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tweet by Johann Hari: The core of addiction is not wanting to be present in life, because pour life is too painful a place to be. This is why imposing more pain or punishment on a person with an addiction problem actually makes their addiction worse.
people wouldn't have to steal to feed their habit or overdose on laced shit if you could simply buy a portion over the counter barrier free and fairly priced
Also, they wouldn't be financing drug criminals and terrorists, but would actually be supporting legitimate small business and pay taxes.
Legalization, regulation, harm reduction. That's the way.
I would support legalizing drugs that can't be abused, like psychedelics. Try taking acid or shrooms a couple days in a row and it won't have any effect until you take a tolerance break. But coke, opioids, & meth shouldn't be easily accessible to the regular person especially in a store. I don't even think you should be able to buy weed till your 26 and your brain has fully developed.
You shouldn't have to wait 5 more years (assuming US law here) past the age you can legally drink yourself to death to buy weed. It's also infantilizing and a denial of bodily autonomy to refuse adults the ability to make certain decisions because they might cause long term harm. By that metric nobody should be allowed to eat red meat, have sex, or get tattoos until they're 26.
alcohol isn't that bad, wine is actually good for you and spirits do prevent botulism and food poisoning but that might just be the french side of my family talking 😂
There is no known safe level of alcohol consumption. It's certainly not safe enough to justify giving it to people 5 years before cannabis.
You're right about that but weed is a carcinogen too, & as far as I know LSD and most psychedelics are non toxic and don't cause cancer so there's a bigger argument to be made about them being legalized.
That link says cannabis smoke is a carcinogen, not cannabis itself. You don't have to smoke cannabis to consume it, and almost anything set on fire and inhaled will cause cancer, including campfire smoke. Should camping be a 26 and up activity?
I wouldn't count the Known to the State of California warnings for much. They added that warning to coffee cups despite the link being weak and contrived.
And as others said, no study has linked consumption of weed edibles (or weed vaping) to causing cancer. In fact, it's the opposite. Several (preliminary) studies show that marijuana retards of reduces the risk of some cancers. It is often prescribed to cancer patients for appetite-gain and pain reduction (with fewer side-effects than other prescriptions for the same), but is also now being prescribed for its potential anti-carcinogenic properties.
Lol what? It's toxic, it's highly addictive, and its withdrawal symptoms can literally kill people. The reason so many people can use it without serious problems is because they have social support systems and a safe supply.
You're thinking of older generations that weren't properly educated on the harms of alcohol use and didn't have safer alternatives like cannabis. Gen Z or zoomers actually drink less. And alcohol has never crippled society or been detrimental to a large groups of people in society. but opiates and meth have both had significant and detrimental impacts on various societies throughout history. Here are some examples of how these substances have harmed societies:
The Opioid Epidemic in the United States: This crisis has strained healthcare systems, law enforcement, and social services. The economic burden associated with opioid addiction and its consequences is substantial.
The Opium Wars in China: In the 19th century, China was ravaged by the Opium Wars, during which the British Empire and other European powers forced China to open its markets to opium trade. The opium trade led to widespread addiction and social problems in Chinese society. The opium wars and the subsequent opium addiction crisis had far-reaching social and economic consequences, leading to the degradation of Chinese society and the weakening of the Qing Dynasty.
Methamphetamine in Japan during World War II: During World War II, the Japanese government distributed methamphetamine pills (known as "Philopon" in Japan) to soldiers and civilians. This widespread methamphetamine use had disastrous effects on Japanese society. It led to addiction, health issues, and a breakdown of social and familial structures. The consequences of this drug use persisted long after the war.
Methamphetamine in the United States: Methamphetamine, commonly known as "meth," has had a significant negative impact on American society. The production and use of methamphetamine have led to public health problems, crime, and environmental damage. Meth addiction has torn families apart, and the associated crimes and social problems have placed a heavy burden on law enforcement and the healthcare system.
Afghanistan's Opium Production: Afghanistan has been a major global producer of opium for many years. The opium trade has funded insurgency, corruption, and violence in the country. The availability of cheap opiates has also contributed to addiction problems both in Afghanistan and among international drug users.
The consequences include addiction, health problems, family disruption, crime, and economic burdens. Efforts to address these issues often involve a combination of public health initiatives, law enforcement measures, and harm reduction strategies to mitigate the negative impact of these substances on society.
You are a bit naive on reality.
Right now, anyone can buy coke, opioids and meth without any checks. Even minors.
And organized criminal gangs take all the profit.
With regulation, rules can be put in place for even the hardest drugs. And it would also be registered to whom it was sold, when, what and how much.
