4 ms·

I mean, I remember how things were before fentanyl came around (as an outside observer, not as a user) and heroin was a horrible, life-destroying drug addiction

I mean, I remember how things were before fentanyl came around (as an outside observer, not as a user) and heroin was a horrible, life-destroying drug addiction back then as well. And I think it was and is convincingly argued that it is much more addictive than alcohol.

tdeck 3y ago
It's my understanding that street drugs like Heroin were frequently cut to varying, sometimes unpredictable degrees prior to the introduction of fentanyl. So you could still easily misjudge your dose and OD due to the lack of any kind of consistency. Presumably this would also make it even harder to try to taper off the addiction gradually.
nine_k 3y ago
Opioids keep the top spot of addictiveness. The second place firmly belongs to nicotine. It's way more addictive than. say, cocaine. Why not ban nicotine, by the same logic as heroin? The key difference is that nicotine is a mere stimulant, while heroin alters your perception, it literally changes the way you see good and bad, because it's the ultimate feel-good substance. I have zero qualms about legalizing LSD, psilocybin, ketamine, etc. Likely even cocaine. But legalization of opioids would require a lot of preliminary work, to somehow allow the addicts function in a socially compatible way when badly wanting a dose. It must be noted that a physiological addiction to opiates does not form from a first dose, and not even from the first ten doses, so infrequent recreational use is possible, given a right psychological preparation. This is similar to alcohol.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- imstate 3y ago
  > Why not ban nicotine, by the same logic as heroin? because nicotine doesn't increase crime rates on society.
  - etchalon 3y ago
    Nicotine is also legal, safe-per-dose and easy to get.
- dh2022 3y ago
  Because smokers can hold jobs and are productive members of society. Unlike meth and heroin, nicotine does not make people attack other people, does not make people miss work, does not make people irresponsible.

tdeck 3y ago

It's my understanding that street drugs like Heroin were frequently cut to varying, sometimes unpredictable degrees prior to the introduction of fentanyl. So you could still easily misjudge your dose and OD due to the lack of any kind of consistency. Presumably this would also make it even harder to try to taper off the addiction gradually.

nine_k 3y ago

Opioids keep the top spot of addictiveness. The second place firmly belongs to nicotine. It's way more addictive than. say, cocaine. Why not ban nicotine, by the same logic as heroin? The key difference is that nicotine is a mere stimulant, while heroin alters your perception, it literally changes the way you see good and bad, because it's the ultimate feel-good substance. I have zero qualms about legalizing LSD, psilocybin, ketamine, etc. Likely even cocaine. But legalization of opioids would require a lot of preliminary work, to somehow allow the addicts function in a socially compatible way when badly wanting a dose. It must be noted that a physiological addiction to opiates does not form from a first dose, and not even from the first ten doses, so infrequent recreational use is possible, given a right psychological preparation. This is similar to alcohol.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
imstate 3y ago
> Why not ban nicotine, by the same logic as heroin? because nicotine doesn't increase crime rates on society.
- etchalon 3y ago
  Nicotine is also legal, safe-per-dose and easy to get.
dh2022 3y ago
Because smokers can hold jobs and are productive members of society. Unlike meth and heroin, nicotine does not make people attack other people, does not make people miss work, does not make people irresponsible.