Uh oh, THIS thread again: legalization of drugs

[Cozmolyne]

So I did a thread a LOOOONG time ago about legalization of Mary Jane. I'd figure I'd do a thread about drug legalization in its entirety. LSD, Cocaine, Heroin, Meth, Marjiuana, the whole lot. PLEASE keep it civil.

Personally, I'm on the fence about it.

Best case scenario: if we legalized it all, the cartels would most likely go away, crime in general would drop and our prisons won't be so crowded.

Worst case scenario: people who were too afraid to try the hard stuff like Meth, Heroin, and Cocaine would try it and lord knows what they'll do. However, I'm passionately against the government telling anyone what to put in their bodies.

At the very least, I think drugs like LSD, Marijuana, Saliva, etc. should be legal.

 

[txinvestigator]

How old are you, do you have children, what drugs do you take? Pot is a drug

 

[txbikerman]

i am against making any of them legal

 

[BG1960]

this ought be entertaining.

 

[benenglish]

Experience abroad has shown that controlled legalization of marijuana is not a problem. It's possible to screw up the process but the drug isn't harmful enough (even the newest, strongest stuff) to cause major problems.

Other drugs need to be treated case by case.

Take alcohol. Legal, controlled, but it still causes great harm to society. However, we've got a handle on it for the most part. When we don't have a handle on it, it wrecks peoples bodies and their ability to function. It can be *very* bad news.

However, 100+ years ago, we had a near-perfect cure for alcoholism. It was called heroin. In prescribed, monitored dosages, heroin addicts can have their fix without ravaging their body the way alcohol does. Britain's state-funded and -supplied heroin addicts are often perfectly wonderful contributing members of society; they just don't drive cars and are never allowed to have enough of the stuff at one time to re-sell it or harm themselves. So, I could live with legalizing heroin, given smart administration of the process. Asking our government (and yes, this is something that would have to be done by government) to intelligently administer anything, however, seems like a foolish bet these days.

Other drugs become more problematical. Of course, the libertarian in me says to make it all legal. Likewise, the libertarian in me totally rejects the notion that driving drunk should be a crime. After all, until you hurt somebody, what's the harm? (If you hurt somebody, of course, you should have the jailhouse dropped on you, says my libertarian self.) That pure libertarianism, however, doesn't work in the real world.

LSD is arguably safe. It's also arguably one of the few drugs that can come back to bite you in the ass decades after you took one hit.

Cocaine is not safe but not immediately life-threatening. However, having had many friends with bad cocaine habits, the way it changes people is never in the public interest. I can't see any form of it being considered sufficiently harmless (or controllable) as to justify broad legalization. That goes triple for crack.

Forms of meth works differently, can be horrifically abused, but have shown significant medical usefulness. I wouldn't be in favor of making it any more available than it already is.

Sativa is just weird. It seems harmless as long as you have trusted friends to babysit your experimentation. I can't really condone encouraging the use of a drug that can't (and it's just my opinion that it can't) be used reasonably safely by a single person.

Just some initial thoughts. I'll sit back and see what others say for a while.

 

[PhulesAu]

And what makes you think this gov't, could "properly" administer this program????

 

[benenglish]

And what makes you think this gov't, could "properly" administer this program????

Not much. I said it would be a "foolish bet".

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

My inclination is towards legalization. Not just a flip of the switch but a slow phased process where results can be monitored and the process can be paused.

In theory we'd trade off tons of drug business murders for far fewer crazed lunatic murders. We'd trade off massive enforcement spending. Still it's mostly theory until it's actually done in our society/culture.

I don't think it would wreck any more lives than alcohol, but again, that's my opinion not fact.

 

[Hoji]

If tobacco is legal, then everything else should be as well. Tobacco kills more people annually than all illegal drugs combined. My belief is that if it does not affect the life, liberty, or property of someone else it should not be a crime.

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

How old are you, do you have children, what drugs do you take? Pot is a drug

I have 4 kids and use caffeine (daily) and alcohol (infrequently) just for everyone's edification.

 

[poolingmyignorance]

Crippling the cash flow and power of drug cartels, freeing space in prisons for violent criminals, gaining tax revenue without destroying peoples lives or seizure of property.. sounds like an awful idea. If drugs aren't illegal, what will cops claim to find whenever the raid a place on a bogus tip? That could cost LEO's tons in lawsuits and funding for cool toys. Oh wait, we have "terror" now. They can find that instead.

 

[TheDan]

Prohibitions don't work. Didn't work for alcohol, doesn't work for guns (or any other weapon), and isn't working for pot & narcotics. All prohibitions do is create a black market, and the stronger the prohibition the stronger the black market gets to defeat it. The money mostly wasted on enforcement would be more effective on education and addiction counseling.

 

[robertc1024]

Experience abroad has shown that controlled legalization of marijuana is not a problem. It's possible to screw up the process but the drug isn't harmful enough (even the newest, strongest stuff) to cause major problems..

Forgive me for deleting most of your post, but I couldn't agree more. I don't ever use marijuana or any other controlled substance. To me, the bigger issue is the non-controlled substances. Alcoholics at the wheel are IMHO much much more of the problem then drugs. Tobacco - meh - you get what you get. Your decision. My Cubans in my humidor might kill me, however I like them and am willing to pay the price. Anybody else want to partake at Hicksville?

 

[OFFascist]

I'm for legalization.

Sure in the short run it could increase crime some, but we already have laws on the books to deal with those criminals and if nothing else we also have our 2nd amendment rights to protect us.

IMO the powers that government has granted itself in the futile attempt to fight the war on drugs is a bigger threat to my life and liberty than some druggie. Atleast If someone high on drugs attacks me It would be legal for me to use force to defend myself, when a government high on power attacks me the outcome probably would be much worse if I used force to defend myself.

 

[TxBigfoot]

I could count on one hand how many times I've smoked pot, all when I was a teen. Mj isn't my thing, but I see nothing wrong with it. I'm not much of drinker either, but imo, alcohol is WAY worse than mj. I think it's flipping stupid to waste tax dollars on it.

 

[Das Jared]

On the fence about it. I have dealt with a LOT of the users of the heavy shit. Some fucked up shit. Pot heads just annoy the shit out of me, and are only dangerous if you are a bag of bugels and a can of cheesewiz.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

 

[mosin]

I'm definitely for complete legalization of marijuana, it is much "safer" than alcohol. Meth, heroine, PCP and cocaine, I'm on the fence but leaning legalize it. While we are here let me say equalizing cocaine and crack sentencing guidelines was one of the few things our current president did that was worth a darn. LSD & Shrooms I'm also definitely in favor of, there are no, or extremely minimal lasting effects from what I understand.

I was on a steady & heavy diet of beer and crown royal for a while, occasional weed, occasional tobacco, but down to a drink or two every 6+ months and nothing else. Alcohol will **** your life up in a hurry, so if it is legal it seems silly other drugs aren't.

 

[shortround]

I've never met a doper who beat the schnitt out of anyone while high on weed. They just got the munchies and zoned out.

Most domestic abusers smoke tobacco and drink alcohol to excess.

My libertarian bent says: If it don't harm you, why bother the other fellow?

 

[TreyG-20]

On the fence about it. I have dealt with a LOT of the users of the heavy shit. Some fucked up shit. Pot heads just annoy the shit out of me, and are only dangerous if you are a bag of bugels and a can of cheesewiz.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

Not a pot head, but I have been known to destroy a bag of Bugles.

 

[jordanmills]

How old are you, do you have children, what drugs do you take? Pot is a drug

Don't forget to include nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine.