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See the original image at newscientist.com —

Mind-altering drugs: does legal mean safe?

newscientist.com — Lying back, exhaling: usually the last thing a person does before leaving this world. Only in this case it is the world that is leaving me.

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  • leodavinci, on 10/02/2008, -9/+62Does illegal mean unsafe?
  • DestroyFascism, on 10/02/2008, -9/+42Does illegal mean unsafe? Exactly!

    Perhaps legal MDMA ecstasy that does not make your brain catch fire is cheaper, better and safer than dealers making billions on horse tranquilizer and battery acid mixed with draino. Users know this risk but the reward is worth it I guess. Do you want your child dying in a dance club alleyway alone?

    LSD rocks in good company! I never knew a couch could be so funny...a long story...

    Perhaps Smoking pot is safer than stressed alcoholic parents that ignore / abuse their children? What about Liver disease + Kidney disease + Chronic artery damage + Heart disease + Bowl, mouth, stomach and throat cancer that Alcohol produces? Does smoking weed produce all that in a compulsive abuser? (Ok it makes you mental but alcohol abuse does as well, violently!)

    Aspirin will rot your liver after 2 weeks of constant dosage above 150 mg and so too will Codeine. Stronger drugs can cause all sorts of damage and psychosis is one of them, the same psychosis Pot has been banned for! bastards!

    Pot might make drowsy, it might give you a cough but you can eat it safely without harm and it has minerals and vitamins!
    • DestroyFascism, on 10/02/2008, -3/+20I need to add this/

      If you know all the good stuff on hooch and what it can do then this is not worth it for you. If you have not then read on especially farmers!

      Experiment!

      Plant 6 of your favorite plants in identical 16inch pots.
      In 2 of them grow some weed (Mary Jane) next to the plants.
      Maintain an Identical watering regime but do not use fertilizers as this can alter the outcome.
      In just 2 months you will see the difference.
      If you planted tomatoes you will be eating 2 of the 6 plants fruit weeks sooner and long after the others.
      Now ----
      After the season ends remove the tops of all plants leaving the roots of all plants in the soil, keep watering, replant with another plant species only this time do not plant weed.

      Same results will occur and this will be true of the next year as well.

      Why

      Weed is a legume, it has rhizomes that fix insoluble nitrogen to soil, nitrogen that pants can access as it is now soluble! Once the plant is dead the bacteria in the rhizomes (that cause the rhizomes) continue for 3 to 4 years.

      Now go my children, make cloth, rope and compost. Sell the oil of seed, eat the seed for protein and vitamins, if Constipated, eat some and you will be cured within 2 hours. If you have diarrhea smoke some and you will cured in 20 minutes. If you have pain smoke / eat..

      The cost of $70 per acre to get Soluble Nitrogen into soils is passed on to consumers. Fertilizers also use mercury to "bind" trace minerals and elements. You only need ground white clays, ground black basalt and weed to make every farm in the world 3 times more productive. naturally, safely!

      I wonder why companies are so keen to keep it illegal?

      • Cyrock, on 10/02/2008, -0/+6what if you grow your marijuana in a hydroponic chamber?
      • DestroyFascism, on 10/02/2008, -0/+3Then you run the risk of smoking heavy metals, soluble and bound that send you nuts! If you read the mixture of what goes into the nutrients and google what they are you will understand..
      • rockrapdude, on 10/02/2008, -0/+2Hydroponic weed, here I come!
      • cjshamrock, on 10/02/2008, -0/+3I just plant my seeds all around town. Guerrilla style sex.

        Uh, what, you were talking about drugs?
    • Wargalas, on 10/02/2008, -9/+2Yes, because inhaling smoke is "good for you".

      Idiot
      • urnrg, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1Actually, in the age of prohibition it (mj) is a valuable commodity so smoking it is the most efficient use of the herb but if it is legal then its abundance would allow multiple uses of the herb (such as oil capsules, herbal bakeries, and even herbal licquers). Whole industries are being suppressed because of the likes of your lack of insight, my friend's enemy.

        Prohibition, by the way, has created more potent strains than ever and, ironically, less is need to be smoked to get the same effect :D
      • x0rcist, on 10/02/2008, -0/+7Not to mention you can vaporize it which conserves your bud, is 100% safe for your lungs, and gets you dumb stoned.
      • Glo0, on 10/02/2008, -0/+4No but Wargalas is right, if you inhale any burning matter it will cause breathing dificuties. And if you have ever looked at the amount of smoke produced by burning weed (well burn any green plant matter and it releases hell of a lot of smoke). We are supposed to breathe in through our noses to allow the hairs in your nose to filter out impurities and then out through our mouth. When smoking you inhale through the mouth allowing the smoke direct access to your lungs.

