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Science |
-=- |
97% of drug deaths from legal drugs-=-
Tobacco
| 435,000¹ |
Alcohol & drunk driving | 85,000¹ | Bad reactions to prescription drugs | 32,000¹ | Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
| 7,600¹ | |
| ——— | | 559,600
| All illicit drug use, direct and indirect | 17,000¹ |
That’s %3.03 of total US drug deaths. (According to the Journal of the American Medical Association’s statistics, March 2004.)
Today’s drug laws aren’t protecting us. After all they exist to protect politicians - they need drug laws to look tough because they’re allied with the real crooks. (Their corporate donors.)
In february 2008, Reuters announced 22,000 Americans died just from one legal drug:
“22,000 lives could have been saved if Trasylol had been taken off the market”
— reuters.com
Those guys are buying vacation homes - they’re rewarded for tricking people into believing their drugs were safe. But who’s jailed? Backyard gardeners.
After all, what could be easier for the government than taking the big drug dealer’s money? Jailing the small drug dealers.
Source:
(1)
| “Actual Causes of Death in the United States” Journal of the American Medical Association, March 10, 2004.
“The leading causes of death in 2000 were tobacco (435,000 deaths; 18.1% of total US deaths), poor diet and physical inactivity (400,000 deaths; 16.6%), and alcohol consumption (85,000 deaths; 3.5%). Other actual causes of death were microbial agents (75,000), toxic agents (55,000), motor vehicle crashes (43,000), incidents involving firearms (29,000), sexual behaviors (20,000), and illicit use of drugs (17,000).”
(Note: According to a correction, ‘400,000′ deaths for ‘poor diet and physical inactivity’ should be ‘365,000.’) | |
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Viagra would be illegal if it was sold on the streets. But because dirty old men need to have a hard-on, the Pharmacudicals can push all they want.
Tobacco is being given a bad rap just like pot was when the made it illegal.
Nicotine is actually the best medicine for Ulcerative Colitis, but the anti-smoking campaign doesn’t want you to know that anymore than the Drug Companies want you to know that Hemp eases pain better than most pain medications and is the best medicine for treating Alzheimer’s Disease.
Smoke tobacco or bleed, smoke pot or be in pain, smoke pot or have brain damage.
Nobody makes money if pot is legalized, and that’s the same reason they are pushing to get rid of tobacco. It can be grown at home, and both should be.
comeOn says:
I know this is teh internets, but can we at least try to be precise? Nobody dies “of” tobacco or alcohol. No coroner has ever listed “smoking” or “drinking” on a DC.
of course they do. alcohol intoxication (poisoning) is a common cause of death from partaking of licit or illicit substances. and deaths from various types of cancerous growths are readily attributable to the toxic residues of burning substances, of which tobacco is the most prominent and one of the most widely used and abused.
i don’t know if the pdr still carries the reference but the recommended treatment for years for constipation was a dilute solution of cocaine.
and, until the .gov went batshit crazy, measured purity doses of cocaine, heroin, amphetamines and barbiturates were available by prescription and over the counter for various maladies and ailments.
i’m so baked right now. I’M FREAKING OUT!
to the person who said, the government will tell us what it wants us to do.did you forget the Constitution?” We the people” “of the people by the people for the people”" life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” the government belongs to the people. We tell the government what to do. On a history Channel show. In regards to the history of illegal drugs, specifically on marijuana. A California state legislator, stated that the legal ligation of marijuana would do three things. Number one, he could control the under age use of marijuana by making the age limit to receive marijuana, much like cigarettes. Number two, the cost of prosecution, which costs taxpayers billions of dollars a year would be eliminated. Number three is taxation on marijuana would generate billions of dollars in tax revenues. It doesn’t take a genius to see that a cash crop can be truly a cash crop to everybody.
Let’s get real, it’s get back to our rights. I don’t go out and willfully put anyone else in danger by drinking and driving are getting “fucked up” and putting people’s lives in jeopardy. I go home after a hard days work have a few beers have a few puffs, and maybe once in a blue moon, after all my responsibilities are taken care of and let loose. Who are you tell me how to live my life. One writer headed right. I don’t pry into your life, why you feel compelled to pry into my life and tell me I’m wrong. When the rest of us who are rational understanding you are crazy, but we’ll intervene.so why do you feel so compelled on intervening on our life.
Sincerely, and American patriot.
Don’t tread on me.
Kilroy
Having not read the rest of the comments on the page it’s quite possible that someone else has already brought this point forward, but anyways… Declassification of “illicit” drugs would lead to regulated and therefore cleaner products reaching users reducing health risks and saving lives. Example 1: Deaths from ecstasy are far higher than they should be owing to erroneous ingredients in their production. Example 2: The spraying of cannabis; in order to increase the weight of the herb some rather nasty cunts have taken to spraying silicates and other chemicals onto the weed to increase profits up to 150%. Unfortunately for the smoker a lot of these nasty silicates can play serious havoc with lung tissue in some cases leading to complete collapse of part of or an entire lung. Similar cases can be brought forward for many other illicit substances.
