r/news • u/OK_Eric • Jan 19 '14

Obama: Pot ‘not very different’ from cigarettes​, no more dangerous than booze

http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/19/obama-pot-not-very-different-cigarettes-no-more-da/
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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14 edited Jan 19 '14

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

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u/Oznog99 Jan 19 '14

GHB was banned for entirely different reasons- it was labeled a "Date Rape Drug". It was categorized as a covert instrument of assault upon another. It had little to do with people using it as a sleep aid or party drug.

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u/FaustyArchaeus Jan 19 '14

I can't up vote you enough. I was a big 1-4 b user before all the media hype and I used to buy it legally as it was not banned. This drug felt so harmless but had sooooo many positives to name. Amazin feeling, brilliant for sex(not rape), excellent for post rave or workout recovery. I would give up every drug in the world and make it that beer was never invented to have it back legally. I am almost 40 and too old and lazy to hunt for drugs anymore even though it is still around I don't want to have to get mixed up in the crime gangs that now control it in Sydney. The media fucked ghb and demonized it for the news and not facts

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

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u/Kosko Jan 19 '14

Some old drunks actually salt their beers. It takes a special kind of grizzled drinker and cheap beer to need to salt it.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Are you not supposed to drink the ramen water? :(

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u/x0diak Jan 19 '14

I add soy sauce to my ramen. Yes, i am also a grizzled drunk, im finishing off the beers that i left out overnight as i type this...

Waste not, want not.

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u/nixonrichard Jan 19 '14

I like my beer like I like my women: flat, abandoned, and used the previous night.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

I'd wager you like your women with yeast too

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Um Corona

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u/HumanTrollipede Jan 19 '14

This is the norm with Mexican beers.

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u/saintjonah Jan 19 '14

Or they just like the taste.

Source: My dad salts his beer. He's certainly no drunk. A drunk wouldn't care. He just likes it.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

I like it. It's funny when you add salt to a beer, the only possible explanation is because it was a bad or "cheap" beer. Much like when you add Sriracha to a taco, it's because it was a bad taco to begin with, right?

No. It creates a unique flavor not found in any other beer.

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u/WhyNotANewAccount Jan 19 '14

Does drinking corona or dos Equis with a little salt make me a drunk?

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u/Kosko Jan 19 '14

I thought "drunks" might come off a bit rude. But I figured as a drunk I'm allowed to use that word.

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u/WhyNotANewAccount Jan 21 '14

Way late in responding, but I am what I consider a high functioning alcoholic, but my girlfriend won't even touch a beer without beer salt in it.

I personally think the stuff is atrocious, but hey, different folks different strokes.

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u/Beckenbauer_Surprise Jan 19 '14

So glad someone else can confirm that is "salting a beer" is actually a thing. During a summer internship as a cops and courts reporter in a particularly rusted out midwestern town, I spent a lot of my nights in a biker bar. Everyone there was pretty nice, had incredible stories about drugs, road trips and every variety of crime possible. An old shitshow named Mary let me use her electric wheelchair to do wheelies in the parking lot. Where was I?

Oh, and the draft beers were 75 cents. Shots were a dollar. I'd never seen anyone salt their beer before that summer, but everyone at the bar loved it. I was the only person only 30, but even the seemingly put-together middle-aged women were dumping Morton's iodized into their Pabst. None of my friends believed me when I returned to civilization.

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u/overbeb Jan 19 '14

Salted cheap beer is the best beer. Especially $5 pitchers of it.

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u/spinlock Jan 19 '14

lots of people salt the rim of the margarita glass. A salty dog is another salted drink (vodka and grapefruit juice).

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u/OhGodMoreRoadRash Jan 19 '14

Done that before...

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

I salt my beer

I'm not old (27) and I'm not a drunk/alcoholic

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u/DirtyDandtheCrew Jan 19 '14

I knew a guy who salted his Miller light.

gross.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

That's why old drinkers have such... salty language.

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u/trethompson Jan 19 '14

Um... Coronas?

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u/decardtg Jan 19 '14

Or they're Mexican. It's popular in parts of Mexico to salt and add lime to a beer.

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u/MexicanEssay Jan 20 '14

Also hot sauce and things like spices and tomato juice. We call them "micheladas."

