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 ivi
Registered: 01/30/03
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 Drug classification rethink urged
#5918901 - 07/31/06 03:29 PM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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 drugsreport.pdf (1,290,684 bytes)
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Drug classification rethink urged
By Pallab Ghosh, Science correspondent, BBC News
The designation of drugs in classes A, B and C should be replaced with one more closely reflecting the harm they cause, a committee of MPs has said.
The Science Select Committee said the present system was based on historical assumptions, not scientific assessment.
BBC News has seen details of a system devised by government advisers which was considered by former Home Secretary Charles Clarke but is now on hold.
It rates some illegal drugs as less harmful than alcohol and tobacco.
Suggested rating of drugs according to harm done
The new system was based on the first scientific assessment of 20 legal and illegal stimulants used in contemporary Britain.
Alcohol was rated the fifth most harmful drug, ahead of some current class A drugs, while tobacco was listed as ninth. Cannabis, currently rated a class C drug, was below both those legal stimulants at 11th.
The MPs said including alcohol and tobacco in the classification would give the public "a better sense of the relative harms involved".
They also denounced the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs - which provides scientific guidance to the government - for "dereliction of duty" in failing to alert ministers of "serious flaws" in the rating system.
Phil Willis, who chairs the committee, said the current classifications were "riddled with anomalies" and "clearly not fit for purpose".
Controlled drugs are currently put into alphabetical categories, reflecting the level of penalties offences such as possession and dealing can attract.
Class A, which is the highest category, contains substances such as heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and magic mushrooms.
Class B includes speed and barbiturates. Cannabis and some tranquilisers are graded as class C substances.
Systematic
Mr Willis said the only way to get "an accurate and up to date classification system" was to "remove the link with penalties and just focus on harm", adding that this meant social consequences as well as harm to the user.
He went on: "It's time to bring in a more systematic and scientific approach to drug classification - how can we get the message across to young people if what we are saying is not based on evidence?"
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: "In 1971 when the classification system was launched, that was right for the time.
"What we've had is a huge societal change over that period and what we've seen is that putting a drug into Class A does not stop people using it at all."
Alcohol
The alternative system was prepared by Professor David Nutt, a senior member of the Committee that advises the government on drug classification, and Professor Colin Blakemore - chief Executive of the Medical Research Council.
There are three class A drugs in the top five of the system, as well as one Class B and alcohol.
Tobacco is listed as the ninth most harmful drug and cannabis, a class C drug, comes in at number 11.
Perhaps most surprising is the presence of two Class A drugs - ecstasy and LSD - in the bottom six.
This places them well below tobacco and alcohol and a number of class B and C drugs.
Professor Blakemore told BBC News alcohol and tobacco were included in the ranking to give a "calibration of what these levels of harm mean".
He added: "That's not to say there's any argument that alcohol should be banned but it does give one a feel for the relative harm".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5230006.stm#drugs
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ExplosiveMango
HallucinogenusDigitallus
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: ivi]
#5918960 - 07/31/06 03:47 PM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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The idea is a step in the right direction.
The specifics look a little odd, what with pot being rated more dangerous than 4-MTA (a drug that causes serotonin syndrome with any 'active' dose) and E (and solvents???)
And where is PCP? DXM?
But whatever... better idea than the random system they have now.
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Know your self.
Know your substance.
Know your source.
Stop knowing what you are and realize what you could be.
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Capless
Student
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: ExplosiveMango]
#5919034 - 07/31/06 04:14 PM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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You said class B contains Cannabis, or at least the artical seems to say so. When in fact on the chart Cannabis is listesd as a Class C drug. Correct me if I'm wrong though.
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Come view My first grow!. B+, Cambodian, and Golden Teachers! Enjoy!
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"... This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality.
Embrace this moment. Remember, We are eternal.
all this pain is an illusion...."
Edited by Capless (07/31/06 04:15 PM)
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FightForPeace420
Fuck the police!
Registered: 07/29/06
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: ExplosiveMango]
#5919035 - 07/31/06 04:15 PM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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pot should be way lower and by far the lowest
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Our politicians and lawmakers have their heads so far up their asses that when you look at them it seems as if their heads are on perfectly normal. But alas, do not be fooled by their trickery!... all credit of this wonderful statement goes to DNKYD
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Placeholder
Invisible manwith thesee-through mind
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: ExplosiveMango]
#5919452 - 07/31/06 06:36 PM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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How can solvents be safer than cannabis?
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MustNotBe
Chuzzle baby :)
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: Placeholder]
#5920126 - 07/31/06 09:56 PM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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Some people have bad reactions to MJ, such as me. But I didnt see mushrooms on there? But I'd be more happy with this system. But even that system needs some work.
