Bath Salts Drug Crisis

[Iormlund]

Heh. What is the point of Schedules, then?

[dps]

There's a part of me that thinks if tobacco cigarettes are legal, there's nothing that should be illegal.

[Barrister]

There's a part of me that thinks if tobacco cigarettes are legal, there's nothing that should be illegal.

If tobacco was invented yesterday there's no way you could legalize it.

If you listed it as a controlled substance today however you'd instantly make criminals out of millions of people.  So instead we try and go after it in other ways.

[Capetan Mihali]

I don't know one thing about your drug schedules or how they work.  In this country Schedule I is the most serious drugs.  It might be different down there though.

No it is exactly the same.  Schedule one is the most dangerous drugs like heroin and crack and the like.

There are multiple schedules in the US as well.  The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 created the familiar national schedules based on the abuse potential of medically approved drugs.  Schedule I is for drugs with no medically approved purpose, so includes heroin (unlike in the UK), marijuana, LSD, MDMA, etc.  Cocaine (and presumably crack) is Schedule II since there are some anaesthetic indications for cocaine, as is methamphetamine, which has some indications for ADHD.

But in Tennessee, for instance, marijuana is criminally prosecuted as a Schedule VI drug, making it lower than any prescription drug and in a schedule of its own.  I imagine there are similar things in other states.

[Valmy]

But in Tennessee, for instance, marijuana is criminally prosecuted as a Schedule VI drug, making it lower than any prescription drug and in a schedule of its own.  I imagine there are similar things in other states.

Well that is the funky thing.  In addition to the federal laws for interstate issues each state has their own laws for drug abuse inside their borders.  Hence the proposition in Cali to legalize Marijuana or things like medical Marijuana.  All well and good so long as nobody leaves the state.

[Barrister]

I don't know one thing about your drug schedules or how they work.  In this country Schedule I is the most serious drugs.  It might be different down there though.

No it is exactly the same.  Schedule one is the most dangerous drugs like heroin and crack and the like.

There are multiple schedules in the US as well.  The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 created the familiar national schedules based on the abuse potential of medically approved drugs.  Schedule I is for drugs with no medically approved purpose, so includes heroin (unlike in the UK), marijuana, LSD, MDMA, etc.  Cocaine (and presumably crack) is Schedule II since there are some anaesthetic indications for cocaine, as is methamphetamine, which has some indications for ADHD.

But in Tennessee, for instance, marijuana is criminally prosecuted as a Schedule VI drug, making it lower than any prescription drug and in a schedule of its own.  I imagine there are similar things in other states.

I was administered cocaine once by a doctor.  I was 12. 

[Valmy]

I was administered cocaine once by a doctor.  I was 12. 

[garbon]

But in Tennessee, for instance, marijuana is criminally prosecuted as a Schedule VI drug, making it lower than any prescription drug and in a schedule of its own.  I imagine there are similar things in other states.

Well that is the funky thing.  In addition to the federal laws for interstate issues each state has their own laws for drug abuse inside their borders.  Hence the proposition in Cali to legalize Marijuana or things like medical Marijuana.  All well and good so long as nobody leaves the state.

That's true of many things. It's alright to text while driving as long as you remain in states where it is legal.

[Iormlund]

I guess that explains why fentanyl is also Schedule II despite blowing heroin out of  the water. On most people, at least. Sadly, it seems to do nothing for me.

[The Minsky Moment]

If you listed it as a controlled substance today however you'd instantly make criminals out of millions of people.  So instead we try and go after it in other ways.

But the drug laws do make criminals out of millions of people.  And the taxpayer is stuck with the bill of investigating, arresting, charging, and incarcerating them.

[dps]

And it's worth noting again for our non-US posters that as far as the national schedule goes, the Feds rarely prosecute anyone for simple possession (at least for pot)--they mostly go after the dealers.  So you're not likely to end up in the Federal pen for pot if you're just caught with your personal stash.  The exceptions would be if they're trying to pressure you into testimony against a supplier, or occasionally to make a point--for example, when California legalized medicinal marijuana, the feds busted some people to remind everyone that it was still illegal under federal law (though even then, I think it was mostly head shop owners, not people who were just users).

[Barrister]

I was administered cocaine once by a doctor.  I was 12. 

No idea what they were thinking.  I had a nosebleed that wouldn't stop, and had gone on for a few hours.  I guess cocaine does have the effect of constricting blood vessels, but man, it had me flying off the walls for five minutes, then crashing and shivering immediately afterwards.

Not fun.

[Barrister]

If you listed it as a controlled substance today however you'd instantly make criminals out of millions of people.  So instead we try and go after it in other ways.

But the drug laws do make criminals out of millions of people.  And the taxpayer is stuck with the bill of investigating, arresting, charging, and incarcerating them.

But when comparing drug laws to tobacco, at least when drug users started using they knew it was illegal.  Right now millions of smokers are hooked on what is a legal product.  It seems pretty harsh to suddenly tell them one day their cigarettes are illegal.

[DGuller]

If you listed it as a controlled substance today however you'd instantly make criminals out of millions of people.  So instead we try and go after it in other ways.

Glad we dodged that bullet with pot.

[garbon]

But when comparing drug laws to tobacco, at least when drug users started using they knew it was illegal.  Right now millions of smokers are hooked on what is a legal product.  It seems pretty harsh to suddenly tell them one day their cigarettes are illegal.

Who says that it has to be sudden? It isn't like smoking bans came in suddenly.