there are dangers present in every human action, we are vulnerable as a species and a lot of variables in a lot of different systems need to be maintained to keep an "optimal" balance in the body. there are no easy ways to group good and bad especially with all the possible subjectivity in what someone ingests(some people eat mud), but that doesn't stop us from trying to stop or regulate what people want to eat, drink, smoke or rub between their bum cheeks
we try to rationalise, this will be more "productive" for society, or less "dangerous" for the user, but are we really in the position to make a judgement?
So I was told Caffeine was a "Drugs" and though avoided in some cultures we havent necessarily considered it important enough to prohibit in any way, but why? Is it just because some "Drugs" are dangerous?
Well, what the hell is dangerous? can't too much of anything can kill you, Did you know too much water can kill you?
In 2007 a lady died, trying to win a nintendo wii by drinking 7 litres of water
now I know we arent about to start trying to ban water or start labeling it "dangerous and deadly" but I thought it would be an interesting example to actually consider some things we label or regulate and why.
So this definition is saying a "drug" is something which is eaten or introduced and has a "physiological" effect. What does it mean by "physiological?"
"physiological" effect must mean some effect on the functions or processes on the body
Well that's pretty broad isn't it? let's break this down and really think about that for a second. What doesn't have a physiological effect? Can't one have a physiological effect just looking at something, kind of like the Pavlov's dog's and while that might be a little bit of an exaggeration take that concept a little back and consider the difference in irritability while hungry and after eating, would this food give you a physiological effect? couldnt we consider some of these by the same definition of "drugs" as it effects even your mood and reaction?
Should this topic even try to be rationalized in this way? Isn't it really very subjective? There are pro's and con's to everything aren't there? Let's consider these commonly chosen "poisons" which are happily consumed by people
Pick Your Poison
Smoking
According to the world health organisation, about 80% of the world's 1 billion+ smokers live in low-middle class income countries.
You can get cigarettes legally in most countries with age restrictions, the enforcement of those age restrictions is questionable in some places. Cigarettes are disliked and discourages these days but far from illegal and with the increased tax and influx of pirated cigarettes in those heavily taxed regions it begs the question of what was likely to happen if cigarettes were to suddenly become illegal
Apparently, all that being said about cigarettes, they cant kill you in one sitting unless you smoke enough to just die from lack of oxygen
Alcohol
About 2 billion people around the world drink alcohol. Over 76 million people are currently affected by alcohol use disorders, mainly drinking too much xD. Alcohol causes around 1.8 million deaths a year worldwide
Unintentional injuries somehow manage to account for about a third of the deaths from alcohol. Alcohol is the third most common cause of death in developed countries.
Alcohol can kill you when your blood alcohol reaches about between 0.35-0.45%, which is around 20 shots in an hour or two
Pain Killer's
Opioid prescription continues to fuel an opiod epidemic. according to the CDC nearly half of all U.S. opioid overdose deaths involve a prescription opioid. In 2015, more than 15,000 people(most aged between 24-54) died from overdoses involving prescription opioids, with more than 1000 people admitted to the emergency department for opioid overdose a day.
prescription painkillers send 1000 people to emergency per day
Most Commonly Overdosed Opioids Methadone, Oxycodone(OxyContin) and Hydrocodone(Vicodin).
Overdose isn't the only risk related to prescribed opioids. Misuse, abuse, and opioid addiction are also possible dangers.
As many as 1 in 4 people who receive prescription opioids struggles with addiction
Marijuanos
Left side column
check out @armen on his steemit weed blog
Cannabis is globally the most commonly used psychoactive substance under international control. In 2013, an estimated 181.8 -230 million people aged 15-64 years used cannabis worldwide. There is an increasing demand of treatment for cannabis use disorders and associated health conditions in high- and middle-income countries, and there has been increased attention to the public health aspects of cannabis use and related disorders in international drug policy dialogues.
here is an excerpt from JUDGE FRANCIS L. YOUNG
“In layman terms, his means that in order to induce death, a marijuana smoker would have to consume 20,000 to 40,000 times as much marijuana as is contained in one marijuana cigarette. NIDA-supplied marijuana cigarettes weigh approximately .9 grams. A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response."
The world is beginning to open up to the use of cannabis/marijuana, especially as a medicine, though it remains heavily regulated in other parts of the world.
caffeine
Though most of us can't function without our morning coffee, better not overdo it. Apparently, you shouldn't have more than 500 to 600 milligrams of caffeine a day. An average, 8-ounce cup of medium roast coffee has about 200mg of caffeine, an 8-ounce cup of black tea can have 120mg of caffeine.
Noticeable side effects can occur if you consume more than 600 to 900 mg of caffeine a day such as insomnia, restlessness, nausea, irregular heartbeat, muscle tremors, anxiety and headaches. In fact, too much caffeine can be fatal. in 2010 a 21-year-old woman had a heart attack after drinking about 10,000 mg of caffeine. she was resuscitated a few times in the hospital, she stopped responding to medication and died three days later.
Sugar
Sugar, delicious sweet sugar. If you’ve ever tried to cut back on sugar, you know it can be hard.
Did you know? apparently, some people may even experience withdrawals. This is all due to the fact that when we eat sugar, an overstimulation of the reward centers causes us to become addicted to it.
Each year there are thousands of children getting upto all their teeth removed, ALL THEIR TEETH!, every single baby tooth, about 20 of them, in one go, because they are so rotten from fizzy drinks. Apparently, fizzy drinks can even mess with a young girls hormones and bring on the onset of puberty quicker
Though it doesn't stop there, free sugars like table sugar, fructose, glucose, honey and the sugar found in fruit juice/concentrate may be causing upto 180,000 deaths per year through diabetes, fatty liver disease and other illnesses
Sugar can't kill you in one sitting but it can definitely do a lot of damage over time
Conclusion
So what do you think? since there are dangers if anything is misused, does it make sense to arbitrarily regulate and criminalize the posession of certain things and not others?