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:*: No KiSsEs :*: 
- - -
'Bout now its 1:30 am - 11 Percocets just entered me
15 minutes from this second - I'll be crawling on my knees
- - -
"Hallucinations are something heroin users are not at all accustomed to," said Const. Conor King, Victoria police drug expert. "They react like you or I would react if we took Aspirin and all of a sudden the TV got up and started walking across the room."
Edited by MustNotBe (07/31/06 09:59 PM)
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MustNotBe
Chuzzle baby :)
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: MustNotBe]
#5920226 - 07/31/06 10:22 PM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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to bad its for the UK
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:*: No KiSsEs :*:
- - -
'Bout now its 1:30 am - 11 Percocets just entered me
15 minutes from this second - I'll be crawling on my knees
- - -
"Hallucinations are something heroin users are not at all accustomed to," said Const. Conor King, Victoria police drug expert. "They react like you or I would react if we took Aspirin and all of a sudden the TV got up and started walking across the room."
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johnjohnandjamal
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: MustNotBe]
#5920279 - 07/31/06 10:36 PM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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Who decides what the "harm" of a substance is. It all seems like subjective bullshit to me. Anabolic steroids safer than cannabis? You have to be kidding me.
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EquilibriuM
dream stalker
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Anabolics are relatively safe.
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 fastfred
Registered: 05/17/04
Posts: 4,326
Loc: Dark side of the moon
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: EquilibriuM]
#5921045 - 08/01/06 04:58 AM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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That new system will never fly. Nutt must have used some nutty statistics or his math sucks.
Like WTF is "street methadone"? That's a nonsensical term for something that doesn't exist. Alcohol more dangerous than tobacco? Stupid. LSD and cannabis shouldn't even be on the chart.
They need to actually talk to some drug users. I think most of those terms are just names and numbers to them. Anyone can see that they have only a little bit more of a clue than the proponents of the old system.
-FF
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It drinks the alcohol and abstains from the weed or else it gets the hose again. -Chemy
The difference between the substances doesn't matter. This is a war on consciousness, on our right to the very essence of what we are. With no control over that, we have no need to speak of freedom or a free society. -fireseed
"If we are going to have a war on marijuana, the least we can do is pull the sick and the dying off the battlefield." -Neal Levine (MPP)
I find the whole "my drug should be legal but yours should be illegal" mindset disgusting and hypocritical. It's what George Bush and company do when they drink a cocktail and debate the best way to imprison marijuana users. -Diploid
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Capless
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: fastfred]
#5921164 - 08/01/06 06:25 AM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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Because drug users can tell you exactly how dangerous drugs are to their own body, am I rite? lololol
No, but in a serious manner, you have to imagine that pretty much anybody who is using any drug on that list will most likely be choosingly oblivious to the consequences it has on their body. Take me for example, I smoke weed good bit and I hack and cough because of how much I smoke. I know the hacking an caughing is a symptom of smoking, but I usually ignore the effect and essentually ignore any possibility that a side-effect of a greater degree is at works. Hell ask any smoker today if they know what their cigarrett will do to them and they might tell you cancer, they might say it makes me them happy. Smokers are a primo example of why asking a drug user about the seriousness of their drug of choice is an inaccurate idea.
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Come view My first grow!. B+, Cambodian, and Golden Teachers! Enjoy!
http://www.toolband.com/
"... This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality.
Embrace this moment. Remember, We are eternal.
all this pain is an illusion...."
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fastfred
Registered: 05/17/04
Posts: 4,326
Loc: Dark side of the moon
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: Capless]
#5921254 - 08/01/06 08:37 AM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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Well I didn't mean that they should ask drug users what drugs are good and then give them bonus points. But anyone that's part of the counterculture can tell you a lot better what drugs have bad effects.
For example I can tell you for certain that meth should be number one or two. And I can also tell you how addictive heroin is (seen some friends go down hill) and a dozen other reasons why it should be number one or two. Even a brief look a police reports would also tell you the same thing. Those two drugs are ones that people kill and steal for. No other two drugs (combined even) will come close to either of those two.
I have no idea how they came up with their numbers, but they're obviously wrong on a number of points.
-FF
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: fastfred]
#5921306 - 08/01/06 09:25 AM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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> Those two drugs are ones that people kill and steal for.
Only because the price for the drugs is artificially inflated by the black market. If the drugs were legal, the price would be minimal, and people would no longer need to kill or steal for money to pay for their habit.
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Just another spore in the wind.
