Would society be better of without any drugs?

mr_fegelien

Sound like an obvious and stupid question but a deeper examination shows that alcohol was essential for the formation of civilisations. Clean water was an issue and ale was what people from commoners to kings drank.

Opium and whiskey fueled trade for European nations making them wealthy. Also advanced medicine with the invention of the hypodermic syringe to inject morphine.

Organic chemistry was also expanded with the synthesis of many drugs.

No doubt, there are some serious issues with drug use (homelessness, crime, addiction, psychosis) but could these not be removed with legalized and controlled use? Many countries have followed suit.

Samuel T. Cogley

I'm not aware of any country that has legalised drugs. A few have decriminalised possession.

Frankly I think it should be legalised though. You're never going to stop it and criminalising it just creates a black market with all the issues surrounding it.

IIGeminiII

Illegal drugs have added a lot of positives to my life.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Legal drugs have saved millions of lives.

EmmetSpiceland

Connor Sticky Backup wrote: »

Legal drugs have saved millions of lives.

Some of the “illegal” ones could help millions too.

fryup

not at all we need more drugs....people are placid when stoned

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuLX_S52gVc

scamalert

gotta love ali G

Graces7

maybe define "drugs"?

Bobblehats

My mother seems to think so. Hamilton Morris, however has scientific evidence that suggests otherwise

Lady Spangles

I'd say to the contrary. I mean, drugs are the reason so many life-threatening illnesses are no longer life-threatening. Even illegal drugs have perfectly legit properties.

BDI

I wonder would the world/planet be better off if humans never invented drugs.
Now there’s a thought.

JMMCapital

short answer, yes.
Drugs seem to be used by insecure people who can't come to terms with there problems and are looking for a "escape" or "excuse". drugs make people unproductive and lazy (Cocaine,Weed,Ecstasy etc). I haven't touched drugs in well over a year and tend to stay clean for the rest of my life. I've seen cocaine literally change people's personality's its a **** drug for the weak and insecure. I've seen weed turn lads into paranoid f*cks too.

Capt'n Midnight

Our entire civilisation would collapse without coffee and tea.

iamwhoiam

Insulin , antibiotics , pain relief etc etv et are all drugs

JMMCapital

iamwhoiam wrote: »

Insulin , antibiotics , pain relief etc etv et are all drugs

come on now lets be real here we're talking about Stimulants,depressants,Opioids ,hallucinogens etc aka recreational drugs..

Odyssey 2005

When are the schools going back ?

JMMCapital

JMMCapital wrote: »

come on now lets be real here we're talking about Stimulants,depressants,Opioids ,hallucinogens etc aka recreational drugs..

But even confining the question to illicit or recreational drugs is problematic.

You can't just lump in the occasional user of acid or ecstasy with a heroin addict.

One obvious factor to consider is we might not know about various scientific breakthroughs, and the world of art and literature would be much poorer and (literally) more sober, without illicit/ recreational drugs. Think of the poetry of Allen Ginsberg, the philosophy and novels of Sartre and of Aldous Huxley; Francis Crick and DNA, Richard Feynman and Quantum Mechanics, Paul Erdos and Number Theory; raggae music in general.

But we should begin closer to home, Drug use can be sufficiently justified by the experience of the ordinary human being alone. The mere fact that people enjoy drugs in enormous numbers, and that it generally doesn't harm them, is as good a reason as any to justify drug use for anyone who desires to call themselves a liberal.

The fact that a minority of people become addicted, and have their lives destroyed by addiction, is no more a reason to ban certain illicit drugs than it is to ban alcohol, gambling, or extreme hand-washing.

If a sufficient number of people have their lives destroyed by addiction to a particular drug, such as heroin, then we can reasonably justify the statement that Heroin Is Bad.

However, if a sufficient number of people have their lives destroyed by gangland activity and criminal organisation, that's typically a reflection of dubious government policy in relation to drugs, and is a weaker argument in support of the claim that drugs are bad in themselves.

JMMCapital

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

But even confining the question to illicit or recreational drugs is problematic.

You can't just lump in the occasional user of acid or ecstasy with a heroin addict.

One obvious factor to consider is we might not know about various scientific breakthroughs, and the world of art and literature would be much poorer and (literally) more sober, without illicit/ recreational drugs. Think of the poetry of Allen Ginsberg, the philosophy and novels of Sartre and of Aldous Huxley; Francis Crick and DNA, Richard Feynman and Quantum Mechanics, Paul Erdos and Number Theory; raggae music in general.

