4 ms·

Why should we force drug trafficking in to the underground, creating a black market and all the murder that comes with enforcing contracts within it, when peopl

Why should we force drug trafficking in to the underground, creating a black market and all the murder that comes with enforcing contracts within it, when people are just going to buy and consume drugs anyway? Because drugs are bad for you? The trade-off doesn't seem worth it.

ogre_codes 6y ago
Mostly agree. I think a lot of drugs should be legalized. Some which I think are addictive/ destructive enough where they should be kept illegal. Bath salts, crack cocaine, are good examples of the latter. I also think we should be deliberate in how we tread this path.
- netizen-9748 6y ago
  What compound is 'bath salts'? Is there more than one? Do they do different things?
  - ogre_codes 6y ago
    As I said, it should be a deliberate approach with specifics. Blowing it open all at once might be... really bad.
  - klyrs 6y ago
    Apparently, synthetic compounds analogous to those found in Khat. From what I gather, there are several compounds that qualify as "cathinones" and I expect they have varied effects. Drugs often have different effects on different people, too (see alcohol intolerance). Also, with any home-cooked organic chemistry, there will be a lot of variance in the product. Also, with any street supply, you never know what it's cut with (even if it appears to be beautiful dank nugs). https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/synthetic-cathinones-bath-salts https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/synthetic-c...
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
ttul 6y ago
"Bath salts" are popular because far better alternatives are illegal... If pure meth, cocaine, heroin, MDMA, and other "hard" drugs were made available in a regulated format, many destructive and dangerous alternatives would no longer have a market.
- ogre_codes 6y ago
  This is the big concern about making (any) drugs illegal. There is zero way for a user to ensure safe supply or with consistent dosages. This puts an additional burden on our healthcare system.
- leakybit 6y ago
  is meth, heroin, and cocaine supposed to be safe for you?
  - filoleg 6y ago
    >is meth, heroin, and cocaine supposed to be safe for you? Most likely not, but definitely much safer than unregulated "bath salts". And keep in mind, "safe" is not binary, it is a spectrum. Even a lot of common household OTC drugs are not safe if taken in improper dosages or without following the instructions carefully. And even regarding those drugs that you've mentioned, a giant chunk of the deaths and overdoses occur due to impurities and unknown mixes that are unaccounted for due to the illegal status of those substances. For example, let's say a heroin addict keeps buying from the same dealer and knows his safe "dosage", which is N grams. The thing is, that's not the real dosage, because street heroin is mixed with tons of garbage fillers to prop up the value and make the drug cheaper to manufacture. So his real "safe" dosage could be 70% of N, with 30% being fillers. Then at some point later, he either switches dealers or his usual dealer switches suppliers, and the fillers only account for 10% of the final product now. So the addict buys his usual "safe dosage" of N grams, without being aware of decreased filler amount(dealers don't post an accurate percentage of fillers in their drugs on the package, cause why bother if it is illegal either way, and it could be that they didn't even know it themselves). Even though the addict thinks he is buying his usual "safe" dosage, in reality his dosage becomes 29% higher (0.9N grams vs. 0.7N grams), hence the overdose. Note: numbers and percentages are absolutely made up, because i have zero idea about typical heroin dosages and percentage of fillers in those. But my point should still be valid, even with the real life numbers probably being much different.

ogre_codes 6y ago

Mostly agree. I think a lot of drugs should be legalized. Some which I think are addictive/ destructive enough where they should be kept illegal. Bath salts, crack cocaine, are good examples of the latter. I also think we should be deliberate in how we tread this path.

netizen-9748 6y ago
What compound is 'bath salts'? Is there more than one? Do they do different things?
- ogre_codes 6y ago
  As I said, it should be a deliberate approach with specifics. Blowing it open all at once might be... really bad.
- klyrs 6y ago
  Apparently, synthetic compounds analogous to those found in Khat. From what I gather, there are several compounds that qualify as "cathinones" and I expect they have varied effects. Drugs often have different effects on different people, too (see alcohol intolerance). Also, with any home-cooked organic chemistry, there will be a lot of variance in the product. Also, with any street supply, you never know what it's cut with (even if it appears to be beautiful dank nugs). https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/synthetic-cathinones-bath-salts https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/synthetic-c...

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

ttul 6y ago

"Bath salts" are popular because far better alternatives are illegal... If pure meth, cocaine, heroin, MDMA, and other "hard" drugs were made available in a regulated format, many destructive and dangerous alternatives would no longer have a market.

ogre_codes 6y ago
This is the big concern about making (any) drugs illegal. There is zero way for a user to ensure safe supply or with consistent dosages. This puts an additional burden on our healthcare system.
leakybit 6y ago
is meth, heroin, and cocaine supposed to be safe for you?
- filoleg 6y ago
  >is meth, heroin, and cocaine supposed to be safe for you? Most likely not, but definitely much safer than unregulated "bath salts". And keep in mind, "safe" is not binary, it is a spectrum. Even a lot of common household OTC drugs are not safe if taken in improper dosages or without following the instructions carefully. And even regarding those drugs that you've mentioned, a giant chunk of the deaths and overdoses occur due to impurities and unknown mixes that are unaccounted for due to the illegal status of those substances. For example, let's say a heroin addict keeps buying from the same dealer and knows his safe "dosage", which is N grams. The thing is, that's not the real dosage, because street heroin is mixed with tons of garbage fillers to prop up the value and make the drug cheaper to manufacture. So his real "safe" dosage could be 70% of N, with 30% being fillers. Then at some point later, he either switches dealers or his usual dealer switches suppliers, and the fillers only account for 10% of the final product now. So the addict buys his usual "safe dosage" of N grams, without being aware of decreased filler amount(dealers don't post an accurate percentage of fillers in their drugs on the package, cause why bother if it is illegal either way, and it could be that they didn't even know it themselves). Even though the addict thinks he is buying his usual "safe" dosage, in reality his dosage becomes 29% higher (0.9N grams vs. 0.7N grams), hence the overdose. Note: numbers and percentages are absolutely made up, because i have zero idea about typical heroin dosages and percentage of fillers in those. But my point should still be valid, even with the real life numbers probably being much different.