        You can die directly from smoking pot (OD) but you can be on your way to a tar filled lung. *looks inside bong bowl....hmmm my lungs*

        Dont get me wrong none of this stops me from smoking pot and tobacco or even drinking diluted ethanol i mean beer (after all ethanol is really good steriliser, nothing living survives it touch) .

        Back to the point of the article. I have tried many of the UK`s legal highs, the worse ive tried was SPACE CADETS (herbal LSD, ha) all that did was make me and my friends sit there bitching about how bad our headaches where, needless to say the next day we just took the real thing.

        Salvia is a fun drug, ive tried various strengths and its always a blast, smoke it while on mushrooms, acid, mescaline or 2CI and its a whole new ball game.

      • Mujokan, on 10/02/2008, -0/+2Buy a vaporizer.
      • Wargalas, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1Wait, did someone just agree with me on Digg?? Holy crap! Armageddon is upon us! Repent people...REPENT YOUR SINS! THE END IS NEAR! :)
    • carnivore0311, on 10/02/2008, -5/+2I bet "the man" is really trying to get you down too. Right?
    • DutchGuilder, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1> Aspirin will rot your liver after 2 weeks of constant dosage above 150 mg

      Low daily doses of Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) are safe. Daily Tylenol (acetaminophen), however, can be fatal:
      http://www.forbes.com/forbes/1998/0112/6101042a.ht ...
      • nemrel, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1The usual threshold for acetaminophen usage is 4 grams (4,000mg). If you use it daily for pain control (either as straight tylenol or by taking drugs like Vicodin) it is suggested that you bring your daily consumption down to 3 grams (3,000mg).

        Some people seem to be sensitive to acetaminophine and daily usage can cause them rebound symptoms. This usually happens when people are taking tylenol for migraines or headaches. If they take it too many days in a row they get rebound headaches - which are 10 times worse than the initial headache. The only cure for rebound headaches is cessation of using tylenol daily.

        One last thing (and this isn't to politicize things - it's just an extreme example that I recently read about). Cindy McCain, during her recovery from back surgery, became addicted to pain killers - especially percocet and vicodin. To keep up with her addiction she stole drugs and forged prescriptions with other people's names on them. At the height of her addiction she was taking 10 to 15 pills a day. At that time they didn't really use pain relievers with low doses of acetaminophen. Today we have Percocets with 5mg of Oxycodone (they also have 10mg and higher) and 325mg of apap (acetaminophen). So she probably was taking about 500 mg to 750mg of acetaminophen per tablet. If we times that by 10 pills a day - she was taking over 7,000mg of tylenol every day. It's not enough to die from overdose - but enough to fry your kidneys and liver! And she kept this up for just under 5 years. Amazing she hasn't had kidney or liver failure by now! So 3,000mg to 4,000mg is the strongly suggested limit - but, some people taking double that for years haven't had any major problems with their kidneys or liver.
  • aznpwnzor, on 10/02/2008, -2/+11dugg for "Only in this case it is the world that is leaving me."
  • penguinator92, on 10/02/2008, -9/+1Well, it's probably unsafe if I die from it.

    LEMME TRY!!!!
    • EhBlueDuck, on 10/03/2008, -0/+0If death were the only component of 'safety', cannabis would be the only 'safe' drug humans have ever discovered.
  • Snoosy, on 10/02/2008, -3/+26Seriously?

    http://digg.com/health/Legal_Mind_Altering_Drugs_D ...

    Made popular YESTERDAY.

    • quomen, on 10/02/2008, -3/+5I KNEW I saw this on the front page only like 8 hours ago... *****.
    • ThePenguin, on 10/02/2008, -1/+7That happened with the Duck Tales video, too...
    • PEMDAS, on 10/02/2008, -3/+3You're unpopular.
    • cobrapeed, on 10/02/2008, -1/+5Not to mention the article is 2 YEARS old.
  • KixEvilCereal, on 10/02/2008, -1/+8Does buying it from Upgrayedd mean it's the illest ***** this side of the Mississippi?
    • shutaro, on 10/02/2008, -3/+2Nope... Now, the Wwwyzzerdd on the other hand...
    • LogicBomB, on 10/02/2008, -1/+4No, but it does mean you will get a double dose of his pimping. You see, a pimp's love is not the same as that of a square's...
  • Omali, on 10/02/2008, -5/+7Buried as duplicate of yesterday's front page story.
  • Lucas123, on 10/02/2008, -8/+2Let's all just deal with reality and learn to be happy by serving others, instead of drugging ourselves into oblivion.

