Ecstasy is a superior and safer party drug than Alcohol!

[Space_Ed]

This is something I wrote about a year ago for a project of mine:

Thoughts on the legality of Ecstasy…

In the UK Ecstasy is a class-A drug and in the US it is a Schedule 1 drug. This means that it is totally illegal to manufacture, sell or take Ecstasy in either country. Although this is the case, many police and scientists are, “very alarmed by the numbers," said Redman of the Club Drug Task Force, "The kids that are taking it are unaware of the dangers."

What are the dangers of the drug known as Ecstasy? Many of today's youth are unaware of any. With this lack of knowledge, numerous young people find themselves enveloped in frequent Ecstasy use before they know it. Side effects of the drug Ecstasy vary greatly. Muscle cramping, teeth clenching, stomach discomfort, chills and sweating are the most commonly reported short-term effects. The long-term dangers of Ecstasy that have been reported are anxiety, paranoia and depression according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Although this is true, these long-term negative effects only appear in very heavy users of MDMA (Ecstasy).

Most deaths from Ecstasy use have been caused by dehydration. Ecstasy affects body temperature and when combined with dancing for long periods in a hot place there is a risk of dangerous over-heating. However, the medical profession is still unclear as to the exact danger that the drug poses to health. Part of the problem is that many tablets sold as Ecstasy are not what purchasers think they are. The amount of Ecstasy in a tablet can vary greatly. Tablets have been analysed and some contained no Ecstasy but other drugs such as other types of Amphetamine or Ketamine. Others have been found to contain some Ecstasy but mixed with other drugs or a range of adulterants. Some tablets have even been found to be fish tank cleaners or dog worming tablets. An autopsy of a 26-year-old long-term heavy user of Ecstasy revealed that he had up to 80% less serotonin in his brain than normal. A recent study has suggests that only "0.0002% of Ecstasy users die from taking the drug per year," which incidentally is far less than for users of Alcohol and Tobacco.

If these youngsters who have died from misuse of Ecstasy, had known about the dangers and understood the likely consequences of taking the drug I think that many of them would still be alive today. The basic facts state that making a drug illegal does not deter a person who wants to experiment with it. If Ecstasy were bought over the counter at a pharmacy or another type of regulated drugs store then the purity of the drug would be guaranteed, also there would be government health warnings all over the box that they come in educating the buyer on the safest methods of use. I strongly believe that there would be fewer Ecstasy related deaths if Ecstasy were made legal. Very few Ecstasy users develop serious permanent brain damage because all sensible clubbers know that, "When the come-down outweighs the good times you know the party is over, man."- Human Traffic.

Before MDMA and its other variants such as MDA which is a more hallucinogenic form of the drug and MDE which is more 'chilled out', were made illegal in the late 1980's psychiatrists and therapists of various tyes used to give MDMA to their patients as it has been said that, "one hit of 'X'," under the right conditions, "can be equivalent to months of treatment." Research is under way in Spain for use of MDMA for treatment of people with post-traumatic stress syndrome and the results are extremely positive. MDMA had enabled rape victims to come to terms with their ordeal and put them in a much better position, "than before MDMA." Monks of various religions take MDMA in low doses as it is known to greatly aid meditation as it is the worlds most powerful 'empathogen' and the worlds best known 'entactogen'. However, modern drugs law prohibits MDMA for these genuinely beneficial uses.



- I am so interested in the drugs topic I have dedicated my career to it. I am about to start my second year of my Pharmaceutical Chemistry course. To demonstrate my level of expertise I have taken:

Alcohol
Weed
Ecstasy
Speed
LSD
Magic Mushrooms
Mescaline
Cocaine
Crack
Heroin
Laughing Gas
Poppers
Tobacco

From my own personal experience of drunken bafoonery and the complete opposite effects that MDMA has on people and the many physiological and psychological effects and problems that each drug represents; I believe adamantly that for one to be legal and advertised and the other totally prohibited and taking it, making it and selling it to result in criminal prosecution is absolute hypocrisy of the worst kind. I believe that if ecstasy was societies drug of choice and alcohol was demonised we'd be living in a much safer world when we go out on fridays and saturdays. Ive been in quite a lot of fights and been in police cells and been arrested because drunken morons have started fights. If ecstasy were legal I am sure that my nights out in England would be much safer, far more beautiful, far more beneficial and far less socially damaging. I wanted to share this with you guys. Comment as you see fit.

