn't know the difference between your and you're...

You're argument is invalid. Educate yourself.

[Simon Pieman]

Tobacco hasn't been banned as arguably due to the nicotine content is probably the most horrible and deadliest drug known to man.? Drugs aren’t explicitly illegal due to the harm caused.

MDMA is a class a drug which a lot of scientific studies have suggested is less harmful than legal drugs including alcohol. In fact there are many other illegal substances which are suggested to be less harmful than legal counterparts.

You can get hold of some pretty potent legal drugs very easily in the UK. Much like drinking alcohol, the harmful effects are going to come about through repeated use and dosage amongst other things. 40mg of AMT is bloody potent, but 1mg would perk you up like coffee would and no other side effects. A unit of alcohol is about 8g of ethanol – about half a pint. Try consuming 8g of caffeine in 15 minutes and see what happens (which is the argument Jayo was putting across I think). But quite obviously caffeine is generally going to be a lot safer than other stimulants.

The one thing that I always struggle to get my head around is the fact that Co-Codamol, an OTC paracetemol (500mg)/opiate (8mg) combination is sold in packs of 32 tablets which equates to 4 days of maximum daily dosage, but the packet states do not take for more than 3 days running or you could risk dependence.