Legalizing drugs?

[Eore]

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...dAllDrugs.aspx

i think this should never happen. sure, money would be saved, but lives would be destroyed. it can't all be about money.


what are your thoughts on this?

[immts007]

I think far more lives are damaged, destroyed or lost right now by crime, gangs, incarceration, etc... due to drugs being criminalized, than would be harmed by their legalization.

[julie_m]

I've watched a couple of my then-friends get hooked on drugs and totally ruin their lives. They're good kids who wouldn't ever be in gangs or committing crimes. It's sad. My roommate in college went from straight As and a full ride to spending a couple months living with a guy who went home to home, selling bracelets on the street, and entering a year long treatment program that thankfully her parents were willing to pay for.

[immts007]

I've watched a couple of my then-friends get hooked on drugs and totally ruin their lives. They're good kids who wouldn't ever be in gangs or committing crimes. It's sad. My roommate in college went from straight As and a full ride to spending a couple months living with a guy who went home to home, selling bracelets on the street, and entering a year long treatment program that thankfully her parents were willing to pay for.

But the fact that drugs are illegal didn't stop this from happening.

I don't use myself, but I know plenty of responsible, high-achieving, successful people who do. I think we are much better off dealing with substance abuse as a medical/mental issue than we are with incarcerating those people.

[joshtpa]

I've watched a couple of my then-friends get hooked on drugs and totally ruin their lives. They're good kids who wouldn't ever be in gangs or committing crimes. It's sad. My roommate in college went from straight As and a full ride to spending a couple months living with a guy who went home to home, selling bracelets on the street, and entering a year long treatment program that thankfully her parents were willing to pay for.

Me too, and the legalization would only make it worse.

But the fact that drugs are illegal didn't stop this from happening.

You are right and wrong. The fact that they are illegal didnt stop them, but it certainly can make someone think about the consequences before.

[iQuest Golfer]

>> The possession of small amounts of marijuana has been decriminalized in 12 states, meaning offenders might get fined but won't be jailed or given a criminal record. Nonetheless, full legalization of marijuana is hardly likely. In a 2002 CNN/Time Magazine poll, 59% of respondents opposed legalizing marijuana, and 34% favored it. Although attitudes are getting more liberal, marijuana is not legal anywhere in the world.

As for other street drugs, don't even ask. The question of legalization is no more than an interesting academic exercise. << From the article's conclusion.

In the early 70s, I was on a government task force to study this is some detail. A couple tobacco companies had already made plans to jump into the market with "designer" products targeted at specific markets, with slick marketing programs, should the government decide to legalize. In the end, and over the years it has become, thankfully, an academic exercise.

Although attitudes are getting more liberal as the article states, addictions are insidious and not to be entered into at the government's recommendation - even if the money looks good on paper.

[immts007]

Me too, and the legalization would only make it worse.

Prove it.

You are right and wrong. The fact that they are illegal didnt stop them, but it certainly can make someone think about the consequences before.

You seem to be able to make pronouncements of right and wrong easily and with little argument to back it up. Did you smoke pot in high school or college? If so how much of a deterrent was it's illegality to you? Do you have any data from polling or studies to back up your claims?

I think a certain percentage of people are going to drink or do drugs regardless. If we legalized, there might be short term increase in demand as the consequences go down along with the price. But long term, you might even see an overall decrease as these substances lose their "forbidden fruit" appeal. All available data (which is admittedly not a lot) indicates that alcohol use rose to record levels during prohibition, with the added detriment of gangland crime ala Al Capone. Why should there be any reason to think otherwise in this situation. In conclusion, I think the overall the economic AND social benefits could be substantial. We would save money in the legal system from both prosecution and incarceration. We would recover lost tax revenues caused by removing those convicted of drug use from their workplaces. We could generate massive tax revenues from legal sales and in particular with canabis generate new revenue sources from all the adjunct products (oil, fiber, etc...) The additional benefits to society? Likely decreases in gang related activity, crime and violence. Likely reductions in costs incurred by broken families and associated tragedies. I think it is likely that legalization would be a win-win situation

[immts007]

addictions are insidious and not to be entered into at the government's recommendation - even if the money looks good on paper.

So you think alcohol and tobacco and junk food should be illegal as well? All addictive and potentially dangerous.