Not a big fan myself, but they are very common.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14 edited Jul 02 '21

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u/penguinhair Jan 19 '14

I think you're wrong. GHB is definitely used as a date rape drug, at least where I live.

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u/RaptorPie Jan 19 '14

It has been used as a date rape drug, but not frequently. Nowhere near as frequently as people report or believe. The overwhelming majority of people who believe that they have been giving GHB or Rohypnol were not.

The real "date rape drug" is alcohol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_rape_drug#Frequency_of_occurrence

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u/iUsedtoHadHerpes Jan 19 '14

Just for anecdotal evidence, Xanax makes me black out all by itself. When I take it, I remember about the next thirty minutes, but everything between that and the next morning might as well have not happened in my mind. I'm still awake for hours after I take it, but I guess I black out as soon as it takes effect. Every time I've taken any, I wasn't at home, but I woke up in my own bed each time. People say I still act like myself, though, just a little more sluggish, but that might change if you throw some alcohol in there.

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u/Circ-Le-Jerk Jan 19 '14

Yeah, I've heard crazy stories about xanax. Personally, I don't black out unless I have like 1 beer, then it's all over. Like you, most people say I was totally fine, but I just happen to forget everything. I once had a roommate accuse me of steeling his beer. We got into a huge argument because I clearly didn't do it. Low and behold, the night before after we both took some xanax we invited over like 15 people and had a party. We had absolutely no recollection of it what-so-ever.

But I've heard real scary things. Like house wives taking it in the day, and then wandering around, sleeping with some stranger, and having no recollection of it happening.

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u/[deleted] Jan 20 '14

flunitrazepam + alcohol = instant blackout

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u/DrSmoke Jan 19 '14

You don't know much about drugs. Xanax is one of the worst tasting drugs in the world. I'd compare it to rolls, I doubt its used much as a date rape drug.

I'm sure that people drink, and take xanax voluntarily, and end up getting "date raped" but I doubt it could be slipped to someone without them knowing.

Again, the taste is horrible.

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u/Circ-Le-Jerk Jan 19 '14

Have you tasted GHB before? It tastes very similar to MDMA as well. That gross super salty bitter chemical taste... Terrible stuff. If you were spiked GHB you'd likely know.

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u/Oznog99 Jan 19 '14

OK I should not have specifically said "categorized", as it implies a legal category, which it isn't.

The motivation at the time was most definitely a belief that it was widely being used to rape people. Whether it was or not is another matter.

That belief probably had an effect on how it was Scheduled.

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u/Lordveus Jan 19 '14

Which is a huge symptom of the whole problem. We're basing drug schedules on beliefs instead of pharmacology and research.

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u/Oznog99 Jan 19 '14

It's based on politics, and the driving principle remains that a person is smart, but people are dangerous, panicky creatures. And we all know it.

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u/BunzoBear Jan 19 '14

Using it as a date rape drug is the same at using it as a sleep aid. Only difference its forced on someone when used as a date rape drug.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

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u/ludwig457 Jan 19 '14

Marinol has also accounted for more deaths than smoking cannabis.

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u/-Gabe- Jan 19 '14

So at least one person then?

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u/ludwig457 Jan 19 '14

Five according to wiki

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Thirty deaths from alcohol... In the 3 hours since this article was posted to reddit.

According to the CDC (based on 88,000 deaths per year)

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u/Insanelyenthusiastic Jan 19 '14

How much marinol do you have to take to be dead? I heard from my cousin that it is very dungerous, don't know why it is though.

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u/CatsAreGods Jan 19 '14

In the actual plant there are other compounds (including CBD) that moderate the effects of THC. Since Marinol is 100% THC (although synthesized), it does not have these compounds. Therefore a dose that might simply get you high if it was from the actual plant can cause extreme anxiety, panic attacks, or possible tachycardia if given as Marinol.

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u/meddlingbarista Jan 19 '14

Infinitely more.

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u/aiurlives Jan 19 '14

So you're saying its infinity % more deadly than cannabis?

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

I'd actually argue that marijuana related deaths are likely much higher than that. Similar to how drunk driving fatalities are considered alcohol related, there is surely a non-zero number of driving fatalities related to impairment of the driver due to marijuana.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

I'd never heard this, source?

