NDIC's Review Highlights Drug-Prohibition's Dangers

[spacefacethebassace]

If only the pharmacist could be my dealer and Uncle Sam could just take his cut and let me be.

 

[Armoth]

Basically, all the NDIC is, is where the DEA and other organizations get their statistics, so as you can see, the statistics start off skewed, and it only gets worse as it's passed down through different organizations.

 

[Olyn]

"Cocaine is the leading drug threat to society. Methamphetamine is the second leading drug threat, followed by marijuana, heroin, pharmaceutical drugs, and MDMA (also known as ecstasy) respectively."

My brain just exploded...

 

[cubbie]

sounds like another pork-barrel project to me. my guess is pharm arent higher up on the list is b/c pharm companies have lobbyists in wash and mexican dto's dont. i would think they would be tied 41st w meth

 

[dhcdavid]

I think I can't tell if I missed your question or if there isn't a question here

To be honest, it was a rhetorical question and I kinda knew the answer but merely wanted to express my exasperation at the insanely harsh and OTT US drug laws (and the UK seems to be heading in the same direction it has to be said...... recently reclassifying MJ to a Class B drug - in the same family now as amphetamine).

That was all but I appreciate your response nonetheless

Well said, Damo

Not about DHC in particular, but to all those who poo-poo legalisation as druggies who just want to get high easier and legally and so forth. I suspect he probably understands this himself - although really wouldn't know cos I've yet to speak to the fine chap personally

I second what Shambles says here too!

Glad you (Shambles) realised I probably understood the problems and immense bad press surrounding any talk of legalisation, decriminalisation or any type of behaviour perceived by the popular right-wing media as giving druggies a bit of a break.

We get our foot in the door one toe at a time fellow soldiers, one toe at a time.

 

[Huaca]

The alcohol industry wants to continue the drug prohibitions. Drug prohibition is also supported by organized crime. I think the government would like to prohibit everything and have total control over the population. No more freedoms, everyone will be like mindless worker bees supporting the collective. A society of serfs or slaves.

 

[2oclockbeanfiend.2]

Please can someone American, or with a better understanding of American culture, its politics and its wider population's views on marijuana explain to me how keeping it as a Schedule 1 drug (sharing that Schedule with delightful substances such as PCP and heroin - and yes, I know heroin DOES in fact have medical value but that's an argument for another time, I'm rushing out the door here ) and the associated public resources which then must be used excessively in an attempt to rid America of this drug?

How can an organisation such as the NDIC - which wherever its members sit on the political spectrum must surely have some reasonably if not really intelligent people in it - compile a "drugs top 40" (so to speak) to indicate the relative dangers of different illegal drugs [which one would assume they'd be quite knowledgable about] and include a drug which nobody in the entire world has EVER died from in overdose and is actually recommended by 1000s of doctors the world over (including in countries without medical marijuana schemes such as the UK... because a Doctor did recommend it to me to help my arthritis because the legal pain pills he was prescribing were dangerous )?

How, PLEASE, SOMEONE, PLEASE TELL ME HOW in this list of dangerous drugs can marijuan be placed at number 3 ahead of heroin and pharmaceutical drugs?

I weep for the future.

Sorry if someone else has already responded to this, but its obvious its so high because of its availability. Pretty much any high school kid (and it seems even younger these days) in the United States can get their hands on some weed, but heroin...I think not. Don't confuse New Jersey with every state in the US (sorry NJ BLers, but NJ has got a serious fuckin problem. At least 80% of the patients at the treatment center I went to, in Miami, were from New Jersey and hooked on dope.) I'd say compared to marijuana, heroin is nearly impossible for someone not already in that circle to find. So maybe marijuana use isn't really as 'dangerous' as heroin use, but the 'threat' of its use is astronomically higher.

 

[2oclockbeanfiend.2]

I would say that methamphetamine is the leading drug threat in our society. I have seen way more people, families, and lives destroyed by this drug than by any other. It's use is much more widespread than smoking crack, as that is considered a "ghetto drug" by many.

