[extropy-chat] essay: Medical Uses of Illicit Drugs

[Amara Graps]

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/medical/meduse.htm

Medical Uses of Illicit Drugs
by Lester Grinspoon and James B. Bakalar

INTRODUCTION

"Most of the psychoactive drugs banned or severely restricted by law
in modern industrial societies have had significant medical uses at
some places and times. In the case of natural plant drugs like
opium, coca, cannabis, mescaline, and psilocybin, this medical
history usually reaches back thousands of years and through a
variety of cultures. The general tendency has been to restrict the
uses of these drugs as their dangers are more strongly emphasized
and substitutes become available. Although the trend toward greater
precision in the use of drugs and greater concern for safety is a
medical advance, there is a danger that legal and social
restrictions will prevent the realization of some genuine medical
potential. As we suggest in this chapter, establishing the balance
is a difficult process that has not yet been worked out adequately.
(The use of illicit drugs also raises other issues, such as
individual freedom of choice, that are outside the scope of this
essay.)"

(see the essay for the rest)
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Amara Graps, PhD          email: amara at amara.com
Computational Physics     vita:  ftp://ftp.amara.com/pub/resume.txt
Multiplex Answers         URL:   http://www.amara.com/
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"Obviously my body doesn't believe a word my brain is saying."
--Calvin