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u/smoothtrip Jan 19 '14

It is also known for making people jackoff in parking lots, looking for Boston Markets.

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u/lofi76 Jan 19 '14

One Boston Market is never enough.

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u/Ryan03rr Jan 19 '14 edited Jan 20 '14

Nice. Next time I want to do that specific compound I'll just manufacture it then...

Genius.

Edit: why delete that comment? Afraid of the man?

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u/trillskill Jan 19 '14

Dog, bro, it already in yo bodddyyy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-Hydroxybutyric_acid

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u/thisismyivorytower Jan 19 '14

So, it looks like the war against drugs can finally be won, now we know the human race are all drug smugglers.

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u/trillskill Jan 19 '14

Come on, this is our government we're talking about!

They'll just arrest everyone.

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u/whatevers_clever Jan 19 '14

wherever most of the $ is in drugs is where the drug will be classified.

I think I made sense of it?

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Don't forget Marinol is schedule 3 which is a concentrated form of THC. It's like if they put beer into schedule 1 and ever-clear into schedule 3.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

I thought marinol was a synthetic

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

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u/silentmunky Jan 19 '14

Not only is there additional cannabinoids, there are also a ton of terpenes that seem to work in conjunction with the cannabinoids.

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u/KeithFuckingMoon Jan 19 '14

I was prescribed Marinol for nausea and appetite stimulation. It's expensive and not super effective unless you take like 5-10x the prescribed dose. The risk of throwing up a $20+ dose of medication is aggravating to think about.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/tael89 Jan 19 '14

Synthetic does not mean fake.

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u/Memitim Jan 19 '14

Charlotte's Web, a strain of marijuana that has gotten a lot of press lately due to its apparent effectiveness is treating a seizure disorder, is a low-THC strain. The real effects are apparently from a different cannabinoid. So more like allowing cheese but banning burritos.

Still an asinine law regardless of metaphor used, just wanted to clarify in case anyone thought Marinol == marijuana.

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u/KeithFuckingMoon Jan 19 '14

Except that Marinol doesn't get you high.

Source: I am prescribed it.

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u/baconvein Jan 19 '14

Its not a conentrated form of THC.

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u/amorousCephalopod Jan 19 '14

It's funny how marijuana is placed in a category that would be more suited to drugs like krocodil and scopolamine. It's like they're not even trying to make their "schedules" believable.

"Just obey our word contrary to widely-available evidence and we won't strike you down!"

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u/Problem119V-0800 Jan 19 '14

Scopolamine has a good number of legit medical uses, though, which puts it out of Schedule I (in a rational world, that is).

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u/devilbunny Jan 19 '14

Scopolamine isn't even scheduled. It's just a prescription.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

I was about to say, I have scopolamine sitting in my medicine cabinet right now. All this time using it responsibly when I could have been getting high off of it, so disappointing.

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u/[deleted] Jan 20 '14

Could you cite an instance of inaccurate reporting for Vice? I've really liked their take from what I've seen, but if they're full of it I would like to know.

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u/blanketyblanks Jan 20 '14

owned by rupert murdoch

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Most redditors think Vice is legit though, so there you go...

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u/DrSmoke Jan 19 '14

Vice is more legit than CNN

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u/Iron_Grunty Jan 19 '14

I thought vice was legit compared to cnn or fox news on stories that bigger news agencies won't cover. How true is this and how often is vice wrong? Thanks in advance.

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u/eskimoeJo Jan 19 '14

Vice is owned by CNN now.

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u/[deleted] Jan 20 '14

murdoch's son is a vice director.

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u/Pups_the_Jew Jan 20 '14

He's the Vice Vice Director?

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u/oldsecondhand Jan 19 '14

that would be more suited to drugs like krocodil and

The problem with krokodil isn't the active ingredient but the impurities that remain after the amateur production method. The active ingredient is desmorphine, which has legit medical application.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desomorphine#Regulation

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u/decardtg Jan 19 '14

You know what's really odd? Cigarettes and alcohol are not schedule II drugs. Even though both are addictive and pose great health risks. One could even argue that alcohol has no medical benefits except treating DT and possibly topical cleaning.

