Legalizing Drugs

I'm all for it. In the way they set incentives and make people respond to them, there is no difference between the prohibition of drugs and the prohibition of alcohol. They both failed tragically, and for the same reasons. In my opinion, it's time people come around to the unworkability of the excercise and put an end to it.

-- Thomas

Gautam - I believe strongly in decriminalizing drugs - because of the kinds of reasons you quote from Elton.

I am more chary re legalizing them, in the sense of government sale and such.

My reasons for decriminalizing are chiefly:

Breaking (as much as possible - crime will always be where money is) the nexus between crime and drugs.

Stopping the effects of treating drug users as criminals (eg going to prison will efficiently destroy a life - more efficiently, in general, than drugs will).

Prohibition is a fantastic way of ensuring that maximum harm is done, in my view - it makes drugs more expensive, increases the chance they will be cut with damaging substances, brings ordinary folk into close liaison with crime and encourages them to take up crime as a way of ensuring supply, ensures corruption of law enforcement folk, costs a bomb....on and on...

Hypocrisy. I can smoke cigarettes and drink myself into the next world, legally, and people are criminals for using other recreational substances? Huh?! THAT makes sense!

Sheer bloody-mindedness. The USA gets to make countries ban all sorts of substances it decides it doesn't like, for its own reasons, and create mayhem? Yeccccch!
There are other reasons, but these are amongst the top ones.

Decriminalize them immediately!!!!

For all the reasons already given -- and because we are a bunch of jackasses for trying to deal with the problem of drug abuse (or abuse in general) the way we are.

A-yup. Ditto. Which'll probably come as no surprise to many folks.

Prohibition is a racket, like any other. Legalize, regulate, and tax.

Problem is, we'd have all these empty prisons, and an entire section of the government would be out or work. But I'm as prone to going on about this as Mr. Apisa is about agnosticism, so I'll try to keep my typing in check .

I am against the legalizations of potentially lethal drugs. There are a few that i believe should be legalized.

Craven - which drugs?


What about decriminalization vs legalization?

Y'know, alcohol, ephedrine, aspirin....

Ok, let me qualify that as "ones with a high potential".

Damn, that doesn't waork either.

I love this forum!

When I was young, I was for decriminalizing "soft" drugs (mariguana, hashish), because they did less harm than some legal drugs (and because they were the ones I used).

Now I am for decriminalizing "soft" and "medium" drugs (those with inmediate addiction effects should be kept illegal). Because of the aforementioned reasons for the "soft" ones, plus the fact that illegal drug trafficking harms the nations, the consumers and the societies (from producing & exporting, transit and consuming countries).



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It was said, in the 80s, that the problem of producing mariguana in Mexico for sale to the big US market could be easily solved by not only legalizing the production, but also by nationalizing it.
We would create a State giant "Motamex", full of inept and corrupt or corruptible bureaucrats. In a couple of years, Motamex would pass from a formidable exporter to a deficitary white elephant. The price of pot would soar, due to inefficient production and excessive costs, and the consumption would diminish accordingly. In 5 years, production would be almost negligible, prices would be at the stars, and Motamex would have to be shut down. Drug problem solved.

From my perspective, think about the economy. If certain or all kinds of drugs were to be legalized in this country, think about all of the people working under the president such as the DEA and what not. They would all be out of a job. And a dip would dramatically appear within the economy. Think about it. There would be a high unemployment rate and it would be hard for you and me to get a damn job!

The only way decriminalization AND legallization of drug availability could b handled wisely (and it won't b, since the power brokers have huge vested interests in keeping it illegal) is 2 pass laws including a specific timeframe 4 the changeover, allowing as Red mentions, many current enforcement officials 2b trained in other, perhaps related fields, and the tax and public health structures 2b designed and implemented.

The reality that the current system is ridiculous, is not unusual 4 public policy.

But there is still another major problem; only illicit activities provide lucrative incomes by which individuals trapped in traditionally underprivileged sectors of society can escape from the ghettos; desperation renders criminal activity attractive when there are no options, so there must b an equal opportunity educational path 2 equivalent employment provided.

No matter what you say you can't balance it out. Maybe you should try running for president or writing a paper on the fallicious arguments regarding the economy and drugs.

I take that back. Forgive me...I think I love you! I'll help you write the paper! Forgive me ! ....Because i love yOU!

I'm all for legallizing.

So it seems that majority of us are for legalizing drugs. And since it seems to be a good idea, rest assured that the govt won't do it

And since everyone agrees - no debate !!!

Interesting thesis, fbaezer, but doesn't make allowance for capitalists from Columbia, Peru, and other points south.

A truely gracious response, THe ReDHoRN. For what it's worth, you can edit a posting at any time, but I like your way better.

I wobble on this, but sometimes I think we should not just decriminalize but legalize all drugs including the nasty lethal ones.

If someone is foolish enough to want to use them, who are we (who is the government) to deny them that? If the users burn out their brains, well, that was their choice. Self-destructive behavior is a problem, but that's what social workers are for... more jobs for social workers!

I also believe that Oregon is right with the assisted suicide law.

I agree with legalization based in part on the original reasons given. It should be a restricted legalization, similar to alcohol (It's fine if you want to drink in an establishment, but you can't wander around the streets innebriated and you can't operate vehicles... common sense type restrictions).

There are also a couple of other reasons for legalization:

1. I'm not sure it's morally ethical for the law to be used to tell people how to run their private lives.

2. Not only are drugs the primary cause of crime in cities, but they are also a huge cash cow for third world criminal organizations. Many of which have used these funds to arm themselves to the teeth sufficiently to contend with national militaries. Basically, illegalization of drugs is functioning like a corruption engine powering the spread of illegal activity in a wide range of forms.

So long as people choose to do drugs of their own free will, and to do whatever it takes to pay for them, illegalization will be a self perpetuation disaster. The more restrictions which are applied, the higher the cost of the product will be, and the more incentive the dealers will have to find ways to produce the product.

I find myself hard pressed to make any argument to support the current policy of illegalization. I believe that restrictive legalization would probably go a long way toward solving many of society's current crime problems.

Best Regards,