    Yeah, I know it's an unpopular idea, but it's also the right one.
    • dbz253, on 10/02/2008, -1/+5there is a difference between serving someone else and doing the right thing
      • Lucas123, on 10/02/2008, -8/+1Not when you're serving them out of unselfish love.
    • StrangeFamous, on 10/02/2008, -1/+3There is no "right" idea about how to live "properly".

      Each person lives life according to their own free will (at least in modern, free countries like the US).

      I agree with you that we should collectively strive for an existence that doesn't rely on any outside substances, but it's not as simple as just saying "take no drugs and live happily ever after."

      Our bodies are FULL of drugs. We produce all sorts of chemicals inside of ourselves that affect our biochemistry and physiology in a myriad of ways. The act of introducing chemicals into our blood streams is a natural biological behavior, and our minds are designed to absorb and react to substances.

      It's not as if we don't take legal drugs on a regular basis either. We pop aspirin for headaches and to lower blood pressure, we drink coffee and soda to perk ourselves up, we drink alcohol to lose our inhibitions and become more social... and we take all kinds of medicines to keep ourselves alive.

      The real issue comes down to which substances we choose to ingest, our reasons for taking them, and how those substances are created and procured.

      Personally, I think that as long as alcohol is legal, cannabis should be legal as well. Tax it, regulate it, and make it into the largest cash crop our country produces.

      But, to do so would mean that we could also start growing industrial hemp in massive quantities, which would introduce a major competitor into the paper, oil and pharmaceutical industries. As long as government policies are geared towards appealing to the corporations in control of those industries, cannabis/hemp will never be allowed to be made legal, which is a shame.

      We already self-medicate way too much with caffeine and alcohol as a country, I think we'd be much better off by switching to some sticky green goodness.

      As far as hard addictive drugs go, keep them illegal.

      Psychedelics are a harder issue to tackle. They can be really beneficial for certain people, but I wouldn't want them to be available to just anyone.

      And above all, change the drug policies of the judicial system to treat drug addicts as sick people instead of criminals!
      • Lucas123, on 10/02/2008, -2/+1It's not a fairy tale I'm prescribing. It's a tried and tested cure-all. Try serving other people and not focusing on your own troubles. That's what taking drugs is all about - trying to rid yourself of pain, but it never works. It’s just a vicious cycle. But when you learn to move past pain, to understand that holding onto your past is pointless and that there's a much greater purpose to you life than being angry or depressed or unforgiving, which is the same as drinking poison and hoping the other person dies, then you learn to have joy in all circumstances.
      • toxicshok, on 10/02/2008, -0/+3Lucas, thats all fine and dandy, so live your life by those rules. It doesn't mean that we should ban drugs simply because you choose to live your life by those rules. Some choose to live their life by other rules, and live just fine.

        Not all of us want to live a life of helping others all the time and forgetting about ourselves.
      • StrangeFamous, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1How very Buddhist of you.

        It's a noble idea, that of living a life free of tethers to the material world, but it's sadly an unrealistic expectation to have it apply to everyone.

        Life is confusing enough when you live an ordinary life. For people born into bad circumstances, it can be an absolute hell, and the only escape comes in the form of a drug.

        Myself, I live a comfortable existence in a relatively free country, where I don't have many fears and I feel happy with who I am and what I've done with my life so far.

        So, when I pop in a movie and smoke some weed, I'm not doing it to escape my life -- I'm doing it because it's an enjoyable way to spend an evening, and the benefits far outweigh any possible consequences that might arise because of it. In fact, I've had personal experiences with drugs that have helped me sort out my own mental problems, allowing me to be more honest with myself, and encouraging me to be as real and true to myself as I can be.

        I don't do any other drugs, other than the occasional beer or glass of wine. I barely even use tylenol or caffeine. When I can't get any weed, I simply live without it (I have been for several weeks now). I don't commit crimes to get the money to buy it, and I haven't ruined any relationships because of it (in fact, I've met quite a lot of people because of it).

        I think that pot in particular is a hugely misunderstood drug. It deserves much more respect than it gets, and all too often it is lumped in with all the other much more dangerous drugs out there, simply because it's illegal.

        I don't need pot to enjoy life. However, when I use it, it helps me appreciate life's details even more than I normally would. I notice the way that shadows fall on trees, or I sit silently and listen to birds sing for several minutes. It allows me to ignore all the ***** that addles my brain on a daily basis and keeps me from realizing that I'm alive.
    • LogicBomB, on 10/02/2008, -1/+4I fully believe that everyone should take shrooms at least once. It rips your mind open to ideas and concepts you never really looked at before - for better or worse. When you wake up the next day, those thoughts stay with you.

