[Mizoguchi]

Growing up in a communist regime I'm all in for democracy and freedom. Having experienced drug addiction while having a graduate degree I also believe regulation of drugs and alcohol is necessary. You think you are in control until that one day when you take it too far. If you don't have a strong support system of relatives and friends and access to good health care, there's no coming back from that hole.

[skidd0]

A degree doesn't mean you're somehow less susceptible to addiction. The risk of addiction shouldn't prevent anyone else from choosing what they put in their own body.

[tux3]

>A degree doesn't mean you're somehow less susceptible to addiction

I could see this go either way. There are people who are, somehow, simply unaware of risks and not very interested in learning more. I'd expect at least some effect.

Do you have any source for the claim?

[uoaei]

I propose a hearty ban on bad-faith "do you have a source for that" questions directed at negative statements. If this community is to be science-based, it must adopt the position that the null hypothesis is valid until proven otherwise.

[tux3]

I propose assuming good faith, and a healthy dose of earnest curiosity.

[uoaei]

There is no good faith in conversation-stopping, impossible asks. It's not up to others to carry your weight in a conversation. They would rather disengage because it's a lot of energy (emotional and otherwise) to hand-hold someone through an entire process of reasoning. Usually tutors are paid top dollar for their time and effort in such situations.

[tux3]

Impossible asks? Asking you why you believe something, a conversation stopper and an impossible ask?

Refusing to explain, or cite, or accusing others of bad faith, those are conversation stoppers.

It is not that anything not proven beyond all doubt has to fall back to assuming a null. There is such a thing as probabilistic arguments, statistics, and bayesian-ish reasoning

Sometimes, people have reasons for making negative statements. It helps to show arguments, instead of immediately launching into bad faith accusations.

Talk about wasting a lot of energy!

[saiya-jin]

My friend you don't even understand the topic being discussed - these things are not addictive at all, its not your usual drug of communism like tobacco and alcohol which have ruined countless lives and almost nobody gets over them once addicted. Neither are these opiates like heroin or coca extracts like cocaine, which are highly addictive.

The more you take say LSD or mushrooms the less effect they have on you (and this effect is the only reason to take them), and quickly you reach the state when normal dosage basically doesn't work. Also the experience is mentally so taxing the last thing users want after coming down from the trip is to start another one. They are so profound that some processing of experiences is required.

It staggers me how even quite a few regular HN users are clueless about trivial basics of drugs. No wonder politicians can push literally any fearmongering bullshit lies to common population even these days, and they will swallow it all without even questioning it.

[asadotzler]

The substances being discussed here are not generally considered addictive.