KingEup posted:

1. Is cannabis a drug, dietary supplement or simply a leafy green vegetable? Can it be all these things?

2. Is GHB a date rape drug, club drug, dietary supplement and/or a endogenous neurotransmitter? Who gets to decide and why?

3. When does a substance become a drug?

4. Can drugs be categorised as 'hard' or 'soft'; or do these labels violate basic pharmacological precepts?

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It seems pretty clear to me that few people have thought critically, and perhaps are unable to think critically, about the answer to these questions. To answer question 1, for example, one has to have historical knowledge of the cannabis plant (its wide range of uses) as well as a basic understanding of photochemistry. To answer question 2, people need some rudimentary neurobiology and a familiarity with sociological concepts such as 'moral panics' . To answer question 3 people need an understanding of how drug regulators operate. To answer question 4 (which I will answer for you; NO, the hard drug/soft drug concept is scientific nonsense) people need a basic understanding of pharmacology and an awareness of post-structuralism (which is why I included the quote from Derrida).

I'm curious to know how deeply people have thought about these questions, whether they have trouble answering them or have any other thoughts to share on this topic.