I suppose the UK government could choose to use this line of argument combined with the 2016 Psychoactive Substances act to ban spicy curries: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/psychoactive-subs...
The war on drugs is going about as well as Russia's war on Ukraine.
https://www.vera.org/reimagining-prison-webumentary/the-past...
Whether this is true or not, it's certainly enraging.
That is specific to the USA, where you lose a bunch of rights if you are a felon.
Looks like only a couple permanent-disenfranchisers.
If we take a look at countries like Germany or the Netherlands we see a cat and mouse game where each parliament outlaws the latest psychedelics and then the psychedelic community unveils their new analogue or precursor. We can mark the years by small additions to the basic LSD molecule. We've gone from 1p-LSD and 1cp-LSD to 1V-LSD and now onto 1B-LSD. The stimulants and dissociatives communies seems to favour flouride, it's easy to and doesn't bind to much.
The UK law bans anything sold primarily for inducing psychotropic effects, while the scheduled substances sections at the end add very fair provisions for items commonly sold as food. That's why it's actually an exaggeration to say the law could affect the spicy food trade, as food trades are one of the explicit exemptions.
You may have misread, but this is not correct. The act claims to ban substances that are _only_ used for their psychoactive effect. From the act:
"The act only captures substances which are solely for human consumption for their psychoactive effects."
I'll agree it's a given the number one reason for the use of cannabis is to get high, whatever that means. That said, it's also inarguable that pain relief is a significant and not uncommon reason to use weed also. I worked in a community in south America where a group of south american Mormons (yes, the ones who don't drink coffee) grew cannabis to produce a tincture for the treatment of arthritis pain. Research seems to agree (there needs to be more, it's a new subject for modern research) that it's a useful substance in pain management.
The UK psychoactive law is non-scientific and inconsistent, which is unfortunately common. Alcohol and nicotine have real psychoactive effects, and both are sold only for their effects, yet they are legal. The difference is an established power base controls one and not the other.
Cannabis wouldn't fall under this law, you're right. It's not intended to cover cannabis though, as that is already legislated for by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
This law was designed to combat so-called designer drugs and it has been successful in eradicating British production of these items, which mostly now takes place in the Netherlands, Germany and China
Tobacco and alcohol are also covered along with foodstuffs in the Schedules. They have long standing cultural acceptance and importance. The government does what it can do combat misuse of alcohol through taxes (along with minimum pricing in Scotland) and to combat the use of tobacco products through taxation and packaging/advertising restrictions.
What would a scientific version of the law look like in your mind? What are the inconsistencies?
> Any substance which—
(a) is ordinarily consumed as food, and
(b) does not contain a prohibited ingredient
> In this paragraph—
“food” includes drink;
“prohibited ingredient”, in relation to a substance, means any psychoactive substance—
(a) which is not naturally occurring in the substance, and
(b) the use of which in or on food is not authorised by an EU instrument.
So it sounds like Capsaicin produced naturally in things like hot peppers would be fine. But artificially produced Capsaicin added to food might not be.
To be psychoactive, capsaicin would need to warp your perceptions, rather than solely induce the sensation of burning pain.
I found additional sources going into the likely pharmacology of this effect:
> Namely, capsaicin and vanillin (and anandamide itself) are all agonists of the TRPV1 receptor, which stimulates production and release of endogenous anandamide. When mixed with N-linoleoylethanolamide and N-oleoylethanolamide from cacao, which inhibit anandamide breakdown, the levels of endogenous anandamide are augmented further. When breakdown of anandamide is inhibited pharmacologically or genetically, anandamide is able to produce a state of intoxication similar to tetrahydrocannabinol in rodents and nonhuman primates
Also, psilocybin is probably still scheduled explicity from before the law was passed.
Nutmeg is a deliriant on really high doses, and most deliriants are not controlled substances, though they may be classified as poisons. The reason is that tripping on deliriants is generally considered unpleasant, and enough to turn people off quickly.
Turns out there are a small number of actual anti-authoritarians who have always been consistent. And then there are countless hangers-on who proclaim to be an anti-authoritarian resistance when it suits them. It's funny, the fact people co-opt it shows that they see it as a noble and worthy ideology, yet it's still one they're happy to discard the minute some talking head put on TV by a corporation tells them to be outraged.
Are you one of the countless hangers-on who proclaim to be an anti-authoritarian resistance when it suits them?
You made a really strong claim in the post I'm quoting, and suggested that you are among those hardcore anti-authoritarians whom you lionize. But this is a real(ish) world example of that belief being challenged, and instead of explaining your principled stance, you're playin' around; you suggested you had "hit a nerve". Ah, right, I guess I'm just too emotional. Gotta stand up for what's right! No, not like that.
Of course I'm being facetious about my leaden tomatoes, but so too are you, and other readers of these words should think about how the "anti-authoritarians" actually practice their claimed stances, and where they don't.
Besides, my tomatoes are certified safe by Nutr-Alert and SafeCo. SafeCo even lets me doctor the lab results myself, for a little extra! I'm still in negotiation with PureFood, but I'm sure this little speedbump will be ironed out before you know it. Iron is good for you, anyway; they don't even test for that.