When is a drug a drug?

A good question has come in which asks

I drink a lot of coffee and some folk class this as a drug. Smokers are addicted to nicotine and it is a drug. Hash is smoked by many and it is also addictive and is also a drug. Then there are drugs such as cocaine and similar. What should the deciding factor be on classing legal and illegal drugs?

Jul 18th, 2006

One pearl of wisdom on “When is a drug a drug?”

  1. Consultant K Says:
    July 18th, 2006 at 5:02 pm

    This is not just one question this is many. What is addictive? What is damaging? and What does society see as acceptable? These should be the deciding factors!

    Sadly more often than not the deciding factor is more to do with legacy than informed knowledge. It also has to be considered on a personal level too. Alcohol is the classic case where it is very destructive, addictive and also causes many issues with regards society, yet most folk would not be with their current partner were it not for a wee bit of the stuff and also most folk treat it with the respect it is due. Banning it would cause many issues as was shown in the US in the early 20th Cent.

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