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make drugs legal??

treedawgtreedawg Member Posts: 321 ✭✭✭
edited May 2002 in General Discussion
should we make drugs legal? i say yes, and here's why...
1. think of all the money that would be saved if the "war on drugs" was stopped. this is a war that will never be won...
2. if drugs were legal then they would be taxed like beer or tobacco.
3. drugs would be bought at store, not from the local dealer. the thugs would be out of business over night.
4. the greatest number of people in US prisons sre there on drug charges. just think of the savings to tax payers if they were'nt there.
5. drugs would be made in steril labs, not in a jungle or basement, thus removing a large portion of the inhertent danger. you'd have tax paying employees working there.
6. the US would have the world's strongest economy overnight.
7.this list could go on and on.....

no, i don't use drugs. i'm happily marries and run my own small business.
this may not be a popular point of view here, but this is just a small portion of my libertarian attitude.

Comments

  • DarkStar11DarkStar11 Member Posts: 1,557 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Drugs will never be legalized and the war on drugs will never be won because there is no real interest in winning it. There is a much greater interest that it keep dragging on, just the way it is, no matter who wrongheaded that may be. It makes too much of a profit for too many people on both sides of the fence -- especially since the privatization of the prison industry.

    DarkStar11
    "...But Mona Lisa musta had the highway bluesYou can tell by the way she smiles..."
  • will270winwill270win Member Posts: 4,845
    edited November -1
    I don't know about all that but I have had the idea before that if drugs was legal, maybe the reverse psychology effect would kick in and folks would not want to do them no more. Wishful thinkin' on my part maybe.


    ~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~
  • will270winwill270win Member Posts: 4,845
    edited November -1
    .......and oh yeah, maybe folks would be to embarrassed to buy them. Kinda like rubbers at the gas station.


    ~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~
  • austin247austin247 Member Posts: 375
    edited November -1
    Why not just make murder and rape and assault and burglary and armed robbery and auto theft and child molestation legal and watch our crime rates drop like moths flying into a bug zapper?

    Much of the danger in drugs lies in the person who is on them, and many of the burglary, robbery, and theft crimes are committed by persons so they will have money to buy drugs. How much consolation is it going to be to know that the person who stole everything of value out of your home while you were gone will at least be pouring the proceeds he gains from selling your valuables at 5 cents on the dollar into the local economy, because now he can buy his dope at the 7-11? It doesn't matter where you buy it, you still have to have the money to pay for it, and desperate people resort to desperate means.

    Why not just do away with law enforcement, and the criminal justice system in general, since the "War on Crime" will never be won either. Think of all the tax dollars we could save on salaries, equipment, and training on LEO's and all those involved in the criminal justice system.

    Have you ever seen or dealt with someone who is flying on meth, wet, or PCP? It doesn't matter where you buy it, the effects on the human body are going to be the same, no matter if you buy it from the dealer across town or next to the candy aisle at the 7-11. I'm sure all LEO's would take consolation from the fact that the crazed maniac they are fighting with and who wants to seriously hurt or kill them is "legal". The same goes for those who were violently assaulted, and the families of those who were murdered by someone who probably won't even remember the crime.

    And of course, something being "legal" automatically makes illegal traffic in that item disappear, because everyone will be happy and willing to pay the tax on the item, and pay for manufacturing, packaging, and distribution costs. The law of supply and demand will still apply. Hey, I buy store brand canned goods. Am I going to pay 50 bucks for a crack rock I can buy off some guy on the street for 15?

    God help us if we ever have to live in that "Utopia".
  • DarkStar11DarkStar11 Member Posts: 1,557 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    And Jack Daniels is any damned different . . .

    DarkStar11
    "...But Mona Lisa musta had the highway bluesYou can tell by the way she smiles..."
  • leeblackmanleeblackman Member Posts: 5,303 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    We could always just treat drugs like they do in other countries like the Philipeans. (Forgive my spelling please) And just allow police officers to execute on site anyone who is in posetion of narcotics.

    I just wish I had a dollar for every gun I wanted, then I'd be a rich man.
  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    We went through this same discussion a couple months ago, and it finally got zapped. As this is a subset of the Gunbroker board, I don't have any interest in talking about drugs unless you want to discuss what kind of small arms the Colombians are using to keep the flow coming into our country. As far as Jack Daniels is concerned, the majority of Americans are social drinkers who have one or two and stop when they start to "feel it." The same cannot be said for addictive narcotics.

    - Life NRA Member
    If dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    By the way, I could change just a couple of words in that first post and make the exact same argument for prostitution between two consenting adults. Frankly, I'd rather legalize that.