Essentially if a country were to regulate its drugs rather than driving them into the underground criminal element (remember alcohol prohibition Americans?) then crime would drop and general health would rise. A win win situation surely?
p.s.
@ matt
“@ Schoulayer Elementalfury: some psychedelics can kill you. IE: Mushrooms. Weed is the only psychedelic I know for sure you can overdose on.”
No-one in recorded medical history has ever over dosed from cannabis, in order to do so you’d have to have the THC extracted and mainlined into your blood stream. If you tried to smoke the quantities required for an overdose even the most old school smoker would pass out barely 0.1% of the way.
Mushrooms and other hallucinogens can lead to bad trips, but this is due to them being taken stupidly. Some of these substances are potent, there needs to be a genuine education into their real metabolic and psychological functions rather than the actual lies (yes straight up lies) and scaremongering normally associated with governmental “teachings”.
Whoa thats heavy, man.
It is not possible to die from a Marijuana overdose. The cannabinoid system does not mediate any functions necessary for life. Smoke/eat/inject as much as you want…the only way you would die would be if you somehow managed to have so much in you system that there wasn’t room for something necessary, like blood. This would never happen.
Some drugs carry some very serious consequences, but if you have a piece of brain or individual neurons in a petri dish and you wanted to use a drug to flat out kill them, alcohol would be the most efficient and most successful.
Its perfectly logical that marijuana should be legalized, in fact it already is in some ways via marinol and some state regulated medical marijuana (which the feds can still breach any time they want without reason), and there are many psychoactives that were causing amazing breakthroughs in psychiatry *i.e. MDMA* before it was made schedule 1. These are scientists and other professoinals that believe these substances should not be illegal not just the users. But the sad fact is nothing will change anytime soon unless people start to become involved. Just if everyone put in one minute of their time to do something to help legalize beneficial medicines that are illigal we can get amazing results.
Dave aka sp0r
systemupgrade@hotmail.com
Legalization of any narcotic or illegal drug of any kind is not just a matter of opinion, but one of experience. I’m sure if anyone had their daughter murdered for her purse so a heroin addict could get his fix…Or if your son will steal as much as he can carry for his next hit…Your daughter selling herself to avoid a withdrawal…I doubt many would rise to legalize if they put themselves in that position.
Lets be serious here folks, you can skew any set of numbers any way you want. This fact alone should only benefit the marijuana cause. Many a political family is so because of what was once an illicit or illegal trade. How many families became powerful from the prohibition? How many families came to power from the raping of american families during the great depression?
You can spew it anyway you want. Tobacco has dozens of toxins in it and no one is being persecuted for selling it. Alcohol tears lives apart on a regular basis and no one is being persecuted for it. As a matter of fact, Ive never seen a “pothead” waiting outside their dealer’s door at 6:55 am waiting for the door to open to get some weed. I see it every day at numerous gas stations when people are trying to get their “breakfast budweiser” at 7 am. How many people have you seen chain smoke MJ cigarettes? The majority of my family smokes at least 2 packs a day.
The only reason that these drugs are legal is because for the most part, certain families have the wealth and power to control them. Politicians can control them.
War on Drugs = 1984.
Erik wrote: These statistics shown only state that the war on drugs has worked and that illegal drug use is not rampant because of the money we spend. The money we spend has allowed only 3.3 percent of drug deaths to be illegal.
========
That objection cuts both ways. These statistics also state that prescription drug use is rampant because of the money we spend - and that including FDA regulation of the drugs. In addition, we “regulate” cigarettes by taxing them out of existence, and smoking related health problems and deaths continue on and on. We also tax alcohol, but not as at high a rate as cigarettes, and people continue on their merry way, because alcohol is a legal drug. We’ve not even touched on caffeine here either. Caffeine use can inhibit sound sleep, and that, in turn, can lead to problems down the road too. We could go on and on about what is “legal” in this country.
What happens with the “drug war” is that people shift to another drug as the other is concentrated upon by the state. Take a look at the Pacific NW. They’re cracking down on meth big time up there, and what is happening in response? People are shifting to cocaine use - same people, different drug. That’s a long standing problem with the “war on drugs,” and the DEA admits it - it’s like trying to spin multiple plates on sticks. One comes crashing down, so they move to another, and then somebody puts another plate back on the stick. So, our money goes round and round and round ad infinitum.
Drug use is also generational in many cases. One generation may do a particular drug, then a generation will stop or lower their rates, but then the next one will pick it back up in reaction to the previous generation.
So, you’re objection, if true, proves either too much or too little.
Apparently you’ve not used drugs, or if so you used them in this manner you’re describing. The wrong way. Its not an escape, it can be a potential enhancement. And it doesn’t have to be all the time, in an addictive sense. Before you start spouting off your ignorance, immerse yourself in our culture and see how it works. And remember: moderation in all things.
