[phnk]

> I am convinced that there are more people who would begin to benefit from unprescribed private self-medication with MDMA than who would begin to suffer suffer harm.

conviction |kənˈvɪkʃ(ə)n| 2 a firmly held belief or opinion

belief |bɪˈliːf| an acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof

opinion |əˈpɪnjən| 1 a view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge

[microcolonel]

Given that I did not use the word "conviction", what exactly are you getting at here.

[phnk]

I stand corrected, indeed: the OED avoids defining 'to be convinced' as 'to hold a conviction' -- which is what I read in your post: absolute but fundamentally baseless certainty.