Can people with loss-of-function mutations to CYP2E1 be resistant to benzene poisoning?

Why are people so scared of natural highs?

• Why do people always say, "I don't need drugs to escape my problems." or some other dumb statement like that. I can understand not wanting to safe drugs(Weed, Shrooms, LSD - each of these is ranked by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, yes a national organization, as less toxic than aspirin, not making that up) because it is against your morals, but to say that people do it to escape their problems is blunt. People do it to enjoy themselves and have fun. Only a small percentage of people do it to escape problems, and those people have bigger problems than drug use anyway. Drug use is likely the one thing keeping depressed people from harming themselves anyway. Each of those only have 1 side effect(assuming you eat weed, not smoke it) and that is that it can bring out psychosis or schizophrenia that WOULD have occurred later in life. It can only happen if you are a constant user and it is in your blood line. Now I am not saying that we should all toke out everyday, or even once every weed or 2(more like once a month for weed, and lsd or shrooms about 2 times a year). Just because the government puts out propaganda against drugs and makes them schedule 1(all this means is it is likely to be abused and it has no medicinal value, though some of the drugs i mentioned do) doesn't mean they are as menacing as people say they are. Just some rumors to shoot down: 1) If you eat weed it DOES NOT cause brain damage 2) Unless heavily used weed does not cause short term memory loss 3) Shrooms ARE NOT food poisoning and they DO NOT cause brain bleeding. They work by bonding to 5-HT2 receptors in the brain. These are the same things that serotonin bonds to and it causes distorted vision, hearing and smell. 4) Flashbacks from LSD and Shrooms are only a psychological phenomena, not crystalization of the drug in the brain as the active ingrediants in both (Psilocybin and Lysergic acid diethylamide) are water soluble and are not detectable in a drug test after 3-7 days. 5) Recreational use of drugs DO NOT cause lack of motivation, heavy use does and none of the drugs I listed are physically or psychologically addictive meaning it does not make you want to use it again after coming down. 6) Alcohol, almost any prescription drugs, and most over the counter drugs including tylenol, advil, and aspirin. Just an honest opinion from a mentally stable student at Georgetown University. I am studying medicine. You can say I am screwing up my life all you want, but chances are I will make more significantly more than you, and I get to enjoy myself.

• Answer:

  1- What is the point to ask the question and then answer it yourself? …sell drugs to kids? 2- Who are all the people-so-scared you are talking about? Name a few please? 3- What is "your" definition of natural high? 4- What is more natural than not needing drugs to get high? Why not just be high? 5- Is there an Extra-Virgin-Natural and also a "natural-but-with-drugs?" 6- Why do you need crutches to go on life anyway? 7- Who are you trying to convince? ...yourself? 8- Why do you praise the government on one side (NIDA) and trash it in another? ...convenience? 9- Where exactly can one find the Info in NIDA that says that weed, shrooms and LSD are less toxic than aspirin? ...nowhere? 9- Does NIDA and their employees benefit directly out of the 1.01 billion dollars from government funding for research? Would they not want to keep their jobs and therefore just keep "researching" in order to keep their jobs? ...while smoking? 10- Why NIDA literature and National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) research frequently contradict each other? Are there some employees on drugs? 11- Just because you don't have an anti-drug moral code, should every body else not have one? 12- Just because you go to a little school (and take medicine :-), smoke some dope and carry some books around mean that you are right? Did you even learn to write some clear thoughts? ...I guess NOT, or was it the dope's fault or Georgetown? :-) 13- In your last paragraph you say that you will be making more money than us, which I seriously doubt--though selling drugs is lucrative :-)--but even if it were true, does that make you a better person? Well 'mentally-stable,' thank your parents for giving you a life of leisure, with no responsibility, production or contribution to society and keep 'enjoying yourself,' which is probably the only thing you do in life; but at least do not promote this to kids. There are many kids in this forum and they deserve better and better answers to help them grow free of chains. I would prefer a drug-free society, a society of honest, creative, productive people that do not need crutches to reach their infinite potential. I'm not going to trust an employee with the glassy eyes, who is not quite there because of the not-so-harmful weed, with my works of art or to deal with my customers. Plus, I would lose my customers having a person like that around. None of the people I associate with would tolerate it either. Drugs are not okay in my family, kids, friends and associates--zero tolerance. Moreover, there was a time I was just as stupid and did drugs for so many years just to realize that these were keeping me down and stopping my creativity. I cleaned myself up more than 15 years ago and my creativity returned, my production and exchange with society increased. With the exception of the Novocaine that the dentist used (because the drugs and alcohol damaged my teeth), which I got rid of with the Narconon Detox, I have not even used an aspirin in the last 15 years nor I get sick. I have never looked back since. So what if I had some good times. I cannot do anything with them. I cannot hang them on a wall proudly. I could not tell my children the stories of his dad being high. As far as I'm concerned, it was wasted time. If you are for drugs, go ahead and use your crutches, but do not pitch your agenda to the new generations. You'd be better off telling kids to go to the Drug-Free World website, watch the real life stories and let them make their minds up.