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            I have always wondered why we have such strict laws against some drugs that people have never lethally overdosed on, or even very infrequently, when some things like alcohol and tobacco, with very clearly shown lethal effects, are not only legal but only loosely regulated.  I had never really thought about the idea that the type of people using drugs affects the legislature surrounding them.  “Counter-culture” drugs, drugs that hippies, or Goths or whoever little known subculture are associated with, seem to get intensely bad raps.  I do believe it is hard to legalize a drug that has been regulated for so long without people going a little crazy at first, but by legalizing, regulating and even taxing, it seems to me that the government could control these substances more effectively, and even make money off of them.  It also does seem strange when some of these drugs have a) never been overdosed on and b) have mainly positive side effects that they are “schedule 1” drugs.

 The idea of “self medication” through both legal (such as alcohol) and illegal drugs is an interesting one to think about.  Although clinical testing is just starting for many of these drugs, there are lots of people out there whose recreational drug use could probably be considered therapeutic.  Just like we talked about talking to a friend or taking a vacation as therapeutic, many people “self medicate” with alcohol (often with tragic results) and I assume this is true for many illegal drugs. It would be interesting to see, outside of clinical trials, the effects of these drugs on people and their use as a way to handle stress, anxiety, etc.

Although on some level I’m not sure that outlawing benign drugs that simply put one in a euphoric or happy state makes a ton of sense, there is still a part of me that would worry if these drugs were completely legalized.  Although I know it is unlikely, I can still imagine a world where people just pop a pill (or whatever intake method) and zone out; where we are dependent on drugs for happiness and functional lives.  It would scare me if the only way I could find happiness was through substance use. This is probably due to reading too much fiction, but I’m sure that some of these fears aid to the rationalizations behind banning these drugs.  Interestingly I suppose the exact same thing could be said of alcohol and alcoholism.

Overall I think that there is definitely potential in these now illicit drugs, although legalizing them seems like a huge step if it is done appropriately I think that they could in fact help at least some people.  We have yet to find medications for many anxiety and stress related disorders that help everyone who is afflicted.  It seems to me that trying to find ways to help more people is a good thing (though I do personally believe that we should “start with what we’ve already got” in terms of treatment), and that if these illicit but mostly harmless drugs can help some of these people, then let’s give it a shot.