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Drug Companies Can Legally Start Selling Cocaine, Heroin, and MDMA

65 points| devilcius | 3 years ago |vice.com

73 comments

order

Waterluvian|3 years ago

> But it’s not clear under what circumstances the companies will be able to sell the drugs

Only because your article wouldn’t have any bite if you told the truth.

It is clear. Health Canada clarified already: it’s for research and prescribed use in rather limited cases.

The hack author wants you to feel a narrative that they’re going to just start selling cocaine to the public.

> In a statement to VICE News, Health Canada said Adastra is licensed to produce the drugs for scientific and medical purposes but cannot sell products to the general public.

Oh, so you do know. Rendering your earlier sentence wrong. In the same article.

pphysch|3 years ago

VICE is a tabloid masquerading as an investigative journalism outlet

recuter|3 years ago

When I was in Peru coca tea was available everywhere for literally pennies. It is legal in most of South America. It doesn't even get you high it just sort of helps with elevation sickness.

This seems to upset US politicians from time to time and cause diplomatic spats, they were adamant against the sale of it despite it being traditional in that part of the world. Punitive about it.

Now it is legal in Canada and not a peep. Tres Bizarre.

ceejayoz|3 years ago

There’s a pretty vast gap between coca tea and refined cocaine, isn’t there?

29athrowaway|3 years ago

For thousands of years people have munched coca leaves and made teas out of that and there has been no problems whatsoever.

The problem started when someone took a bunch of those leaves, mixed them with a bunch of chemicals to create a highly concentrated substance.

tenpies|3 years ago

> When I was in Peru coca tea was available everywhere for literally pennies.

Just for the sake of adding to this comparison: it takes 300 kilos of coca leaves to make 1 kilo of cocaine[1]. The coca leaf tea to cocaine analog, is somewhat like comparing extremely diluted orange juice (which has a natural amount of alcohol) with Everclear (96% proof).

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[1] And I'll note that 300:1 is the low end of the spectrum. I've seen ranges from 400:1 to 600:1 being more realistic.

coin|3 years ago

In the US MDMA started off as a legal drug until the mid 80s when the DEA made it illegal

ufmace|3 years ago

Man, I remember the time when we had to pass a constitutional amendment to make a substance illegal. Now a government agency can just declare substances illegal without needing to justify it to anybody.

jameshart|3 years ago

That’s how drug classification works - molecules don’t start off as banned.

Overtonwindow|3 years ago

The DEA has to justify its existence somehow...

stevehiehn|3 years ago

Good grief, the media is really running with this lol.

"scientific and medical purposes only"

OscarTheGrinch|3 years ago

Don't let the truth stand in the way of a good headline.

swagasaurus-rex|3 years ago

oxycotin, which is opium, should only be used for medical purposes. Yet somehow pharmaceuticals got doctors to prescribe until we have an opioid crisis in the US.

petesergeant|3 years ago

Any luck they'll create something like a Managed Alcohol Program: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Managed_alcohol_program

Unclear what benefit there is to stopping people addicted to opiates getting those opiates cleanly and cheaply.

PragmaticPulp|3 years ago

> Unclear what benefit there is to stopping people addicted to opiates getting those opiates cleanly and cheaply.

“Addicted to opiates” is a big spectrum. Someone dependent on a mild recreational dose can possibly continue like that for a long time if, and only if, they don’t try to escalate their dose. The issue is that the recreational value wears off quickly as tolerance sets in, which means they’re only taking the opiate to avoid withdrawals at that point. So addicts start increasing their dose, or they try to play games where they go into withdrawal for a while so they can get a small “high” when they redose. This is why addicts are transitioned to maintenance therapy on maintenance-specific medications.

Prolonged opioid use can also worsen pain due to counter-regulation in certain systems, which creates further desire to increase doses over the very long term. Vicious cycle.

For opiate users taking moderate to high doses, it’s not so simple. These will take a toll over time and the users simply can’t function at their jobs, their personal lives, or even in taking care of their own health. They often go through a period of illusion where they feel like they can be functional addicts forever and may fool friends, family, and coworkers for some time. However, the high doses will destroy their ability to function over time.

The idea that opioid abusers can be fine if they just have a perpetual clean supply doesn’t really pan out. Even chronic pain patients on purely therapeutic regimens with zero recreational value (post tolerance) have a litany of problems over the long term.

thinkingkong|3 years ago

The provincial health care system in British Columbia already sources drugs like mdma, heroin, and cocaine. This is part of the “safe supply” program which is in a weird legal gray area. As far as Im aware, the current suppliers of safe supply narcotics are drug dealers. So this is a much better alternative.

colechristensen|3 years ago

Is this really news? There have always been a couple of companies given license to produce such things for various narrow purposes.

Cocaine is used as an anesthetic in some nasal and eye surgeries for example. Research and testing purposes also need clean standards to use for comparison.

Scoundreller|3 years ago

Oddly, this may create problems for end-users that are currently able to acquire these substances through a prescription through the "Special Access Program", which grants the ability to import drugs not available in Canada, which means your choice of suppliers.

If there is a domestic licensed supplier, and only one, Health Canada will likely force you to go through them and pay whatever they ask.

User23|3 years ago

There was a time not so long ago when you could buy a pint of whisky, a couple vials of heroin and cocaine, and a sandwich all at your local Rexall.

ElfinTrousers|3 years ago

Even if I could do that today, I wouldn't. Those sandwiches always look suspect.

justinclift|3 years ago

    “They are only permitted for sale to other licence holders who have cocaine listed on
    their licence, pharmacists, practitioners, hospitals, or the holder of a section 56(1)
    exemption for research purposes,” the agency said.
Wonder if "research tourism" is expected to become a thing? ;)

junon|3 years ago

That's basically how California marijuana licenses were handed out before it was legalized.

Heston|3 years ago

They were already legal drug dealers, what's the difference?

Overtonwindow|3 years ago

CANADIAN companies.

"A Canadian weed company and a psychedelics company have received government licenses to make and distribute the drugs under certain circumstances."

hulitu|3 years ago

> Drug Companies Can Legally Start Selling Cocaine, Heroin, and MDMA

So they evolved from organized crime to drug dealers.