[Space_Ed]

[quote=Space_Ed;2994347]I strongly believe that there would be fewer Ecstasy related deaths if Ecstasy were made legal. QUOTE]

I now dont think this is the case but I am sure that once society adjusted to it there would be far fewer night-out deaths i.e. deaths from fighting, falling infront of a car, falling downstairs, drinking too much and overdosing on alcohol.

There is the problem of rare allergies to MDMA but aslong as first timers are cautious there should be no deaths from this.

[sesshin]

I saw a brain scan of a girl who had done massive amounts of ecstasy for extended periods of time and she literally had huge holes eaten away in her brain. That pretty much turned me off to the drug forever.

[Space_Ed]

Out of that list I believe Magic Mushrooms, Ecstasy and Weed should be legalised if Alcohol and Tobacco aren't going to be banned. They pose less of a physiological threat and negligible social damage compared to Alcohol. The only wild card is Shrooms. They are legal in Amsterdam and tourists have killed themselves when on them. I see this as analogous to giving Alcohol to someone who has never heard of it or its effects and telling them to drink lots then cross lots of busy roads it a major foreign metropolis. It's a recipe for disaster and it is ignorance of the drug that kills in Amsterdam.

[kevsta]

Originally Posted by Space_Ed

This is something I wrote about a year ago for a project of mine:

Thoughts on the legality of Ecstasy…

In the UK Ecstasy is a class-A drug and in the US it is a Schedule 1 drug. This means that it is totally illegal to manufacture, sell or take Ecstasy in either country. Although this is the case, many police and scientists are, “very alarmed by the numbers," said Redman of the Club Drug Task Force, "The kids that are taking it are unaware of the dangers."

What are the dangers of the drug known as Ecstasy? Many of today's youth are unaware of any. With this lack of knowledge, numerous young people find themselves enveloped in frequent Ecstasy use before they know it. Side effects of the drug Ecstasy vary greatly. Muscle cramping, teeth clenching, stomach discomfort, chills and sweating are the most commonly reported short-term effects. The long-term dangers of Ecstasy that have been reported are anxiety, paranoia and depression according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Although this is true, these long-term negative effects only appear in very heavy users of MDMA (Ecstasy).

Most deaths from Ecstasy use have been caused by dehydration. Ecstasy affects body temperature and when combined with dancing for long periods in a hot place there is a risk of dangerous over-heating. However, the medical profession is still unclear as to the exact danger that the drug poses to health. Part of the problem is that many tablets sold as Ecstasy are not what purchasers think they are. The amount of Ecstasy in a tablet can vary greatly. Tablets have been analysed and some contained no Ecstasy but other drugs such as other types of Amphetamine or Ketamine. Others have been found to contain some Ecstasy but mixed with other drugs or a range of adulterants. Some tablets have even been found to be fish tank cleaners or dog worming tablets. An autopsy of a 26-year-old long-term heavy user of Ecstasy revealed that he had up to 80% less serotonin in his brain than normal. A recent study has suggests that only "0.0002% of Ecstasy users die from taking the drug per year," which incidentally is far less than for users of Alcohol and Tobacco.

