3 ms·

The story probably has two sides, as you mention. However, I think everyone should be in charge of their own decisions, including taking not approved drugs, wi

The story probably has two sides, as you mention. However, I think everyone should be in charge of their own decisions, including taking not approved drugs, without being considered criminals or similar, under their strict own responsibility.

abduhl 2y ago
This question is pedantic but I’ll ask it anyways: is it actually illegal to take an unapproved drug? Sale of, marketing for, distribution, etc. all might be (are?) illegal but is TAKING an unapproved drug illegal? I can’t believe it is, there’s an entire industry that peddles nootropics and supplements. My understanding has always been that if you can get it (however that is), you can take it without issue (although you obviously might have broken a possession law at some point).
- soulofmischief 2y ago
  Depending on the drug, it can be illegal for certain professionals to create, procure or otherwise transfer possession or sell it to you. It's not even illegal to consume heroin or crack in normal circumstances, it's only the possession itself which is illegal. Depends on the state, but unscheduled drugs don't typically have possession laws. However, if you use an illegal method to acquire them, and in some case all realistic methods are illegal, you can get in trouble for that.
- _DeadFred_ 2y ago
  Isn't the FDAs rule it becomes controlled once the active ingredient in the supplement is proven to have significant pharmacological effects on health conditions? So you can take it up to and until it becomes clear it has a benefit to you, the you can only take the FDA approved version.
pjc50 2y ago
Taking? Yes. It's the selling and marketing that's the social disaster, see the opiates scandal.
- germandiago 2y ago
  As long as that marketing is not misleading and the contract is clear, with all dangers exposed, it should also be legal IMHO. What should not be legal is fooling someone into taking something without knowing its consequences for the potential harm produced. The rest should be ok.
  - mathgeek 2y ago
    It’s sadly never that simple. You quickly run into “and now we have to regulate it further” at every step because contracts have to be exhaustive in order to be clear, risks cannot be fully known in advance, rational people can disagree about what is misleading, etc.
    - germandiago 2y ago
      This already happens even with regulations. It is impossible to fix. Also, note thst even with regulations and, more important, INSIDE regulated areas, these things already happen. I think there is a case to discuss what constitutes harm, but pretending that regulated means "harmless and ok" and not regulated "evil and dangerous" is a bad mindset and the one that is dragging us to a false sense of security via hyper regulation. Not always, of course, but in many cases it is just a false sense of it.
      - mathgeek 2y ago
        > This already happens even with regulations. Agreed, that was sadly part of my point. They never end but not having them also doesn’t solve the problem for everyone. Some folks will want more, some won’t, at any balancing point.
  - immibis 2y ago
    See also "capitalism is a system of voluntary transactions between individuals so it is not capable of causing harm"

abduhl 2y ago

This question is pedantic but I’ll ask it anyways: is it actually illegal to take an unapproved drug? Sale of, marketing for, distribution, etc. all might be (are?) illegal but is TAKING an unapproved drug illegal? I can’t believe it is, there’s an entire industry that peddles nootropics and supplements. My understanding has always been that if you can get it (however that is), you can take it without issue (although you obviously might have broken a possession law at some point).

soulofmischief 2y ago
Depending on the drug, it can be illegal for certain professionals to create, procure or otherwise transfer possession or sell it to you. It's not even illegal to consume heroin or crack in normal circumstances, it's only the possession itself which is illegal. Depends on the state, but unscheduled drugs don't typically have possession laws. However, if you use an illegal method to acquire them, and in some case all realistic methods are illegal, you can get in trouble for that.
_DeadFred_ 2y ago
Isn't the FDAs rule it becomes controlled once the active ingredient in the supplement is proven to have significant pharmacological effects on health conditions? So you can take it up to and until it becomes clear it has a benefit to you, the you can only take the FDA approved version.

pjc50 2y ago

Taking? Yes. It's the selling and marketing that's the social disaster, see the opiates scandal.

germandiago 2y ago
As long as that marketing is not misleading and the contract is clear, with all dangers exposed, it should also be legal IMHO. What should not be legal is fooling someone into taking something without knowing its consequences for the potential harm produced. The rest should be ok.
- mathgeek 2y ago
  It’s sadly never that simple. You quickly run into “and now we have to regulate it further” at every step because contracts have to be exhaustive in order to be clear, risks cannot be fully known in advance, rational people can disagree about what is misleading, etc.
  - germandiago 2y ago
    This already happens even with regulations. It is impossible to fix. Also, note thst even with regulations and, more important, INSIDE regulated areas, these things already happen. I think there is a case to discuss what constitutes harm, but pretending that regulated means "harmless and ok" and not regulated "evil and dangerous" is a bad mindset and the one that is dragging us to a false sense of security via hyper regulation. Not always, of course, but in many cases it is just a false sense of it.
    - mathgeek 2y ago
      > This already happens even with regulations. Agreed, that was sadly part of my point. They never end but not having them also doesn’t solve the problem for everyone. Some folks will want more, some won’t, at any balancing point.
- immibis 2y ago
  See also "capitalism is a system of voluntary transactions between individuals so it is not capable of causing harm"