[note: downvote this post if you disagree with this being an unpopular opinion and vice versa if you upvote, you are saying it is a popular one] Every time somebody posts a negative comment about drug use on lemmy, they immediately get downvoted, and a lot of (mostly crackpot) arguments are offered why drugs are actually fantastic, and only corrupt or suppressive governments prohibit it. Medical arguments are swiped aside, and anecdotal “evidence” is provided to point out why drugs are great. The reality is: no recreational drug (alcohol, cannabis, design drugs, mushrooms,…) exists, that is safe for everyone, or that has no detrimental side effects. In addition, people that refrain completely from taking ANY drug usually lead healthier, more balanced and happier lives.
I agree with you, except for
happier
That’s a bold claim.
Yeah, I said that cannabis can cause paranoia, and got leapt on by everyone. I posted a link to a journal which stated that cannabis use can cause paranoia in some people, and the answer was basically “we’ll agree to differ”.
I’m not sure what the drug debate of your country is like, so please correct me if my assumptions are incorrect.
In my experience, the drug debate lacks nuance, it’s mostly the hardcore fans or the drugs-will-kill-you crowd that we see, while more level-headed voices are drowned out.
There’s also a problem with facts. Research on a lot of drugs have been prohibited for a long time, making this a relatively new field of study.
With more studies, we’re going to see confirmation of certain theories and rejection of others, making our knowledge more fact based and less opinionated.
My highly personal opinion is that it is a mistake to talk about drugs as one thing. There are tons of different drugs, and each one should be discussed by itself, not as a part of drugs. I also firmly believe that we are individuals and we all respond different to different chemicals. Saying that a chemical will have this effect on everyone is a mistake. I do however believe that a good setting, a sensible dose and someone watching over you, can drastically reduce any negative effects.
With that said, the “high” is not for everyone and that is okay.
“drugs”, as scheduled by your government.
Psiloxybilin is good for your brain, helps relieve migraines, reduces depression.
You can OD on water, does it mean water is bad for you??
Moderation is key
The ancient wisdom on this topic is, “Dose is the difference between poison and the cure”.
For a fun thought experiment, try to think of something that will not kill you under any circumstances regardless of the quantity or quality of it that you are exposed to.
So far I have come up with “shade”.
As someone who can’t leave the house without Xanax, fuck you.
I suppose you should really be clear on what you mean by drug. Tylenol is the one I first thought of when I read the title. It causes liver failure if you take more than the prescribed dose, and would never be approved for sale if it was proposed under current regulations.
Cannabis and mushrooms are a bit stickier. Yes, smoking cannabis can cause significant mental health problems, but not fer everyone, and not all the time (except smoking it can cause lung cancer). Mushrooms are even trickier, as we currently don’t even know what the mechanisms are for it’s effects and what’s more, there was a study being done on ecstasy and psilocybin, but it was run by pseudo-scientific quacks that were all religious about it. So (IIRC) ten years of research turned out to be pretty much useless; however, there are some things we can try to suss out from that steaming shit-pile: drugs like mushrooms and ecstasy effect different people differently. All human brains are wired differently, and it seems that this fact make itself known when studying certain drugs.
Long story short: you can’t generalize a lot of things because the effects vary so much from person to person. Some things you can: like tylenol will destroy your liver and kill you if you take too much, but cannabis might cause you to become overly paranoid and may lead to schizophrenia but, not for everyone. We can’t really say anything about mushrooms and ecstasy right now because that knowledge has been inadvertently locked away by religious freaks.
note: downvote this post if you disagree with this being an unpopular opinion and vice versa if you upvote, you are saying it is a popular one
You got it backwards. Upvote if you think its unpopular opinion and downvote if you think its popular opinion
Eh medicine is never black and white. People are all different and drugs have slightly (or wildly) different effects for different people. Non regulated drugs have bigger variations in quality, purity and dosage so people can have very different experiences.
Some people need drugs, diabetics need insulin for example. And some people really benefit from drugs if they are depressed or have other long term conditions etc. So your stance that people who don’t take drugs are better off is maybe coming from a flawed assumption, certainly if you don’t need drugs that’s usually better but if you do need them the right drugs can be a big help for people.
It’s much more grey with recreational drugs in terms of benefits. Alcohol for example is actively harmful most of the time for most people, especially with things like binge drinking in the UK. Studies show there are likely some benefits from moderate alcohol consumption but often in combination with things like the Mediterranean diet so take from that what you will.
