Whats your stand on illegal drugs?

Its a topic that has been on my mind off and on over the past couple of weeks, and I figured it was juicy material for an intelligent debate on here - since we don't see too many of those anymore.

So, here's the question. I'm going to narrow it down a bit. How do you feel about the idea of legalizing certain drugs for medical purposes - you could even go so far as to explain why you think they should/shouldn't be legalized for other purposes as well, but the primary focus is their medicinal use.

I'll post back tomorrow morning with my own views and input once this debate gets a rollin'.

Have fun, keep it clean, and remember, its only an opinion :D

Let me begin by saying I do not condone self-abuse in any way, but it does seem to me that there has been serious consideration by respectable lawmakers about certain recreational drugs. I think that education could be effective. If everyone realized that many drugs have abuse potential. I think it is a complicated process to attack the demand rather than the suppliers. Just because a drug can be obtained legally does not mean people will not abuse their bodies. The health risk will most likely not go away and some legal problems most likely would in many cases. I have had and known of others to have legal problems arise by the abuse of a legal substance. I would rather see more prevention rather than filling prisons and cemeteries with the victims, and even the promoters, of drug abuse. If the benefits have been proven to outweigh the risk any drug should be approved for medicine

It may be true that because of the availability of legal substances such as alcohol and tobacco that they pose a greater threat to health and in the case of alcohol antisocial behavior.
I would be less offended to see an adult smoke our drink moderately in the presence of a child than to see them exposing them to say intravenous drug abuse

"long term users can suffer major problems like paranoia or schizophrenia"

Any use, when you already suffer from some type of psychosis, can be intensified, but it is not the cause of the problem itself, this can be said of alcohol as well.

People are going to do what they want to do anyway, the war on drugs is a joke that eats up billions of dollars. What drugs are they keeping off the street or out of the country?

I say yes to legalizing Marijuana, but I am on the fence with the rest of it.

Study after study I have read says that there is no conclusive evidence that marijuana use causes schizophrenia, it only enhances an already present problem.

"I don't understand the question, you asked how do I feel about illegal drugs being made legal for medical purposes...Um they are."

^^ I left my question as broad as I could by not specifically saying "Should marijuana be legalized for medicinal use" because I wanted it to be a discussion that covered more ground than the cliche arguement about marijuana specifically. Maybe I could've been more clear.

"If the benefits have been proven to outweigh the risk any drug should be approved for medicine"

^^ That's what I'm asking about, or more or less, been thinking about personally. Do the potential medicinal benefits outweigh the abuse potential of many of these currently illegal drugs.

Like, for example. Most of us know of the club drug MDMA (or ecstasy more often than not). Now, I, personally, have never had any experiences with it, and don't even plan on it, but upon its creation many psychologists used it a *softening* drug during private therapy sessions because the chemical helped to make a patient more comfortable and therefore, more open, about their problems and helped with the diagnoses.

I'm curious how other people feel about this, as well as medicinal use of other chemicals, such as marijuana or even LSD. Do the alleged benefits justify legalization, or is the abuse potential far too great?

Another question that related to this, which Miss Take brought up:

"We have a big problem with kids who have ADHD selling their medication (uppers I think?) for a profit..."

^^ Is ADHD a severe enough medical condition to warrant the medication it does, at the doses it does, and does the abuse potential of amphetamines such as Adderoll and Ritalin (both common ADHD and ADD medications) give us a reason to think twice about medicating our kids with such a powerful and highly abusable chemical, or are the benefits really worth it?

As far as ADHD medication goes, I personally disagree with it. I can say from experience as someone who was falsely diagnosed ADHD, that the medication given to those with the condition is definately not all lollypops and gumdrops and obviously has a high abuse potential (they're meth analogs).

I see ADHD as being a largely misunderstood and highly misdiagnosed syndrome, and thus, doesn't warrant such a powerful solution being legally available, at least not in its current form. Perhaps if more criteria were required to be met before the child is diagnosed and the medication is prescribed.

I can also say, thanks to the high number of children being prescribed the medication, both Adderoll, and to an even greater extent, Ritalin, are the 2nd most easily obtainable abusable drug in schools right now. There's always someone willing to sell the medication, and always someone willing to buy it.

So, is it worth it?

Do you agree that these drugs have medicinal value that outweighs their abuse potential?

