Soft Drugs: What gives?

[RichieMcD]

I forget where i found the statistic (it was a long time ago) but every year in ireland (just using ireland as a example) more people die from alcohol poisoning than people who are admitted to hospital with anything relating to marijuana use.

 

 

 

I use both myself and often find alcohol the worse drug. Ive gotten into fights, nearly ran over by cars, made a [bleep] of myself due to alcohol while the worse thing thats happened to me with marijuana is burning myself slightly when the ash got to long.

 

 

 

Alot of the times after i get drunk i dont remember what happened and usualy what happened wasnt good :roll:

 

 

 

All those things they tell you in school about marijuana is a lie. Yes marijuana will screw you up if you become addicted (which is hard to do) but so dos alcohol. Alcohol splits up more families and causes more deaths than marijuana dos. Alcohol messes up your body worse than marijuana dos.

 

 

 

And instead of flaming people for taking drugs kids, go find out the facts before you bring your school facts into here.... there as good as a catholic priest's facts on masturbation -.- .

[user1991]

MDMA is ecstacy.

 

 

 

 

 

Chemically, yah. But the other guy is right, X is sold cut, split, sliced, whatever way you wanna put it. It isn't necessarily all that's there. Also loadsa times when e is sold it isnt actually mdma, but some similar phenethylamine. I think it's important to distinguish, not just assume theyre the same - cause then we start to generalise..

 

 

 

 

 

I don't even care if softs are illegal or not anymore in terms of recreational use, cause fact is it aint never gonna be the case. Cba to be an activist, I'd rather just blaze.. I'm irresponsible, and too pissed off all the time - that [cabbage] don't correlate easily. Used to get so worked up about this type of thing, but in the end it doesn't even matter, it is what it is and I couldnt care less. But yah, im pro drugs, ANY DRUG, not just legal "pharms"

[venomai]

Honestly the worst thing going on in this thread is people are encouraging the use of drugs to a primarily teenage forum.

 

I hope nobody is interpreting my posts as encouragement to use the drugs. :| I've said it before, these drugs are not "toys" and they have to be taken very seriously. If they are used, they should be used responsibly and in a proper environment.

 

 

 

I'm more interested in changing the media and society's image on soft drugs than anything.

 

 

 

There are health risks with every illegal drug because that's most of the reason they are made illegal, weather it be physical or mental health, your financial situation, or just what a complete pillock you are with them.

 

I have a hard time believing that legality has anything to do with a drug's health risks.

 

 

 

Morphine is far more addicting and harmful than marijuana, yet it's legal in hospitals. Surprisingly, morphine is almost identical to heroin.[1]

 

Caffeine is extremely addicting and causes many psychological issues including substance-induced psychosis, yet it's completely legal.[2]

 

Popular drugs like Viagra and Vioxx kill many times more people every year than marijuana, yet they are legal.[3]

 

 

 

The government cares more about tax revenue and political images than our health. If alcohol and caffeine can be taxed there is no reason marijuana and others can't be. Legalization will destroy the black market -- I can assure you that most drug users, assuming the prices are reasonable, would prefer to buy from a trusted source (like the government) rather than a sketchy dude on the corner.

 

 

 

For a minute, forget that recreational use ever existed, and focus purely on medical and industrial marijuana. Medical marijuana has, in some cases, shown to be more effective than current treatments.

 

 

 

A simple question: are you pro or against the use of safer and less addicting medicine in hospitals?

 

 

 

A lot of medical marijuana is designed not to "get you high" but rather to help you with your pain. It is not designed to be used recreationally and it often comes in pill form (eliminating the risks involved in smoked marijuana). Industrial hemp has hundreds of possibilities, and it would be an excellent alternative to many resources used today. See my original post for details on non-recreational use.

 

 

 

I have a question -- what gain can be made from keeping soft drugs illegal? Other than the obvious gain of "doing nothing equals less work".