If these youngsters who have died from misuse of Ecstasy, had known about the dangers and understood the likely consequences of taking the drug I think that many of them would still be alive today. The basic facts state that making a drug illegal does not deter a person who wants to experiment with it. If Ecstasy were bought over the counter at a pharmacy or another type of regulated drugs store then the purity of the drug would be guaranteed, also there would be government health warnings all over the box that they come in educating the buyer on the safest methods of use. I strongly believe that there would be fewer Ecstasy related deaths if Ecstasy were made legal. Very few Ecstasy users develop serious permanent brain damage because all sensible clubbers know that, "When the come-down outweighs the good times you know the party is over, man."- Human Traffic.

Before MDMA and its other variants such as MDA which is a more hallucinogenic form of the drug and MDE which is more 'chilled out', were made illegal in the late 1980's psychiatrists and therapists of various tyes used to give MDMA to their patients as it has been said that, "one hit of 'X'," under the right conditions, "can be equivalent to months of treatment." Research is under way in Spain for use of MDMA for treatment of people with post-traumatic stress syndrome and the results are extremely positive. MDMA had enabled rape victims to come to terms with their ordeal and put them in a much better position, "than before MDMA." Monks of various religions take MDMA in low doses as it is known to greatly aid meditation as it is the worlds most powerful 'empathogen' and the worlds best known 'entactogen'. However, modern drugs law prohibits MDMA for these genuinely beneficial uses.



- I am so interested in the drugs topic I have dedicated my career to it. I am about to start my second year of my Pharmaceutical Chemistry course. To demonstrate my level of expertise I have taken:

Alcohol
Weed
Ecstasy
Speed
LSD
Magic Mushrooms
Mescaline
Cocaine
Crack
Heroin
Laughing Gas
Poppers
Tobacco

From my own personal experience of drunken bafoonery and the complete opposite effects that MDMA has on people and the many physiological and psychological effects and problems that each drug represents; I believe adamantly that for one to be legal and advertised and the other totally prohibited and taking it, making it and selling it to result in criminal prosecution is absolute hypocrisy of the worst kind. I believe that if ecstasy was societies drug of choice and alcohol was demonised we'd be living in a much safer world when we go out on fridays and saturdays. Ive been in quite a lot of fights and been in police cells and been arrested because drunken morons have started fights. If ecstasy were legal I am sure that my nights out in England would be much safer, far more beautiful, far more beneficial and far less socially damaging. I wanted to share this with you guys. Comment as you see fit.

I couldnt agree more. I too have good (and long term) experience in this matter.

[Space_Ed]

Originally Posted by sesshin

I saw a brain scan of a girl who had done massive amounts of ecstasy for extended periods of time and she literally had huge holes eaten away in her brain. That pretty much turned me off to the drug forever.

If that was an investigation by the US government don't trust it. Ecstasy is like anything if you over do it and are stupid and don't respect it you are going go get what is coming to you. Just like with Acohol. If the brain scan is not misleading do you think that she would have done that to herself if she had been educated properly instead of hearing "Never ever ever take Ecstasy!" but she took it anyway and found that nothing bad happened to her and so in her ignorance didnt take the governments message as truth (which it isnt) and found out the real dangers the hard way?

[kevsta]

Originally Posted by sesshin

I saw a brain scan of a girl who had done massive amounts of ecstasy for extended periods of time and she literally had huge holes eaten away in her brain. That pretty much turned me off to the drug forever.

I am not sure I believe this to be honest. Do you know the condition? or could you show me other cases of the same thing?

[Space_Ed]

Originally Posted by sesshin

I saw a brain scan of a girl who had done massive amounts of ecstasy for extended periods of time and she literally had huge holes eaten away in her brain. That pretty much turned me off to the drug forever.

Yeah I don't believe 'huge holes' for a second. Massive serotonin depletion is more like it.

By the way you can get serotonin in health food shops in the form of 5-htp. I use it to bring my serotonin levels back up. Its really only needed after taking it several weekends in a row.

[TragicMonkey]

Everyone I know who does Ecstasy is a boring idiot with no decent conversation. Is this the result of Ecstasy use, or the cause of it?

