<p>Yeah, I guess it’s just a complete coincidence that Francis Crick intuited the structure of DNA while experimenting with LSD.
There are more to “drugs” than the information your neighborhood D.A.R.E officer brainwashed you with.
I respect a personal commitment to sobriety, but I think a line has been crossed when others are prohibited from self-exploration via drug usage…and it’s incredibly ignorant to generalize that all illegal drugs are bad, because big daddy Government says so, when dozens (if not hundreds) of prescription medications destroy peoples’ lives.</p>
<p>DoingSchool: As I’m sure you know, scientific studies on the theraputic uses of entheogens has been difficult for years and years. However, there are some changes, and some research has been able to move forward. The problem is that most people translate “self-exploration” into “I’m rationalizing being a stoner”, whether you think that’s okay or not.</p>
<p>of course it makes sense to say “those certain drugs.” to equate alcohol and cannabis with LSD and psilocybin and then equate that with street heroin is just foolish and ignorant. and also, I don’t think anyone was implying that they NEED these substances to be “enthralled by life,” I got a different impression-that changing your perception of reality can lead to discoveries and inspirations you may not have attained otherwise. I respect a life of sobriety, but I respect someone who experiments responsibly. the whole “just [blindly] say no” campaign of DARE is propaganda, honestly. I had to relearn everything I thought I knew about substances because of it. and I certainly don’t believe the government has the right to tell me what plants I can grow in backyard and whether I’m allowed to trip or not…I don’t care how ‘hippy dippy’ it sounds, I believe that tripping can lead to meaningful philosophical experiences and maybe the government is scared of that, I don’t know. but I do know that it’s my human right to be able to use whatever substances I want to. </p>
<p>oh, and a note on heroin-reed never condoned the use of heroin, they never said it was okay. these kids weren’t shooting up in the student union, they were using it in their private dorms/apartments. it’s really sad that it had to turn out the way it did, but it’s not the college’s fault. reed attracts risk takers just by the nature of its student body…and sad people, I think, just because (to generalize, oops) “intellectuals” can sometimes be pretty sad. sad people use opiates. and I’ve thought about this a lot too…I mean, heroin (especially street heroin, obviously), has a huge amount of risk, but I think some people try it anyway, because they find the gain greater to be worth the risk. just like we drive in cars everyday, even though thousands of people die in car crashes everyday…but we do it anyway, because it makes our lives better. some people find the gain worth the risk…or they DID, originally, but then they got addicted.</p>
<p>Unless you are manufacturing the drugs in your dorm room as in the incident after which Reed banned microwaves, you have no idea what the drugs contain or the people that were harmed during their journey to you.
Going to limit yourself to psilocybin mushrooms? Fine- just be sure you are an expert.</p>
<p>I agree…that’s why I said it’s silly to equate cannabis with a street drug like heroin that could be cut with all sorts of dangerous substances. That’s not a risk I’m willing to take. Some people are willing to take that risk and I don’t feel like I have any right to judge them, as long as they are properly informed about those risks and use heroin knowing it might not even be heroin or it could be dangerously pure and could shut down their body.</p>