Reports: Michael Jackson Dies

[Khaler]

They serve no good. It doesn't matter what age group you are part of: they are never good.

That my friend is a lie. If they were no good, no-one would use them.

I personaly despise the word "drugs", because it makes no sense. "Drugs" like cannabis are linked together there with heroine, but drugs like coffeine and tobacco are not. Some dude somewhere just decided what are drugs and what are not, and it was not based on any scientific facts.

Do "drugs" make you stupid? Sure, while you are intoxicated. But after that you go back to normal with most of them.

Actually, recent research has shown it starts to dissolve brain cells as soon as you drink it. It's just that brain cells are very small, and it takes a lot of them dying to notice any difference.

Not to forget that you are not using 90% of them ;)

[GreekIdiot]

Do "drugs" make you stupid? Sure, while you are intoxicated. But after that you go back to normal with most of them.

Drugs show us how unintelligent we are generally. It doesn't mean they make us stupid when intoxicated with them, it merely means that chemicals can fuck even the biggest theory of how we have advanced throughout the ages.

Somebody mentioned tobacco? I love tobacco...it's just wonderful.

[Chazza]

I personaly despise the word "drugs", because it makes no sense. "Drugs" like cannabis are linked together there with heroine, but drugs like coffeine and tobacco are not. Some dude somewhere just decided what are drugs and what are not, and it was not based on any scientific facts.

Indeed. Drug classification makes very little sense and has been constructed over the years through a mix of what was socially acceptable at the time, what has been easiest to control and which groups of 'users' can be most easily pushed away.

It's a few years old but it is worth looking at this report in which alcohol and tobacco are rated as more dangerous than cannabis, LSD and ecstasy.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2007 ... andalcohol

Additionally there was a interesting article this week by George Monibot (the guardian again I know...) where he criticizes current drugs policies as well as casual users of cocaine. He draws a comparison between the current system of widespread seizures (which cause price increases thereby hitting poor addicts the hardest) and the alternative of legalisation (which would result in rises of addiction in poorer countries) arguing this is the debate we should be having but one that is continuously rejected.

As for how dangerous drugs are I'll quote this section;

A couple of weeks ago, Ben Goldacre drew attention to the largest study on cocaine ever undertaken, completed by the World Health Organisation in 1995. I've just read it, and this is what it says. "Health problems from the use of legal substances, particularly alcohol and tobacco, are greater than health problems from cocaine use. Few experts describe cocaine as invariably harmful to health. Cocaine-related problems are widely perceived to be more common and more severe for intensive, high-dosage users and very rare and much less severe for occasional, low-dosage users … occasional cocaine use does not typically lead to severe or even minor physical or social problems." This study was suppressed by the WHO after threats of an economic embargo by the Clinton government. Drugs policy in most nations is a matter of religion, not science.

The same goes for heroin. The biggest study of opiate use ever conducted (at Philadelphia general hospital) found that addicts suffered no physical harm, even though some of them had been taking heroin for 20 years. The devastating health effects of heroin use are caused by adulterants and the lifestyles of people forced to live outside the law. Like cocaine, heroin is addictive; but unlike cocaine, the only consequence of its addiction appears to be … addiction.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... fair-trade

[Khaler]

LSD is one of the safest drugs in the world when it comes to physical health. It is practically impossible to overdose and it does not harm your health at all. The dark part though is that people tripping from LSD might do something reckless or just plain stupid, which may harm them or people around them. Also it might egnite hiding mental diseases, but usually they would come up at some point if you have tendency. But I understand why it is illegal due to it's harsh psychedelic effect. Same I can not say for cannabis or ecstasy.

Say you are going to a club with your mates, and unlike everyone else, you have been working the enitre day. You want to have fun with them, as you don't see them that often anymore, but you are tired. Then you drink lots of energy drinks and take some caffeine tablets to feel energized and that is fine by everyone. But if you take ecstacy, you are dangerous junkie who should be in jail. Makes sense, does it? Sure, caffeine and ecstasy don't have exactly the same effect, but still.

And I'm not going to even start with cannabis. There is absolutly no sense in it being illegal anywhere in the world. WHO and EU have verified that it is the safest of all known intoxicants, including tobacco and alcohol. During the history of man, 0 people have died from health-related issues caused by cannabis. Damn, there I went, even though I said I wouldn't start. Bah.

