Drugs Should Be Legal, Regardless of Their Reputation

https://doubleblindmag.com/why-all-drugs-should-be-legal/

by coloneltcb • 5 years ago

9 14 5 years ago

oedmarap• 5 years ago

I think naturally occurring psychotropic substances should not be illegal, i.e. don't criminalize plants or nature itself. Plants that contain psilocin and psilocybin, DMT, THC, ibogaine, mescaline, and any other natural compounds should not be illegal.

However, man-made drugs that are chemically derived such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl, etc. should most certainly be kept on the illegal list.

Why the personal distinction? Because the natural "drugs" are not addictive, they are psychosomatically harmless, they have been found to be extensively therapeutic, and it's nigh impossible to surpass the LD50 and induce a lethal overdose. On the other hand, man-made drugs destroy the body, the mind, have lead to an ongoing opioid crisis, and can easily lead to death.

Just my $0.02

thatguy0900• 5 years ago

Would you be opposed to selective breeding programs to create more potent strains?

graaben• 5 years ago

I understand what you are getting at, but the issue is a lot more nuanced than that. What about a substance like LSD which has no known LD50 and has been proven to be less harmful than other "natural" drugs like alcohol and tobacco? At what point are heroin and cocaine no longer considered plant-derived?

In my opinion the only real solution is full legalization with better education and addiction management.

ddingus• 5 years ago

I would take natural being legal as a great first step.

Totally agree with you on education, and would add research on uses, harm reduction and life saving counter substances.

The cost of current policy is crazy high and laced with harsh judgement not always rational and or warranted.

There has to be easier ways.

frompdx• 5 years ago

I don't think it is that simple. Opium is a natural drug that is harvested directly from a plant. Morphine can be extracted from opium with minimal processing. Not much different than using solvents to extract THC or DMT. Morphine is an essential drug for medicine. Cocaine is also derived from a plant and is medically important. Both of these are legal for medical purposes. Heroin is illegal for medical use in the United States for political reasons, but is used for medical purposes in other countries.

Perhaps for personal use the distinction should be made, but then what of drugs like LSD? Derived through complex chemical processing, but it isn't unlike any of the drugs you support being legal because they come directly from plants.

The point is I don't think generalizations can be made about plants being good and "natural" while chemically derived drugs are bad.

thatswrong02• 5 years ago

Yep, better keep the more addictive, more dangerous drugs illegal, because keeping them illegal totally stops addicts from taking them. Don't worry at all about the fact that not having a safe, clean source of these drugs frequently leads to accidental overdoses, say, because some dingus dealer accidentally stomped on the blow with some fent.

lazylizard• 5 years ago

welcome to singapore

Yizahi3• 5 years ago

Legal heroin won't solve the issue of overdoses. Instead there should be a "replacement" program - proposing different drug to these people, of course on 1 by 1 basis in a special medical facilities. Replacement drug should be cost free (so some clean and carefully selected synthetic low impact drug).

clcuc• 5 years ago

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24989605

Simulacra• 5 years ago

I'm a big fan of personal responsibility, but someone who uses heroin or meth once or twice, is highly likely to totally lose the self control needed to have adequate personal responsibility. Unfortunately some things are too powerful for our willpower to responsibly care for ourselves. If we didn't have a law that made the production and use of meth illegal I fear the consequences would be human evolutionary disaster.

quantified• 5 years ago

Fortunately not found in plant or fungus matter, is it?

Genetically engineered yeast could be a problem.

Yizahi3• 5 years ago

1. A limited set of drugs should be legal. Stuff like heroin or synthetic "salts", etc. should be legally banned. I see no good reason for legal heroin for example.

2. Legal drugs should be equal in rights, including alcohol and nicotine. Same laws, same taxes etc.

3. ALL advertisements for legal drugs should be permanently banned everywhere. Including advertising with a package/bottle itself on a market shelves. So no drug containing products can be displayed visibly on the shelves, anywhere, even in 21+ shops.

4 (optional). There should be a network of government sponsored clinics who will provide a certain subset of legal drugs for free, with mandatory medical screening. Not the drug itself for later use, but a single dose administered on-site. I'm not exactly sure about all negative possibilities here, so it's an optional idea.

Points 1,2,3 should be mandatory and implemented as soon as possible.

Drugs Should Be Legal, Regardless of Their Reputation

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