Solution to Drug Problems.

[ipeleng]

Ok i have this idea. I remembered having this conversation with someone on the problems on genetic engineering in the usa. i think it was about how a big farming company sued a small faming company because there genetically engineered food what breed with there food ( and it was engineered to stop growth or something). and how the government is passing a law on genetic engineering. Ok it the point. cant we do the same thing with illegal drugs to make the addictive properties less addictive or have no addictive properties and stop the growth completely. Then drop the plant where people grow there drugs. E.g. drop the seeds or pod in Afghanistan where there is a group i forgot the name of. but they make a lot of money from it. (like on the taliban cuz that where they get most of there money from)

 

FYI i am only 12 years old please. i don't care if you find spelling or writing errors.

[ewmon]

Well, for a 12yo kid, you did some pretty good thinking here. How about this alternative — the genetically engineered seeds dropped onto the growing fields don't have genes for making the drug, but instead, have genes for making a chemical (such as an enzyme) that, when mixed with the drug, will destroy it or neutralize it. That way, when they harvest the plants, and mix them all together, they get nothing.

 

Unfortunately, I have a view of the war on drugs that makes me think that nothing like this will end the drug trade. I see the drug trade as a business, like food stores that sell soda and candy to people because that's what the people want — even though these foods are not the best thing for them. I think the best way to solve the street drug epidemic is to understand why people want to take them, and I think that reason is what's called "escapism". If people were happy with their lives, I think they wouldn't want drugs as much.

 

I think another reason why kids become interested in drugs is because their parents and other adults don't control their lives as much as they had in the past. Kids have much more freedom and power than kids have ever had before. Growing up, when I came home from school, my mom was home. She expected me home at a certain time. If I was late, she wanted to know where I was and who I was with. Today, most moms work, and kids can be anywhere doing anything with anyone after school and at other times. They can get on the Internet and find lots of information about all sorts of things that they maybe shouldn't be reading.

[Endy0816]

I would think that introduced undesirable traits would be selected against pretty quickly once they were discovered. Introducing a ditch weed version would probably be a good idea though.

 

There are a number of modified cannabis and opium plants already out there. Most work to improve the potency though.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Endy0816

[ipeleng]

Thanks for the responses. But would not trying to mock you or anything but is there anyone who has some experience with plant and dna. A question for them, how hard would it be to change the gene as it don't think it exist in nature so how hard would it be to create the gene and have the plant reacte to a substance or chemical so it dies of. Can we make new genetic information that has never existed before and if so is it time taking or hard?

[EdEarl]

Unfortunately, I have a view of the war on drugs that makes me think that nothing like this will end the drug trade. I see the drug trade as a business, like food stores that sell soda and candy to people because that's what the people want — even though these foods are not the best thing for them. I think the best way to solve the street drug epidemic is to understand why people want to take them, and I think that reason is what's called "escapism". If people were happy with their lives, I think they wouldn't want drugs as much.

 

I think another reason why kids become interested in drugs is because their parents and other adults don't control their lives as much as they had in the past. Kids have much more freedom and power than kids have ever had before. Growing up, when I came home from school, my mom was home. She expected me home at a certain time. If I was late, she wanted to know where I was and who I was with. Today, most moms work, and kids can be anywhere doing anything with anyone after school and at other times. They can get on the Internet and find lots of information about all sorts of things that they maybe shouldn't be reading.

My father was an alcoholic, and my brother is an alcoholic and drug addict (in remission). I am not. Chances are more than 50/50 that a person born into a family with one addict will also be an addict. My brother and father said that one drink/narcotic made them want to be drunk/high and stay drunk/high. I like a drink sometimes, but rarely drink enough to get drunk, and narcotics are disgusting (I know because I have taken them for pain, especially after a back operation). My body reacts differently to alcohol and drugs than my father and brother.

 

My childhood was scarred by abuse, poverty and divorce, yet I am not an addict. On the other hand, some people who have normal childhoods become addicts. The idea that escapism is the motivation for addiction seems to miss the mark, which is partly due to body chemistry.