QUOTE (dickban @ Dec 11 2008, 05:46 PM)And everything is bad if you abuse it, not only drugs
The difference between drugs and other activities is drugs are addictive (at a chemical level). So it's not easy for everyone to stop once they start. Indeed this is one of the major problems of alcohol and tobacco smoke, people don't know how to moderate their intake which leads to all sorts of problems. With illegal drugs the problems are only compounded as the user must seek the drugs through illegal sources. As a result, the quality of the drug is lower (no health and safety) and the price for a drug will be higher (this is particularly true for the hardest drugs). So it's not quite the same as having too many burgers...
Another point to remember is the effects of illicit drugs is not completely understood (people don't research it as much as it's illegal). So we can't be completely sure how safe a drug is. As for cannabis it's a tricky one. If the cannabis taken is weak then I would say it is a relatively safe drug to use (at least if you compare it to cigarettes). Problem is, people often smoke cannabis with tobacco using unfiltered roll-ups so it's not that safe. What's more in recent years cannabis has got stronger. This means the risks of mental problems such as Schizophrenia are much higher. It's one of the reasons why the UK reclassified cannabis to a Class B drug (it used to be Class C). With a class C drug you only get a slap in the wrist if caught in possession of the drug (dealing is different).
The difference between drugs and other activities is drugs are addictive (at a chemical level). So it's not easy for everyone to stop once they start. Indeed this is one of the major problems of alcohol and tobacco smoke, people don't know how to moderate their intake which leads to all sorts of problems. With illegal drugs the problems are only compounded as the user must seek the drugs through illegal sources. As a result, the quality of the drug is lower (no health and safety) and the price for a drug will be higher (this is particularly true for the hardest drugs). So it's not quite the same as having too many burgers...
Another point to remember is the effects of illicit drugs is not completely understood (people don't research it as much as it's illegal). So we can't be completely sure how safe a drug is. As for cannabis it's a tricky one. If the cannabis taken is weak then I would say it is a relatively safe drug to use (at least if you compare it to cigarettes). Problem is, people often smoke cannabis with tobacco using unfiltered roll-ups so it's not that safe. What's more in recent years cannabis has got stronger. This means the risks of mental problems such as Schizophrenia are much higher. It's one of the reasons why the UK reclassified cannabis to a Class B drug (it used to be Class C). With a class C drug you only get a slap in the wrist if caught in possession of the drug (dealing is different).