From: brrian04@uctvax.uct.ac.za
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs
Subject: Re: A distinction between Soft and Hard drugs
Date: 16 Aug 92 21:39:46 GMT
Organization: University of Cape Town

> examine the facts.  I don't know how much you realize it but there is 
> a possibility that if LSD were legal someone could put some in your
> drink without you knowing it.  In fact this has happened to me twice in

Exactly how does LSD being illegal prevent this from happening?

> my lifetime that I'm aware of (after the fact of course) while it has been
> illegal.  True, someone can poison you too, but LSD has quite a different
> result.  You must see that the controlled substances acts are there to 
> protect you from other people, and not necessarily to protect you from
> yourself.  And not only that alone, they are also there to protect other

Laws exist for this already!  The prohibition laws are there because some
people believe certain chemicals are evil and therefore it is their duty to
stop you from taking them.

> people from you.  You might think a little acid trip is no big deal but
> others might (and apparently do) think that it is quite a big deal.
> How would you remedy such an occurance (someone drugging someone else without
> their knowledge or approval) if all drugs were legal?
> 
> At the same time I agree with you your opinion in that we as human
> beings have natural rights, not bestowed on us by the government, to
> the wonders of nature.  But in a practical sense aren't the current laws
> the best way leave that decision in the hands of each individual by
> requiring a substantial body of knowledge be accumulated in order to
> acquire these substances?  Why should anyone be able to purchase all

No matter how much knowledge I aquire I would still be unable to purchase LSD!

> the drugs they want without going through a reasonable amount of study
> concerning the substance in question?  

To get a drug on prescription does not require any knowledge of the drug in
question - most people just take what the doctor gives them without knowing
anything about what they are taking (in fact doctors often seem reluctant to
give out detailed information).

As stated above, I can study as much as I want, but certain drugs remain
illegal!  I cannot buy them even if I am an expert on the subject!!

>Do you deny that "hard" drugs
> do require some sort of preparation before injestion or do you suggest
> that someone just drop those tabs of acid and see what happens?

Define 'Hard' drugs?  What is the test which I apply to a chemical substance to
determine whether it is a 'Hard' or a 'Soft' drug?  There is either a definite,
objective way to determine this or there are no such categories!

> 
> I'm all for legalizing things but I would like to see the plan and the
> expected behavior patterns explained first.  Perhaps if you had just come
> off of a three day acid trip which you never expected to take you would feel 
> differently.  It is hardly the same as smelling marijuana in the air, thus

No I wouldn't; if I knew who was responsible I would lay charges against them
which would have nothing to do with the chemical in question or in fact drugs
at all.  As I said, there are laws to protect you against this which have
nothing to do with drugs, legal or otherwise.

> the distinction between Hard and Soft drugs.
> 

I re-iterate my above question - how do we distinguish?

> 
Thanks
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brrian04@uctvax.uct.ac.za	I made the whirling world stand still.
ibarrett@zaphod.cs.uct.ac.za		- Arthur Rimbaud
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