I also see methamphetamine abuse spreading very, very fast, and I think it's much more of an epidemic than cocaine, which has been a common recreational drug for over 50 years. It's only been in the last 20 years or so that smoking crystal methamphetamine has become so prevalent.

I also think that, in most cases, long term methamphetamine abuse is much worse than long term cocaine abuse (cocaine is almost too expensive to take it that out of control). Don't get me wrong, both can destroy your life, but meth does it much faster and it is much easier to accomplish than with cocaine, in my opinion.

I do live in southern California, however.

I've never seen meth. Period. I've only met one person (outside of rehab) that's ever used meth. I would have to say you are incorrect in saying its use is more widespread than crack. Maybe in SoCal, but nationwide I would bet the farm on crack being more widespread.

IMO, #1 should be oxycodone. That shit has become an epidemic. All sorts of people are sniffing/smoking/whatever "blues" (30mg roxis) like there's no tomorrow. Its really unbelievable. (And you know I love me some oxy, so my personal bias is aside.)

 

[ChemicalSmiles]

^ Heroin is only dangerous cos it's illegal and therefore of unknown purity. Physically it is one of the safest drugs known.

Prohibition is what turns it into the "Dangerous drug" we hear about. Totally agree....

 

[qwe]

So maybe marijuana use isn't really as 'dangerous' as heroin use, but the 'threat' of its use is astronomically higher.

so the threat of marijuana is astronomical

giggles and munchies and getting turned on and seeing enhanced colors and music and an increase in creativity and new ideas -- insufferable threat to society

 

[rm-rf]

I cant fathom what these 'researchers' do with their data...

Gee, we could just take the power of the underworld away and regulate control over the use of drugs, much like was done with Alcohol in the 30s (prohibition clearly worked well then, diddnt it!?). Or i guess we could throw most of everyone's money at fighting an endless/unstoppable war and spend the remainder on telling them how naughty it is if they consume drugs. Seems like a sensible idea, right gents?

This is seriously like throwing tin cans at a comet flying straight for earth, which will hit us and destroy us at an unknown time. You cant stop nature. Animals will do drugs as they *always* have. The drug war will be a strong contributor to our destruction.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Lol @ this shit

Did someone REALLY think that marijuana's a bigger threat to the country than heroin?

WOW.

The ignorance that has risen up in this country is PHENOMENAL - soon we'll be saying things like "weed is a bigger problem than crack", "weed is a bigger problem than drunk driving"...and people will continue to die in the name of prohibition.

And the cycle of drug abuse continues.

so the threat of marijuana is astronomical

giggles and munchies and getting turned on and seeing enhanced colors and music and an increase in creativity and new ideas -- insufferable threat to society

Honestly, people are so ignorant they don't even know what marijuana does to you. The threat isn't in the drug itself, it's the fact that people are deriving pleasure from smoking illegal drugs.

Drug prohibition is helpful in fixing our society, just as helpful as telling people to "wait until marriage" saves people from having an abortion. If pro-lifer's would hand out condoms, and drug prohibitionists handed out marijuana to help deter hard drug use, THEN these things might be helpful.

But telling people "abstinence is the way", "just wait", etc...that doesn't do anything but hand the apple to Eve and tell her how juicy it is.

Here's a scenario:

You are married and have children. You walk into your teenage son's bedroom. What would you rather see happen? A or B?

A) Little Johnny has a rig stuck half way in and is pushing in the last 0.1 CC of heroin into a vein. Afterwards, he asks you if you can go to the store and get him some more sticks, he's almost out.

OR...would you rather have...

B) Little Johnny has about 10 dollars worth of marijuana in a rolling paper and is just about to spark it up. Right before he does this, he asks you if you want to toke along.

Granted some people might see both as equally undesirable, I think it's obvious that scenario B is what every (SANE) parent would want for their child.

 

[Huaca]

The biggest threat to this country is big centralized government. They need to stay out of people's private lives. The war on drugs is much more harmful than people using drugs. What's worse, some guy at home relaxing and smoking some natural plant or getting locked up for years in a warehouse with murderers and rapists?