Thread: Bah! News like this makes me sick!

It's quite a contentious report, but bear in mind the Lancet is very well respected, equivalent to JAMA over on your side. I.e. has been put together by medical profs and peer-reviewed (more importantly!) by similar.

Having completed part of med school some time ago (boy.... we're talking some time ago now) and with a wife who's a GP, our view is sympathetic towards some of the suggestions in this study. It is an impossible argument, but it's not as simple as assuming illicit drugs are more dangerous just by dint of fact that they're illegal. E.g. death due to alcohol and alcohol-related incidents is more common than any other drug, illicit or otherwise.

There is also the social stigma of drug abuse (ruins lives, tears families apart, physical damage, psychological damage, etc.) and you'd be right to point to those factors as why some drugs remain illiegal. But guess what? I believe alcohol has exactly the same social effects on many: ask any alcoholic!

One final question for you, Howard. You say "I remain convinced that drugs are illegal for a GOOD reason." So how do you explain drugs that were illegal, but are no longer illegal. Have they somehow changed in chemical structure in the intervening period? Have humans become impervious to their effects in that time? Are the social outcomes different now?

I am of course referring to alcohol -- prohibition of yesteryear, and its availability and status today.

Ecstacy, no, I can't imagine that has long time effects lesser than alcohol or nicotine. I've read that over time, Ecstacy destroys the brains ability to benefit from endorphins, making it hard for users to get excited about most normal things.

Marijuana, I would go out on a limb here and say that yes, I believe legalizing this would be a good thing. 1st, in the US we have more people in jail than any place on earth per capita. 2nd, people don't have drunk driving accidents when high. In fact, they are hyper aware when driving. 3rd, marijuana doesn't have the beligerant/abusive effect on people when they are high, they actually become more sociable, not less. You rarely see a pot-head want to fight. So, in these ways, I would replace alcohol with marijuana in a heartbeat as a 'replacement' for alcohol which ruins so many lives.

On the downside, aside from the obvious lung issues, it really does a job on your short term memory. Take this from someone who did his fare share in college, and now only sparks up at the odd Steely Dan, Phish or James Taylor concert...

Marijuana has less of a potential for addiction than alcohol or tobacco. This is not to say that you cannot become an addict (I've met a few) but the habit is more difficult to acquire and easier to kick than the other two. Alcohol also stimulates aggressive tendencies more than marijuana or just about any other depressant (which is a kind of a paradox, once you put some thought into it).
Exctacy is extremely dangerous for those who take it. I have seen a guy who popped a knee and kept on dancing and jumping around. They had to get the ambulance for him the next day. However, it's not widely available, so it has less of an impact on the society in general.