Pubdate: Thu, 09 Dec 2010 Source: Weal, The (SAIT Polytechnic, CN AB Edu) Contact: 2010 SAIT Student Association Website: http://www.theweal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52 Author: Casey Choy DRUGS ARE FUN So Why Are They Such a Touchy Subject? It's all to do with perspective and what we're told by the government. Caffeine is legal and it's so widely integrated in our daily lives. I know I wouldn't survive school without it. Cigarettes are legal. I'm a dumbass for smoking them, but I enjoy the experience. Despite recently being battered by legislation to keep the coughing, hacking and panting portion of the population from smoking inside or within five kilometres (sarcasm) of a door, smokers keep puffing along and accelerating our untimely demise. So why are these two examples legal? They're quite harmful. Caffeine is an addictive substance and tobacco products are unabashedly evil. Meanwhile, other substances like marijuana and psilocybin (magic mushrooms) are controlled. That means illegal. However, drugs like MDMA (ecstasy) and LSD (acid man, acid) were at one time legal. Because they're not all bad. In fact, some drugs, which are now illegal, were prescribed as a medical solution at one time or another. Medical marijuana treats pain in cancer patients and can help glaucoma patients. Mushrooms have been used in clinical trials to assist with depression and insomnia. Ecstasy has been used to treat depression in terminally ill cancer patients providing them with personal revelations about accepting their fate and enjoying what little time they have left. Acid was used by the CIA in the '50s and '60s for pretty sweet swinger parties. Before all these drugs were controlled, they were legal, prescribed substances created by pharmaceutical companies. It's a shift in perspective that makes them bad. Seriously, think about it. Why is marijuana illegal? It's bad. Why? Who told you it was bad? Who told them? Legalization might not be the right step with some worrying it might cause an increase in prices and tighter controls around its usage, but is that such a bad thing? My recommendation: don't be a jackass. Get a stash, keep it at home and don't drive while you're on it. That shouldn't hurt anyone.