The answers we get depend on who we

The answers we get depend on who we ask. As far as the law is concerned, the dividing line is defi ned in black and white. As far as the party-going teenager is concerned, the law is an ass. As far as we are concerned, the questions are irrelevant. Trying to divide drugs into two categories—safe or unsafe, good or bad—is futile and could even be dangerous. First, let us consider the so-called ‘good’ drugs used in medicines. How ‘good’ are they? If a drug is to be truly ‘good’ it would have to do what it is meant to do, have no toxic or unwanted side effects, and be easy to take. How many drugs fit these criteria?
The short answer is ‘none’. There is no pharmaceutical compound on the market today that can completely satisfy all these conditions. Admittedly, some come quite close to the ideal. Penicillin, for example, has been one of the safest and most effective antibacterial agents ever discovered. Yet, it too has drawbacks. It cannot kill all known bacteria and, as the years have gone by, more and more bacterial strains have become resistant. Moreover, some individuals can experience severe allergic reactions to the compound.
Penicillin is a relatively safe drug, but there are some drugs that are distinctly dangerous. Morphine is one such example. It is an excellent analgesic, yet there are serious side effects, such as tolerance, respiratory depression, and addiction. It can even kill if taken in excess.
Barbiturates are also known to be dangerous. At Pearl Harbor, American casualties were given barbiturates as general anaesthetics before surgery. However, because of
a poor understanding about how barbiturates are stored in the body, many patients received sudden and fatal overdoses. In fact, it is thought that more casualties died
at the hands of the anaesthetists at Pearl Harbor than died of their wounds. To conclude, the ‘good’ drugs are not as perfect as one might think.
What about the ‘bad’ drugs then? Is there anything good that can be said about them? Surely there is nothing we can say in defence of the highly addictive drug known as heroin?