Ecstacy not wose than riding a horse!

[tumtumtetum]

here

Love that comparison!

Our risk assessments of so many things are just way off - and society suffers as a result.

This puts the ecstatcy use into context anyway.

Now if we could have some similar ones about crime that would be fab!

sorry tumtum, I couldn't get the link to work...

Story here

I'd rather take my chances with riding a horse, whatever that man says. Horses are slightly more predictable than drugs IMO.

hmm... thanks, sidge.

Think I'll probably be teaching my children that all sorts of things are dangerous, but some are just stoopid

What a silly comparison.

I love it though. They need this sort of thing about loads of stuff to put people's fears into perspective. If only we could have comparisons of things like chance of being victim of various crimes, chances of anything happening to kids etc maybe we wouldn't be such a paranoid bunch of worriers.

And is people could be made to realise in some way how genuinely dangerous cars are that would be a step in the right direction too

I agree Squonk. DD1 recently started riding lessons. Maybe I should just feed her some Es instead?

As Malakai said, the comparison is ridiculous. Life is all about risks, we take a risk just crossing the road but why deliberately increase your risk by taking Ecstasy?

Methinks someone is just trying to grab a headline...

Having taken ecstacy extensively and ridden horses for a living..on balance I'd say horses are more dangerous and much more enjoyable.

That's the whole point sidge!

The comparison is not at all ridiculous if the risk is similar.

if life is about taking risks, why would one be barely considered (riding a horse) and the other have some kind of knee-jerk reaction as if it's a death sentance. The risk is the same. At least admit that people's perception of risk is what differs, rather than the absolute risk!

I think I'd be quite justified in being a 'paranoid worrier' if my children were taking ecstasy.

But not if they were riding horses malakai?

I was thinking that if they could give comparisons for eg the chance of your child being abducted by a stranger is the same as them winning a nobel prize or whatever then maybe we could go back to allowing our children the freedom they enjoyed in our day...

Well, my children have ridden horses for several years without dying.
I'm not really prepared to give them e tabs for the next several years just to see if the comparison makes sense.

And it's not just about the likelihood of dying is it?

After spending a very worrying night in A&E after my cousin had a seizure following taking ecstasy in a nightclub, I'd say that she probably wouldn't have been in the same position had she saddled up Dobbin and gone for a canter.

People take drugs because it is fun, I should imagine they ride horses for the same reason.

Christ you lot are so literal.

It's OK malakai I'm not saying that you should force feed your children ecstacy

You all seem to be missing the point entirely!

yeah but i broke my back on a horse but not whilst on E
This has to do with the constant request to reclassify E to a class B or C drug more in line with it's relative danger to society.

The comparison is stupid, tumtumtetum.

It just compares the number of people who died from horse riding, and the number of people who died from taking ecstasy.

It doesn't take any of the other social implications into consideration.

This is what I was attempting to demonstrate, but you rather seem to have missed the point.

I was hoping to be able to enter into a discussion about it, but as you appear to prefer to be insulting and make generalisations about my opinions, it doesn't seem likely to happen.

I think they should reclassify the lot in line with the degrees of harm to society as per that recent study by all those v top scientists.

Unfortunately I think that would all mean that we would be woofing E down while cantering around om horses while all the pubs would have to shut.

I think it's so refreshing to hear a comparison like this, to challenge the "drugs = bad full stop" mindset which does nothing to address the genuine drug issues in our society.

it would be refreshing to do the same with crime. If someone could tell me the likelihood of my being murdered is the same as me winning the lottery it would be v reassuring...

It's an utterly idiotic thing to say.

Look at the Home Office quote at the end of the story.

There was a group at university called "Students Using Drugs Safely", and they were a bunch of smug poncy wankers who irritated the shit out of me. They might as well have had a group called "Students Running Across Busy Roads Safely", or "Students Throwing Themselves Off Buildings Safely".

It is a comparison of "harm" ie not just dying - injury as well.

It makes me feel more reassured, as people will take drugs irrespective of classification, the same as they will participate in dangerous activities. It's estimated that half a million people take ecstacy every week in the UK - I am pleased for them that their chosen recreational activity is not as dangerous as some sources would have you believe.

Message withdrawn

I see the point you were trying to make tumtumtetum but the problem is the original comparison was so daft. Drug use doesn't just affect the user in terms of risk, whereas horse riding largely does.

It seems that E is tarred with a very poor opinion brush in comparison to the actual damage (relatively) that it does.
This comparison, to horseriding, is I would suppose to try to stimulate discussion and understanding amongst the legion DM readers who overly demonize it...

Christiana did you see the other report here. There is a table about 2/3 of the way down which shows the harm of all the drugs and is so interesting. Alcohol is just so dangerous, yet people will merrily drink away while banging on about the dangers of ecstacy which is a significantly less harmful drug.

Unquietdad would you really say the risk of taking one ecstacy tablet was the same as the risk of throwing yourself off a building?

Well, there was the Dangerous Sports Society, UD -- that was pretty much "Students Throwing Themselves Off Buildings Safely" IIRC.

How else does ecstacy affect the user other than in terms of risk though?

It's not physically addicitive. I'm sure you can get just as addicted to the enjoyment of going riding every weekend as to the enjoyment of taking ecstacy every weekend.

Taking ecstacy is certainly a far cheaper past-time than riding.

I'm really not sure what other risks there are of taking it apart from the (tiny) risk of harm...

In fact it's probably less dangerous than riding a horse - as if the total numbers of injuries are smiliar but the amount of people doing it is so much larger. I don't think half a million people go riding every weekend? (Happy to stand corrected on that one