Don't we have a better chance appreciating the fact people want these things and educating against abuse and danger?
please Comment, Upvote, Share or Resteem!
I am addicted to coffee and that is OK because it helps me when I needed to boost my concentration on a thing.
I just control it as not to get awful adverse effects like upset stomach and restlessness.
Hey CP! xD
I was never a fan of coffee, and then I got married and somehow my wife made me love it, I fully understand your addiction!
need to be careful not to get too excited and drink 40 mugs at once xD
At more than 4-5 cups a day will really give me the jitters and hyperacidity.
But I must confess, coffee makes me happy.
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Excellent article. I recommend everyone to check out this video on addiction by Kurzgesagt:
great share!
Wow. Not many commenters for the number of upvotes!
Anyway. Alcohol is a pretty serious drug but is not as dangerous as it could be as its legalised. The trend seems that if you make something illegal, it is inevitably grown or produced in sub-standard conditions, and therefore a sub-standard and usually unsafe product is the result. Prohobition produced some pretty lethal and deadly moonshine back in the day.
The same goes for other illegal drugs today. Heroin, speed, etc. could be made safer if legalised and managed. Just imagine, flooding the drug scene with a legal, much cheaper and much safer drug that gave you slightly lower high without all the side effects and dangers. Which one would you take?
And the government reaps the tax benefits too. It seems that all the money spent on fighting drugs and their effects could be better spent elsewhere.
Sugar, a wonderfully legal drug, is probably the worlds biggest killer. As it doesn't give you a brain numbing high and you can still function in society. It can't be all that bad can it. Just beacuse sugars detrimental affects are not immediate, then we turn a blind eye and wait for the heart attack to occur down the track.
An interesting article and a great read.
hey bro thanks for checking it out, I really appreciate you stopping to leave some a comment too,
Prohibition and the opportunity for crime, How many drug dealers can compete with customer service xD
not to mention the manufacture chain
battery acids, fly sprays, sugar water, concrete!? lol ive heard some wierd ones
I think I got lucky and a trail followed a whale vote, xD either way im very grateful because this was one of those few day posts
It looks like @curie found your post and thats a big deal. Congrats.
Nice post @sols
I think everything should be taken in moderation and some things should be abstained from totally. Whether alcohol, drugs, pain killers, caffeine, or sugar; addiction is bad.
We must be careful on the life style we choose.
yeah right on man some things are just not worth it xD
Yeah man!
Moderation is a nice excuse to occasionally do really bad things to ourselves.
Whoever came up with the idea that doing unhealthy things in moderation isn't harmful must be the smartest salesman in the world.
I get where your coming from, though we are emotional beings and make a different judgement on risk and reward, it's not always about the most logical choices and I think it might also go beyond this too, which is that we can take something that is healthy and make it unhealthy as well if we are not careful
Wow well said 100% man I think Alcohol is the biggest gateway it was for me anyway. Check out my page man not written very well but you might get some entertainment from it lol cheers!
hey bro thanks for stopping in and leaving a comment, was my gateway too xD
Educating people about the dangers of drugs is a good approach to dealing with the misuse and the use of some of this rather harmful drugs , but also i would like argue drug user e,g cocaine users are very much aware of its danger .and also criminalizing the use of certain substances have produced excellent results. anyways great well thought out article
yeah right on, I think they also know the dangers of trying to get those drugs from the black market aswell, but I think they disregard is because they are going to do it anyway, though I guess it stops other people from trying it which might be worth it afterall, though its really the price that stops me xD
Good post. Especially sugar is many times overlooked. When in fact it is really THE food/addiction problem of 21st century..
thank you :)
Sugar seems to fly under the radar because it's so prolific, it really is the major problem of this century
I have always been a believer in everything in moderation. People have to know their own personality traits. For some people moderation is impossible. One persons moderation is an others excess. I believe we should have the freedom of choice - and consent that having that freedom will destroy many peoples lives.
that's an interesting angle but I think it would also change the perspective a little so that it can be more easily discussed and in a world with dialogue problems are resolved quickly and efficiently
but absolutely some people moderation doesnt exist, I had a family member that just couldnt control his drink no matter what but as you said, probably should not have judged and just let them be, good point :)
yeah its not just with drugs either. Some people just have addictive personalities. They will get hooked on anything.
And also Im not justifying peoples addictive natures. If someone you love or care about is addictive it is up to you to step in and help them. I am more saying that the government should NOT have the right to tell people what they can put into their own bodies.
yeah right on bro, I feel exactly the same way actually, you make another good point, that it's goes much further than just drugs, you can get addicted to a game, the line blurs further xD
thanks again for coming in, I really appreciate your comments
It's important to make a distinction between addiction and dependency. It's not that bad to be dependent since we are dependent on things that are not so bad eg. coffee, people, weed, the internet ... Where as addiction is when you're dependent on something that you don't want to continiue doing.
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STOPMy goodness. Food is a drug. Use it in moderation.
Great Article @sols
I've been a involved a lot with drugs in the past, it was my field of study you might say
And though ive seen lives destroyed ive also seen them saved.
In particular the entheogens are on the Angels side, while we know the devils bargain has to be made with Dopamine stimulating, opiates and sedatives.
The serotonin and NMDA pathways are especially non addictive and therapeutic
Mushrooms, Ayahuasca, Mescaline, iboga
These substances and plants changed my life for the better