[sesshin]

Originally Posted by kevsta

I am not sure I believe this to be honest. Do you know the condition? or could you show me other cases of the same thing?

It was on a tv special about ecstasy a few years back that was profiling different ecstasy users and the effects it had on them. I'll see if I can find a clip of it on youtube.

[pipelineaudio]

Hillarious

imagine if you will that pot was legal and tobacco and alcohol were not

I bet 17 ruby nuggets the current 420 crowd would be demonizing pot and speaking of the magical healing nature of tobacco

[Miss Anthrope]

Originally Posted by pipelineaudio

Hillarious

imagine if you will that pot was legal and tobacco and alcohol were not

I bet 17 ruby nuggets the current 420 crowd would be demonizing pot and speaking of the magical healing nature of tobacco

Actually I doubt that.

[JoeEllison]

Damned hippies.

[skeptifem]

the brain holes thing was from mtvs 'real life: im on extacy'

[Axiom_Blade]

Originally Posted by sesshin

I saw a brain scan of a girl who had done massive amounts of ecstasy for extended periods of time and she literally had huge holes eaten away in her brain. That pretty much turned me off to the drug forever.

Here's another side of that:
MDMA Brain Scans Showing Neurotoxicity Invalid

Quote:

Under the cover story "E is for Evidence", the British science-oriented magazine "New Scientist" published a set of articles and editorials related to this topic in April 2002, denouncing the use of the questionable scientific data in the war on ecstasy consumption. There are several articles in the New Scientist, but most of them can be found following the links below.

The New Scientist article is a well-balanced, but critical, look at the issue of overstating the certainty of findings of brain damage in ecstasy users. "We are not saying that ecstasy is harmless to brain cells. It might not be. But the jury is still out. Which means scientists must resist the temptation to turn their always complex--and sometimes flawed--findings into simple scare stories in pursuit of grants and headlines."

[kevsta]

All those that know the truth behind this particular topic would agree, as it would appear do the experts advising government on the facts.


http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2026205,00.html

what spin our glorious leaders then decide to put on it for political reasons will no doubt be once more wholly different from the reality.

Quote:

The government is to be urged to consider a controversial plan to reclassify drugs according to the harm they do. The new ranking system would see alcohol placed high on the scale because of its links to violence and car accidents. Tobacco, estimated to cause 40 per cent of all hospital illnesses, would also come before the class-A drug ecstasy.

Quote:

The Drugs league table - Drugs assessed in order of danger

1 Heroin

2 Cocaine

3 Barbiturates

4 Street methadone

5 Alcohol

6 Ketamine

7 Benzodiazepine

8 Amphetamines

9 Tobacco

10 Buprenorphine

11 Cannabis

12 Solvents

13 4-MTA

14 LSD

15 Methylphenidate

16 Anabolic steroids

17 GHB

18 Ecstasy

19 Alkyl nitrates

20 Khat

[SomeGuy]

Originally Posted by Space_Ed

Out of that list I believe Magic Mushrooms, Ecstasy and Weed should be legalised if Alcohol and Tobacco aren't going to be banned. They pose less of a physiological threat and negligible social damage compared to Alcohol. The only wild card is Shrooms. They are legal in Amsterdam and tourists have killed themselves when on them. I see this as analogous to giving Alcohol to someone who has never heard of it or its effects and telling them to drink lots then cross lots of busy roads it a major foreign metropolis. It's a recipe for disaster and it is ignorance of the drug that kills in Amsterdam.

As far as I can tell the major problem with tourists in Amsterdam is that they are ussually there for a short time and want to experience as much as possible.

This often result in dangerous drug cocktails of alcohol, weed and mushrooms. Sometimes they take a drug while coming down from another etc etc etc.. all pretty big no-no's

New legislations proposed in Amsterdam now require you to report to the smartshop, get an information leaflet, and then only being able to acquire mushrooms after a 3-day cooldown period.