      Also, the CDC in the USA has classified the toxicology of shrooms as less than asparin.
      • Lucas123, on 10/02/2008, -4/+2Taking drugs and living just fine? I don't believe it. And, I'm speaking from experience.
      • LogicBomB, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1You're an idiot who believes in sensationalism. Aren't you missing Fox "news" right now?
  • PEMDAS, on 10/02/2008, -10/+5Sup /digg/, I'm looking for some mudkips. How much is this going to cost, how long does it take to kick in, and how long will the effects last?
    • austin006, on 10/02/2008, -1/+0a gram of 5x (strong enough) costs about $15, you only need to smoke a tiny bit at a time to trip, it takes about 30 seconds to take effect, lasts around 5-10 minutes, and a lifetime to look back on. Seriously though, I can still reminisce about all of my wonderful salvia trips.

      I started to realize that I was traveling to the world of the bunny from Donny Darko
  • TobyDumb, on 10/02/2008, -3/+10Salvia's crazy. One time I smoked it at a party and I couldn't move my body at all. I was literally convinced my soul was being carried around high in the air in a chinese sweat shop in China on a rope hundreds of feet in the air

    And then BOOM, Sober.
    • ruforealz, on 10/02/2008, -1/+4Yeah, eye thought that everyone in the room were puppets and that all of reality was a lie created in a giant rubber factory
      • nj10ii, on 10/02/2008, -0/+4I regularly wonder if all of reality is a lie.
      • chinolofus, on 10/03/2008, -0/+1"eye"..really?
      • DustyinBFE, on 10/03/2008, -0/+1You experienced the same thing as about 1/2 of the people I know who have done this. Scary how so many people who do this feel and see around the same thing .............
      • ruforealz, on 10/06/2008, -0/+1@chino

        well I would never smoke such a thing
    • NikoKun, on 10/02/2008, -1/+3I hated the stuff... Felt like the fabric of space was folding/wrapping up around me, and I was sinking/merging into what I was sitting on.

      The stuff is almost NEVER pleasent.. in fact it sees to it that it isn't... Because it makes you forget you even took it, in higher doses. Which guarantees you freaking out while tripping.

      LSD and/or mushrooms are better... and have a higher chance of enjoyment. =/ Always have a sitter.
    • kelmaster1, on 10/02/2008, -1/+3I smoked out a bong rip of 20x of salvia one time and I felt like I sank through the couch and was spinning backwards through space, that's the best way I can explain it. I felt like I was inside a watch with all the neon colored gears and moving mechanisms. I freaked out shortly because I started coming back and I could see reality but the gears were still moving IN MY HEAD.

      I've done shrooms and LSD. Salvia is the hardest trip out drug out there, it only last 2-5 min though. LSD takes something you see and shows the true nature. Salvia is crazy, it creates everything out of nothing.
    • CraigCarlyle, on 10/02/2008, -2/+2First time I tried Salvia I relived my entire childhood. It was pretty ***** up.
    • zTomer, on 10/02/2008, -0/+3salvia is NOT a party drug!
      it's a nature drug, where you can enjoy it without being surrouned by people.
  • Qeveren, on 10/02/2008, -0/+9Legal doesn't mean safe any more than illegal means unsafe. It's exactly the same as people thinking 'natural' means something is harmless.

    Just about ANYTHING can kill you, in the wrong amounts, or at the wrong time, or with the wrong other thing. Use your head.
    • kelmaster1, on 10/02/2008, -1/+2Gasoline and paint thinner are legal, so therefore it's harmless!
    • Garofoli, on 10/02/2008, -1/+2Not weed. :D
      • Qeveren, on 10/02/2008, -2/+1I'm sure if you ate a kilogram block of hash, you'd probably die, from intestinal blockage if nothing else. ;)
  • dbz253, on 10/02/2008, -2/+6no, legal does not mean safe or good for you. mcdonald's is legal too.


    that being said, salvia should be alright
  • boardthis, on 10/02/2008, -2/+19don't u kind of need mind-altering drugs in this day of age?
    • swrostmore, on 10/02/2008, -0/+5Yeah, but the government would prefer that you pay the Pharmaceutical Lobby for them, so that cash can more effectively be passed back into Congressional pockets in exchange for favorable legislation.
    • AchaIemoipas, on 10/02/2008, -0/+2Depends how you live.