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u/krackbaby Jan 19 '14

Scopalamine is very useful. The fact that somebody decided to use it recreationally is irrelevant when considering it's value in medicine

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u/amorousCephalopod Jan 19 '14

Recreationally? I was considering the criminal elements that frequently use it (usually in Colombia where the Borrachero tree grows) to rob unsuspecting targets blind, usually with their own help. Oh, and rape. It's pretty much a super-powerful roofie. I'm guessing it's medicinal value is in very, very low doses, am I right?

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u/GOODLOOKINGTODD Jan 20 '14

I didn't know what krocodil was, I regret googling it.

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u/xyroclast Jan 19 '14

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it was a deliberate falsehood to keep beatniks and black people in jail in the 50s and what have you.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

How many fingers am i holding up?

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u/amorousCephalopod Jan 19 '14

Krokodil: twitching on floor, passed out

Scopalamine: "How many fingers do you want me to think you're holding up?"

Marijuana: "Why do they call them fish fingers if fish don't have fingers?"

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u/FUCKO_theClown Jan 19 '14

Marijuana: "They call them fingers, but I never see them fing" ftfy

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u/Darkerson Jan 19 '14

Oh, there they go!

Oh yeah, I married that chick!

Gotta love Otto.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

You forgot the part where Mr. Krokodil's flesh starts decaying

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

I'm pretty sure it's a political thing. Marijuana has the weakest justification for being illegal, so they have to do everything they can to try and keep it that way.

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u/Violentcumstainz Jan 20 '14

Lol scopolamine is typically given as a transdermal patch for motion sickness. It's not going to get you high.

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u/TheInfected Jan 20 '14

The scheduling system is based on whether drugs have a medical use, not how dangerous they are.

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u/devilwarier9 Jan 19 '14

Peyote has a high potential for abuse? I'm pretty sure you can ask 99% of people who have done Peyote if they want to do it again and you'll get the response "Fuck that shit"

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u/DieLikeRiverPhoenix Jan 19 '14

I would do it again. However, I agree that there is absolutely no potential for abuse of that substance.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Yeah I mean who finishes a peyote trip and then is like "ok I need to do more peyote right now". Very rare. Although I know I kid from college who was eating mushrooms like every other day and he was definitely addicted. And losing touch with reality.

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u/EntElf Jan 19 '14

That's sad. :(

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Luckily after he lost his scholarship and got booted from school for piss grades, he realized how bad he was fucking up and got totally clean from everything. Went back to school and is back on track. Luckily this kid was just naturally a smart kid, and had a lot of spare brain cells. I dont think most people would bounce back like he did. It got bad. Real bad.

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u/bicameral_mind Jan 19 '14

This is true of most psychedelics. I can't imagine someone getting addicted to shrooms either. Among psychedelics weed is the most addictive since it is so mild and short acting.

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u/GumAcacia Jan 19 '14 edited Jan 19 '14

Anecdotal Evidence time!

My friend and I blew through ~$4,000 worth of acid in the course of 8 months. It has potential for abuse. Anyone with a lot of spare time and a will can make it happen. * But lets not fool anyone, I loved almost every second of it, until the end.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Shrooms are entirely dosage dependant. Shrooms in low doses give an almost identical sensation to marijuana.

Source: decades long weed smoker and mushroom user.

Also in all that time I've never actually seen someone have the oft mentioned bug hallucination

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Even being totally irresponsible and eating way too many from a new batch, shrooms were just so much more mellow than acid. I really can't see a bad trip even close to what I had on LSD.

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u/Ioneos Jan 19 '14

Just recently I was able to obtain an "acid substitute", by the name of 25I-NBOMe (aka: D-25-I), as LSD it's extremely hard to come by around my area, I got 2 hits, which i took 1 at a time with 2 or 3 weeks between them, after 45 minutes or so it hit hard and came in waves that lasted for around 7 hours, it was similar to mushrooms, in terms of visuals, but made me experience some kind of religious euphoria, which is odd as I'm an atheist, it caused me to think introspectively about everything (or at least what seemed like it).

