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Comment by proc0 | Hacker News Reader

Only artificially concentrated drugs should be heavily regulated and tracked. Everything that is a plant should be legal like tobacco. The main danger is the dosage of the drug, and using chemicals and other ways to concentrate the active ingredients, which is what makes them so dangerous.

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Hemlock?

If drugs are to be outlawed based on their level of harm to society, tobacco shouldn’t be legal. It kills 7x as many as opioids every day.

That's just because more people are using. Imagine if just as many used heroine. Additionally, tobacco companies add more than just tobacco, which I believe is the most harmful and addictive part of cigarettes. I'm not saying it should all be banned, but the restrictions should align with how transformed and concentrated the product is.

Also, tobacco typically kills after 20-30+ years of use. The people it kills are mostly older people in their 60s. Heroin kills people in the prime of their life.

Imagine if nicotine was banned and people had to get it from dealers who make it in liquid form in huge vats in their basement. There would be a lot more dead from nicotine overdose for sure.

Tobacco frankly probably shouldn't be legal.

That would be like banning sugar. Sugar probably kills more people.

Sugar doesn't deal AOE damage to everyone in the vicinity.

I dunno, ever bring a box of donuts to a party?

Fun quip, but I'll do you the favor of assuming you understand why this isn't the same, explaining it to someone that most likely already understands would feel a bit patronizing

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