      If I had to work in a cubicle, I'd be on them 24/7.
  • derek20cali, on 10/02/2008, -21/+4Here come the addicts to defend their precious marijuana...
    • DreKor, on 10/02/2008, -1/+14here come the nanny-staters to defend their lies
    • NikoKun, on 10/02/2008, -1/+7Guess that means, if you have a single glass of beer or wine every now and then, you're an addict too?
      Ignorant moron.
    • Shaving, on 10/02/2008, -0/+3What an ignorant *****.
    • ATXChappy, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1Yea, everyone who has used Cannabis is an addict. That's quite a feat since it's not addictive
  • cloak419, on 10/02/2008, -2/+3I've smoked Salvia I would say more than 2 times with my friends one week, that was along time ago I'm absolutely fine now, just sticking to weed.
  • deepthot42, on 10/02/2008, -4/+7Contrary to what the fundies tell you, we are free to be unsafe.

    Mountainclimbing, snowboarding, skateboarding, firebreathing, swordswallowing, fire walking, genital piercing...

    Freedom
    • FishHammer, on 10/02/2008, -2/+3you can pierce your genitals all you want I'll be chillin with my legal drugs
  • Residents, on 10/02/2008, -1/+2Salvia was fun and not scary for me. If you are scared its for 5 minutes after cause you're thinking "wtf was all that?" Then its all over and done with.
    • gutistg, on 10/03/2008, -0/+1Except when you experience time distortion on salvia and find yourself stuck in the million year space between XX:XX:00 and XX:XX:01, or living out multiple full lives within that 5 minute time-span.
  • rlax819, on 10/02/2008, -3/+5cocaine's a helluva drug
  • blackturtleus, on 10/02/2008, -1/+6I'm against anything that leads to more restrictions and regulation. Especially I'm opposed to any bans on what plants can be grown in home gardens. Just because a few people like to experiment with the ingestion various plants (not just Salvia) doesn't mean that the rest of us should suffer! In fact, I'd like to see bans against the cultivation of opium poppies and marijuana lifted. It's just a plant until it is processed for human use. It should be the use of the plant as a recreational drug that is penalized, not the cultivation of the plant. I realize that it is for the CONVENIENCE of law enforcement that responsible people can't grow these exotic plants, but I believe that our liberties are more important than the CONVENIENCE of the law enforcement community! And then there's hemp... don't get me started on that issue!!!
    • FLarsen, on 10/03/2008, -0/+2Good point, but why should recreational use be penalized? When you think about it, the idea is absurd, yet it's the reality.

      It would be awesome if one could get high on freedom, then it might just get the respect it deserves.
      • blackturtleus, on 10/03/2008, -0/+1I'm NOT entirely sure that recreational use SHOULD be penalized, but I feel CERTAIN that cultivation of plants should not be regulated. From my point of view, as long as the drugs are taken in a safe, controlled, and private environment, there should not be a legal issue.

        As for freedom, it would be even more restricted if it could get you high!
  • BoSuu, on 10/02/2008, -3/+7I have had several friends ***** up their lives due to drugs. The US war on drugs is a waste of time and money, but drugs are not a good thing no matter the mass of digg druggies claims. Maybe some people can handle smoking marijuana and eating mushrooms, but I know a hell of a lot of people in the US can't.
    • toxicshok, on 10/02/2008, -5/+6they you have some pussy friends. They have to man up.
    • Kr4t05, on 10/02/2008, -1/+4Dugg, but not because I support keeping drugs restricted. We, as Americans, have a big problem with moderation. Not just when it comes to drugs, either. Alcohol, smoking, gambling, sex, and quarter pounders at the drive-thru; we consume and desire more than is needed or healthy. Our gluttony far out-weighs our judgment and common sense.
      However, if certain substances were legalized and made available in a controlled fashion, it might take a while, but people might get the drift and learn how to properly balance their life.
    • Omsil98, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1Drugs are bad, mmkay

      "drugs are not a good thing no matter the mass of digg druggies claims."

      First, don't make blanket statements!