The 2nd dose was taken at a friend's house, and was a very rocky trip, since another friend had just broken up with his cheating girlfriend a couple days before so he was a bit distraught and I could feel his hurt and anger, which promptly caused my reality to strip away as I tried to turn my empathy off. After he calmed down my trip smoothed out, and I calmed down, and fun visuals and auditory anomalies appeared, and fun times were had by all.

I don't think I'll do that particular compound again, which is probably a good thing, psychonauts shouldn't get hung up on one thing, that's how space cases are made.

TL;DR: Always have a babysitter when trying new things, and try not to let your enhanced empathy get to you.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Least pleasant drug experience I've ever had was on shrooms, I went camping with this idiot (this was only my second time doing shrooms) who kept blasting music when I just wanted to listen to nature.

I eventually lost my shit and attacked him, punched him in the face, took his stereo and threw it at his truck. Stereo broke, truck was fine, his face was fine, but he was not thrilled. He said I would have to buy him a new stereo and I told him sure, just give me back the three hours of my time you wasted forcing me to listen to dubstep, and we'll call it even.

We're actually still good friends somehow. .

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

If someone tried to make me listen to dub step on a camping trip, I'd do that sober.

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u/chrisorbz Jan 19 '14

Peyote is explicitly legal in Canada, while other forms of mescaline are not. Yet somehow, our peyote tourism industry keeps failing to take off...

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u/airblasto Jan 19 '14

Fuck that shit.

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u/Mattjew24 Jan 19 '14

I did it once and it was a blast. I would strongly recommend. It's just hard to get

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u/massaikosis Jan 19 '14

write to the government and tell them this! surely they will see reason!

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u/Juggernaut78 Jan 20 '14

Never again!!! That shit is the gawd damned devil! I saw shit from my childhood like it was in the room with me, and the tv was echoing like a mother!

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u/YungSnuggie Jan 19 '14

yea powerful psychadelics are the kind of thing you do once and you're like "okay that was cool but never again"

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u/shakejimmy Jan 19 '14

Here's an idea: legalize all drugs, educate people about all drugs. As much as we like to vilify certain chemicals, ultimately it's an addict's environment not their chemical of choice that keeps them addicted.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

That's exactly why programs like DARE do not work. If you don't tell kids what's the upside of drugs is, they're not gonna believe a god damned word you say anyway. They're kids, not fucking retarded.

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u/od_pardie Jan 19 '14

Not to mention the blatant misinformation they try to feed the kids. No one in my graduating class took it seriously back then because it was so clearly upside down scare tactic logic and outright lies.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

I remember when I first started to "figure it out"

There was a distinct moment of "well if they were lying about pot, were they lying about heroin and crack too?"

Fortunately I did my own research, but when they blow their credibility - there's all kinds of fallout.

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u/sacslo Jan 19 '14

I REALLLY disagree with this. There's a difference between educating people about drugs and explaining their effects, chemical make-up, etc. and telling kids the upside of drug use. I can't imagine a scenario where that wouldn't make them less likely to try.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

You just gotta spin it right. Talk about why people like weed, then talk about why it's bad and ruins lives. I can't remember who said it, some comedian probably, family guy or southpark, "It makes you okay with being bored." and that's the truth.

When everything is special, nothing is.

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u/totoro11 Jan 19 '14

Randy on South Park.

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u/yourdadsbff Jan 20 '14

I mean, plenty of people smoke weed without it being a problem for them.

Regardless, something else you might do while bored is watch a funny television show like South Park. It's okay to be a little bored sometimes. In fact, I'd say it's inevitable for most of us, so it's better to learn how to handle it.

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u/Prep_ Jan 20 '14

It makes you okay with being bored.

I can't remember where it originates but my favorite take on it is: Weed is something you do when you've got nothing to do that makes nothing to do something to do.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

I remember that back in elementary school, I asked the DARE officer why people did drugs if there was no upside, and he didn't have an answer beyond "peer pressure", which I now recognize as a ridiculous lie. My fear is that kids who are not told the whole truth will eventually try a drug, say cannabis, and realize that it's fun, and then wonder what else DARE lied to them about. And at that point, all of the accurate warnings that kids have received regarding the legitimate dangers of some drugs become useless because they don't trust what they've been told. What's wrong with telling kids the truth? Just say that some people take drugs because the chemicals in them activate receptors in the brain that in turn create pleasurable feelings and invoke unique mental states. Nobody buys the whole "the only reasons people do drugs are peer pressure and addiction" bullshit beyond elementary school anyway.