But I don't know where to get any of those things, so I can't buy them.
By the time I was 15 I had done cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, codeine, ketamine, mdma, amphetamine, methylphenidate, weed, mushr9oms, acid, dmt and probably more that I just can't remember. The mushrooms didn't fund a drug gang, they funded my education, but everything else funded a drug gang.
But it's really really hard, and it'd be even harder if fewer drugs required knowing drug dealers.
I mean, not really. I've never bought drugs like that, but I could have a bag of coke in about 5 minutes because only an idiot wouldn't know a dealer when they drive past one.
It'd be risky, but otherwise easier than walking into the local dispensary or liquor store. And I don't have to show ID if I'm buying shit on the street (which is why minors are more likely to take illegal drugs than legal ones)
By the time I was 15 I had done cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, codeine, ketamine, mdma, amphetamine, methylphenidate, weed, mushrooms, acid, dmt and probably more that I just can't remember. The mushrooms didn't fund a drug gang, they funded my education, but everything else except those and alcohol funded a drug gang.
Which of those are you still on, if you think that experience was typical?
Psychedelics, weed and if I'm at a concert maybe md or k. I'm not on any of the really hard stuff like alcohol tho.
Do you actually believe that drugs are not easily accessible?
I could drive right now to a brand new city and find a dealer.
Yeah you could, but me, my family, or friends can't and I much prefer society being that way. And I'm talking about hard drugs, I could literally get weed or psychedelics anytime and in a lot of cities. I just wouldn't want my little nieces and nephews getting hooked on meth or heroine from a store and having a new industry that could legally abuse peoples addictive tendencies.
Brother you sound pretty naive.
I don’t drink alcohol, never have, and that’s available in every store.
If you think just because something is decriminalised or legalised then the usage will increase then you’re misinformed. You can look at legal marijuana in many countries, or even Portugal and Switzerlands approach to harder drugs to see that isn’t the case.
It’s hardly like it’s carte blanche for companies to start marketing crack to kids. In fact it should be government controlled and the proceeds can go to educating people. Or we could just do what we’ve done since the war on drugs started which has had little to no effect on the trafficking of drugs.
Furthermore, by limiting these substances to the black market, you’re essentially happy for the proceeds to fund larger crimes like terrorism which will result in someone’s else’s nieces or nephews being killed. Also, you’re happy for the drug cartels to control some counties, what about the nieces and nephews in those counties?
Incredibly naive.
Finally, it’s heroin. Heroine is a courageous female.
I'm not saying I agree with the current state of the drug war, I just think the state should have the power to snatch you up and put you in treatment if you're clearly addicted and constantly using hard drugs like heroin, meth, crack. I spent half my life in NJ and the other half in Iowa so I've seen how hard drugs like meth & crack could completely destroy people from varying ethnicities & socioeconomic backgrounds.
And Seattle did decriminalize drugs only to go back to making it illegal, because their streets started filling up with junkies and ruining their city. Some drugs deserve to be illegal to be served to humans because of how it completely destroys them, it's just much better for society to lock people up and force them to be sober then for a state to willingly serve poison to its citizens. And if you think alcohol is addictive as meth or crack then you're the one who's utterly naive.
I took mushrooms for 2 months daily so it will still effect you without tolerance break u just don't really get many negative effects in my experience
Edit: I'm abt to go on an acid bender over Halloween too but that one tires u out alot more so I prefer shrooms
I take acid for a week straight during my birthday week and by the third or fourth day I'm not really experiencing much. Any psychedelic you take will have a very minuscule effect after a 3 day bender because your serotonin levels are very depleted. Personally I find shrooms just make me too emotional and I find the trips to be a little short so I much more prefer acid over any drug.
I do build a tolerance but I'm still 3xperienceing it by the 4th day. Shrooms r easier for me to talk abt cause I have more experience but got shrooms I can trip for maybe 3 weeks daily without any tolerance and I'm not entirely sure if I had tolerance at that point or was just getting more used to the situation
Edit: psychedelics don't deplete serotonin they attach to serotonin receptors. Mdma depletes serotonin
I don’t even think you should be able to present an opinion here till your 26 and your brain has fully developed.
So much of overdose etc is not having a regulated dose! Not to mention, I bought coke and it was fentanyl instead. Should have known to test, but learned the hardest lesson.
It’s the one time things don’t go right that you don’t make it back
I would hope that decent, mental health treatment would be the first option until drugs are decriminalized. You wouldn't need drugs if people weren't self-medicating.
That's barely even an option for most people who aren't struggling with drug problems.
It should be for everyone that needs or wants it.