UK - Those killed by PMA are victims of the war on drugs

[StrutterGear]

Pretty much we need to educate the entire public, its the misconceptions and the fact people don't know what they are taking, its not prohibition its not the drugs themselves it is the false information that has been floating around for the last few decades, then they turn it on user's as addicts or crazy when they will not provide correct information in the first place.

False information is a result of prohibtion... The Government provide the education, and they ain't gonna spend money educating people on subjects they consider illegal. This is because if the public actually knew all the facts there'd be no case for it being illegal anyway

 

[StrutterGear]

Here's why drug legalization is a very bad idea. Alcohol is a legal drug, and yet despite all of the warning labels and common knowledge on it's dangers, there are still deaths from alcohol overdoses, people getting drunk and doing dangerous stuff while under the influence, etc. Making drugs legal increases usage, which will lead to an increase in problems caused by drug usage. Ecstasy being legal means that it would be regulated, and it wouldn't be laced with other drugs.

However, legalizing ecstasy also means that more people would use it, and there would be more deaths from people drinking too much water. Educating people isn't doing to stop people from drinking too much water. People are educated on alcohol, which is a legal drug, and look at all of the problems that alcohol causes.

I don't agree at all. People go over the top on alcohol because it's cheap and it's abuse is a part of social norm. Getting drunk is as old as man itself.

 

[Mendo_K]

The death of the man in Swindon who took the green dollar tablet was purchased online, it was AMT. Not PMA/PMMA as reported, nevertheless great article.

 

[23536]

To those who keep saying that legalization will lead to increased use: stop saying that unless you have proof.

What has happened to usage levels in Portugal and Holland since they decriminalized. I know that decriminalization is not exactly legalization, but the difference is of degree, not type.

 

[ro4eva]

Even if recreational drug use were to increase (assuming they were either decriminalized or legalized), I still seriously believe prohibition has been a major failure and it has caused so many more problems than it has solved. Therefore, after 40 fucking years of this fascist bullshit (dictating to people for the sake of their freedom being taken from them what they can or cannot ingest), 40 years of essentially no significant progress, this "war" has to stop, one way (decriminalization) or another (legalization). Enough is enough. Over one trillion USD ($ 1,000,000,000,000) of tax payer money down the drain (IMO) is more than enough.

 

[rickolasnice]

Prohibition does also cause a lot of harm outside that lack of proper education surrounding drugs.

Prohibition = No regulation. No quality control. So dangerous adulterants such as PMA will be added or used in place of whatever drug it is being sold as. There will also be changes in purity leading to accidental overdose. No age restriction is another problem.

There is no evidence to suggest the war on drugs ever decreased peoples drug use. It hasn't.

 

[Lightning-Nl]

I disagree.

PMA is probably a lot easier to make. If and when the war on drugs ends, Ecstasy pills are still going to be filled with other shitty amphetamines and cathinones like Mephedrone, Buphedrone, Methylone, PMA, 5-APB, 6-APB, etc...

 

[Lazaraus45]

I disagree.

PMA is probably a lot easier to make. If and when the war on drugs ends, Ecstasy pills are still going to be filled with other shitty amphetamines and cathinones like Mephedrone, Buphedrone, Methylone, PMA, 5-APB, 6-APB, etc...

Sure, there will still be be people willing to make a quick buck at the expense of someones life, but the availability of quality pills would mean a consistent supply of it, you would then have vendors you could trust instead of people going back and forth to whichever dealer can get ahold of something, no solution will ever solve all the problems that come with drugs but this would still be a major improvement

 

[Blind Melon]

It was definitely a well put together article. I fully believe that prohibition is to blame for their deaths. The War on Drugs is beyond a joke, it is a crime. I honestly feel the governments keep drugs illegal in order to profit off them. That's the only logical reason. Look what happened when the U.S. banned alcohol.... people were making rot-gut in bathtubs and consequently many died. The War on Drugs makes criminals of the poor, destroys third world nations, and lines the pockets of the most corrupt people in the world. Disgusting, and unbelievable. When will the change come?

 

[edgarshade]

I disagree.

PMA is probably a lot easier to make. If and when the war on drugs ends, Ecstasy pills are still going to be filled with other shitty amphetamines and cathinones like Mephedrone, Buphedrone, Methylone, PMA, 5-APB, 6-APB, etc...

Someone could make paracetamol pills with bleach and mercury in them but would anyone buy them when they can just by regulated, pure, known dose pills in their local pharmacy?

 

[StrutterGear]

I disagree.

PMA is probably a lot easier to make. If and when the war on drugs ends, Ecstasy pills are still going to be filled with other shitty amphetamines and cathinones like Mephedrone, Buphedrone, Methylone, PMA, 5-APB, 6-APB, etc...