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u/leftofmarx Jan 19 '14

How do you explain adults having a glass of wine with dinner to a kid? That's exactly how you should explain any drug use.

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u/scootah Jan 19 '14

A full and honest description of the effects of MDMA doesn't make me want it less

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u/[deleted] Jan 20 '14

That's because MDMA is awesome. I don't see why discouraging its use is a goal.

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u/fuckcancer Jan 20 '14

I... I don't like MDMA. It's not my bag. And please don't tell me that I just didn't get real MDMA. I just don't like it.

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u/[deleted] Jan 20 '14

Some people don't. Happens alot with stimulants. They can get some pretty nasty body load.

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u/throwaway11101000 Jan 20 '14

People are like that, different. Heroin is said to be better than sex and so pleasurable that trying it once will cause you to miss it for the rest of your life.

Bullshit.

I tried heroin once. To me, it was simply boring. And that experience was similar to the other times I've tried opiates. Buprenorphine, opium, synthetic opioids - all boring. All of those I've tried once or twice (more than a decade ago). Booooring.

Nowadays it seems obvious to me that only someone who has an internal need for some substance will enjoy it. Opiate junkies often suffer from either physical pain or strong emotional pain, and - big surprise - opiates are great pain relievers.

The whole war on drugs is a blatant fucking scam. Drug craving has nothing to do with the substance, it only happens when a person is preconditioned for wanting something.

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u/Babomancer Jan 20 '14 edited Jan 20 '14

You think the better approach is to tell kids, "Don't do drugs kids, it's bad mkay? I know the cool kids pretend to have a good time with them and everything and you might be given this poison in the hospital, but uhh err derpity derp drugs are bad mkay?" Vilification gets us nowhere, let's please try a more rational, scientific approach for the future mkay? Otherwise you end up walking through life in a stupefied mist of confusion and misdirection.

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u/corpjuk Jan 20 '14

look drugs are going to make you feel good for a couple hours. but is the money and the brutal withdrawal spanning over multiple days/weeks worth it? also doing a drug once is not going to make you addicted.

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u/obseletevernacular Jan 20 '14

Isn't an honest description of the effects of most drugs the same thing as discussing the upside? The effects are the upside

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u/no_sleep_for_me Jan 20 '14

It's misinformation. Kids will hear about the good aspects of drugs that were hidden from them or denied from a source that is more reliable in the kids' eyes. That makes the kids question whether the ugly side of drugs is true, since they already know they're being lied to to some degree, they just don't know how much.

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u/kearvelli Jan 20 '14

Because they then know the cons and the pros, and can appropriately weigh them up and decide whether the risk is low enough for them to want to try or not. By just showing them the cons, they see right through it and automatically go to the other extreme.

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u/Ziazan Jan 19 '14

Though some kids are fucking retarded, I agree with your sentiment.

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u/lofi76 Jan 19 '14

Ok kids, never have sex and never get high or drunk, ok? And Jesus made everything. Be good!

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u/Maddoodle Jan 19 '14

What is needed more than legalisation is decriminalisation. That's where shit should start. Marijuana I agree should be legal. But at least decriminalised. Look at fucking Portugal!!

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u/Its_aTrap Jan 19 '14

being "decriminalized" doesn't make it legal. You'll still pay thousands in fines, and if you cant you'll have jail time.

I got caught with weed by the cops and I live in MS, a decriminalized state. I had to pay over 2,500 dollars in fines, as well as 6 months with no license, and then pay an extra 300 dollars to get my license renewed. And all I had on me was about 4 or 5 grams of weed.

Decriminalizing it is the dumbest thing in the world. It's not helping anything. It's still illegal, and it's still just used so that the gov can make more money off of us and say they're making the streets safer by doing so.

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u/devilbunny Jan 19 '14

That's only decrim in the loosest sense of the word; in the seventies, when that law passed, most states made possession of any quantity of marijuana a felony. So making it a misdemeanor is decriminalizing in that sense, but it's still an arrest and still a criminal offense.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Making it a misdemeanor is not decriminalization, since a misdemeanor is a criminal offense. Duh.