[RichieMcD]

I have a question -- what gain can be made from keeping soft drugs illegal?

 

 

 

the only gain from any point of view of having them illegal is that the fines from being caught in possession of them is a tiny source of income for the government.

[venomai]

I have a question -- what gain can be made from keeping soft drugs illegal?

 

 

 

the only gain from any point of view of having them illegal is that the fines from being caught in possession of them is a tiny source of income for the government.

 

Although even that comes at a price. It's likely that the amount spent on prosecution and arrest far outweighs the small income gained from fines.

 

 

 

[u.S.] law enforcement spends $10.7 billion annually to arrest and prosecute marijuana offenders.

 

Source: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7380

[RichieMcD]

I have a question -- what gain can be made from keeping soft drugs illegal?

 

 

 

the only gain from any point of view of having them illegal is that the fines from being caught in possession of them is a tiny source of income for the government.

 

Although even that comes at a price. It's likely that the amount spent on prosecution and arrests far outweigh the small income gained from fines.

 

 

 

[u.S.] law enforcement spends $10.7 billion annually to arrest and prosecute marijuana offenders.

 

Source: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7380

 

 

 

Dosnt surprise me at all. You think they would put that 10.7bil into stop hard drug trafficking into america instead of prosecuting soft drug users.

[look_its_rob]

does anyone know what "beans" are?

 

 

 

im not even completely sure if its a drug

[meol]

Assuming all of this info about Marijuana not being as addictive or harmful, why would so many governments all around the world make it illegal?

[RichieMcD]

Assuming all of this info about Marijuana not being as addictive or harmful, why would so many governments all around the world make it illegal?

 

 

 

Because most governments are retarted and right wing. They wont believe any studies done into the matter.

 

 

 

May i ask why alcohol isnt illegal since it has been proven to be more harmful and addictive than marijuana.

 

 

 

I use both, if i had to make one illegal it would be alcohol for many reasons.

[venomai]

does anyone know what "beans" are?

 

 

 

im not even completely sure if its a drug

 

The common street name is ecstasy, which usually refers to MDMA.

 

http://www.thegooddrugsguide.com/ecstasy/index.htm

[venomai]

Assuming all of this info about Marijuana not being as addictive or harmful, why would so many governments all around the world make it illegal?

 

There is a whole slew of suggestions, but the most probable reasons are ignorance in the government and religious intolerance.

 

 

 

Wikipedia says:

 

In 1910, recreational marijuana use was introduced to the United States when large numbers of Mexicans immigrated due to the Mexican Revolution. Anti-drug campaigners claimed that terrible crimes were a result of Mexicans who used marijuana. In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, research linked the use of marijuana with violence and crime primarily committed by minorities. Growing unemployment increased resentment and fear of Mexicans [3]

 

As part of the government's broader push to outlaw all drugs, Anslinger claimed marijuana caused people to commit violent crime, act irrational, and act overly sexual. The FBN produced propaganda films promoting Anslinger's views and Anslinger often commented to the press regarding his views on marijuana. 1944, the LaGuardia Commission conducted the first in-depth study of marijuana, which contradicted the earlier findings of addiction, madness, and overt sexuality.[3]

 

 

 

Now that the government has done so much to hype the horrors of various drugs, it would be embarrasing to admit that they were wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a more recent example. Salvia d. was made illegal in Madison, WI over a week ago.

 

Although [sheldon] Wasserman doesn't seem to understand much about the herb, he feels it is dangerous. He says, "[salvia] affects the way we think, the way we act. It impairs our judgment."

 

Source: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1461/a07.html?345

 

 

 

Salvia d. (which is still legal in many places) is a smoked plant that gives you intense hallucinations for around 10 minutes. The high kicks in almost immediately and the effects diminish extremely quickly after the trip. Almost all salvia trips are done sitting or lying down until the effects are gone -- it's extremely difficult to stand (let alone make judgements) while tripping on salvia. To say that salvia impairs judgement is comparable to saying that sleeping impairs judgement. :|

 

 

 

Any person who plans to do anything important while on salvia is a complete moron, IMO.

