....On a psychedelic you know you've taken a drug, when you have schizophrenia you think it's real. That's a pretty fundamental difference isn't it.....
I can't quite work out why he's changed to decriminalisation...... and legalisation is the only road that he can make any money and keep his name in the papers.
Of course When you have taken a drug you know you are on it. However in drug research and studies I understand that there are protocols and processes followed that include the use of control groups and placebos and blind (where the patients don't know if they are on the drug or the placebo) and double blind (where the researchers and the subjects are not informed of which group (control- placebo or Active - drug) they belong to, in addition to ensuring that they have the right quantity of subjects to test, and that their subjects have the right/appropriate medical/health history. All this helps the fact that the 'required state of mind' for this type of study would need to be synthetically or artificially induced. if they are able to replicate or mimic the effects of or symptoms of an illness, state of mind or situation, it enables valuable research, leanings and discoveries to be undertaken for that issue, I think the focus is on creating an equivalent state in which to investigate and perform research rather than on the manner in which the equivalent state was induced, i would imagine that once there is a way to emulate the state being researched, scientist can work towards understanding the issue better and developing treatments and cures.
There is also a difference between regulation, legalisation and decriminalisation, but the lines between them are fuzzy and differ from drug to drug and change under differing circumstances.
For instance, Even if a drug is legalized, and you are allowed to buy it, own it and take it, in some circumstances it can still be illegal to possess it, such as in Australia, methadone is legalized opiate, but that doesn't mean everyone is allowed to have it or have it prescribed to them, so long as it is prescribed to you and you take it as directed, you can't get in trouble for having it in your possession. As I recently discovered even having methadone which has been prescribed to you can be illegal and result in criminal proceedings if you have not taken it as it was prescribed, and retain possession of the unused doses passed their dosing date.
Decriminalisation of a drug, doesn't necessarily mean you are allowed to have it either, it generally refers to the fact that possessing or using that drug will not result in criminal proceedings, or is not punishable under a criminal code. There may be other diversions in place to deal with people in possession of decriminalized drugs that are still known or recognised to cause harm, this might include being diverted to health or social/community support services such as rehab, Counselling or detox programs as an alternative to be dealt with as a criminal offence.
Legalizing or decriminalisation of a drug also allows a government to regulate quality and usage more easily and also gives them the ability to introduce a tax on the product. This would be very beneficial for the community in reducing the impact of funding requirements for initiatives to help prevent, treat and care for those that require substance use and abuse related services.
Back to the topic, I have not had a lot to do with LSD or similar, but I have undergone an ibogaine detox from heroin and am very keen to see more research undertaken on this particular drug, I only hope that the voices of respected drugs of dependency experts, advocates and users are loud enough for our governments to hear our cry for help and deliver on their policies of implementing strategies that are backed up by research and are recognised as successful options for harm reduction, treatment and recovery.
If only more legislators, practitioners and politicians were to open their eyes and ears and look at the statistics, research and actual outcomes that other countries have acheived by enacting programs that work, that are focused on actual recovery rather than limited long term maintenace or abstinence based treatment that is proven not to work for everyone. I admire Dr Nutt and his desire and determination to publish and provide commentary based on fact, and demonstrated experience
I thought he looked a bit smartly dressed.
