Marijuana is less harmful and less prone to abuse than first thought and should be reclassified to reflect that, the Department of Health and Human Services now says.
The whole scheduling system is ridiculous, Schedule 1 is for drugs with no medicinal usage and high addiction potential, which isn’t true for a lot of them. LSD has therapeutic uses (I’ve used it myself) and Heroin, while addictive, definitely has medicinal usage as a strong pain killer. IIRC Cocaine is Schedule 2.
I’ve noticed this vein of irrational cynicism before. Bad things happen, and therefore bad things will keep happening. I told people for years that it was already too late for Disney to extend copyright yet again; it takes too long to get anything through Congress. This Congress can barely elect a Speaker, but people were still arguing there’d be a last minute extension in the final weeks of 2023.
Point is, cynicism shouldn’t replace clear thinking.
That’s valid, I just don’t know any world other than one manipulated for political gain or profit so I’m solidly in the ‘that would be amazing but I doubt it’ camp. I’d love to be wrong though.
Nope. I don’t think there’s any reason why heroin should even be manufactured these days. If you’re going to make painkillers from opium, they’ve got a million better options at this point.
That said, unfortunately we have people addicted to it, and I would rather see them getting high safely, on clean drugs, in a safe location than having them get hooked on fentanyl and end up dying of an overdose under a bridge. So it does make sense to continue manufacturing it for that. Otherwise, black markets will fill in the gap.
They do use diamorphine (heroin) in other countries for various pain stuff. It’s uncommon, but it’s used in the UK somewhat frequently for example. (They even used to give it out for maintenance of Opiate addiction… lol, Not sure if they still do.)
It may be finally happening!
The whole scheduling system is ridiculous, Schedule 1 is for drugs with no medicinal usage and high addiction potential, which isn’t true for a lot of them. LSD has therapeutic uses (I’ve used it myself) and Heroin, while addictive, definitely has medicinal usage as a strong pain killer. IIRC Cocaine is Schedule 2.
“It may finally be happening!”
I’ve heard that every election year since 2008, so I won’t expect to see it until several birthdays from now
In how many of those election years had the DHHS finally asked the DEA to reclassify…?
I’ve noticed this vein of irrational cynicism before. Bad things happen, and therefore bad things will keep happening. I told people for years that it was already too late for Disney to extend copyright yet again; it takes too long to get anything through Congress. This Congress can barely elect a Speaker, but people were still arguing there’d be a last minute extension in the final weeks of 2023.
Point is, cynicism shouldn’t replace clear thinking.
That’s valid, I just don’t know any world other than one manipulated for political gain or profit so I’m solidly in the ‘that would be amazing but I doubt it’ camp. I’d love to be wrong though.
Maybe not DHHS, but I remember countless articles about X agency recommending it, and nothing ever changed.
I’m not agreeing with that person, I’m slightly optimistic about this time, but I’m not going to get my hopes up.
Alcohol is unscheduled.
Cannabis is schedule 1.
These should be reversed to reflect the actual truth of things.
Ethanol does have medical uses. It’s the only way to stop poisonings from things like antifreeze, methanol, to name a few
Serious question- with all the alternatives available today, does heroin still have medical uses?
I’m 100% against the moronic drug war, so this is a tangent from the point, I’m just curious.
Nope. I don’t think there’s any reason why heroin should even be manufactured these days. If you’re going to make painkillers from opium, they’ve got a million better options at this point.
That said, unfortunately we have people addicted to it, and I would rather see them getting high safely, on clean drugs, in a safe location than having them get hooked on fentanyl and end up dying of an overdose under a bridge. So it does make sense to continue manufacturing it for that. Otherwise, black markets will fill in the gap.
I don’t disagree with your reasoning at all. I was just curious about whether or not it also had a legitimate medical use.
I don’t think anyone uses heroin medicinally anymore, but there are many similar opioids that are uses all the time.
Don’t they more or less give heroin to people recovering from surgeries?
You might be thinking of morphine. They’re both opioids but they are distinct.
They do use diamorphine (heroin) in other countries for various pain stuff. It’s uncommon, but it’s used in the UK somewhat frequently for example. (They even used to give it out for maintenance of Opiate addiction… lol, Not sure if they still do.)
They do use diamorphine (heroin) in other countries for various pain stuff. It’s uncommon, but it’s used in the UK for example.
They do use diamorphine (heroin) in other countries for various pain stuff. It’s uncommon, but it’s used in the UK for example.