But we should begin closer to home, Drug use can be sufficiently justified by the experience of the ordinary human being alone. The mere fact that people enjoy drugs in enormous numbers, and that it generally doesn't harm them, is as good a reason as any to justify drug use for anyone who desires to call themselves a liberal.

The fact that a minority of people become addicted, and have their lives destroyed by addiction, is no more a reason to ban certain illicit drugs than it is to ban alcohol, gambling, or extreme hand-washing.

If a sufficient number of people have their lives destroyed by addiction to a particular drug, such as heroin, then we can reasonably justify the statement that Heroin Is Bad.

However, if a sufficient number of people have their lives destroyed by gangland activity and criminal organisation, that's typically a reflection of dubious government policy in relation to drugs, and is a weaker argument in support of the claim that drugs are bad in themselves.

Yes legalize medicinal cocaine...

JMMCapital

JMMCapital wrote: »

Yes legalize medicinal cocaine...

Presumably you know that cocaine is used fairly regularly in ENT medicine/ surgery, therefore this must be a joke/ witticism. But I'm not sure what the joke is.

Would you mind explaining it?

frag420

Jaysus 18 posts and not a mention of Bill Hicks so here ye go...

“You see, I think drugs have done some good things for us. I really do. And if you don't believe drugs have done good things for us, do me a favor. Go home tonight. Take all your albums, all your tapes and all your CDs and burn them. 'Cause you know what, the musicians that made all that great music that's enhanced your lives throughout the years were rrreal ****ing high on drugs. The Beatles were so ****ing high they let Ringo sing a few tunes”

On a serious note look at the studies into magic mushrooms, LSD, MDMA etc and how they are being used to treat many phsycological disorders in people, it’s early days but what was once seen as taboo and illegal and a detriment to society may indeed be what saves people!!

Pints?

frag420 wrote: »

Jaysus 18 posts and not a mention of Bill Hicks so here ye go...

“You see, I think drugs have done some good things for us. I really do. And if you don't believe drugs have done good things for us, do me a favor. Go home tonight. Take all your albums, all your tapes and all your CDs and burn them. 'Cause you know what, the musicians that made all that great music that's enhanced your lives throughout the years were rrreal ****ing high on drugs. The Beatles were so ****ing high they let Ringo sing a few tunes”

On a serious note look at the studies into magic mushrooms, LSD, MDMA etc and how they are being used to treat many phsycological disorders in people, it’s early days but what was once seen as taboo and illegal and a detriment to society may indeed be what saves people!!

"Wouldn't that be a nice world. Just Domino's pizza trucks everywhere. Let them get stuck in traffic and all our pizzas will be free"

The Oort Cloud

BDI wrote: »

I wonder would the world/planet be better off if humans never invented drugs.
Now there’s a thought.

That's a strange comment.

Drugs are abound naturally in nature without the need for the hands of humans.The 'pharma' drugs we have today saved the life of my mother and father and prolonged their lives immensely and gave them a much longer life-span and better quality of life of which they are thankful for.

Natural drugs as in certain 'plants' are various and plentiful. Any person can walk to the valley for instance and pick a valerian root plant from the ground any-where in Ireland and boil the root and cool it down and drink one table-spoon of it and it will give you a strong euphoric feeling akin to Valium effect. The cannabis plant naturally growing from nature can give you another high euphoric feeling also, natural plants in nature not needing any help from human hands. Psilocybin mushrooms naturally growing in the fields can give you an out of body experience or kill you, now that is a major drug of naturality, death may come if taken.

Humans make drugs from all individual compounds of nature, but to say as you have said... 'I wonder would the world/planet be better off if humans never invented drugs'... I think that comment is illogical and makes no sense, because the most powerful drugs grow naturally in nature all by themselves without human intervention. Humans never invented drugs as you say, they were always there to be tested to near perfection up to this time in science.

c.p.w.g.w

Society would probably be better if drugs were decriminalized. Give people drugs for free...its worked very well in Switzerland

JMMCapital

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Presumably you know that cocaine is used fairly regularly in ENT medicine/ surgery, therefore this must be a joke/ witticism. But I'm not sure what the joke is.

Would you mind explaining it?

Joking.... obv ðŸ™႒

cj maxx

I want a joint now reading this. A joint , food and some tunes from way back.

cj maxx

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Presumably you know that cocaine is used fairly regularly in ENT medicine/ surgery, therefore this must be a joke/ witticism. But I'm not sure what the joke is.

