[ExI] POL: DHEA ban

[Eugen Leitl]

On Sat, May 05, 2007 at 05:29:49PM +0100, BillK wrote:

> The general principle I follow is that society should help the weaker
> members of society.

That's good -- as long as that doesn't mean limiting choices to
the rest of us.
 
> In the specific case of buying drugs OTC, many people do not have the
> knowledge, experience, ability, time or inclination to investigate
> every product that might be offered. Even with the present regulatory

Then these people should consult an expert. I'm perfectly capable
of consulting primary literature and assessing the risk when incorporating
a particular drug. 

> system, the drug fraud industry is still huge. Billions of dollars are

How is that relevant?

> involved. For many endeavours, including drug testing, it is more

How is that relevant?

> efficient to have it done by a central organization.

"Centralized" and "efficient" don't mix very well.
 
> I don't agree with the view sometimes proposed in the more extreme
> libertarian circles that the weaker members of society deserve to get
> ripped off by the sharper crooks and con-men. (i.e. The attitude that

How would a "weaker member" of society know or care about DHEA,
and why should "protection" of said "weaker members" result in 
limiting of choice to the rest of us? I do not subscribe to that
logic, I must admit.

> it's their own fault if they are not as clever as me). Everybody is
> weak in some areas and relies on legislation to protect them in some
> of their  dealings.

Protection of a group doesn't mean restriction of choice for another.
 
> It is certainly frustrating if a general law for the protection of the
> clueless forbids you doing something that you are very confident that
> you can do perfectly safely. (Over-confidence is a very human failing,

Now you're talking.

> of course. :) ). But if you are that sharp, you can probably find a
> way round the law without too much trouble.  ;)

No. The more sensible approach is that law shouldn't be there in the first place.

-- 
Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
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