5 ms·

There was an article about this in the New Scientist (UK) a few weeks back. They highlighted concerns that unlike mass illegal cannabis production the heat/ener

There was an article about this in the New Scientist (UK) a few weeks back. They highlighted concerns that unlike mass illegal cannabis production the heat/energy footprint of producing opium in something like a bathtub would be almost undetectable. If someone finds a way to produce addictive drugs from yeast then a whole new ball park could be opened up in the war on drugs.

benjohnson 11y ago
As someone who deplores recreational drug use, I would be happy to see it's manufacture distributed, cheap, and hard to detect. It would remove the majority of the violent crime element from the equation without significant downside (that I could see.)
- lisivka 11y ago
  Why not to hook electrodes directly into brain? Electricity is legal, cheap as dirt, and cannot be detected. As bonus, it will do no harm to your body.
  - digi_owl 11y ago
    http://www.gizmag.com/thync-review/38662/ http://www.gizmag.com/thync-review/38662/
  - beagle3 11y ago
    If you know how to do that with little to no risk, you can get extremely rich - but you wouldn't really care, as the electrodes in your brain will deliver more enjoyment than all that money could. ... or not: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park
  - kjs3 11y ago
    Hooking electrodes directly into your brain has no possibility to harm your body? That's comically wrong.
pixl97 11y ago
>If someone finds a way to produce addictive drugs from yeast then a whole new ball park could be opened up in the war on drugs. More like a whole new ballpark in the devastation of human rights. How exactly do you fight against this without a totalitarian police state? The gene labs could be anywhere in the world, bringing a new strain in would be as simple as tiny sealed pocket in just about anything you could imagine. Would the yeast itself be considered illegal? How much would be, a few micrograms? And this is just the early days of gene manipulation. Way better and more potent combinations will be made at some point, because even though it may be 'somewhat' difficult, there is a lot of money to be made. Which turns back to the government now monitoring everybody that has knowledge and ability in the genetics world since they could be a drug manufacture. Future will be an interesting place.
- nugga 11y ago
  The answer is of course repealing the war on drugs. Maybe legalization of cannabis paves the way to the realization that regulation, taxation and harm reduction are much better ways of combating not only the violence and corruption that stems from the black market but especially the health issues.
  - pixl97 11y ago
    Oh I certainly agree with that, unfortunately a sizeable portion of the population doesn't. A significant lobby base in the U.S. fights actively against legalization and will throw tons of money at the current racket too.
    - digi_owl 11y ago
      There are times i wonder if people are incapable of learning from history...
- AndrewStephens 11y ago
  > Would the yeast itself be considered illegal? How much would be, a few micrograms? According to the report on the radio I heard this morning, the yeast itself is considered a controlled substance and its distribution is restricted in the same way as the drugs themselves.

benjohnson 11y ago

As someone who deplores recreational drug use, I would be happy to see it's manufacture distributed, cheap, and hard to detect. It would remove the majority of the violent crime element from the equation without significant downside (that I could see.)

lisivka 11y ago
Why not to hook electrodes directly into brain? Electricity is legal, cheap as dirt, and cannot be detected. As bonus, it will do no harm to your body.
- digi_owl 11y ago
  http://www.gizmag.com/thync-review/38662/ http://www.gizmag.com/thync-review/38662/
- beagle3 11y ago
  If you know how to do that with little to no risk, you can get extremely rich - but you wouldn't really care, as the electrodes in your brain will deliver more enjoyment than all that money could. ... or not: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park
- kjs3 11y ago
  Hooking electrodes directly into your brain has no possibility to harm your body? That's comically wrong.

pixl97 11y ago

>If someone finds a way to produce addictive drugs from yeast then a whole new ball park could be opened up in the war on drugs. More like a whole new ballpark in the devastation of human rights. How exactly do you fight against this without a totalitarian police state? The gene labs could be anywhere in the world, bringing a new strain in would be as simple as tiny sealed pocket in just about anything you could imagine. Would the yeast itself be considered illegal? How much would be, a few micrograms? And this is just the early days of gene manipulation. Way better and more potent combinations will be made at some point, because even though it may be 'somewhat' difficult, there is a lot of money to be made. Which turns back to the government now monitoring everybody that has knowledge and ability in the genetics world since they could be a drug manufacture. Future will be an interesting place.

nugga 11y ago
The answer is of course repealing the war on drugs. Maybe legalization of cannabis paves the way to the realization that regulation, taxation and harm reduction are much better ways of combating not only the violence and corruption that stems from the black market but especially the health issues.
- pixl97 11y ago
  Oh I certainly agree with that, unfortunately a sizeable portion of the population doesn't. A significant lobby base in the U.S. fights actively against legalization and will throw tons of money at the current racket too.
  - digi_owl 11y ago
    There are times i wonder if people are incapable of learning from history...
AndrewStephens 11y ago
> Would the yeast itself be considered illegal? How much would be, a few micrograms? According to the report on the radio I heard this morning, the yeast itself is considered a controlled substance and its distribution is restricted in the same way as the drugs themselves.