Would you mind explaining it?

Is it ? Only ever snorted it !

freshpopcorn

I don't know what society would be like but I say night clubs would be quite because drugs are the only thing that make them tolerable at times.

Graces7

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Our entire civilisation would collapse without coffee and tea.

not! :eek:

Graces7

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

But even confining the question to illicit or recreational drugs is problematic.

You can't just lump in the occasional user of acid or ecstasy with a heroin addict.

One obvious factor to consider is we might not know about various scientific breakthroughs, and the world of art and literature would be much poorer and (literally) more sober, without illicit/ recreational drugs. Think of the poetry of Allen Ginsberg, the philosophy and novels of Sartre and of Aldous Huxley; Francis Crick and DNA, Richard Feynman and Quantum Mechanics, Paul Erdos and Number Theory; raggae music in general.

But we should begin closer to home, Drug use can be sufficiently justified by the experience of the ordinary human being alone. The mere fact that people enjoy drugs in enormous numbers, and that it generally doesn't harm them, is as good a reason as any to justify drug use for anyone who desires to call themselves a liberal.

The fact that a minority of people become addicted, and have their lives destroyed by addiction, is no more a reason to ban certain illicit drugs than it is to ban alcohol, gambling, or extreme hand-washing.

If a sufficient number of people have their lives destroyed by addiction to a particular drug, such as heroin, then we can reasonably justify the statement that Heroin Is Bad.

However, if a sufficient number of people have their lives destroyed by gangland activity and criminal organisation, that's typically a reflection of dubious government policy in relation to drugs, and is a weaker argument in support of the claim that drugs are bad in themselves.

"fine words butter no parsnips. "

AngryHippie

JMMCapital wrote: »

short answer, yes.
drugs make people unproductive and lazy (Cocaine,Weed,Ecstasy etc)

yeah, I get fierce lazy after lines or pills.

SAID NOBODY EVER :pac:

Sure, Weed will give you a blast of paranoia if you aren't in a good headspace, and cocaine can turn you into an arrogant overbearing headbanger, but lazy and unproductive are just 1930's sh1tetalk.

Drugs aren't the issue.
Addiction and Mental Health are the issues.

But you can't fix them unless you admit that.

You can be addicted to gambling or **** in the exact same manner as you can coke, fags or booze. Is gambling or **** illegal ? should it be ?
Its a complex dance of serotonin and dopamine in the human brain and a healthy balanced adult can go and pop a pinger and have a boogie for the night quite safely by paying the price with a few days in the press.
Doing it every day will mangle your brain, but that is addictive behavior, not rational human behavior.

Used to enhance, drugs are awesome.
Used to escape, drugs are incredibly destructive.

The current resources squandered on prohibiting and prosecuting drug crime would be far more productively spent on education, rehabilitation, regulation (of supply), research, mental health and social improvement programs. They would be of actual benefit to the quality of real human lives instead of enabling an out of touch bunch of conservative elites pretend they are doing it for "their own good" or "the greater good"

Society needs to evolve. Prohibition doesn't work.

All drugs need to be legalised, regulated and taxed. Future generations will look back on this period of prohibition and be perplexed at why we didn't solve this obvious problem sooner.

suicide_circus

no drugs? and have to face ones demons and the utter futility and misery of life? i think not.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

JMMCapital wrote: »

short answer, yes.
Drugs seem to be used by insecure people who can't come to terms with there problems and are looking for a "escape" or "excuse". drugs make people unproductive and lazy (Cocaine,Weed,Ecstasy etc). I haven't touched drugs in well over a year and tend to stay clean for the rest of my life. I've seen cocaine literally change people's personality's its a **** drug for the weak and insecure. I've seen weed turn lads into paranoid f*cks too.

Sorry, but those two are stimulants, and stimulants so not make you lazy. I've used stimulating drugs (legal, illegal and bootlegged) to combat laziness and depression with great effects and it's enhanced my prodcutivity and discipline.

JMMCapital wrote: »

come on now lets be real here we're talking about Stimulants,depressants,Opioids ,hallucinogens etc aka recreational drugs..

Again, depends on how you define "drugs". You don't want to go in for an operation without drugs.

Recreational drugs would include alcohol, nicotine and caffeine.

Thelonious Monk

I love recreational drugs and alc in moderation. Society will always be f*cked one way or another whether we have drugs or not.