Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nathan Hevenstone on August 12, 2011 at 1:51pm

I think any naturally-occurring drugs (marijuana, shrooms, peyote, etc) should be fully legal.

 

As far as man-made drugs, I think it should depend on the drug. I think LSD should be rescheduled so that it can be retested for use in psychiatric and psychological therapy sessions (it's original purpose). I am against the legalization of drugs like Crystal Meth entirely, because it has no obvious benefits and a hell of a lot of risks.

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Permalink Reply by Nathan Hevenstone on August 15, 2011 at 12:59pm

Oh absolutely. Especially for naturally-occurring drugs.

 

But there are some I'm against, again, like Crystal Meth.

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Permalink Reply by Nate on August 12, 2011 at 2:12pm

I am a huge advocate of anti-anti-drug practices.  I think that you should be able to put whatever you want in your own body.  Personally I would only partake in marijuana, opiates and some naturally occurring psychedelics (peyote, shrooms).  I wouldn’t do "hard" drugs or anything man made, but that’s just a personal preference.  The drug war was nothing but political and it’s a waste of time, energy, funds and resources, not to mention filling up the prisons with people who did nothing but want to partake in a mind altering substance that wasn’t legal (but alcohol and tobacco are ok?).  I don’t want a parent figure telling me what I can and can’t do with my own body.  I'm an adult, and as such should be able to make my own decisions with the only thing that is truly my own.

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Permalink Reply by Sassan K. on August 12, 2011 at 2:24pm

You're a druggie. Get some help. Shrooms are not "soft drugs" along with your "opiates".

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Permalink Reply by Heath on August 13, 2011 at 12:19pm

For all the kids watching at home, this is a perfect example of how not being religious doesn't necessarily preclude you from being a judgmental douchebag who irrationally jumps to conclusions based on insufficient data.

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Permalink Reply by Nate on August 13, 2011 at 12:27pm

lmao

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Permalink Reply by Sassan K. on August 14, 2011 at 1:32am

I'm not as empty headed by those who advocate and support the use of shrooms and opiates - who's the one killing brain cells and damaging one's body and brain??

I am for legalization of drugs since we can tax drugs and take away the incentives for the illegal drug trade/business which goes to Mexican thugs and other types of people who shouldn't profit - and on top of that - removing the stigmatization results in less people using them (as can be seen in the Netherlands) but that doesn't mean those who use such drugs are not druggies. Being for legalization of drugs does not equal to being pro-drugs - it is in fact the contrary; but unfortunately, some of you may have killed too many brain cells to realize this fact.

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Permalink Reply by Isaac on August 14, 2011 at 2:46am

I have done neither opiates nor shrooms, but are you aware of the fact that shrooms are one of the safest drugs? Source:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2010/11/drugs_cause_most_...

Sam Harris has an interesting take on drugs:

http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/drugs-and-the-meaning-of-life/

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Permalink Reply by Sassan K. on August 14, 2011 at 3:22am

Totally nonsense and subjective article claiming alcohol is more dangerous than heroin and cocaine - so should we say it is okay for people to "recreationally" take some heroine and cocaine the way they do with alcohol? Alcohol can be taken responsibly (although many don't), these drugs are not responsible for one's self health and for potentially others around them.

Away from the destruction of your health and potentially even dying from complications - the trip that results from shrooms permanently kill brain cells that will never regrow - you diminish your brain's capacity. On top of that (depending on how bad your trip is) you can harm yourself or those around you depending on the type of "trip" you have which is quite too often out of your control and in the control of your hallucinations. In addition, shrooms can bring into fruition other psychological disorders you may not have expressed before such as schizophrenia. These are the realities - and by claiming "alcohol is not as dangerous as X drug" may be true statistics wise since the majority of the population drinks alcohol from time to time and do not do hard drugs - but are not true when looking at it with individual cases.

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Permalink Reply by Zach Hooper on August 14, 2011 at 3:38am

Source for psilocybin kills brain cells? I just looked at a handful of sites that said otherwise. Alcohol kills way more brain cells, is consumed more heavily and more often

Permalink Reply by Sassan K. on August 14, 2011 at 4:23am

Since the science of neuroscience is a relatively new field and it is difficult/impossible for an fMRI to measure individual cells, it is hard to measure exactly "how many brain cells are killed" but there is no doubt that shrooms alter brain functioning and contribute to the re-wiring of neural networks and has been seen to induce neurosis and other psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. It is not healthy, and although there needs to be longitudinal studies of this done in the field (although it hasn't been done since it is considered unethical) most neuroscientists and those in neuroscience concede that consistent use of such drugs contribute directly to the killing of braincells. It is similar to the way that people on the other side of global warming claim that global warming is not "man-made" or is "fake" - or that evolution cannot be "proved" since we have not found the missing link type of nonsense...shrooms are unhealthy for brain functioning and the fact remains that while under a "trip", one can act in ways that are unpredictable including documented cases of suicides as direct results of the "trips" you so highly anticipate with such brain-altering and damaging drugs.

Bottom line: shrooms alter you psychologically and not on a temporary basis, it changes brain functioning and that is not disputed. Here is some research in regards to this: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16401965

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2426147/?tool=pubmed

Permalink Reply by Sassan K. on August 14, 2011 at 5:33am

BTW, it is known that shrooms (psilocybin) destroy the syaptic nerve endings of your brain cells that allow you to feel pleasure. Not all at once, but over time.

Simply stated, psychadelic drugs work by altering the chemistry in the synapses of the brain. By altering these neurotransmitters and the way they communicate along the way, normal electrical signal transmission is disrupted and changed including reducing the number of electrical signals the brain ultimately receives (as seen through EEG). What are hallucinations? It is the brain's way of trying to receive proper input so that you can function and not die - it is calling out that is is being deprived and trying to get back to a level of homeostasis but this threshold for this bar continuously starts getting lower and lower with prolonged and habitual use.

Potential permanent DNA damage is also hypothesized as seen through mutations in the sex cells of laboratory animals through experimentation.

As mentioned, longitudinal studies are needed and are lacking.

Another interesting research article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20716904

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