Opinions - The most ridiculous drug laws and statistics

[Synesthesiac]

I'm writing on another forum about some of the stupidest drug laws and the flaws of prohibition, and was hoping some people here could add a few to my list. As my point isn't getting across to some of the people there.

So far I've come up with:

* Its illegal to use mdma even though last year more people died of swallowing bee's in cans than died from swallowing mdma.

* When alcohol was prohibited its use rose to record levels.

* Its perfectly legal to use, buy, pick, sell and cultivate highly hallucingonic and neurotoxic planets like datura, that are highly poisonous and can potentially kill people if too much is taken, but using and growing a few small plants of cannabis can land you in jail for years.

* MDMA causes approximately 1 death in 100,000 users. The death rate from smoking, by contrast, is on the order of 400 per 100,000 users. Even alcohol nets about 50 deaths per 100,000 users each year.

* Methadone used to treat heroin addicts is usually more harmful than Heroin itself.

And a few more... but I'm sort of overwhelmed for good ones to choose from, everytime I look at any statistic or silly law I just want to go with that, as they are all so damning against drug prohibition. But theres gotta be some other really good statistics I could add...

any help appreciated, thanx

Reputation Comments on this post:

Nice thread!

[Will21st]

nice post!

However... I do believe that it's not illegal to use MDMA. The Misuse of Drugs Act doesn't mention use,afaik.

Otherwise one could never mention or admit past use,for fear of prosecution.

pls.correct me if i am wrong

[Herbal Healer 019]

Not really statistics, but definately factual:

Drug prohibition creates a black market for violent gangs to profit from through selling drugs whereas if drugs were legal this problem would be completely eliminated through legilization, taxation & regulation.

Black market drugs are often dangerously cut with substances that make otherwise non toxic substances dangerous and/or deadly (i.e. fentanyl cut heroin)

Prohibition wastes hundreds of billions of dollars with no positive outcome (i.e. even with kilos upon kilos of cannabis seized every year, cannabis eradication fails to even put a dent in the amount of cannabis coming into & being cultivated in the US & other countries)

The prohibition of drugs creates dangerous drug trends (i.e. huffing gas, glue, & solvents; which is often fatal)

The prohibition of drugs causes more OD's than it prevents.

[crackcityrocker]

GHB is schedule 1 (read: high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use) while Xyrem (GHB's pharmaceutical trade-name) is schedule 3 (currently accepted medical use)

[ShawnD]

* Methamphetamine, the biggest target in America's current drug war, is legal as a schedule 2 drug sold under the name Desoxyn.

* US fighter pilots use Dexedrine (d-amphetamine) to offset fatigue. (this is probably true for the air force in all countries, but I think this one is the funniest)

* Schedule 1 drugs in the US are defined as not having a medical use. Marijuana is Schedule 1 on a federal level, but 10 states have legalized medical marijuana.

* In Holland, smoking tobacco is more illegal than smoking marijuana. (they had a recent partial ban on tobacco smoking)

* While the US has some of the harshest anti-cocaine laws in the world, cocaine use in the US is much higher than any other developed nation.

* Even though about 40% of the US population is evangelical christians who theoretically hate drugs, drug use (prescription and street) in the US is still incredibly high.

* Addiction to tobacco is often a sign of mental problems; smoking rates among schizophrenic, bipolar, and depressed people are 90%, 80%, and 70% respectively.

* Ephedra was banned as a weight loss supplement because it causes heart attacks. You know what else causes heart attacks? Being overweight.

[Herbal Healer 019]

Originally Posted by ShawnD

* In Holland, smoking tobacco is more illegal than smoking marijuana. (they had a recent partial ban on tobacco smoking)

Tobacco in holland isn't illegal it's just prohibited in public places, as america has started to do in certain resteraunts. Holland has just realized tobacco smoke is more of a health hazard than marijuana smoke.

Personally I hate tobacco smoke, even tho I used to smoke, and I could care less if they completely illegalized it. SWIM thinks there's no point in smoking unless you'r getting high, even so, there are healthier alternatives to smoking. Inhaling cancerous chemicals has to be the most retarded socially excepted past time, as it is the worse form of any drug and is bad for every organ in the body. When I leave a smokey bar I can barely breath when I get home, you can def. notice the damage being done once you've stopped smoking, it's ridiculous, and all public smoking should be banned globally. If you wanna fuck your body up, do it in your own space, not mine.