      Many drugs, legal or otherwise, are good in ... (here comes the inevitable) ... MODERATION! Most are not chemically addictive, so it really means that your friends, along with everyone else, has to control themselves and take responsibility for their actions. People in the US who can't handle something should either A) not do it, its not right for them. or B) learn some self control. Why should everyone have to suffer because some people need the government to tell them what they ought and ought not do?
  • HippyInASuit, on 10/02/2008, -2/+4No, and illegal doesn't mean dangerous.
  • carnivore0311, on 10/02/2008, -5/+1ITT druggies who quote beneficial properties of drugs which they have no ***** idea about. They just heard it from a friend and it made them feel better.
    • toxicshok, on 10/02/2008, -1/+4If this is true, then show a medical source that disputes these claims.
  • jynweythek, on 10/02/2008, -2/+7As long as a person's drug-induced behavior doesn't adversely affect others, it seems to me that recreational drug use is actually protected by the US Constitution. Remember that ***** about "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?" what part of LIBERTY doesn't our government understand?
  • AgmLauncher, on 10/02/2008, -6/+4How sad is this world that people feel compelled to hide from it with drugs :/
    • dynelol, on 10/02/2008, -4/+1Even rhetorical questions end in question marks, Einstein.
    • ATXChappy, on 10/02/2008, -1/+3"Drug" use has been around since before recorded history. Archaeologist find evidence of it all the time. It's not people hiding from the current state of the world. It's human nature to alter ones state of consciousness.
    • Kr4t05, on 10/02/2008, -1/+5I don't know about everyone else, but I don't look at it as hiding from the world. I smoke cannabis to enhance my enjoyment of activities that I already enjoy when sober. However, with all of the problems this planet and it's people face, I will agree that this world is pretty ***** up.
    • Mujokan, on 10/02/2008, -2/+0Yes. That is, with alcohol, heroin, and other sedatives. That's the only way you are going to "hide", is shut down. But read Kr4t05's post.
  • amightywind, on 10/02/2008, -6/+1The iron boot of the law needs to stay on necks of these chemical explorers. I do not want to be bothered by them tripping in the park or putting the ***** into my kid's hands.
    • deepthot42, on 10/02/2008, -1/+5Yeah... cause that happens.

      You know... it's your job to make sure your kids just says 'no'
    • toxicshok, on 10/02/2008, -3/+1/s
    • Kr4t05, on 10/02/2008, -1/+3If anyone under 18 comes to me looking for green, I usually tell them to go home and play Halo with the rest of the underage-b&.
      If society expects you to be responsible enough to pay taxes, vote, and drive all by age 18, then we should be responsible enough to decide what we want to consume, as long as doing so doesn't endanger the lives of others.
  • alamedaman, on 10/02/2008, -1/+8how about we let people put what they want in their own bodies? Oh wait, that would make sense.
    • manicmailman, on 10/03/2008, -0/+0not really... unless you can somehow be certain that somebody on a bad trip wouldn't harm others...

      "that dude on acid just stabbed a guy... oh well, he/she can put whatever they want in their body... oh wait... that doesn't make sense...."

      if you are tempted to say that this example wouldn't happen, feel free to replace it with:
      "that drunk driver just killed a family of four.... oh well (etc etc...)"
      • alamedaman, on 10/03/2008, -0/+1once someone else's rights are violated, that is the time for government intervention. If I want to sit at home and do lines of coke it's my decision.
      • PopeJaimie, on 10/03/2008, -0/+0And that's why alcohol is illegal.

        And, you know, thank god people don't actually USE illegal drugs, or else we'd have even MORE problems than if the drugs were legal.

        Yeah. Thank god that's not happening right now.
  • BoSuu, on 10/02/2008, -4/+3If a persons drug induced behavior doesn't affect others then sure, I don't care. However, I know for a fact that almost everyone I know that smokes pot often does it while driving or parked someplace and then drives away. Not to mention a high correlation between crime and drugs.

    Some people can handle smoking marijuana and not let it get out of hand, but there are also a whole hell of a lot who are not so responsible.
    • deepthot42, on 10/02/2008, -0/+4If marijuana were legal it would be treated just like alchohol.

      Remember the prohibition?

      Legalization actually leads to more control.
      Take the criminal element out of it, slap some general regulations on weed and VOILA! it isn't dangerous anymore.

      "Drink Responsibly"
      "Smoke Responsibly"
    • ATXChappy, on 10/02/2008, -0/+3The correlation between crime and drugs is cause by the black market not the drugs. Correlation != causation.
    • mesasone, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1What about the high correlation of people imprisoned at great expense to society for non-violent drug crimes, and come out unstable and more violent after years of the environment inside prisons?
  • WeThePeople2012, on 10/02/2008, -2/+4One this is from 2005! Two who cares, something shouldn't be illegal just because it isn't safe. Who wants a ***** nanny state? Give me liberty or give me death. I don't need the government to "protect" me from myself. Also, is tobacco or alcohol safe? No.
  • pulseczar101, on 10/02/2008, -2/+18I don't do drugs, just weed
  • austin006, on 10/02/2008, -6/+2this reminds me, I need to buy some more salvia
  • LogicBomB, on 10/02/2008, -1/+3People should learn what they are putting in their boddies REGARDLESS of what the law says.

