Three reasons why scientific advice on drugs is ignored
During alcohol prohibition in the US in the 1920s, the government made an exception for whisky, a more expensive alcoholic drink, which you could buy with a doctor’s prescription. This ensured that those who were poor could be locked up for drinking alcohol, while the elites could legally obtain the drug if they wanted to.
- Capitalism and Class … Drug policies can also be used as a tool for “social cleansing”. Governments will ban drugs that are associated with poorer people, such as cannabis. This will fulfil a common goal by the elites of selectively isolating lower classes. For example, governments can sometimes find homeless people to be a nuisance, and banning drugs such as cannabis would provide a legal excuse to get rid of them … 2. Poor Understanding of Risk … We overreact to immediate threats and under react to long-term dangers. This is a well-known phenomenon that was described by psychologist Daniel Gilbert of Harvard University … 3. Confusion between Effect and Toxicity … The effects of alcohol and tobacco are very subtle and gradual in comparison to, say, LSD. LSD is one of the safest psychoactive compounds, yet the effects are profound and intense. It is, however, difficult to realise that the extreme mental transformation caused by LSD is independent of its effect on your health. That is because the change it creates is a direct result of a safe modification in neurotransmitter levels in the brain, not an indirect change that is meant to alarm us from a physiological malfunction.
Original Article (The Conversation):
Three reasons why scientific advice on drugs is ignored
Artwork Fair Use: Landii