Reputation Comments on this post:

You just blew my fucking mind, man.

[doggy_hat]

*Drug Prohibition is an excuse to undermine constitutional rights, and militarize police.

*Legalization would eliminate international crime syndicates' primary source of income.

*Many drug deaths from dirty drugs of unknown potency would be eliminated if regulated for quality control if legal.

*Holland has the lowest cannabis consumption of the western world despite the fact that cannabis is closer to being legal there than anywhere else.

*Dealers don't check for ID's, stores do.

*Even when current studies only show beneficial effects, they become illegal anyways. MDMA, for example, despite current research showing that it inflicts no serious brain damage, but however has very potent therapeutic uses, such as curing post tramautic stress disorder. It was scheduled for having no medical uses, and being highly abuseable.

*Drug war is responsible for large scale propaganda machine. When government researchers were trying to find something bad about MDMA they found out it puts holes in your brain. Oh wait, they "accidentally" were using meth instead of MDMA. Too bad they didn't spend millions of dollars advertising that they botched the experiment, like they did with the "It puts holes in your brain" ad campaign. But a (corrupted) scientist said it, so it must be true.

*Cocaine prohibition, and Invading DEA forces are responsible for Columbia being as fucked up as it is. It'd probably be a much nicer place if it wasn't for all of the drug gangs, and US Occupational forces.


As for tobacco, maybe we could place higher quality control on the industry? Tobacco would be alot less nasty if it wasn't intentionally and legal pumped full of radioactive and poisonous materials.

[fiveleggedrat]

US consumes 80% of world's opioids, 98% of world's hydrocodone.

[Bajeda]

Originally Posted by fiveleggedrat

US consumes 80% of world's opioids, 98% of world's hydrocodone.

And has around 5% of the world population. Helps with context.

[dyingtomorrow]

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police can detain you for hours, have a dog sniff your person and all of your possessions looking for "something, anything", and it is not a "search" under the 4th Amendment (thus you aren't entitled to it's protections in such a situation).

That's the absolute dumbest "law" in my opinion.

dyingtomorrow added 0 Minutes and 39 Seconds later...

Originally Posted by fiveleggedrat

US consumes 80% of world's opioids, 98% of world's hydrocodone.

But throws its heroin users in jail for long, long sentences, cuz they aren't among the handful of rich / rich + old people who are legally allowed to be opiate (vicodin/hydrocodone and oxycotin/oxycodone) addicts in America.

[Herbal Healer 019]

Originally Posted by doggy_hat

As for tobacco, maybe we could place higher quality control on the industry? Tobacco would be alot less nasty if it wasn't intentionally and legal pumped full of radioactive and poisonous materials.

Tobacco is not intentionally pumped full of "radioactive" (really?) and poisonous materials, it is the combustion chemicals from the smoke (hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, etc..), which occur in all smoke; including cannabis smoke, that are "radioactive" (maybe?) and poisonous material(including nicotine, which is naturally occuring without smoke). FY and everyone elses' I

[ShawnD]

Originally Posted by doggy_hat

*Legalization would eliminate international crime syndicates' primary source of income.

After 9/11, there were a bunch of US ads that would show a teen saying "it's not hurting anyone" then it basically states that you're funding terrorism when you buy drugs. I wonder if anyone making the commercial saw the irony

[gmeziscool2354]

nah, Tobbacco pulls radioactive material out of the soil. That is why smokers get exposed to radiation. It also pull cadmium and a few other metals from the soil.

[nachra]

Holy Shit this stuffs been fuckin enilightening for SWIM. Almost as enlightening as ayahuasca... almost. Also download the "Bullshit" episode on the war on drugs good statistics:

*20billion a year is spent on war on drugs

*Heroine has becom 600 times cheaper than before the drug war began!!!!!!

* I think said put 750,000 people in jail for marijuana "possession" alone. (number might be wrong)

*Not a single reported death from marijuana OD (SWIMs idiot drug theripist disagrees)

*There was at 1 point 11 people on a federal medical marijane program, and one person who recieved it smoked several times a day and is a successful stock broker (he might not be doing so well now)

*Government claims that:
*Weed causes the most reported car accidents
*Weed is the biggest gate way drug
*Weed is responsible for the most teen hospitalizations
*Since the drug war, drug use has been down

*Give them a break, they must be high. none of these are true.

And alot more, if youve never heard of "Bullshit" look it up its tight