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ExplosiveMango
HallucinogenusDigitallus
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: Capless]
#5921314 - 08/01/06 09:28 AM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Capless said:
Because drug users can tell you exactly how dangerous drugs are to their own body, am I rite? lololol
No, but in a serious manner, you have to imagine that pretty much anybody who is using any drug on that list will most likely be choosingly oblivious to the consequences it has on their body. Take me for example, I smoke weed good bit and I hack and cough because of how much I smoke. I know the hacking an caughing is a symptom of smoking, but I usually ignore the effect and essentually ignore any possibility that a side-effect of a greater degree is at works. Hell ask any smoker today if they know what their cigarrett will do to them and they might tell you cancer, they might say it makes me them happy. Smokers are a primo example of why asking a drug user about the seriousness of their drug of choice is an inaccurate idea.
Ummmm.... gotta say man, there are lots of drug users who are not like that at all, and who keep very good tabs on the physical and mental effects of the drugs they use.
Intelligent/knowledgeable minds in the field of experience of a particular drug are probably PRIME candidates for accurate information.
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Know your self.
Know your substance.
Know your source.
Stop knowing what you are and realize what you could be.
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ExplosiveMango
HallucinogenusDigitallus
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: Seuss]
#5921341 - 08/01/06 09:45 AM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Seuss said:
> Those two drugs are ones that people kill and steal for.
Only because the price for the drugs is artificially inflated by the black market. If the drugs were legal, the price would be minimal, and people would no longer need to kill or steal for money to pay for their habit.
It's amazing how many past examples of oppression humans can recognize while remaining completely ignorant to those blaring in the present.
Picture the drug situation in terms of drugs being a sub-cultural trait which flows between social groups. The disease like qualities of drug addiction have caused this social trait to absorb increasingly into a particular group as two main factors increase:
-Exposure to the addictive nature of the drug
-In-exposure to a 'cure' for the drug
Since particular groups of immigrants have historically entered the United States into isolated/economically limited communities there have been many occasions on which drug addiction was most prevalent in particular ethnic groups.
A perfect way to excuse the hate you wish to pass onto a particular person, without ever admitting you have it, is to claim hate for something he does or owns.
And now there've been generations, and white people have taken up drugs as throughly as any other group, and science has learned about these drugs... and yet, these people don't want to let go of that hate, that they so tactfully excused so long ago...
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Know your self.
Know your substance.
Know your source.
Stop knowing what you are and realize what you could be.
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Psiloptile
a legal alien
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: fastfred]
#5921732 - 08/01/06 12:26 PM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
fastfred said:
Alcohol more dangerous than tobacco? Stupid.
-FF
Drunk Driving, Alcahol Poisoning, black-outs.. Cigarettes will take a very long time to kill you, while a night of heavy drinking might be all it takes to do you in. Remember all those stories about people turning 21, playing drinking games and punching out?
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Everything I write is false.. I made it up.. Or did I? Yep.. I did.
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Capless
Student
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: Psiloptile]
#5921817 - 08/01/06 12:52 PM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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Fastfred I just can't agree with you.
You seem to use your personal experience for judgement in this situation. While your personal life may have had its share of ups and downs with friends over certain drugs, that does not make those forementioned drugs as horrible as you say they are. Think of societies as a whole and look at the harm those drugs do. You'd probably be suprised to find out that the drugs on that list are close to correct. I'd say Alcohol belongs up there. It's a legal substance that carries the ability to really fuck up some one's life just as much as any other drug.
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Come view My first grow!. B+, Cambodian, and Golden Teachers! Enjoy!
http://www.toolband.com/
"... This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality.
Embrace this moment. Remember, We are eternal.
all this pain is an illusion...."
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Psiloptile
a legal alien
Registered: 06/15/06
Posts: 124
Last seen: 3 months, 9 days
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: Capless]
#5922127 - 08/01/06 02:59 PM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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hehe.. fastfred IS Chuck Norris
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Everything I write is false.. I made it up.. Or did I? Yep.. I did.
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fastfred
Registered: 05/17/04
Posts: 4,326
Loc: Dark side of the moon
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: Psiloptile]
#5922203 - 08/01/06 03:21 PM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Psiloptile said:
hehe.. fastfred IS Chuck Norris
How did you know? Who told you?
-FF
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BGC
l'amour pour leschampignons
Registered: 07/24/06
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Re: Drug classification rethink urged [Re: fastfred]
#5922238 - 08/01/06 03:31 PM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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so is pot decriminalized/legalized yet? it needs to be...
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"Education is an admirable thing."
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
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"Earth laughs in flowers."
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