Decriminalizing Drugs in Portugal a Success, Says Report
Pop quiz: Which European country has the most liberal drug laws? (Hint: It's not the Netherlands.) Although its capital is notorious among stoners and college kids for marijuana haze–filled "coffee shops," Holland has never actually legalized cannabis — the Dutch simply don't enforce their laws against the shops. The correct answer is Portugal, which in 2001 became the first European country to officially abolish all criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. At the recommendation of a national commission charged with addressing Portugal's drug problem, jail time was replaced with the offer of therapy. The argument was that the fear of prison drives addicts underground and that incarceration is more expensive than treatment — so why not give drug addicts health services instead? The question is, does the new policy work? Compared to the European Union and the U.S., Portugal's drug use numbers are impressive.
7 Common Foods That Can Actually Get You High
EDITORS' DISCLAIMER: Cracked does not endorse eating the below foodstuffs for the express purpose of getting high, as the side effects are usually horrible enough to make you forget you were high in the first place. Thus the information in this article should only be used for scintillating chitchat at cocktail parties and around the office. Rye grain is occasionally infected with the ergot fungus. The Downside Ergot outbreaks are rare so eating a Reuben will most likely not turn you into Hunter S. But most modern farmers clean their rye in a potassium chloride solution to guard against, something medieval farmers never did. Fun Fact Modern historians blame ergotism for a slew of old-timey panics and superstitions, ranging from werewolves to the Salem Witch Trials. Nutmeg, that piquant brown spice you sprinkle on egg nog, is chock full o' the organic compound myristicin. Some users compare the nutmeg "high" to a hellish case of the flu. Not an actual photo of incident
The Most Addictive Drugs in the World
Many people think that heroin is the most addictive drug in the world. The truth is, that although heroin is one of the most dangerous drugs in the world, it is NOT the most addictive. You may be surprised to learn that some of the drugs the experts have found to be most addictive are actually legal. The most addictive drugs Nicotine. Although studies vary, it is generally believed that over 30% of those individuals who use nicotine for a period of time become addicted. Caffeine. Heroin. Cocaine. Alcohol. For the most part, those with alcohol and drug addiction are unlikely to admit, on their own, that they have a problem. Obviously, some of the substances listed above are more dangerous than others. At Michael’s House, we treat individuals who have seen their life take a wrong turn as a result of drug addiction. For addiction treatment that gets real results, contact Michael’s House today.
Recreational Drugs & Alcohol. How To Make, Facts, Dangers, Truths and Effects. - The Drug Spot - Recreational Drug Information Supersite
The 5 Greatest Things Ever Accomplished While High
Cracked.com's new book is now on sale. What follows is one of the classic articles that appear in the book, along with 18 new articles that you can't read anywhere else. Any dreadlocked white guys finding this article after Googling "Drugs Rule" should know that we've given this list about drugs a rule. In fact, because we're masochists, we gave ourselves a strict no music policy, leaving us with ... well, not a whole lot actually. Francis Crick Discovers DNA Thanks to LSD The Accomplishment: For the few Cracked readers not versed in the history of human genetics, Francis Crick is the closest that field gets to a rock star, which is pretty fucking close as it turns out. Above: Science? Odile had no idea what they were celebrating. The Drug: LSD. Drugs? Why It Makes Sense: The double helix is essentially the Sgt. Now obviously scientists don't arrive at models by doodling on their trapper keeper and picking out the shape that looks the coolest. "It's so fucking beautiful." Cocaine. Acid.
The Good Drugs Guide - Honest Drug Information on Use and Treatment
Shamanism:: Foundation for Shamanic Studies founded by Michael Harner
7 Superpowered Animal Senses You Won't Believe Are Possible
The human imagination is pretty limited when it comes to animal senses. We call people with good vision "eagle eye," and believe that toucan's can smell cereal because they have big noses. It turns out the animal kingdom has plenty of creatures whose senses go beyond what we can conceive without our head exploding. For instance ... Silvertip Grizzlies Can Smell You From 18 Miles Away (And Across Time) Humans use smell to get us excited about pie before we actually put it in our mouths, and not much else. His nose is a time-traveler. It knows who walked down the street last night at 11PM, what the soles of their shoes were made of, the brand of cigarette they were smoking. ... and tell you Ingrid had a secret admirer last spring when they fixed the sidewalk. Fortunately for the sake of this article, and unfortunately for the sake of everyone who's afraid of bears, the silvertip grizzly's sense of smell is seven times stronger than that of the bloodhound. "These are a curse ... Wrong.
The Blog : Drugs and the Meaning of Life
(Photo by JB Banks) (Note 6/4/2014: I have revised this 2011 essay and added an audio version.—SH) Everything we do is for the purpose of altering consciousness. Drugs are another means toward this end. One of the great responsibilities we have as a society is to educate ourselves, along with the next generation, about which substances are worth ingesting and for what purpose and which are not. However, we should not be too quick to feel nostalgia for the counterculture of the 1960s. Drug abuse and addiction are real problems, of course, the remedy for which is education and medical treatment, not incarceration. I discuss issues of drug policy in some detail in my first book, The End of Faith, and my thinking on the subject has not changed. I have two daughters who will one day take drugs. This is not to say that everyone should take psychedelics. There is no getting around the role of luck here. Huxley was operating under the assumption that psychedelics decrease brain activity.
