myusernamehere1 t1_ja1v1g3 wrote
Reply to comment by Stunning_Carpenter68 in TIL that from 1991 to 2007, tobacco conglomerate Philip Morris Cos. successfully marketed Capri Sun to children, based on their executives' experience selling tobacco to young people. by 99-bottlesofbeer
Really depends on the dosage and purity. If meth/amphetamine were legal, well regulated, with informed users, it would likely be less damaging than alcohol. Obviously people who regularly take very high doses will have health issues, but this can be compared to binge drinking which is also horrible for your health.
Analysis-Klutzy t1_ja1vgu8 wrote
Yes we get alcohol is objectively less toxic. Isn't going to make my ice head neighbour any where near as peaceful as even a drunk lol
myusernamehere1 t1_ja1x58b wrote
Because alcohol is legal meaning that regular law abiding citizens can easily access it. Amphetamine/meth being illegal skews the statistics such that only people willing to break the law can access it, and mentally unhealthy/ill people are more likely to be willing to break the law.
sharaq t1_ja4jp0u wrote
Stimulants are much more likely to cause psychosis than alcohol is in a much shorter period of time. Within a few weeks of stimulant use, one in a thousand users experience full blown schizophrenia like symptoms. The rate of alcoholic hallucinosis is one in four thousand and only occurs amongst individuals using it for many years; and typically has much milder symptoms typically isolated to visual and tactile stimuli.
The rate of addiction is much lower in alcohol users, at around one in twenty adults. I don't know how many adults try methamphetamine and develop addiction, but colloquially and from my experience with substance abuse programs, the ratio of first use to addiction is much higher by an order of magnitude.
Alcohol is a toxin, yes, but every mammal has evolved to seek out and (within limits) safely metabolize alcohol. Strong stimulants are not something we have evolved alongside. I think there's many safer substances that are unfairly regulated when alcohol gets a pass but methamphetamine simply isn't one.
myusernamehere1 t1_ja5kqnl wrote
This is all due to prohibition of their use, lack of access to information on how to safely use them, and them being illegal skews user statistics towards people who already have mental health issues. In order for stimulants to cause psychosis, someone would have to take very large doses. I am not saying there are no side effects.
Tomcatjones t1_ja3yk9d wrote
The problem with the argument is that meth/amphetamines ARE legal and regulated as prescribed. And can be abused of course
Alcohol is just regularly abused.
Both can be very safe in time, setting, and dose
myusernamehere1 t1_ja5jsed wrote
During prohibition, alcohol could be prescribed. This did not stop illegal distilleries from producing alcohol that had unsafe levels of byproducts which caused even worse health effects than alcohol would alone.
I do not see amphetamine/meth being legal to prescribe as an issue with my argument, as we are not talking about medicinal use. They are illegal to use recreationally, unlike alcohol, leading to all sorts of issues.
Tomcatjones t1_ja5k43h wrote
That was my point. You can abuse anything legal or not..
myusernamehere1 t1_ja5l1ll wrote
I mean obviously. My point is that legality of recreational use has a lot to due with how something is perceived, the amount of available information for harm reduction, and skews the statistics such that only people willing to break the law will do so.
Mediocre_Truth_6115 t1_ja37xft wrote
I don't know why people are downvoting you.
What you're saying isn't objectively untrue.
Alcohol is horrible for you, and so are most other drugs, but alcohol is horrible for you no doubt.
SagaciousTien t1_ja5clhz wrote
Meth and amphetamines are legal and regulated. They're just controlled substances. You can possess either with a prescription. Desoxyn is the market name for Methamphetamine. It was originally prescribed for severe obesity cases before reaching the ADHD market.
myusernamehere1 t1_ja5kt1z wrote
Im talking about recreational use
SagaciousTien t1_ja5lywv wrote
Do enough drugs and you'll realize there's no difference.
myusernamehere1 t1_ja5mepk wrote
I dont see your point. Legality of recreational use has a lot to do with access to knowledge on harm reduction, presence of impurities or adulterants, and skews the statistics of users towards those who are already prone to addiction and/or struggling with mental health issues.
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