[joshtpa]

Prove your side. The facts are it is illegal basically everywhere in the world. You offer no proof to say it should be legal other than people are being jailed for it. And you feel that is a wasted money. So in your case, lets have complete chaos? Why stop with pot? Lets have meth labs in the back of convenient stores and you can buy crack at CVS. Its all about making choices in life. If something is illegal people have to think twice about doing it.

[T.J.K.]

Don't legalize drugs. Just legalize marijuana. It's not a drug anyway in my opinion.

[joshtpa]

Prove it.

And to answer your question, I didnt smoke it in HS or College, or law school. I thought about the consequences.

[immts007]

And to answer your question, I didnt smoke it in HS or College, or law school. I thought about the consequences.

Be honest. I'm guessing you wouldn't have anyway. Am I right? Or was it purely the thought of the consequences?

[joshtpa]

I have never done a drug in my entire life. I have made mistakes, but I never was tempted with drugs. Sports ran my life in HS and College. As a student athlete, I was not into that. Did not look down on it, but it wasnt my thing. By the time I went to law school, the consequences are what made up my mind. Same reason I have never shop lifted or driven drunk. Its just not worth losing my life over. Sure losing ones life is an extreme, but in my case, it wasnt worth chancing it. Others might differ, but I try to not do anything that could cost me thousands of dollars in legal fees or change my life drastically with nothing good coming out of it. I saw too many people in school "experiment with pot". NExt month it was "trying some cocaine". Then it was Ecstasy. And so on and so on. Not my thing. And I do NOT want to see it more readily available than it already is.

[iQuest Golfer]

So you think alcohol and tobacco and junk food should be illegal as well? All addictive and potentially dangerous.

Like I said, I've been down the road with illegal substance studies and if the people want to vote and make them legal, I got no problem with it. I just think that there are other solutions to the problems they present.

I don't drink and don't smoke. That is a choice I made after trying them while I was in the military. It didn't take me long to discover that neither was a good choice. There is nothing worse than a drunk... especially the ones that take out their frustrations on women and children. Every smoker I know wants to quit. However for the majority, the addiction is more than they can overcome... and, it's an expensive habit. (You may have noticed that Ireland and Scotland have banned smoking from the pubs. I wonder why they did that? OK, that's retorical... I think we all know why.) Junk food is a choice. Avaliable 24X7X365. It's the disease of convenience. I've learned over the years that life isn't convenient. That there are choices with consequences. Unfortunately, many want to make the choice but avoid the consequence. Life don't work that way. There is always a consequence of your actions... good or bad. The world hasn't legalized drugs, why should the US? There are small pockets of decriminalization around the world (the Netherlands being the most touted example; I've been there, observed the process, and determined that it's over-rated). All those are show cases and don't scale to fit the populations that pencil pushers postulate. Maybe in time, the people will legalize, but until they do I'll continue to support those that want to quit... drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or junk food.

[immts007]

Prove your side.

From a libertarian perspective, the burden of proof is not on those who would defend a freedom but on those who would deny it.

The facts are it is illegal basically everywhere in the world.

So What? The simple existence of a condition is not an argument for its implementation elsewhere. Actually drugs, marijauna in particular, are much, much "more" legal in many places in Europe and the East, especially the Netherlands.

So in your case, lets have complete chaos? Why stop with pot? Lets have meth labs in the back of convenient stores and you can buy crack at CVS.

I said nothing of the sort. Was there complete chaos after prohibition ended?

Its all about making choices in life.

Yes. So let them make their choices free of threat to life or livelihood.

John Stuart Mill wrote in his essay "On Liberty", that "Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign." Words to live by, IMO.

[joshtpa]

The burden of proof is on the person wanting to make the major change. You keep bringing up Prohibition. It was decades ago. Times have changed. Tell me when drugs were legal and then taken away from people like prohibition did? Your argument to that is comparing apples to oranges.

[immts007]

The burden of proof is on the person wanting to make the major change.

Not from a Libertarian perspective

[immts007]

The burden of proof is on the person wanting to make the major change. You keep bringing up Prohibition. It was decades ago. Times have changed. Tell me when drugs were legal and then taken away from people like prohibition did? Your argument to that is comparing apples to oranges.

Are you serious, Birdieman? Its totally apples to apples. Alcohol is a drug. Period. All drugs were legal, until they were made illegal. did you know that Coca-Cola once had cocaine in it? Cannabis was only made illegal in the 1930's.