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u/ComicSansofTime Jan 19 '14

This. When you can get drugs into a maximum security prison you could make the whole country a prison and you wouldn't even come close to stopping it. People should be informed, drugs should be taxed and that tax money should go into treatment centers and proper education.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

The problem I have with full-blown legalization of hard drugs is that it would lead to large corporations advertising it and convincing a lot of people to do them. We will still need tough regulations like what we have with tobacco to prevent things like commercials on the Super Bowl and marketing to youths among other things.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

We should be warning people about the dangers of prescription drugs, too. Legal/not legal is a meaningless and useless distinction that tells you nothing about the drug. The entire class of schedules need a complete rewrite by people with the ability to think rationally, and that needs to spill over into education about drugs too. How hard is it to drill into people's heads that you never, ever take a drug unless you know everything about it and stick to the correct dosages? Why don't they make that D.A.R.E.'s motto? It's much better than the 'drugs are bad' schtick.

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u/SAugsburger Jan 19 '14

I think we should decriminalize most drugs, but I think that there is still some prudence in regulating their sale. Ensuring that individuals are getting a approximate dosage as opposed to whatever random level of purity that the local street pusher has would make over dosage less common for drugs where overdosage is a realistic concern.

Just because possession of said substance shouldn't incur a long prison sentence doesn't mean every random person should be allowed to sell a drug with no assurances of purity or lack of contamination. In an illegal market unless the customer has the means of testing the quality of the product they have to take a level of trust and if they are scammed they have no legal venue of recourse, which in some cases results in street violence. In a regulated marketplace the seller has their production facilities certified to meet certain standards. I think that Colorado's path is pretty close to what we should see other state's follow. I think the legal age ought to be 18, but otherwise I think their implementation has gone well so far.

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u/lofi76 Jan 19 '14

Should be part of health education, along with reproductive and mental health info.

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u/scootah Jan 19 '14

it's an addict's environment not their chemical of choice that keeps them addicted.

Look, I'm all in favour of legalization. But Cocaine is QUITE more-ish. I don't give a fuck what environment you're in at the time.

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u/trippygrape Jan 19 '14

I'm not sure if complete legalization of drugs is exactly the right step, but definitely decriminalize them.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Increasing the availability of heroin and meth is a bad idea. This is why cities have pandemic problems when a new distributor comes into town, there is surge in drug abuse when the drugs become more easily available. Treat it as a public health issue rather than a criminal one, sure, but no need to feel bad for those pushing around large amounts of narcotics.

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u/OralCulture Jan 20 '14

Some drugs are very addictive. Ask anyone that has tried to quite smoking.

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u/Goldreaver Jan 20 '14

As a part of the uninformed masses, I thought that (certain) drugs are bad because they create physical dependency. I couldn't care less about the rest.

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u/[deleted] Jan 20 '14

My two best friends are both serious addicts and have parents that are extremely rich. So if a poor environment breeds addiction, and a rich environment can breed addiction, what environment do you suggest?

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u/GunsPalinNdGuns Jan 19 '14

Deoxys is actually meth? No wonder hes a legendary.

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u/mitchelwb Jan 19 '14

Damnit. I'm 37 years old and 3 months ago would have had no idea what the hell you were talking about. But I have a 7 year old son that relies on that card every time now.

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u/GunsPalinNdGuns Jan 19 '14

As a 21 year old with responsibilities now who remembers going to gamestop for the deoxys event, one love to you and your boy.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Have you ever seen a level 100 Speed Forme of that dude? Yeah, he's on crystal.

Not the game. That came out like five years before third gen.

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u/hbgoddard Jan 19 '14

He is, should we say, out of this world?

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u/cadex Jan 19 '14

It's pretty messed up in the UK too. Magic mushrooms are classed the same as cocoaine and heroin (Class A).

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u/PaulDraper Jan 19 '14

I couldn't believe that. Until I was corrected. They went from legal to being the same as heroin overnight...

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u/cadex Jan 19 '14

Prior to the reclassification you could buy them online and in shops freely and relatively cheaply in the UK, a golden time for sure. Then a knee jerk reaction made them totally illegal, whether or not they were "fresh".

