Originally shared by Laston Kirkland
(Sigh) we can now modify yeasts easily to make thousands upon thousands of marvels and wonders. From new sources of fuel, to bioplastics, to a food with every protein and carbohydrate we require to be healthy.
So what’s one of the first things we do with this amazing scientific advance?
http://www.nature.com/news/engineered-yeast-paves-way-for-home-brew-heroin-1.17566
I tend to have a negative reaction to worries about misuse of drugs, particularly if it leads to ill-advised efforts to solve the problem by restricting the supply, or, worse, by throwing people in jail. I look at what has proved successful in combating tobacco addiction and alcohol abuse. Prohibition has not worked well for alcohol (AFAIK it’s never been tried legally with tobacco), but education does. For other drugs, we have some real-world examples from Europe of approaches that work, and they all involve medical treatment and education, not criminal law.
Opiates have such prominent and valuable medical uses that it’s perfectly understandable a cheap and easy way to produce it would be sought. I frankly don’t see a downside here. Heroin will be available to those who want to abuse it no matter what it comes from, poppies or yeast. Making opiate painkillers more easily and cheaply available to medical patients who need them is a huge gain, while making them more easily and cheaply available to drug abusers who want them is a trivial side effect.
I tend to have a negative reaction to worries about misuse of drugs, particularly if it leads to ill-advised efforts to solve the problem by restricting the supply, or, worse, by throwing people in jail. I look at what has proved successful in combating tobacco addiction and alcohol abuse. Prohibition has not worked well for alcohol (AFAIK it’s never been tried legally with tobacco), but education does. For other drugs, we have some real-world examples from Europe of approaches that work, and they all involve medical treatment and education, not criminal law.
Opiates have such prominent and valuable medical uses that it’s perfectly understandable a cheap and easy way to produce it would be sought. I frankly don’t see a downside here. Heroin will be available to those who want to abuse it no matter what it comes from, poppies or yeast. Making opiate painkillers more easily and cheaply available to medical patients who need them is a huge gain, while making them more easily and cheaply available to drug abusers who want them is a trivial side effect.
I tend to agree. There’s some evidence that the best way to reduce drug addiction is to combat poverty and despair (not that all addicts are impoverished, at least when they start out).
There is one country in the world that prohibits tobacco: Bhutan. When I was a hypnotherapist, I had a guy come to me to stop smoking who had worked there. There’s a flourishing black market for tobacco, as you’d expect.
My interest in the article is more about the possibilities of modified yeasts than the specific application being discussed.
I tend to agree. There’s some evidence that the best way to reduce drug addiction is to combat poverty and despair (not that all addicts are impoverished, at least when they start out).
There is one country in the world that prohibits tobacco: Bhutan. When I was a hypnotherapist, I had a guy come to me to stop smoking who had worked there. There’s a flourishing black market for tobacco, as you’d expect.
My interest in the article is more about the possibilities of modified yeasts than the specific application being discussed.
The best way to eliminate most of the problems of drug addiction is to legalize drugs. Heroin is not a particularly dangerous drug–it was original invented as a safer substitute for morphine. What makes it dangerous is poor quality control on an illegal market, plus the risk of going to jail for using it.
The best way to eliminate most of the problems of drug addiction is to legalize drugs. Heroin is not a particularly dangerous drug–it was original invented as a safer substitute for morphine. What makes it dangerous is poor quality control on an illegal market, plus the risk of going to jail for using it.
Whether you use an opiate for physical, mental, spiritual or emotional pain, it’s for pain. And you know what, that’s okay. Life is hard and sharp and pointy. I’m tired of the puritanical embracing of the struggle. I can accomplish a lot more if I know that when things get rough, I can turn to a vicodin.
Whether you use an opiate for physical, mental, spiritual or emotional pain, it’s for pain. And you know what, that’s okay. Life is hard and sharp and pointy. I’m tired of the puritanical embracing of the struggle. I can accomplish a lot more if I know that when things get rough, I can turn to a vicodin.
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