Sounds like a easy to work around solution if you ask me... but they try...

[Wildy]

Has anyone else noticed that there always seems to be a little problem with drugs like these? They are made illegal even though they really have no harm to them.

Then we have alcohol and tobacco which are legal but can do far more damage then cannabis could.

For those of you in Australia or have seen them, do you remember the Government's ads? Where they have the doctor talking about people on Crystam Meth. They were talking about people becoming violent suddenly or digging at their skin to try and get things that the seemed to feel crawling under their skin.

However taking a look at some of the side affects I can see why Methamphetamines can be dangerous especially in this climate of various dangerous sexually transmitted diseases.

MDMA though looks as if some of the affects lead to these deaths. Because I seem to have lost my hard copy of the specific lecture notes and trying to get the online version seems to freeze firefox I will have to resort to a Wikipedia article.

If I remember a story from the UK correctly one of the supposed deaths due to MDMA was actually due to water intoxication because she didn't want to die from dehydration.

Perhaps there should also be a stress on what you should do if you take those drugs on the off chance you will remember when you take them?

Clearly I need to do some more research but I wanted to say that.

PS. This is my 50^th post.

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by Space_Ed

Yeah I don't believe 'huge holes' for a second. Massive serotonin depletion is more like it.

By the way you can get serotonin in health food shops in the form of 5-htp. I use it to bring my serotonin levels back up. Its really only needed after taking it several weekends in a row.

This may be what he was talking about. This segment from "Oprah" makes it appear as though using ecstasy kills parts of the brain.

http://www.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/...010928_e.jhtml

I make no claim either way. I just took a sec with google to find it.

[Space_Ed]

Originally Posted by TragicMonkey

Everyone I know who does Ecstasy is a boring idiot with no decent conversation. Is this the result of Ecstasy use, or the cause of it?

Errr I dont know them so I couldnt say but if they take it a lot (just like anything) it will affect the way they behave. I think its probably more likely the cause because ive never met anyone change dramatically after taking it. If they take it a lot they could be on a permanent comedown and need to stay off it for a bit. I reckon they are probably just boring idiots anyway. I know a few idiots that have taken it but i know really interesting people who have taken it too. It is perhaps bad luck and these people feel like they need it to make their life interesting.

[JoeEllison]

When drug addicts see evidence that their addiction is bad for them, they claim that it is some evil conspiracy from The Man, to keep them from feeding their addiction. Now, addicts with Internet access can spread misinformation, so that they can encourage more people to share their addictions. Pathetic.

[Space_Ed]

Originally Posted by pipelineaudio

Hillarious

imagine if you will that pot was legal and tobacco and alcohol were not

I bet 17 ruby nuggets the current 420 crowd would be demonizing pot and speaking of the magical healing nature of tobacco

THC (the chemical in weed) is massively helpful with lots of illnesses such as multiple sclerosis. Noone ever made a serious claim that tobacco was beneficial for something but weed has been used since prehistory in African tribes to help with various problems. Usually used in cooking- when the only significant danger, smoking it, is negated.

[Space_Ed]

Originally Posted by JoeEllison

When drug addicts see evidence that their addiction is bad for them, they claim that it is some evil conspiracy from The Man, to keep them from feeding their addiction. Now, addicts with Internet access can spread misinformation, so that they can encourage more people to share their addictions. Pathetic.

I have never been addicted to anything in my life. I am not spreading misleading information. I wouldnt be surprised if I was the most educated person here on these matters. I have thought it all through a lot and this is my reasonable conclusion. If i was trying to spread misleading information I would be saying sniff cocaine and jack up scag. And for your information Ecstasy is not physically or psychologically addictive.

[Space_Ed]

Originally Posted by JoeEllison

When drug addicts see evidence that their addiction is bad for them, they claim that it is some evil conspiracy from The Man, to keep them from feeding their addiction.

