4 ms·

This is a "street drugs are contaminated" argument and you are correct in that "street" drugs are often contaminated or are of inferior quality. It is an argume

This is a "street drugs are contaminated" argument and you are correct in that "street" drugs are often contaminated or are of inferior quality. It is an argument against prohibition. I'm not sure where you got the idea that "Crystal meth is a lot more addictive", I'd be interested to learn more if that is in fact the case. Again, no argument that illicit contaminated drugs can harm people, so can contaminated food or water. It is interesting OTOH to consider oxycodone which is abused widely and is available often paired with what would only be considered a contaminant (paracetamol or acetaminophen) if it were a street drug; the contaminant being responsible for most of the acute harm attributable to prescription opiate abuse.

roel_v 12y ago
"This is a "street drugs are contaminated" argument" No it's not. As a matter of fact, both MDMA and amphetamine available in the underground market in Europe the last years are more pure than they ever were. I'm arguing against prohibition, I guess all the downvoters didn't bother to read past my first sentence. My point was that the GP was trying to say 'oh meth is just as dangerous as other stimulants and you can get it with a prescription' - uh no it's not, and no you can't. "I'm not sure where you got the idea that "Crystal meth is a lot more addictive", I'd be interested to learn more if that is in fact the case." It's widely documented (see e.g. http://www.cmaj.ca/content/178/13/1679.full http://www.cmaj.ca/content/178/13/1679.full , from which I quote "Apart from the generic risks associated with all forms of methamphetamine, the special public health concern with crystal meth is that this form can cause more overall harm to the public than other forms, because it rapidly achieves a high drug concentration with a correspondingly high potential for drug addiction and other toxicities."; see also the references to that article and everything you will find from there) that smoking methamphetamine causes a much quicker dopamine release, and fading effect, than ingesting or snorting it. This causes a user to want to repeat smoking much faster.
- fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
  Thanks for the link. At least we now have a specific definition for "crystal meth" (methamphetamine hydrochloride). >This causes a user to want to repeat smoking much faster. I didn't see where they made that conclusion. I did see this: >>Despite much research data from animals in the literature,17 the areas of the human brain and the key neurochemicals that are responsible for the pleasurable effects of methamphetamine and for the transition from drug-liking to drug-craving are still unknown. >>"Research into the pharmacologic treatment of methamphetamine addiction has largely been limited to studies in animals. Surprisingly, there are very limited data from clinical trials of new therapies to prevent methamphetamine addiction relapse.24,33 Although animal studies are essential to the development of new medications, given the public health importance of this worldwide problem and the existence of potential drug targets, it is obvious that the very slow pace of clinical testing of new therapies in methamphetamine addiction needs to be accelerated. "

roel_v 12y ago

"This is a "street drugs are contaminated" argument" No it's not. As a matter of fact, both MDMA and amphetamine available in the underground market in Europe the last years are more pure than they ever were. I'm arguing against prohibition, I guess all the downvoters didn't bother to read past my first sentence. My point was that the GP was trying to say 'oh meth is just as dangerous as other stimulants and you can get it with a prescription' - uh no it's not, and no you can't. "I'm not sure where you got the idea that "Crystal meth is a lot more addictive", I'd be interested to learn more if that is in fact the case." It's widely documented (see e.g. http://www.cmaj.ca/content/178/13/1679.full http://www.cmaj.ca/content/178/13/1679.full , from which I quote "Apart from the generic risks associated with all forms of methamphetamine, the special public health concern with crystal meth is that this form can cause more overall harm to the public than other forms, because it rapidly achieves a high drug concentration with a correspondingly high potential for drug addiction and other toxicities."; see also the references to that article and everything you will find from there) that smoking methamphetamine causes a much quicker dopamine release, and fading effect, than ingesting or snorting it. This causes a user to want to repeat smoking much faster.

fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
Thanks for the link. At least we now have a specific definition for "crystal meth" (methamphetamine hydrochloride). >This causes a user to want to repeat smoking much faster. I didn't see where they made that conclusion. I did see this: >>Despite much research data from animals in the literature,17 the areas of the human brain and the key neurochemicals that are responsible for the pleasurable effects of methamphetamine and for the transition from drug-liking to drug-craving are still unknown. >>"Research into the pharmacologic treatment of methamphetamine addiction has largely been limited to studies in animals. Surprisingly, there are very limited data from clinical trials of new therapies to prevent methamphetamine addiction relapse.24,33 Although animal studies are essential to the development of new medications, given the public health importance of this worldwide problem and the existence of potential drug targets, it is obvious that the very slow pace of clinical testing of new therapies in methamphetamine addiction needs to be accelerated. "