    Ignore "drugs" for a second, (emphasis on quotation marks) - when you take in caffeine, colesterol, or ***** SALT you should know what you are doing to your body.
  • republicker, on 10/02/2008, -1/+2They are gonna be arresting a lot of old people because Saliva is growing in half the backyards in America.. Does this mean the government will throw untold amounts of taxpayer money to weed out these geriatric criminals? I should hope so. This is by far public enemy numero uno. /sar
    • mesasone, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1Maybe we can start a new government program that goes around and burns all those evil plants, like we do with the ditch weed growing along the highways with hilariously low THC content. Seems like a good use of tax payer money.
  • jjmac, on 10/02/2008, -1/+3No legal does not mean safe and I hope it never does. Unfortunately I may be in the minority.
    • manicmailman, on 10/03/2008, -0/+0no... your really not...
      (kicks pedestal)
  • saqer, on 10/02/2008, -6/+1In other news. Those who use mind altering substances even recreationally were found to have significant emotional, social, spritiual and psychological needs greatly unmet. Filling that void with euphoric substances is the only way they know how to cope with reality.

    In other words -> losers.
    • dynelol, on 10/02/2008, -2/+3Using the word loser makes you sound like you starred in the movie Clueless. Who "found" this? You?




      Your trolling is a sign of emotional, social, spiritual and psychological needs that are greatly unmet.
      • saqer, on 10/02/2008, -4/+1don't make this about me. This is about you and all the other drug starved hippies out there that can't just wait until their next hit of something or the other.
      • dynelol, on 10/02/2008, -2/+2Thinking isn't your forte, is it?
      • saqer, on 10/02/2008, -3/+1There you go again making it about me. All because you feel very sad on the inside. Well at least, up until your next hit of something or the other. Why don't u pop a couple dynelnol and sit back and relax?
      • dynelol, on 10/02/2008, -2/+1I'll get a joint and smoke it and then you can sit there and feel superior. Then we'll both feel good since weed smokers can't be happy without it ever.
      • saqer, on 10/02/2008, -3/+1Yes. I'm better than you because I don't need drugs to make me feel whole.
  • andyb747, on 10/02/2008, -2/+5Mescaline....the only way to fly
    • Visarga, on 10/02/2008, -2/+1by
      Infected Mushroom
      ~~~
      The motzarts of our age
  • zbeast, on 10/02/2008, -2/+6Saliva may currently be legal but as a drug it sucks.
    It only last's 5min's and the trip itself is just not worth it.
    I'm not saying that because i'm anti-drug, i'm saying it because I'm pro-quality drugs.
    The Saliva experience is more like a car crash than a mind expanding high like, shooms or lsd.
    e is a great high... but saliva, it sucks.. it tastes bad, the trip, take a look at the video's on youtube.
    people fall over roll around and you friends laffing at you for banging your head on the floor.
    I found it to be a very depressing high, not sexual, not stimulating.
    I've done it about 10 times and not matter the dosage it's the same trip and it's the same suck.

    Want a good trip make yourself some pot butter and make some pot browines.
    It's a lot more fun, a lot more pleasurable.


    • Visarga, on 10/02/2008, -1/+1Tell this to the crowd of idiots who want to make it illegal. No point in wasting the effort. It's never gonna catch up.
    • Mujokan, on 10/02/2008, -1/+0This is a drug that's used for trips on a very controlled basis by some Amerind tribes, probably in areas where peyote isn't that common. It's not like Sadhus or Rasta use weed, as a daily sacrament. And even then they chew Salvia, they don't smoke it.

      I think smoking this stuff regularly is basically the equivalent of huffing paint, and probably about as good for your brain.
    • Tyorant, on 10/02/2008, -2/+1Don't speak for everyone zbeast. I throughly enjoy Salvia and have had trips up to 20minutes.
      I have a lot of friends who talk about the same results as you, some don't even trip at all....I certainly do...Last weekend I thought my friends leg was a candy cane..
  • dissurmom, on 10/02/2008, -2/+6In a new study scientists have concluded that doing drugs and binge drinking is a ***** blast.
  • scoottie, on 10/02/2008, -1/+2this can be summarized in one word .... No
  • Vac2, on 10/02/2008, -1/+1Depends all on the user.
  • radicalchaos, on 10/02/2008, -1/+3All drugs should be legal for the simple reason that I own my body, not the state. This is my body, and I can do whatever I want to it, as long as I'm not hurting anyone else.
    • 64bitllama, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1Combine that with the fact that anybody who wants to do a given illegal drug still does it, making the war on drugs not just ineffective but a complete waste of money.
  • mohsenxp, on 10/02/2008, -1/+2Legal means profitable.
    Illegal means someother country/organisation is profiting from it and we can't let that happen.

