Should exctasy be downgraded to class B?

[bolt pp]

wtf is khat?

that looks allright, I want some khat

where can I get some khat?

it's like a sort of long weed thing that you chew

I dont mean this in a racist way but i think its something particular to somalians mostly, i know loads of people that walk around chewing that stuff in the street, ive never met anyone who does it that wasnt somalian.

[rossfourfive]

All i'm saying is that downgrading it sends a message that it's not dangerous. Yes most people have the sense to not see it in this light but some people will. The media's influence on a section of the population is scary.

i wouldnt be at all confident in studys if the list you posted previous is indicitave of their findings, the order of some of those drugs is a nonsense

+1.

People aren't all idiots, and they can work out for themselves the risks of taking ecstasy, or lack thereof.

But that's the problem. People aren't all idiots but a lot are. The majority of my mates at school got involved in a fair amount of drugs purely because everyone was doing it. They didn't sit down and think about the risks they just did it. While i don't doubt there are many people who do understand the risks there are an equal, if not greater, amount who don't.

[Nem]

crack cocaine and normal cocaine are so different, dont any of these studies indlude that seperation, cocaine is not 2nd there if you're not talking about crack.

crack cocaine and cocaine are the same thing, its just that powder form is about 30-60% strength where as crack is usually pure.

[Nem]

wtf is khat?

that looks allright, I want some khat

where can I get some khat?

khat is some plant that the Somali mini cab drivers chew whilst playing cards waiting for fares...

[thetank]

People aren't all idiots, and they can work out for themselves the risks of taking ecstasy, or lack thereof.

But that's the problem. People aren't all idiots but a lot are. The majority of my mates at school got involved in a fair amount of drugs purely because everyone was doing it. They didn't sit down and think about the risks they just did it.

But they will sit down and think about what grade the government classifies at this week?

[rossfourfive]

But they will sit down and think about what grade the government classifies at this week?

They wont have to sit down and think about it because if it is downgraded the media will publicise it to no end as they have with the debate and people will notice it. I see your point and i think you're right about a lot of people understanding the risks and taking it no matter what grade it is given but i do believe it'll influence some, particularly younger people.

[gatso]

They wont have to sit down and think about it because if it is downgraded the media will publicise it to no end as they have with the debate and people will notice it. I see your point and i think you're right about a lot of people understanding the risks and taking it no matter what grade it is given but i do believe it'll influence some, particularly younger people.

so what?

so a few people will go out, get loved up, have a great time and cause no trouble instead of their usual saturday night of getting pissed up, fighting and fucking up their liver. where exactly is the problem?

[byronkincaid]

.

[rossfourfive]

They wont have to sit down and think about it because if it is downgraded the media will publicise it to no end as they have with the debate and people will notice it. I see your point and i think you're right about a lot of people understanding the risks and taking it no matter what grade it is given but i do believe it'll influence some, particularly younger people.

so what?

so a few people will go out, get loved up, have a great time and cause no trouble instead of their usual saturday night of getting pissed up, fighting and fucking up their liver. where exactly is the problem?

Lol at causing no trouble. I have seen plenty people getting just as aggressive after taking pills as on the piss.

The point i am making is downgrading it will encourage more people to take it. You clearly think there are no side effects with ecstasy and it is completely safe so there is no problem with more people taking it while in my opinion it still carries risks and more people choosing to take it is not a good thing. We can agree to disagree.

[thetank]

I'm a bit of a deontologist.

The government should spend more time doing what is right and true for the sake of it being right and true, and not worry about the short term consequences such and such a desicion will have once the media does its thang.

The media don't give a fuck about the consequences of their reporting, so the government has to instead? I don't like it, it's pretty backward.

Sadly, it's the way the world works.

[totalise]

I've never taken ectasy knowingly, so I donno what it actually does to a person, but I think the problem with stuff like this is that it can become a platform to higher abuse. If a well paid executive pops a few pills here and there to get a little high when they are out partying, whilst understanding the risks involved and not having it affect them... that should be fine, but the problem to me is that one drug, in the hands of the vulnerable, can easily lead them to different drugs, to get higher highs, to escape whatever misery they are suffering from.

What this tells me is that the GOV should care less about the drugs, and more about the reasons why people abuse drugs in the first place, but the governments have never seemed to care about that. For some people, a pill is just a pill, a line is just a line, but for others, a pill is an escape, another pill is a way of staying off the pain, and the lines are the same. THAT is the problem that needs to be sorted.

[action man]

hahhhaha at cocaine being dangerous, once you get it at street level its been cut down that much that your more likely to fall asleep than get high, ahahhah jokes

[neeko]

5: Alcohol - KILLS 22,000 = Legal

9: Tobacco - KILLS 114,000 = Legal

18: Ecstasy - KILLS 33 = Illegal

Ummm govt policy makes a lot of sense.

Govt policy on scientific advice

Get advice - ignore it - do opposite

Media reaction to science

Get literature - ignore it - write a story saying the science says the opossite - if the Daily Mail then make it the front page and blame it on the downfall of society.

www.badscience.net/ - a great blog detailing the incompetance of the media when reporting science. (now back up)

[Jon MW]

wtf is khat?

that looks allright, I want some khat

where can I get some khat?

http://www.shamanica.com/Catalogue.asp

[madasahatstand]

I'm a bit of a deontologist.

The government should spend more time doing what is right and true for the sake of it being right and true, and not worry about the short term consequences such and such a desicion will have once the media does its thang.

The media don't give a fuck about the consequences of their reporting, so the government has to instead? I don't like it, it's pretty backward.

Sadly, it's the way the world works.

I thought for a minute you were drinking from the niaivity fountain until I saw your last sentance Politics as you know is about gaining support, so playing to peoples worse fears causes reactive responses in the nation and it buys votes. They do not act in our best interests, they act to gain popularity. The problem with the E example is that most of the public are frightened of drugs BECAUSE they are illegal and because they get bad press. Scaremongering!

A few examples of scare tactics
 You will die if you take drugs - most people dont but the chances are raised because they are illegal and cut with all sorts of dangerous stuff.
They lead onto other drugs - nonsense. The fact that they are illegal means you need to go to places to buy them were you might come across other drugs. It's not the drug itself, its other factors.

Its morally wrong - Yes for people who believe the hype. Don't get me wrong, its a worry if you have children/young family members who start experimenting but this isnt helped by making drugs illegal and making kids go 'underground' to take them, because they will.

What actually is harmful - drugs themselves in a small number of cases; getting jailed and ruining a future because of a criminal record; being outcast from the family; family relationships being damaged because of lies dammed lies.

People have very strong opinions on drugs and I think opinions are developed in line with levels of education and experience. We won't ever agree on the subject, most people know all they need to know thanks very much....

Byron - steroids enlarge the heart muscle as well as all the other major muscle groups and heart attacks ensue and kill folk. It's kind of interesting that steroid users dont see themsleves as drug users though (well the ones Ive met). Funny how we can argue ourselves into believing we are different and all those druggies are bad. lol