[Molotov]

But if you take ecstacy, you are dangerous junkie who should be in jail. Makes sense, does it? Sure, caffeine and ecstasy don't have exactly the same effect, but still.

Heh. Staying awake is more a side-effect of ecstasy. You don't really notice how awake you are, you certainly don't take it because you're a bit tired

And I'm not going to even start with cannabis. There is absolutly no sense in it being illegal anywhere in the world. WHO and EU have verified that it is the safest of all known intoxicants, including tobacco and alcohol. During the history of man, 0 people have died from health-related issues caused by cannabis.

Well, not that anyone would be stupid enough to trust the W.H.O. and the E.U., but the problem with cannabis is its effect on people's mental health. Especially the really strong cannabis that has been increasingly available since the nineties, which have elevated levels of THC (really, not good). Although like any drug, the danger lies with over use, abuse as opposed to use.

See here: http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2008/08/m ... activ.html

[Captain-Socialist]

Although like any drug, the danger lies with over use, abuse as opposed to use.

Expect glue, or the that illegal drug which turns you gay instantly.

[Chazza]

Heh. Staying awake is more a side-effect of ecstasy. You don't really notice how awake you are, you certainly don't take it because you're a bit tired

Well it's more a side effect of the speed you get in pills not ecstacy as in MDMA, if you just take MD you'll be asleep that night fine.

But I'll disagree on the take it because you tired bit, I've been out, poor and tired and what fits all that the best; 3 pound pill that will keep you up or series of 3 pound drinks that will end up making you even more tired? I'll leave you to guess the answer.

Well, not that anyone would be stupid enough to trust the W.H.O. and the E.U., but the problem with cannabis is its effect on people's mental health. Especially the really strong cannabis that has been increasingly available since the nineties, which have elevated levels of THC (really, not good). Although like any drug, the danger lies with over use, abuse as opposed to use.

See here: http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2008/08/m ... activ.html

Skunk's the killer, skunk isn't even really weed it's more fucking chemicals than anything else. I've seen that shit turn people absolutely nuts. In any case though weed wont kill you but you do it all the time and it will make you fucking boring!

[Khaler]

Well, not that anyone would be stupid enough to trust the W.H.O. and the E.U., but the problem with cannabis is its effect on people's mental health. Especially the really strong cannabis that has been increasingly available since the nineties, which have elevated levels of THC (really, not good). Although like any drug, the danger lies with over use, abuse as opposed to use.

See here: http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2008/08/m ... activ.html

That guy has good points, but he gets sidetracked with that psychosis bullshit again. Really, you are more likely to get one from alcohol than THC, which is a fact too often forgotten. And skunk is not weed, it is mostly artificial.

[AdJeCtIv3]

I ceased drinking this year. Alcohol was slowly, slowly becoming my addictive drug of choice. I have to agree with some earlier comments about how arbitrary the classification of 'drug' can be - I have even heard an argument for classifying household sugar as a drug, as it alters moods and people can have withdrawals from it, just like any other substance of dependency.

So now I don't drink, and I don't smoke. I do enjoy the occasional "J" - and it simply relaxes me - no side effects apart from a few giggles. I can take it or leave it. I tend to have an addictive personality and yet from personal experience this drug simply doesn't 'hook' me, like other LEGAL drugs do. I don't do stupid things when I smoke it, unlike when I drink.

The problem is while it is illegal, there is a subculture criminal element that springs up around the supply - who are often happy enough to network other drugs.

[Molotov]

I know what you mean. Alcohol is a bad one. I hold it partly to blame for not getting a first, I spent more time drunk in university than I did sober, and definitely more time in the pub than in lectures. It's bloody expensive too, these days. Never really got on with weed, but I've seen the effect that habitual consumption can have. I know a couple of people who failed their first year because they spent so much time stoned, at least with a hangover you can remember your lectures.

I think I have an addictive personality too, which is why I try to avoid things where possible. I never gambled until this year really, and in my first semester I lost £500 in the casino, so I threw away my membership card and never went back.

Somebody mentioned tobacco? I love tobacco...it's just wonderful.

Ridiculous, isn't it. I hate the smell, it tastes like burnt leaves and it's expensive, but there's nothing better on a winter's evening than a quiet cigarette and a cup of tea, maybe with a good book. Or a quiet cigarette and a cold beer in the summer. (Or Pimm's, possibly the best thing about summer.) I miss being able to smoke in the pub something awful, even though I love the fact that pubs are no longer filled with a constant haze of smoke.