 

 

 

EDIT: LOL! The full name, salvia + divinorum is censored as [harmful plant]! That's hilarious... :lol:

[Erk02]

i stopped reading at

 

 

 

LSD, psilocybin and cannabis (among others) are far less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes

 

 

 

just because they are less harmful doesnt mean they arent harmful. thats like saying i'll have less of a chance of dieing a i poke an unexploded bomb with a stick then if i poke 2...

 

 

 

DRUGS are still DRUGS soft or not

Yeah, so is aspirin. Go be dumb somewhere else, please.

 

 

 

Lol u said u smoke pot and hash browns. Anyway, they obviously messed up your brains, cuz u like drugs. Drugs kill. Kids dont do drugs. Cigaweed is harmful. Dont die.

 

 

 

If they do legalize em, they should put a warning on em that says:

 

 

 

Warning: Smoking these drugs may be harmful to your health. They could straight up pwn u nublet.

You're just dumb. Leave now.

[BlueLancer]

Assuming all of this info about Marijuana not being as addictive or harmful, why would so many governments all around the world make it illegal?

 

 

 

Government's with half a brain make it legally purchasable, like The Netherlands.

 

 

 

Dutch people are very healthy, they are the tallest people on Earth, they live in peace, is there something I missed that makes them impervious to the effects of light drugs?

 

 

 

That's right, the effects are not lethal, so why in the world would certain light drugs like cannabis/marijuana be illegal?

 

 

 

Let me tell you... Social stigma. And more than that, the government's fear of losing votes in the next election because they legalised drugs (which are 'inherently' somehow bad).

[rune0nite]

To add onto your point bluelancer like most issues in the usa money and corrupt capitalism is involved. Pharmaceuticals, cotton growers, and many other industries are threatened by the the complete legalization of cannibus. But back to the main point racism and political gain are the original instigators of anti-marijuana propaganda in America. Today corporations that generate billions for the US economy would be devastated by the complete legalization of marijuana. The governments motive for keeping the stuff illegal is taxation, marijuana is one of the worlds most adaptable plants so anyone would be able to grow it. Politicians just care about votes, money, and other bull cabbage

[Flame_guy3]

kelem_ryu: I'm sorry to hear about the schizophrenia. I agree that drugs should only be used responsibly/occasionally, problems tend to arise with any sort of abuse. (although this is a good rule of thumb for any activity, whether or not it's drug use)

 

 

 

Anyway, they obviously messed up your brains, cuz u like drugs. Drugs kill. Kids dont do drugs. Cigaweed is harmful. Dont die.

 

This is a good example of the media's influence on the general public.

 

 

 

just because they are less harmful doesnt mean they arent harmful. thats like saying i'll have less of a chance of dieing a i poke an unexploded bomb with a stick then if i poke 2...

 

A better way of reading that would be:

 

I once thought drugs were worse than alcohol/tobacco, but I've since discovered that this is not at all true.

 

 

 

As far as harm goes... Lots of things are potentially harmful. Driving a car can be potentially harmful. Playing a sport can be potentially harmful. But... the media shows those activities in a different (more positive) light than drugs.

 

 

 

DRUGS are still DRUGS soft or not

 

Who would have guessed...? :-w

 

 

 

Lol i agree with venomai completely. You have to notice the keywords casual smoker. Anything in moderation is fine. It's when people overdose or overdo something that it becomes harmful.

 

 

 

The reason why drugs are illegal is because most people can't do them in moderation as you do venomai, most people would get hooked quite easily and overdo it a lot.

 

 

 

Venomai has even said that it has the potential to be harmful. It isn't harmful if taken in small amounts, now and again.

 

 

 

Some people should read his points more clearly before slandering him and making themselves look like idiots... :roll: