I FEEL THE NEED TO HIJACK THIS TO PLUG HIS GREAT BOOK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drugs-Without-Minimising-Harms-Illegal/dp/1906860165

In case anyone is wondering, (and if I recall correctly) that second link was assessed and compiled by experts, in part by David Nutt. He brings it up in his book Drugs Without the Hot Air.

His stance is that we should reclassify drugs on rationally and not knee-jerk "tough on crime/drugs" ideologies, that we should approach in a harm-reduction type manner (even going so far as imagining substituting less-harmful drugs for alcohol). I had the same point of view before reading the book, but he really does a good job at explaining and rationalising it, and brings a lot of expertise to the discussion.

Oh good god, this subject annoys the shit out of me.

1. Medicinal benefits of many currently illegal drugs for both physical and mental illnesses - many of which our range of currently available treatments is SEVERELY lacking. We're not allowed to use stuff we know works.
   
   
2. Agency, if you choose to smoke, knowing the risks - you should be able to, it's your body (obviously caveats here about reasonable things like banning it in cars with kids etc - at that point you're harming someone else)
   
   
3. Counterproductive creations of black markets. Make drugs illegal - a drug dealer will step in to fill that supply-demand gap in the market. People are always gonna do drugs, which means they're going to:
   
   

• A) find themselves dealing with organised criminals or similar, sometimes at great risk to themselves and
  
• B) The black market means that there's no regulation - and of course illegal drug producers will cut drugs with really nasty shit if it means extra profit.
  
  

4. Criminalisation and the justice system. We are creating hardened criminals out of people who have committed relatively pathetic acts of "crime" with drugs. We take someone who is a normal person, we throw them in prison - and... do you think that's gonna help? Which leads me onto....
   
   
5. Addiction and Mental Health. Our approach to drugs in the justice system is punitive rather than rehabilitating. In instances were addiction has developed - and in mental health where "self-medicating with drugs" has become a chicken & egg situation... we simply don't offer the support we should. If we have someone with addiction problems to a particular drug or drugs, we should help them - not throw them in jail. The evidence ALWAYS bears out that throwing them in jail makes things worse.
   
   We absolutely need to look to other countries who are way ahead of us on this (I mean christ, even the US has medicinal cannabis in many states) - and we need a scientific, evidence-based approach to drug policy. To be honest, that's how we should decide a TONNE of policy, not just limited to drugs or things of a scientific nature.
   
   Problem is:
   
   The Government SAYS that it is taking evidence-based scientific advice, but they are then lying to you when they say that they actually listen to it.
   
   The Government does have or at least did have an Independent Scientific Advisory Panel. Infamously - after Prof David Nutt, who was the head at the time, called for the legalisation and regulation of drugs based on the available scientific evidence.
   
   The Government didn't like his independent, scientific advice and so they immediately fired him.
   
   If anyone wants to learn more about the objective risks and benefits of drugs and reform ideas for the way we systemically approach drugs - I'd definitely recommend checking out his book "Drugs - Without The Hot Air".
   
   It's evidence-based science informing policy decisions. There is no opinion in that book, just science. Any suggestions are backed up by hard science.

Highly recommend his new book "Drugs Without the hot Air"

Amazon link http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drugs-Without-Minimising-Harms-Illegal/dp/1906860165/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347114886&sr=1-1

Hey, OP. Not sure if top level comments are aloud to be comments and not arguments but I have a book you would love.

“Drugs Without The Hot Air” by: David Nutt.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1906860165?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

The author is an ex-“drug advisor” for the UK. His life long goal and drive for this job was the hope that doing this expensive research could actually help and aid the government into adjusting decisions based on modern research and facts rather than mere nothing. He would continuously present massive years long extensive research papers, from him and his team. Finding the true harm levels of modern illicitly used substances, what truly should be scheduled and at what levels etc. He was always shot down. The government was not interested in facts. They axed him for doing his literal job. He and many others felt useless, why work to do drug research if the government didn’t want to use it. So many resigned and joined a privately funded group along side him. And the research continues for the better.

It brings up arguments and ideas for exactly what you are discussing, what is the best way to think about drug harm, what level of legalization is best for society, etc.

Let me bring up something extremely mentally opening. So if harm was the reason something should be deemed illegal, then take this: comparing the safety profile of horse back riding to MDMA use. Horse back riding is far more harmful. MDMA is even safer than getting in a car.

Then the paradoxical arguments: it’s illegal because it’s bad. Okay why is it bad? Because it’s illegal. Okay, so make it legal, then it won’t be bad.

There are even sections on how to correctly teach young kids to approach drugs. Abstinence has actually been proved to increase everything it goes against. Same can be seen with sex. Another ironic attempt to “help the public”.

The list goes on. It’s a really good read. He produced hundreds if not thousands of sources for all information given.

This was the comment made by professor David Nutt, chief of the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). He was later sacked from this position by the, then home secretary, Alan Johnson. Seven other members of the ACMD left their respective positions in protest and then went on to form the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs (ISCD).
 
Professor Nutt gave a talk at this month's Merseyside Sceptics Society meeting in Liverpool, where he talked about the benefits of having an evidence-based drug policy and why the government should implement it. He also showed evidence and data that showed alcohol and tobacco to be far more dangerous than the illegal ones mentioned in the title. All in all it was a good lecture he gave.
 
He also has a book out that it worth a read, only £12

I recommend this book. You'll probably know most of the information in it, but it's a good excuse for knowing a lot about drugs. I correct my parents when they spout bullshit about drugs, and as far as they're concerned, I got it all from that book. Even if it makes them question whether I use drugs as well, at least they know I do my research.

All of these also apply to alcohol, not just the first point, except that alcohol is also physically addictive and causes social harms that cannabis does not - so aside from 'cultural' reasons, why is alcohol still legal? Are illegal drugs in general illegal because of the harm they do to our bodies and society, or for another reason?

Here are a list of titles that are not 'VICE' articles that I can recommend to you if you are genuinely interested in learning more about the topic of drug prohibition (they are all quite compelling in my view, you can check the credentials of the authors if you want):

Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari

Drugs - Without the Hot Air: Minimising the Harms of Legal and Illegal Drugs by David Nutt

The Legalization of Drugs (For and Against) by Douglas N. Husak.

The War on Drugs: A Failed Experiment by Paula Mallea

I can recommend more titles if you like, but I think these are the easiest to digest.

Start with: How to Change Your Mind (start with this detailed annotated summary). The pop culture starting point these days. The summary is all you need to read to understand the entire book but the book is well worth the time.

After that you'll have more ideas where to do. Below is a lot of stuff. I've watched/read all of them, so happy to answer any questions/give more guidance.

​

Study the "classics" by taking a look at these (skim the long ones to start):

Seeking the Magic Mushroom (first western trip report on mushrooms)

My 12 Hours As A Madman (another historically important trip report)

The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based On The TIbetan Book of the Dead (classic book on guided trips)

LSD My Problem Child by Albert Hoffman

Al Hubbard: The Original Captian Trips

​

Docs to Watch:

The Sunshine Makers (documentary)

Orange Sunshine (documentary)

Aya: Awakenings (documentary)

Dirty Pictures (documentary)

A New Understanding: The Science of Psilocybin (documentary)

Hoffmans Potion (documentary): r/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFfblVjCwOU"

​

And a whole lot of others:

​

Books

The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide – James Fadiman
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction – Gabor Mate
Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream – Jay Stevens
Psychedelic Psychiatry: LSD from clinic to campus – Erika Dyck
The Natural Mind: A Revolutionary Approach to the Drug Problem – Andrew Weil
Acid Hype: American News Media and the Psychedelic Experience – Stephen Siff
Acid Dreams: The complete social history of LSD – Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain
Drugs: Without the Hot Air – David Nutt
A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life – Ayelet Waldman
Neuropsychedelia: The Revival of Hallucinogen Research Since the Decade of the Brain – Nicolas Langlitz
The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America – Don Lattin

Videos

Terence McKenna discusses the stoned ape theory

A Conversation on LSD – In a video from the late 1970s, Al Hubbard, Timothy Leary, Humphry Osmond, Sidney Cohen and others reflect on LSD’s heyday

Alison Gopnik and Robin Carhart-Harris at the 2016 Science of Consciousness Conference

The Future of Psychedelic Psychiatry – a discussion between Thomas Insel and Paul Summergrad

Documents, Articles & Artifacts

Al Hubbard’s FBI file

Remembrances of LSD Therapy Past – Betty Grover Eisner’s unpublished memoir about her role in developing psychedelic therapy

LSD, Insight or Insanity – Transcript of excerpts from hearings of the Subcommittee
on the Executive Reorganization of the Senate Committee on Government Operations [concerning federal research and regulation of LSD-25] May 24, 1966

The Brutal Mirror: What an ayahuasca retreat showed me about my life —A Vox writer’s first-person account

​

Forums

Ayahuasca.com: Includes experience reports, discussion of spirituality, ecology, healing, and recovery by means of the vine are collected here. A place to learn from members of ayahuasca churches, as well as a few foreign language channels.

Bluelight: A 20 year old online harm reduction forum that fosters open and factual discussion of drugs and provides support for those seeking recovery from addiction.

DMT Nexus: A hub for underground psychedelic research on botanical sources of tryptamines and other psychedelic compounds.

5Hive: A newer forum devoted specifically to 5-MeO-DMT — synthetic, botanical or toad-derived.

Mycotopia: All things mycological — discussions of edible, wild, and psychoactive fungi.

The Shroomery: A forum  devoted to cultivating psilocybin-containing mushrooms and sharing trip reports.

TRIPSIT: A 24/7 online harm reduction resource.  Users can chat instantly with someone about their drug experience, or questions they may have about about the safe(r) use of a wide variety of controlled substances.

Saw this posted in /r/Drugs yesterday and it's well worth watching, even though he only refers to MDMA a couple of times.

For those who haven't heard of David Nutt before, he's a widely recognised expert on the effects of various drugs on the human brain, and was controversially fired from his role as government advisor after saying that taking MDMA was less dangerous than horseriding and that cannabis shouldn't be a Class B drug.

It's a fairly long video but well worth watching. I find it hard to disagree with pretty much everything he has to say.

edit: he also published a book that looks interesting.

Addiction has been proven.

"Addiction is really about experiencing cravings and losing control over your actions, not just physical tolerance and withdrawal", pg 143

The issue with your answer relates to physical dependance, i.e. withdrawal symptoms. A study using rimonabant, has show that physical withdrawals do occur. Rimonabant blocks the psychoactive effects of cannabis.

So, one takes rimonabant and keeps smoking. Nonetheless, smokers feel withdrawal symptoms. Tolerance has established a new "normal" in your brains chemistry. As a result, being sober is felt as a deficiency (withdrawals), not normality.

However, the contention that more teens need professional help for cannabis addiction than all other illegal drugs combined is utter tripe.

In the US, the choice in minor possession cases is almost always court ordered treatment or detention. No prizes for guessing what people, especially kids choose.

Just remember, our best soldiers in this war are informed users. Our best weapon is science - incontrovertible evidence can only be ignored for so long.

No, alcohol is causing some very real harms to our society and we need some better controls put in place to stop this.

Professor Nutt is one of the most knowledgable and leading figures in the fight against the drugs war, his argument for good regulation is not "dumb and hostile" he does not advocate the banning of alcohol and neither does he advocate the legalisation of all drugs.

His book is essential reading for anyone who wishes to be informed about the issues facing the ending of prohibition (and also gives context to this alcohol segment)...

http://www.amazon.com/Drugs-Without-Hot-David-Nutt/dp/1906860165/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347253728&sr=8-1&keywords=david+nutt+drugs+without+hot+air

I suggest, before you purport to others to be on the side of truth to read this book.

Je kunt jezelf beter niet informeren met "linkjes" naar "studies". De gemiddelde mens heeft niet de know how om te bepalen of die studies wel of niet iets waard zijn. De media weet dat ook niet, maar die bericht er wel en masse over omdat het vaak mooie aandachttrekkende koppen geeft. Ik zal je een goed begin geven: het boek Drugs Without The Hot Air van wetenschapper David Nutt uit 2012.

If someone wants to learn about the harms associated with drugs (legal and illegal), and/or how to minimize those harms - they could read this book by David Nutt, the scientist sacked from the UK Government's drugs advisory council for stating the best science we have on that issue.

If someone just wants to put you down, you will not change their minds. In that case, just smile and nod.

There's a good book out there called "Drugs Without the Hot Air" by David Nutt. It's based out of the UK, but it was very informative, might be a good sister book to you own!

Obviously street ecstasy is dangerous. It could be cut with anything, and it could be anything. This is all the more reason why pill testing should be available, and furthermore, why MDMA should be legal. Pharmaceutical-grade MDMA would be far safer for users and far better for society at large than our current predicament, and MDMA has all sorts of therapeutic benefits. Scientists have been recommending this to politicians for some time now.

EDIT: Also no, if you have never taken substances such as MDMA, cannabis or LSD, you simply have no grounds to stand on when telling other people what you think they should or should not do with them. None.

His book (which is decent) is called Drugs Without The Hot Air.

I heartily recommend his book "Drugs Without the Hot Air". A very thorough examination of all the issues around drugs, from brain chemistry, through addiction, and some possible evidence-based solutions.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drugs-Without-Minimising-Harms-Illegal/dp/1906860165/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372115157&sr=8-1&keywords=drugs+without+the+hot+air

Seems like a dodgy demographic to be messing with like this amazon.

Also, I tried to get the kindle version of these awesome pants, but it was just some book about drugs...

https://www.amazon.com/Drugs-Without-Hot-David-Nutt/dp/1906860165/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=drugs+without+the+hot+air&qid=1565123396&s=digital-text&sr=1-1-catcorr


Edit: Missing word re-assimilated.

Buy them prof. Nutt's book. Or just show them his famous drug harm chart where psychedelics are at the very bottom.