ducklowsickelsIt’s a debatable topic; to the extent that countries all around the world offer widely different policies.
Today’s post isn’t going to get into the rights and wrongs of illegal drugs, but more the facts and the trivia. We’ve been sent links, collected links ourselves and devised this list of six. They’re all interesting in their own right, and worthy of a read if you have the time.
A timeline of illegal drugs
Well, to get things started, let’s kick off with a delve into the history books. This first link provides, in visual form, a history of how illegal drugs have arrived into society. It looks at when these drugs were first developed, when the drug had to be accurately labelled, when federal bans came into place and lots more on the subject. It also takes a look at some of the more recent points around illegal drugs, such as how some have gone full-circle and can now be legal to purchase.
Source: https://theweedblog.com/history/illegal-drugs-timeline
5 countries who are experimenting with liberal drugs laws
This next link goes a step further than the previous resource and shows how liberal drugs laws are affecting the world.
As you saw in the previous link, the US (like a lot of other nations) have taken quite a tough stance on drugs over the course of history. They have started to become more liberal – but other nations are much more ahead of the game.
This link by Business Insider presents five countries who are experimenting with these liberal laws, with the Netherlands, Uruguay, Portugal, Czech Republic and Switzerland the nations of focus.
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/countries-experimenting-with-liberal-drug-laws-2016-3?r=US&IR=T
A little more on Portugal…
We mentioned Portugal in the previous section and if you search hard enough, there is all sorts out there on this country and their stance on drugs.
We don’t want to give the game away too much; The Guardian provide a nigh-on perfect version of the situation that has faced Portugal. However, after finding that their drugs situation was becoming worse and worse, the Portuguese opted to go for a completely liberal approach. The result? Well, find out for yourself…
A little lingo for some of you
Granted, if you are reading publications like the Guardian, you probably don’t need this glossary of all of the different street names that drugs tend to be referred to.
However, for anyone else, it’s a terrific resource. No, we’re not expecting it to replace your day-to-day terminology, but it’s a great way to understand some less formal sources. It covers all of the major drugs, whether it’s alcohol or cocaine.
Source: https://drugabuse.com/addiction/list-street-names-drugs/
The drugged driver suit
While some of you may find some of the names in the previous link rather funny, this next resource is deadly serious. Car manufacturers Ford are the creators and this infographic has gained a lot of traction over the years, for all of the right reasons.
Ford “designed” a suit that would mimic the state of a drugged driver. Again, we won’t give too much away, but it was using things such as bandages to slow down movement, and vision impairment glasses to also recreate the effect.
For anyone unsure of the relationship between drugs and driving, take a read of this.
Source: https://corporate.ford.com/articles/community/drugged-driving.html
As many marijuana facts as you can think of
Finally, let’s present something a little more light-hearted. This link from Live Science has collated some of the most intriguing, and as they describe it, “odd” facts about marijuana.
Some of the facts are utterly fascinating. For example, back in 2012, a lot of babies started to test positive for marijuana in North Carolina. What was the effect? It’s understood that various soaps (from some huge brands), were prompting false positives on the tests.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/56600-odd-facts-marijuana.html
