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Discussion => Drug safety => Topic started by: greencrayon on April 08, 2012, 03:49 am

Title: Could drugs be like asbestos?
Post by: greencrayon on April 08, 2012, 03:49 am
We smoke a few things, swallow some pills, and a few years later we remain healthy. Most of us assume that we did not damage our bodies or at least minimally, if we have remained in good health. But the effects of asbestos exposure can take 25 years to fully manifest into mesothelioma and or lung cancer.

How do we know whatever we are smoking or swallowing doesn't have very long term deleterious effects? What about the herbs / plants found in Changa that have never been traditionally smoked, or new or obscure drugs that have never been tested?

Can anyone give a good reason why we should not expect some substances to act in the same way as asbestos? I just have realized that I could be totally fucked.
Title: Re: Could drugs be like asbestos?
Post by: LucyDiamond on April 08, 2012, 03:55 am
If you're worried about carcinogens there's a simple solution. Just swallow, snort, and IV everything.  Changa for instance, you can get orally active DMT instead. You can get liquid or edible THC instead of weed. The list goes on and on.
Title: Re: Could drugs be like asbestos?
Post by: greencrayon on April 08, 2012, 04:01 am
Who is to say a pill can't cause cancer?

Can anyone put my mind at ease at all? I have smoked a shitload of random substances. I mean, nothing that others haven't smoked. But this thought that something could cause such a latent effect is really bothering me, and maybe rightfully so. The drug using community (or at least those who are psychonauts and try smoking things like Changa and Syrian Rue, or random mixtures of herbs) is relatively small and has not been around very long. If we were smoking the equivalent of asbestos, how would we even know?
Title: Re: Could drugs be like asbestos?
Post by: blackend646 on April 08, 2012, 04:24 am
There is no way to know really, but you can say that about anything in the world. You'd be amazed what kind of disgusting shit is being disguised as "food". No use living your life in fear, everything is cancerous. 
Title: Re: Could drugs be like asbestos?
Post by: a_blackbird on April 08, 2012, 04:29 am
Honestly, you won't really know until you get there.  Sorry that I'm not more reassuring.  The fact is, outside of alcohol and tobacco, nobody really does the kind of longitudinal studies that would be required to measure the long-term effects of our chemical adventures.  There are lots of reasons for this - many of them are probably obvious.  Typically the only studies that get done are on people who are currently addicted to <insert chemical here>, and they are one-and-done.

That said, as a counterexample that might be semi-reassuring, I have seen studies done on MDMA users - by the US federal goverment, no less - that have shown that yes, MDMA usage alters brain chemistry and structure, but no, it does not appear to do so in a negative way.  These are not longitudinal studies - but they do demonstrate that despite the abuse we put to it, the brain is remarkably able to recover from all kinds of things.  Just don't go balls-to-the-wall until your ass drops out - give your brain, liver, heart, whatever - time to recover.  And don't forget to eat right and get some exercise.  No, really, I'm serious.
Title: Re: Could drugs be like asbestos?
Post by: blackend646 on April 08, 2012, 04:36 am
Can't be arsed to go on the clearnet and find it, but I did read an article some time ago that mdma may actually help certain forms of cancer.
Title: Re: Could drugs be like asbestos?
Post by: buhbye on April 08, 2012, 09:17 am
Asbestosis is a farce that was way overblown.  Mesothelioma is terrible, but you have to huff asbestos to get it.  I worked my way through college removing asbestos.  That was 25 years ago.... 
Title: Re: Could drugs be like asbestos?
Post by: Gary Oak on April 08, 2012, 12:56 pm
They're drugs, either take the risk or don't, no one's stopping you.
Title: Re: Could drugs be like asbestos?
Post by: Jones32 on April 08, 2012, 01:03 pm
I use to share your view on drugs until a mate spiked my drink with Molly.
Title: Re: Could drugs be like asbestos?
Post by: cerealbox on April 08, 2012, 06:10 pm
With certain drugs, the effects are fairly well known. Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, prescription drugs. With research chemicals there is greater uncertainty, which is impossible to quantify, but the way to mitigate the possible risks (which remain unknown) is through moderation.
Title: Re: Could drugs be like asbestos?
Post by: tordemon on April 08, 2012, 09:17 pm
When it comes down to it, man, it's all about what risks you're willing to take. There are tons of things we haven't had the opportunity to longitudinally study to truly understand the effects. We can start with drugs, looking at even relatively "safe" drugs. I remember reading a study a while back that predicted that children taking Ritalin could expect to be about half a foot shorter than children who never took any ADHD medication. That being said, Ritalin hasn't been around long enough to prove that. But then there are things like phones, which certainly have some radiation (though far less than the cosmic background radiation), and we haven't had the time to figure out if it really does matter.

Even beyond that, everything you ever experience changes your body and mind, whether directly or indirectly. Drugs your mind not only through fucking around with neurotransmitters, but also by allowing you to have experiences that you might not otherwise have had. What you do will influence what you think, which will influence your brain chemistry and structure, which will then influence your body. It's a big circle, and it's all related and inter-dependent, but I don't think it's worth the stress to really consider the risks of these chemicals if we think we can make positive changes for ourselves with them.
Title: Re: Could drugs be like asbestos?
Post by: qrbr6 on April 09, 2012, 09:31 am
Anything in life could give you cancer etc without you knowing. But there's an incredibly small risk of that. Drugs are no exception.