Licit and illicit drugs
by Edward M. Brecher · first published 1972
3mentions
1recommended by
2HN commenters
2010–2013first – last mentioned
50% recommend50% neutral
This book by the publishers of Consumer Reports is the most informative book on drugs and addictions on the market. Originally published in 1972, it documents in great detail not only the impact of drug use, but also the greater harms that arise from our efforts to Prohibit these drugs. It as is if we never learned from the massive increase in crime and and bloodshed from our disastrous thirteen year experience with Alcohol Prohibition. It has several chapters dedicated to each drug from caffeine to heroin and amphetamines. A must read for anyone who wishes to develop pragmatic solut
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…constipation. The vast majority of the harm illegal drugs do to people is due to the drugs being illegal; it has nothing to do with characteristics inherent to the chemistry of the drugs. (I recommend the book Licit and Illicit Drugs. You can read it here online: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/cumen... )
on “Do It Yourself Brain Stimulation has Scientists Worried” ↗…Victorian anti-fun meme or if you're convinced that everybody in the world is insane, untrustworthy and lacking in judgment except the angels we've found to regulate the rest of us. I recommend the book Licit and Illicit drugs, which you can read for free here: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/cu/cumen... You could also just look up any of the drugs you're worried about in an old-fashioned paper encyclopedia.
on “How a Single Oxycontin Pill Nearly Ruined One Man's Life” ↗…there are only ~200 deaths per year from heroin[2], and a good chunk of those are suicides. In other words, it's perhaps 25x safer than smoking American cigarrettes. [1] C.f. The Consumer Union Guide to Licit and Illicit Drugs. [2] Not counting polydrug deaths.
on “The quest for freedom and safety: Why I donated $100,000 to YesOn19” ↗