I never said anywhere here that Ecstasy is benign. I never said anywhere here that there are no dangers. I think that the problems with alcohol are equal or worse (I believe worse) and so for Ecstasy to be illegal but alcohol to be legal is hypocrisy, wrong and a shame.

[bjb]

I agree it is hypocritical to have alcohol legal while other, less destructive drugs are illegal, but we really need don't need another potentially dangerous drug for young people to abuse. Even though there are dangers associated with Ecstacy, young people are going to go right ahead and ignore them, just like they ignore every other danger in their lives. I'd rather live with some hypocrisy than more messed-up kids.

I was in college when MDMA was getting popular and it was still legal. My friends gave it a try but didn't like the way they felt for the next few days. Not wanting to mess around with the structure of my brain, I stayed away from that stuff, and nothing I've learned since then has caused me to regret my decision. For many people, taking whatever drugs they can is their idea of fun, but I'm not one of them.

[JoeEllison]

Originally Posted by Space_Ed

I never said anywhere here that Ecstasy is benign. I never said anywhere here that there are no dangers. I think that the problems with alcohol are equal or worse (I believe worse) and so for Ecstasy to be illegal but alcohol to be legal is hypocrisy, wrong and a shame.

So what? That's an argument to make alcohol illegal, not to legalize your poison of choice.

[jimlintott]

Originally Posted by bjb

I agree it is hypocritical to have alcohol legal while other, less destructive drugs are illegal, but we really need don't need another potentially dangerous drug for young people to abuse. Even though there are dangers associated with Ecstacy, young people are going to go right ahead and ignore them, just like they ignore every other danger in their lives. I'd rather live with some hypocrisy than more messed-up kids.

I quite agree. Young people and drugs don't mix. The problem is that for most young people illegal drugs are far more easily obtained than legal drugs. The people selling illegal drugs don't ask for ID.

I've never been a fan of pills and innocuous white powdery substances. Do you really know what you are getting? Pot is as easy to identify as lettuce. If you pop the top off a bottle of alcohol you know what's inside. Although this is actually another good reason for legalizing.

[Checkmite]

If your parties are so boring that you have to take a mind-altering substance to extract any kind of good time from them, perhaps you should try going to different parties.

[Gurdur]

Originally Posted by Space_Ed

... Noone ever made a serious claim that tobacco was beneficial for something ....

Smokers are apparently at less risk from Alzheimers than non-smokers.

[Gurdur]

Originally Posted by Joshua Korosi

If your parties are so boring that you have to take a mind-altering substance to extract any kind of good time from them, perhaps you should try going to different parties.

Mormon parties are not so much fun.

[Checkmite]

Masonic parties rock.

[Gurdur]

Originally Posted by Joshua Korosi

Masonic parties rock.

Only if you like fancy-dress, all males, and silly rites.

Point is, humans use a LOT of mind-altering substances, and always have. Parties are very often where they are consumed, for many different reasons. Caffeine and nicotine are mind-altering, if not by much; so is good fellowship and banter. Alcohol is often used socially as a relaxant and as a mild excitant. Shy people will often use such substances to help them in party situations. Point being, you seem to look down on all that. But it's what humans do and always have done, and doesn't seem wrong to me.

[Checkmite]

I look down on a lot of things some people do. I likely do many things that others look down on as well.

[skeptifem]

Originally Posted by JoeEllison

When drug addicts see evidence that their addiction is bad for them, they claim that it is some evil conspiracy from The Man, to keep them from feeding their addiction. Now, addicts with Internet access can spread misinformation, so that they can encourage more people to share their addictions. Pathetic.

wtf there are plenty of people who arent addicts/have never done drugs and believe drugs should be legal.

[kevsta]

Originally Posted by JoeEllison

When drug addicts see evidence that their addiction is bad for them, they claim that it is some evil conspiracy from The Man, to keep them from feeding their addiction. Now, addicts with Internet access can spread misinformation, so that they can encourage more people to share their addictions. Pathetic.

this is an extremely uninformed post. ecstacy is not addictive, not even to the extent that alcohol is, and nowhere near as bad as cigarettes.