I am for the legalization on marijuana. My dad Had lung cancer that turned into Brain Cancer. And i really think that if he had been able to have some, it would have made things so less painfull. He eventually lost the use of his right side, he could talk, or write. I think that marijuana should be legal for some medical uses. But i also acknowledge that it could present prolbems with people aquiring a perscription then selling it.

<3 Bianca

I thought it was interesting that on an episode of House that doctor house observed symptoms of a patient that resembled cocaine withdraw. House sent his team to investigate in his usual unorthodox but very effective medical practices. The team found a bottle of Ritalin. House views the evidence and blurts out; aha buffered cocaine!

Studies have found that THC can cause schizophrenia-like symptoms in some. Most experts do not believe this. It is more likely that marijuana can trigger the emergence of schizophrenia in persons who are already predisposed to developing schizophrenia. This probably includes anyone with a strong family history of schizophrenia. An April 2006 review of the research concluded that:

There is evidence for an association between cannabis and psychosis. It is clear that cannabinoids can cause acute transient psychotic symptoms or an acute psychosis. Also it is clear that cannabis can exacerbate psychosis in individuals with an established psychotic disorder. However, whether cannabis causes a persistent de novo psychosis independent of any other risk factors is not supported by the existing literature. More likely, cannabis is a component cause that interacts with other factors (e.g., genetic risk) to induce psychosis.

Haha you beat me to this thread.

K lets just start off with a list of drugs ive done, and what the experiences are(bad effects)

special k-dissosiative, couldnt walk,talk after i snorted it my entire face when numb. Everything was spinning, Wasnt a fun time

acid-Fun drug, should still be illegal, to long to explain.

e-addicting, Destroyed my long/short term memory. Was doing 21 pills a night.

dxm-cough syrup, cmon thats just not cool

whipits- no, just not cool.

weed- quit, paranoid.

hash- see above

oxys- addicting

valum-addicting

codiene- addicting

morphine- addicting

mushrooms- i have never been more terrified in my life watching a childs movie, i watched myself walk home(honestly)

coke- fun for about 15minutes, Not worth it.

pcp- due to alot of laced e pills, wasnt fun.

in all honesty, for all the hippys trying to legalize dope in canada. its not going to happen, drugs are not gunna be legalize.

if your going to do drugs, be some what smart about it, seriously. ive had friends die and some are never the same as they used to be.

ive quit most of the things i was doing, didnt name them all.

About the ADHD, I agree that it is overly diagnosed. If I decided to, I could purposely drop my grades, lie to a counselor about how I am having trouble focussing on my schoolwork, and bam, I have ADHD. And I personally know someone who has done this.

I watched a True Life episode about people who took Adderall not too long ago. One person became addicted, and it actually was a gateway drug, she started doing heroine after her mother took her pills away. Another guy started taking it and took the SATs and he realized he didn't like the effect they gave him so he stopped taking them without telling his parents and took the SATs and made the same score, so he obviously didn't even need it.. I actually read in an article about three days ago that celebrities are using Adderall for weight loss, because it makes it so you're not hungry.

My friend's brother smokes marijuana frequently, but because of a wedding in the family, his sister asked him to quit smoking for the week of the wedding. If he hadn't obeyed, he wouldn't have found out that he has cancer.

I don't know why, but I felt like throwing those random facts out there.

"I think I have the cold hard facts on what marijuana can do to the mind rather than some literature that has been written on the subject."

My opinion does not just reflect the things I have read, but the experience I have had. That being said many people can have no history of mental illness, it does not mean that at some point in their life they won't or that something won't trigger it, we are predisposed to many things in life, due to our genetic make up, the things we put into and take out of our bodies and minds. Marijuana can also be used to treat mental illness.

Pharms are so easily to obtain its pretty much retarded to say kids arnt goinvg to do them.

i've got adhd, i was perscribed ritlin among other things. Its not hard to go into a docters office and fake an injury. Painkillers, uppers and downers are pnuts to get.

to out right try to illegalize all drugs, its not going to happen. To say kids arnt going to do them, Not going to happen.

I think it's ok and actually good for people and doctors to be thinking about new solutions to diseases, even if it means legalizing illegal drugs. Still it has to be monitored and not eveyone should have easy access to them.

I think that if we have a chance to make patients better with illegal drugs then thats ok. the legalizing of Marijuana was a good thing because now patients that had a hard time doing particular things, they will be able to do those things now.

And it doesn't have to Miss Take

I really don't like it...I have so many people in my life who have died because of them. My cuz just yesterday morning had died because of drugs.

Deleted-