Illegal Drugs don’t save people in any form. Mushrooms and LSD act as effective anti-depressants without the side effects users suffer from perscription drugs. More importantly, there’s nothing wrong with recognizing bordem as a problem; a problem lots of people address in a safe manner with various narcotics. What’s wrong about saving yourself from bordem with a little dope in the evening? Idle hands are the devils workshop…
Also, this notion that loosning drug laws somehow leads to a downturn in the economy is a complete throwaway comment, which holds no validity. If you did any research at all, you’d quickly find that even right-wing economists recognize the huge benefit that legalizing and TAXING drugs would provide for the government.
Finally, do a little more research and you’ll find that hemp basically has the potential to save our planet from the global warming, the energy crisis, and hunger.
Be careful before you throw out assertions which you hope are true.
“Legalization of any narcotic or illegal drug of any kind is not just a matter of opinion, but one of experience. I’m sure if anyone had their daughter murdered for her purse so a heroin addict could get his fix…Or if your son will steal as much as he can carry for his next hit…Your daughter selling herself to avoid a withdrawal…I doubt many would rise to legalize if they put themselves in that position.”
It’s true that legalizing drugs won’t solve all problems, but, at the same time, it won’t make any problems worse. The scenario you described there is the product of the War on Drugs.
Look, if drugs are made legal, you know the government is going to regulate the hell out of them. Did you know that it is easier for high school students to get Marijuana (and certainly other harder drugs) than it is for them to get alcohol? Do you know why? Because alcohol isn’t a Black Market good. There is no street-trade of alcohol. Prohibition puts power and control into the hands of drug dealers, bringing the violence of their trade to our streets. If drugs were legalized, power would be put into the hands of the manufacturers, and the store operators. No longer would we have to worry about drug runners crossing our borders with their “product” or drug dealers wandering the streets, armed, looking to make a deal or defend their turf. Also, you won’t find the fucking druggie scum littering the streets, looking for their next fix. Why? Because they won’t find drugs on the street… The druggies won’t go away, but some of the desperation will be removed from the scenario. The drugs will be cheaper, more effective, and possibly safer, as market competition among producers will require innovation, and engineering of the best possible “high.”
As I said, legalizing drugs won’t solve all problems, but it will alleviate many of the drug-related greivances. Drug addiction will still be a problem. Sure, it won’t be solved, but it will not be made worse. Plus, drug addicts won’t be treated as criminals (unless they commit criminal acts), and will be able to receive the true care and treatment they need, if they are willing. They will not be forced into it.
The first step is to have everyone open their eyes, and rise above the ignorance.
you my friend are a government brainwashed sheep. Sure SOME prescription drugs save people, but the vast majority of them have worse side effects than the symptoms hey claim to help. As for the loosening of the system to cause further damage to the economy that is complete and utter bullshit. What is damaging our economy is curupt politicians and the big businesses they represent (oil, medical, ect). Isn’t our country founded as the land of the free? We’re so free we are not allowed to put substances into our own bodies because the government says its not good for us. There are more deaths every year due to tobacco and alcohol than any “street” drug. These products only stay on the market because our drug dealing government wouldn’t be able to function without all the money these hazardous substances bring in. So fuck the government fuck pharmaceutical conglomerates and fuck you will. I hope you take you’re Viagra and die of a blood clot.
yes the lifestyle legal drugs help maintain.
basically the whole population of the school children in this country are prescribes ritalin or aderol because they cant sit still.
Opiate addiction that is now plaguing our nation. And the ever popular Prozac that makes our life bareable. Legal drugs dont maintain anything, they mask problems and help people deal with the stresses of life. Fuck you life is hard, smoke some weed and see if it doesn’t improve the quality of your life.
Thank you, Jake. We are all sheep.
While I don’t rely of government statistics alone, I believe that PRESCRIPTION drugs, administered in hospitals only, caused 100,000 deaths (and one and a half MILLION people are harmed each year) in 2004. I can’t find any statistics on how many deaths are caused by doctor office prescriptions. Yet we pay for trillions on advertising this trash, so that we believe that we all need drugs.
As far as tobacco, I have a lot of problem with the statistics there as well. I finally got a portion of my medical history, which says that I’m a smoker. Hello, doc, I quit 25 years ago. Also, my non-smoking brother-in-law was in the hospital with a blood clot. His doctor blamed it on smoking. Hardly a scientific study, but it makes me wonder who is collecting the statistics and who is paying for them.
Another statistic that I saw, when the housing problem finally got the attention of the mainstream media, was that 50% of the foreclosures were caused by medical bills.
What should we do? I know - we should have a national program to MANDATE medical insurance, along with the MANDATED tags, “preventative” tests, vaccines, statins and benzos, so that we will all be subject to the medical arm of our police state. Sounds good? Just ask Obama:) Think you can sue for the damage done to you? Bush thought of that, too - Google FDA preemption. I bet you can’t wait ’til we get the bill for this.
Don’t blame the politicians. I’ve heard they are all addicted to Havidol:
http://www.havidol.com/
Sorry, was the subject MaryJane? Sure, I’m the FDA will say it’s perfectly safe.