Not if they're regulated and sold by Government or private companies like the prescription you pick up at the chemist LOL. Don't see your logic there.

 

[rickolasnice]

He's possibly talking about decriminalisation as opposed to legalisation.

If talking about decriminalisation there are also very beneficial things to come from it (although not as much as legalization).. such as once the stigma is removed more addicts will be more likely to seek help, overdose victims will not be left to die by friends too scared to call an ambulance, innocent people will not have their lives ruined by jail time and criminal records and the money saved will be around 4.1 BILLION dollars a year (US) or around 16 billion (taken from 2009) pounds in the UK, this money could be spent on better education, research and treatment.. and it could also mean more science based policies involving medical uses for currently illegal drugs.

 

[23536]

why does everyone keep saying that making pma is easier than making MDMA? It's all about the availability of precursors. If the market were taken out of the shadows, there's nothing esoteric about the creation of MDMA that would make chemists opt for PMA instead.

 

[Folley]

why does everyone keep saying that making pma is easier than making MDMA? It's all about the availability of precursors. If the market were taken out of the shadows, there's nothing esoteric about the creation of MDMA that would make chemists opt for PMA instead.

^ Srsly. It's not like it's THAT hard to make MDMA in the first place, they do it in the jungles of Cambodia for fuck's sake. The biggest problem is the precursors for MDMA were all banned like 30 years ago and aniseed oil is still readily available.

 

[Lady Codone]

Might sound paranoid, but I always wondered if the government doesn't have a hand in these random PMA poisonings that happen every 10 years or so. They poisoned thousands of people during alcohol prohibition, so I wouldn't put it past them. Then they can say "see, drugs are bad!" while skimming over the true details in the 6 o' clock news.

(I'm referring to the U.S. government, but any government is capable of such atrocities).

 

[Folley]

^ If you think it's the US you're probably paranoid, considering the majority of these deaths have occurred in the UK and Europe. Maybe that's just payback for the Revolution, eh?



This article is basically saying that the US's drug laws that were imposed around the world are the cause of this, though.

 

[Lightning-Nl]

I think you're all missing the point.

Even if the war on drugs ends - things like MDMA, Methamphetamine, Heroin, Benzodiazepines, etc will NEVER hit the shelves. Why is this? Because the FDA would NEVER approve them, especially for everyone to use. Frankly, things like that SHOULDN'T be in every drug store. If people want to buy a drug, even one that was made my clandestine chemists, that's their choice. I agree that the government shouldn't interfere with that.

However, if these very addictive drugs became available to everyone - addiction and other issues would rise to heights we've never seen before.

Yes - the war on drugs should end, however, certain drugs shouldn't be readily available at every drug store- that would be exponentially dangerous.

 

[badfish45]

Here's why drug legalization is a very bad idea. Alcohol is a legal drug, and yet despite all of the warning labels and common knowledge on it's dangers, there are still deaths from alcohol overdoses, people getting drunk and doing dangerous stuff while under the influence, etc. Making drugs legal increases usage, which will lead to an increase in problems caused by drug usage. Ecstasy being legal means that it would be regulated, and it wouldn't be laced with other drugs.

However, legalizing ecstasy also means that more people would use it, and there would be more deaths from people drinking too much water. Educating people isn't doing to stop people from drinking too much water. People are educated on alcohol, which is a legal drug, and look at all of the problems that alcohol causes.

I disagree. People are very uneducated about alcohol and fail to see it as a drug due to the demonizing of illegal drugs. They believe its legal status guarantees its safety because of the existence of a prohibition that is supposedly there to protect us.

 

[Lightning-Nl]

I disagree. People are very uneducated about alcohol and fail to see it as a drug due to the demonizing of illegal drugs. They believe its legal status guarantees its safety because of the existence of a prohibition that is supposedly there to protect us.

Exactly.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Ethanol (proper name for drinking alcohol) is by far the most damaging drug in existence.

 

[Si Dread]

I really am not certain at all that PMA would exist in street pills if it weren't for the illegality of MDMA itself. The process of producing each drug is actually quite similar, execpt for the differing precursors. The precursors for MDMA are tightly controlled whereas the precursors for PMA are less controlled. A lab set up to synth MDMA could easilly be used to produce PMA simply by using the different precursor.

Even if legalisation DID increase usage, that usage would be safer if the drugs concerned were being professionally manufactured. The fact is however, that liberalising drugs law has a tendency to reduce use & certainly problematic use, in the long term.

In Iran recently hundreds died & thousands were poisoned by drinking toxic, home-made alcohol!

We cannot legislate against stupidity. People will do stupid things in cars, on drugs, on alcohol, climbing mountains, horse-riding. People are stupid. Even banning drugs has not stopped stupid people doing stupid things with them.