Posted 21 June 2006 - 07:46 AM
The umbrella of the word "drugs" is only slightly less huge than that of "objects which are made on earth". There's far too much variation to count all drugs in the same category. And even when they are very neatly categorized, really, it's still a pretty bad bet to judge their entire range at the same value.
I'm assuming though, that you're talking about recreational drugs. More specifically recreational drugs that have found some measure of legal backlash tossed at their users in the states. I've got a pretty easy answer to that question, "sure". The problem is that "can be used in moderation" is a lot different than "will be used in moderation". The une de vegetal have been using a hallucinogen for quite some time now with overwhelmingly positive change on both an individual and societal level. Various north american tribes have been using peyote for an even longer time than that, with little evidence of an ill effect. But American's get their first good look at the state in the 60s, and the entire culture flips out. Much in the same way that alcohol spread like a destructive plague once it reached native american hands. And of course there's our favourite drug of abuse, caffeine. A drug to be sure, and a pretty potent one at that. Also one that a huge amount of people in the west can't suffer a lack of in their bloodstream. I still haven't decided whether caffeine has been one of the greatest treasures of our culture, or the worst pharmacological curses ever touched by human hands. And the fact that I write this while sipping far too much coffee and longingly gazing at the clock while my computer compiles along makes me even more unsure.
With any mind altering substance, I'd even say any task which provoked different states of consciousness, there's a huge number of factors that have to be taken into consideration. Pressures to use, pressures to not use, peers who will provide strength for walled limits of use first laid down by the users parents.
But, pushing aside my indulgance in a half-awake rant, I have to cast my vote with many others on this thread. It's all about the medical journals and a strong grasp of experimental design. Sadly, in the US recreational drugs are a controversy. And controversy is the wood beneath the flame of crap science. Some of the marijuana studies that have come out of the US in particular are laughingly bad. Terribly put together to the point where a freshman would find himself with a failing grade were he to sneak it in as his own work. Along with that though, is the willingness to be overly critical of the studies which tell you exactly what you had been hoping to hear. I can't promise that you'll actually be able to 'use' any particular recreational drug safely, but I can at least state with some confidence that if you master those two skills you'll have the best tools available to find out.