[MichaelMoser123]

> only a small subset of people taking "substances" ever have that problem

still you can't say there is no problem at all.

Lets count: the population of Finland is 5.5 million; 18000 cases makes 1/3 percent of the general population - a significant number (not known if all cases have been considered by this study, lets assume they have - i would assume that half of the cases would not be reported at all, but lets skip that), lets assume that five percent of the population have taken drugs - then 1/15 users would get one.

>Should you get them it isn't about what you think it is about

No, there is such a thing as collective bias. lets not pretend that it doesn't exist.

[Noseshine]

  > still you can't say there is no problem at all.

Strawman. First, I indeed didn't say it, so what is the reason you bring it up, except to create a distraction?

Second, see what I already wrote. Also to your last sentence - you just yell "bias" before anything even happened. Then you add a lot of your own interpretation, without any evidence, to some selected numbers from a single study of a special country: Finland is not exactly the normal case in this context (for example: http://www.euronews.com/2015/07/02/finland-tops-european-cou...).

[MichaelMoser123]

>Strawman...

Sorry, i was referring to the parent poster by TheSpiceIsLife.

> Then you add a lot of your own interpretation, without any evidence, to some selected numbers from a single study of a special country: Finland is not exactly the normal case in this context (for example: http://www.euronews.com/2015/07

i didn't make anything up, that's called extrapolation. Actually in many job interviews they ask for that.

Am I always supposed to ask for your permission when interpreting some data points? Thanks Sir; i don't think so.

2 + 2 still makes 4 , that doesn't depend upon your mood. 18.000+ cases in a population of 5.5 million is a significant number, you can't put that away. Just because you got enough penie points here to mod me down doesn't make you automatically right.

> you just yell "bias" before anything even happened

Just enough to look at the parent poster - downvoted to oblivion. Also i wonder how everybody here is so unanimously positive about the subject - every other voice has been purged out (including my contribution) ; wonder why that happened...

[wfo]

You have been downvoted (at least by me) because your argument is poorly constructed and poorly written, not because you disagree. In my experience this is usually the case on HN.

Conspiracy theories and suspecting the rest of the community is 'out to get you' or interested in 'silencing' you is sure incendiary but the truth is usually far more boring. Present a careful reasoned argument and people will appreciate it, even if they disagree. Saying "rarely drugs have bad side effects!!!" (without introducing context and comparing the safety of these drugs to OTC medication and currently legal drugs) is true but it isn't a real argument or piece of information, it's just FUD.

[TheSpiceIsLife]

I only mean to support the idea that research of plant / fungus based substances shouldn't be zero.

Everyone getting off-chops on drugs all the time is clearly a bad idea. But evem most drug and alcohol users self-regulate, so there's that.

[TheSpiceIsLife]

I think your using the figures here in a non-standard way.

The 18,000 cases were reported over a 16 year period (1987 - 2003).

You should annualise these data so we can talk of cases per year, otherwise you can just expand the reporting period to further suit your narrative.