This is the dissertation I wrote for my Philosophy undergraduate degree in 2012. Some of the statistics may be a bit out of date, but recent developments in drug liberalisation (such as in the US) and research on the illicit drug trade – as well as the therapeutic application of certain illicit drugs – are still…
View Post
While the classical serotonergic psychedelics (LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, and DMT) are generally considered physiologically safe and non-addictive, they are certainly not without their risks. Negative experiences do occur – although, under a system where psychedelics are legal and regulated, this risk could be minimised. For a very tiny minority with a pre-existing or latent mental…
View Post
Between 2016-17, US comedian Shane Mauss was performing on a tour called A Good Trip, a two-hour comedy show about psychedelics. One of the aims of this tour, he said, was to remove the stigma that surrounds the use of psychedelics. Public Perceptions About Psychedelics Many people have misguided and negative preconceptions about what these substances…
View Post
If we sincerely believe that higher education is a public good then we can argue it, therefore, deserves public funding. There are many government programmes, on the other hand, that are funded by the public that I do not personally believe are in the public interest. Two examples would include our nuclear weapons programme and…
View Post
The UK’s biggest nightclub has decided to introduce a drug testing pilot scheme for the sake of harm reduction. Manchester’s The Warehouse Project felt compelled to do this after the death of 30-year-old Nick Bonnie, who died in the club after taking an unknown batch of drugs. He was hospitalised along with seven other clubbers, plus…
View Post