    Who the ***** cares about your personal health & safety?
  • dafragsta, on 10/02/2008, -3/+2I actually forgot to toss this one into the discussion on the same story yesterday but...

    If you haven't yet tried Gnaural, it's an open-source binaural beat generator. It's hard to explain exactly what is happening with binaural beats, but basically they are two tones offset by a difference in frequency. That difference creates a resonant beat that you hear in your head but doesn't actually exist. That beat creates different perceptions depending on how fast or slow it is.

    The default schedule is designed for meditative purposes, but if you've never done much meditation, (I honestly haven't done a lot) it will freak you out at the ease at which you achieve that meditative state and you will DEFINITELY see closed eye visuals if it's working. You do have to relax and not expect anything specific to happen as if you were meditating normally. I imagine that there is some tie-in with the pineal gland because you can totally lose your sense of ego and the outside world if you manage to hit that state before you fall asleep. ;)

    I was first introduced to this notion at SXSW when I got to try the brain machine, but binaural beats are much safer if you are prone to epileptic seizures.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_beats
  • Jonh, on 10/02/2008, -1/+6"a new generation of powerful mind-altering substances" ? GTFO this ***** is older than the world.
  • Bluntman4000, on 10/02/2008, -1/+2On The 8th Day God Said - "Let Man Discover Drugs, so He to can Realize the Divinity of This Creation!"
  • waydee, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1I was under the impression BZP had been banned in the UK now, perhaps I'm getting it confused with something else. Someone who isn't me knows that the streets are flooded with 'ecstasy' pills that either contain entirely BZP, a combination with another piperazine I can't remember the name of or in a mixture with actual MDMA. It's a lot more difficult than it used to be to track down the real stuff, for obvious reasons. Crystaline MDMA has surged in popularity for this reason.

    The ban on sale of magic mushrooms in the UK was a stupid move and just created a much bigger black market than existed before the loophole was even discovered and exploited in a big way, that and a lot more people just head out about this time of year into the British countryside to procure their own magic mushrooms for free courtesy of nature. It probably also has something to do with the resurgence in popularity of LSD which is much more widely available now than at any time since the early 90s. Salvia isn't really a good alternative and isn't something people tend to do more than once or twice.

    If you ask me there are only a handful of these legal drugs that offer a decent enough experience to be viable alternatives to their tried and tested illegal cousins and as for safety I trust some piperazine blend bought from a shop, manufactured under little to no regulation/standards about the same as I trust an ecstasy pill. Their only real advantage is ease of availability although it's not as if it's particularly hard to get hold of the illegal highs, infact it only ever seems to become easier.
  • mindovermat, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1"legal highs are also a battleground between those who see the use of mind-altering drugs as a human right and those who think it is plain wrong."

    like seriously, what if you were to get arrested for eating a hamburger? "sorry sir, that's not good for you, 8 months in jail, say goodbye to your kids and career"
  • solstice21, on 10/02/2008, -0/+4I trust an illegal hit of LSD over experimenting with prescription psychoactive drugs any day
  • nemrel, on 10/02/2008, -0/+3Many of these drugs have a huge ritualistic/spiritual bases for their usage. In that context it can be a very amazing experience that opens up your mind to a shift in perception. I think most of these drugs have a better use if done in a spiritual setting or atmosphere. I'm not saying they don't have any medical usage, just that substances that can shift your understanding of time, space, reality and the essence of your being - probably isn't the best thing to take right before a heavy metal concert or rave. Native Americans and various tribes used these substances for spiritual understanding - not for ***** and giggles.
    • dirtridr, on 10/02/2008, -1/+2Thats the problem with kids these days. They just dont understand WHY these substances are used anymore.

      They do it to TIRPPP OUT DUUUDE.
  • BonerMachine, on 10/02/2008, -0/+3Excuse me, but ***** you for telling me what I should do with my mind.
  • kspanks04, on 10/06/2008, -0/+0Not exactly legal.

    Salvia is controlled at the state level in Delaware, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Between November 2006 and May 15, 2007, legislation was introduced to ban possession or sale of Salvia divinorum in fourteen additional states: Alaska, California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas (two bills), Utah, and Virginia.

    Selling an unapproved drug in the US can be prosecuted under the FD&C's "misbranding" clause. The DEA states:
    "If sold for human consumption, S. divinorum may be subject to control under the Analogue statutes because of its functional pharmacological similarities to other CI hallucinogens like THC."
    -- from DEA Diversion Salvia Page - Feb 2002
  •  

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