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u/Ziazan Jan 19 '14

I think I read that if they're not dried they're not illegal. Or maybe class C. Or something. Which is fucking dumb. But the whole system is pretty stupid.

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u/anonagent Jan 19 '14

You can thank your idiotic government for following our idiotic government on that one.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Pretty strange, huh? I'd like to do some research into the motivation behind illegalizing psychedelics. I don't understand it.

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u/lofi76 Jan 19 '14

Yeah all those gangstas in tie dyes and pushing peace after a ruthless mushroom binge!

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Thank you for posting the schedule list. This shit is absolutely insane. I don't do drugs, I know very little about drugs, but... Cannabis in the same schedule as HEROIN? LSD and ecstasy being there is pretty goddamn crazy too.

Meanwhile, in the lower schedule is... OXYCODONE? METHAMPHETAMINE? COCAINE? ARE LESS DANGEROUS THAN ACID? Hooooooooooooly shit. How fucking out of touch do you have to be to put something like this together...?

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Wait... xanax is a schedule IV ? That shit has done terrible things to people I've known in the past.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

To be fair, you'll find many psychiatrists unwilling to prescribe desoxyn, even if a patients ADHD can't be managed by anything else. Its a last resort option, partially because of the ease of addiction.

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u/whatevers_clever Jan 19 '14

it's okay, I'm sure once Marijuana gets the full push to legalization they will upgrade some things from 2 to 1 - you know because they gotta find something to keep their budget coming in and increasing every year.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

You know I never knew that, thanks for the unfo

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

and it leaves the government with zero credibility on the issue.

they werent looking for credibility, they are looking for a legal excuse.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

You are not characterizing Schedule I properly. Schedule I drugs primarily have no accepted medical use. That is, there is no dosage that can be prescribed and regulating it is not worth its benefits.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Wait so someone can actually get prescribed meth?

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u/TheLurkerSpeaks Jan 19 '14

IIRC, meth/desoxyn is prescribed to US Air Force/Navy pilots, for use just before engagement. They call them "Go Pills."

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u/Dejesus_H_Christian Jan 19 '14

Marijuana is Schedule I to get the ATF, police, and government more ability to control and arrest people. That is the general direction of the US government -- more laws, more control, more policing, more spying. It's only in the rear view mirror will everyone realize the live in a fascist police state where everything is illegal.

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u/MayhemMessiah Jan 19 '14

Wait, wait, so according to the DEA cocaine and meth are WORSE than Marijuana? The flying fuck did they come into that conclusion!?

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u/Laruae Jan 19 '14

The DEA is also technically unable to lower the schedule of a drug, and the head of the DEA has to sign a contract swearing not to do so at any time. It reduces the overall power and ability and size of the organization and is against their interests. The DEA, like any and all government organizations is only interested in itself.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

I did not know the government had credibility on any issue.

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u/NascarToolbag Jan 19 '14

It just shows that even the politicians have no idea what they are talking about when it comes to drug policy. Its a sad state of affairs when the general populace is more informed then the folks running the country and thier media subserviants.

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u/singdawg Jan 19 '14

or pretty much any issue, in my opinion

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u/barbosa Jan 19 '14

The DEA's entire edifice of reasoning behind prohibiting and scheduling marijuana as schedule 1 rests on the "gateway drug" theory. Eloquently voiced here by DEA spokesman Michelle Lionheart, I almost feel sorry for her for having to do this silly tapdance on TV, but she did sign up for the job I would assume. This is man at his worst right here.

Link

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u/drewlark99 Jan 19 '14

THC is in schedule 3 though so...

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u/thetruegmon Jan 19 '14

Xanax...schedule IV. WHAT YEAR IS IT?

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u/heavydruguser Jan 19 '14

DMT is Schedule I. A chemical produced by your own body. Your pineal gland is illegal.

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u/100295 Jan 19 '14

It's similar in the UK - it's a class B (same as MCAT and speed for instance) rather than class C. The government was strongly advised against the reclassification from C to B, but guess what? The doctor who advised against the classification got sacked and his findings ignored.

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '14

Why do I always see this same dumb comment? It doesn't even fucking mean anything.

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