...now there's a conspiracy from "the man"

by labelling recreational drug users, of which there are millions worldwide as "drug addicts" shows the same lame approach most of our govenments have been taking for the past 50 years and have lost their self declared "war on drugs" by using these tactics.

it isnt the truth and no-one believes them about this any more. spreading lies and misinformation in one area doesnt help their credibility much with this demographic in other areas.

[Space_Ed]

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_ne...ticle_continue

Thanks for that link. Looks like Britains experts (of which one day I will be one) agree with me.

So up yours you fascist ignorant bastards.

[madurobob]

Originally Posted by Space_Ed

If these youngsters who have died from misuse of Ecstasy, had known about the dangers and understood the likely consequences of taking the drug I think that many of them would still be alive today. The basic facts state that making a drug illegal does not deter a person who wants to experiment with it. If Ecstasy were bought over the counter at a pharmacy or another type of regulated drugs store then the purity of the drug would be guaranteed, also there would be government health warnings all over the box that they come in educating the buyer on the safest methods of use. I strongly believe that there would be fewer Ecstasy related deaths if Ecstasy were made legal.

<sigh> Clearly one could substitute any banned controlled substance into that paragraph. Do you believe all of them should be legalized? Say, all the ones listed in the "Drugs League table" in the linked The Guardian article?

Quote:

And for your information Ecstasy is not physically or psychologically addictive

Really? Not psychologically addictive? How has this been tested and proven?

So, you are the expert here, just what are the known dangers of Ex and how have these been confirmed. Secondly, what are the benefits?

[madurobob]

For the record, I'm OK with legalizing them all, providing:

1. Everyone who uses them has to have health insurance that specifically covers any and all health issues related to drug use.
2. Anyone caught with the drugs or under the influence of them while not having the proper insurance, goes to jail for 5 years.
3. Anyone knowingly providing the drugs to an uninsured person goes to jail for 5 years
4. Anyone providing the drugs to a minor goes to jail for life.
5. For any crime committed while under the influence, the penalty for the crime automatically triples and you lose you insurance forever.

Let the free market decide just what the "cost" is of doing various drugs.

I also feel the same way about motorcycle helmets, but thats a different thread...

[kevsta]

Originally Posted by madurobob

For the record, I'm OK with legalizing them all, providing:

1. Everyone who uses them has to have health insurance that specifically covers any and all health issues related to drug use.
2. Anyone caught with the drugs or under the influence of them while not having the proper insurance, goes to jail for 5 years.
3. Anyone knowingly providing the drugs to an uninsured person goes to jail for 5 years
4. Anyone providing the drugs to a minor goes to jail for life.
5. For any crime committed while under the influence, the penalty for the crime automatically triples and you lose you insurance forever.

Let the free market decide just what the "cost" is of doing various drugs.

I also feel the same way about motorcycle helmets, but thats a different thread...

lol. I would happily vote for this as policy as long as it includes the two biggest killers on the list, alcohol and tobacco. it seems a very fair plan.

and I'd also go along with the motorbike helmet one too and hardly ever wear mine again.

[madurobob]

Originally Posted by kevsta

lol. I would happily vote for this as policy as long as it includes the two biggest killers on the list, alcohol and tobacco. it seems a very fair plan.

and I'd also go along with the motorbike helmet one too and hardly ever wear mine again.

I do get asked every year when I re-up my health and life insurance if I smoke and if I drink alcohol and how much. So, its a safe bet the policies already take into account the cost of smoking and drinking to some degree. Actually, I know for a fact that its more expensive if you smoke.

I ride too fast - its way to uncomfortable and noisy without a helmet. But as long as I don't have to pay for your brain surgery I'm fine with you not wearing yours.