Should meth be legal?

[Occulus]

28. The reason for that is that you can control for purity levels that way

Last edited Wed Jan 4, 2012, 12:02 PM - Edit history (1)

I've been told by people who have both given and received drug counseling that it isn't the drug itself that usually causes an overdose, but its purity level. For example, someone who snorts a line or two of coke each weekend may be used to a product that is actually relatively impure and cut with a percentage of baking soda besides. They're used to this purity level, from this dealer.

One night they score some powder from someone they're not used to dealing with. The price is a bit higher but oh well, coke is coke, right? Wrong- he just bought a bag of coke that's not cut with anything and has a higher level of purity. However, he takes the same amount he's used to taking, and instead of a "stronger" high, his heart explodes in his chest for his trouble.

If you could control for purity and adulterates you could eliminate a great many overdoses, because everyone using would know exactly how much they already use, and would know exactly how pure the dose was each time. That's why it's "safe" to take an aspirin or acetaminophen, even though taking too much at once can cause liver damage. The drug is manufactured such that a controlled dosage can be achieved each time.

We would do well to apply the same quality control to street drugs like meth, coke, heroin, etc.