Drugs Classification
Jul. 31st, 2006 03:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hmmm_teaDrug classification rethink urged
What is it about the government and wanting to put everything into league tables?
League Tables are bad, they encourage a far too simplified view of important issues and as a result are stopping people thinking about them. You just have to look how many parents treat school league tables to see that.
So, we should have one showing how dangerous drugs are?
And Alcohol would be 5th on the list as this will give the public "a better sense of the relative harms involved"?
Well, yes, it probably will, but surely not in the way they mean. Surely some people will start thinking that they drink Alcohol quite happily, so they should be fine with anything further down the list. Rather than discouraging people from using Alcohol and Tobacco you are giving people less excuse not to try other "less harmful" drugs.
OK, the old A, B, C system is massively out of date and needs a rethink, but I really can't see how a league table idea would be any good. The solution needs to be educating people about the issues not to produce massive over simplifications.
This is especially true when members of the drinks trade come out with statements such as:
(Morning Advertiser: Trade rubbishes 'LSD safer than beer' study)
I've certainly known of people smoking cannabis socially and what about the harder drugs, surely it's generally social situations that get people addicted to them in the first place?
What is it about the government and wanting to put everything into league tables?
League Tables are bad, they encourage a far too simplified view of important issues and as a result are stopping people thinking about them. You just have to look how many parents treat school league tables to see that.
So, we should have one showing how dangerous drugs are?
And Alcohol would be 5th on the list as this will give the public "a better sense of the relative harms involved"?
Well, yes, it probably will, but surely not in the way they mean. Surely some people will start thinking that they drink Alcohol quite happily, so they should be fine with anything further down the list. Rather than discouraging people from using Alcohol and Tobacco you are giving people less excuse not to try other "less harmful" drugs.
OK, the old A, B, C system is massively out of date and needs a rethink, but I really can't see how a league table idea would be any good. The solution needs to be educating people about the issues not to produce massive over simplifications.
This is especially true when members of the drinks trade come out with statements such as:
“The aim of alcohol is to bring people together socially whereas drugs are something an individual would take on his own.”
(Morning Advertiser: Trade rubbishes 'LSD safer than beer' study)
I've certainly known of people smoking cannabis socially and what about the harder drugs, surely it's generally social situations that get people addicted to them in the first place?
no subject
Date: 2006-08-02 07:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-02 07:19 pm (UTC)League table for what?
For all I know it could be a league table of people you want to murder viciously...
Either that or you think I've a harmful drug...
no subject
Date: 2006-08-03 11:40 am (UTC)