4 ms·

This is the problem with the war on drugs and any sort of drug control or prohibition. Synthetic drugs came about because they fell outside legislation designe

• Aerroon 2y ago
  The weirdest thing to me is that drug use is cracked down on so hard that we even have international treaties against them, but something like obesity in some cases is even celebrated (healthy at every size).
  • pas 2y ago
    The steelmanned version of this is that morbidly obese people rarely run up and down the street mugging and robbing people to get their next fix. (And that in aggregate people's tolerance to petty crimes is much less than their tolerance against controlling innocent people's lives.) ... and during the 20th century "performative law and order" was -- how should I put it -- big, as in the 1937 Nazi rally was attended by about a million people, and the 1939 one was called Rally for Peace (but cancelled a few days before and instead of the Rally the Nazis attacked Poland) ... fast-forward a few decades later, still September, but spin the globe a bit, and dear Nancy and Ronald are concerned about drugs! oh my ... while they supplied arms to Iraq ... and Iran at the same time, directly violating a law he personally signed.
    • im3w1l 2y ago
      I think this is basically right, but I would add the suffering of the family as well. Obesity will not lead you to abuse your spouse or children. Obese people can hold down a job. Obese people don't lose custody of their children. The closest analogue, I think, is smoking. It will demonstrably take years of your lifespan and healthspan. It does lead to minor harm of people in your immediate vicinity (2nd hand smoke, those kids probably get fat too).
      • dbspin 2y ago
        I think smoking is bang on as a comparison. Massive lifetime average costs to the health system, spending on which is by definition zero sum. Both smoking and morbid obesity are enormously damaging life paths. I say this as someone who struggles with their weight. I want to acknowledge that weight isn't a simple calories in, calories out situation. That other illnesses, medications, childbirth and gut health have enormous impacts on the capacity to maintain or lose weight. And that many people (particularly in the US) live in food deserts. What I'd criticise is the valorisation or excusing of obesity as equivalent to healthy living. 'Healthy at any size' social messaging is enormously damaging on a social and personal level. I've personally known a few people who became politicised in this direction (as a subset of radical queer politics) and went from being highly functional to disabled due to overeating and other health consequences of inactivity and overeating. Life is difficult, aging is terrifying. Making it worse by pretending that these conditions aren't awful is extremely irresponsible.
      • jajko 2y ago
        Maybe not abuse of children per se, but most obese parents have obese children, so the self-caused sickness is passed down. I see it very often in such cases. It boils down the lifestyle, 2 generations ago their grandparents were most probably skinny due to simple food they ate and physical labor they went through every day. If kids see lazy tired parents, chances of them being athletic and eating healthily are very low, and its a baggage that gets heavier to shed off with each passing year.
      • AmericanChopper 2y ago
        I grew up in a relatively high tax country with universal healthcare. My government in particular didn't publish everything I'd need to figure this out, but if they were comparable to similar countries with similar budgets and similar obesity rates, then I'd be paying 100% of my income for about two weeks every year in taxes to pay for the additional healthcare costs caused by obesity. So if I didn't have to pay for obese people's additional healthcare costs, I could have either gotten myself a rather sizeable tax break, or a couple week of extra holiday free every year.
  • jermaustin1 2y ago
    Obesity in and of itself is not an indicator of health. It can be a symptom of underlying health issues, and can cause other health issues (specifically if sedentary like joint pain and injury, insulin resistance, etc.), but it is not unhealthy to be obese if all other health indicators are fine. I'm 220 pounds, I can run a 10 minute mile (not the 5:45 I ran in high school, but I'm also 20 years older and don't have the 5-hours per day dedicated to training I did back then). I just completed a 5-day, 125 mile hike through the Scotish highlands with a torn MCL. I'm probably the "healthiest" I've ever been, even though every one of my doctors tells me I need to lose 75 pounds.
• Scoundreller 2y ago
  > Synthetic drugs came about because they fell outside legislation designed to control the different classes of drugs. Or just as illegal, but far easier to smuggle (that’s the expensive part), so the weak stuff disappears from the market while potent stuff becomes the only available option.
• hippich 2y ago
  Wouldn't manufacturers try to increase potency even if it is legalized? Marketing it as "better bang for your buck"?
  • throwup238 2y ago
    One of the biggest drivers towards higher potency is ease of smuggling, which is a lot less of a concern for legal manufacturers. They’re also ripe targets for wrongful death lawsuits so there’s an incentive to keep the potency within reasonable limits unless the drug is relatively harmless. They can also accurately dose their drugs and make large pills, making it harder to accidentally overdose on doses that are measured in milligrams
  • pixl97 2y ago
    Getting sued for overdoses typically prevents behavior like that.