    - Life NRA Member
    If dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
  • beantolebeantole Member Posts: 1,086 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    "Why not just make murder and rape and assault and burglary and armed robbery and auto
    theft and child molestation legal and watch our crime rates drop like moths flying into a
    bug zapper?"
    You are comparing apples and oranges. I favor legalizing some "soft" drugs like marijuana for those over 18 and decriminalizing possession of all other drugs like California just did. Although drugs are not legal there no one can be put in jail for simple possession in California. That is a good approach.

    Bruce
  • ProkoteProkote Member Posts: 82 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    The Places where certain "weeds" seem to have easy laws, Canada,Holland seem to come to mind.I mean smoke shops,coffee shops,however thier firarms are going out the window faster than heck. One might say:The right to bear arm's. or The right to bear budz. There is no comparasion for me. Firearms: rifles; pistols; guns guns what a brut, the more you have, the more you shoot, the more you shoot, the better you feel, so guns guns, lets make more Deals!

    Shoot straight!
  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I lived in southern California for over 20 years and I must say the climate is great and the people, if idiosyncratic and multi-ethnic, are interesting. If you like their laws, it's not a bad place to move to. I hear M1 Carbines are still legal out there, and that should be enough gun for most things.

    - Life NRA Member
    If dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
  • idsman75idsman75 Member Posts: 13,398 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Remember when the price of tobacco products first skyrocketed? There was an epidemic of cigarette shoplifting in my area shortly afterwards. I do suppose that most nicotine-related crimes stem from those that haven't had a cigarette in awhile and just get irritated enough over the little stuff.

    SSG idsman75, U.S. ARMY
  • 96harley96harley Member Posts: 3,992 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Leeblackman, I agree. Just tie them to four by four post and crank some rounds into them. I wrote a letter to the paper about that one time and the liberals just crawled out of the woodwork. Of course they view a drug infested dope fiend or pervert having more rights than an unborn child as well. Other counties like China etc. have a far less doper population as well.
  • dakotashooter2dakotashooter2 Member Posts: 6,186
    edited November -1
    Have you priced legal drugs at your local drugstore lately. If the legitimate drug companies get piece of this it will still be cheaper to buy off the street. There will still be a strong market for street drugs even if the price does drop.
  • robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Hey lets face it, we live in the land of double standards. I see no diff. between a six pack and a pack of cigarettes being consumed at once, than smoking a couple joints, although I've never done any. I say this because what is the diff. in effect. From everything my pot head friends have said, marajuana never makes them do weird stuff, anymore than alcohol does, so what other effect is there from pot, cancer? Oh gee, and cigarettes dont? The pot is addictive, and what, alcohol and cigarettes arent? Now as to the other drugs, I dont have any friends that have spoke of doing it, so I dont have any info. to go off of. Seems to me like makeing them legal has its merits, pros and cons for sure. Making them legal wouldnt be any diff. than the feds. giving into alcohol when prohibition did not work. Some things just have to be tryed, and if they dont work out, change it. Alcohol being illegal didnt work out, its being illegal caused the same problems that the illegal drugs of today do, and they fixed that problem by making alcohol legal, why cant they try that with the other drugs? Those that will do the drugs will, those that wont, will not, its that simple. Some will be able to handle the cost, and the effects, and wont be affected, others it will kill or make them worthless, no diff. than cigarettes and alcohol. Its simple logic to me. I hate cigarettes, and I dont use alcohol in excess, I made my choice. How about letting others do the same and just see how it works out? I wont use any of the drugs that are illegal now, so what makes everyone think anything is going to change so much, other than those that do use will continue to use, and those that sell will be out of business? Another obvious thing that would occur is that although legal, most if not all employers will still reserve the right to terminate your employment should they find out you are using them on the premises, just as its not legal to carry a gun on private property if the owner says you are not allowed to. They will probably also make it law that any employer who deems drug users, just like alcoholics, to be adverse to their business, will have the right to terminate them immediately. This idea of mine would work to keep most people from using, if they want to have or keep a job. If its broke fix it, and what we have currently is darn well broke, so lets try to fix it in another manner, because the way we're going about it is sure as heck not working either. My .02 worth.

    SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC

    Edited by - robsguns on 05/13/2002 13:22:12
  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    While in some cases, "regular consumption of fairly large quantities" of alcohol can cause a dependency in a social drinker who can still stop with sufficient cause (a judge, a wife, a doctor), there are a small percentage who react to alcohol with a craving all out of proportion to the average man. We call them alcoholics. This small minority can't safely drink at all. Alcohol, like the drugs under discussion, have in common a dangerous capability to seriously impair mental faculties so as to produce dangerous behaviors like auto accidents, pool drownings, falls from buildings, etc, etc.

    On the other hand, "regular consumption of fairly large quantities" of controlled substances will nearly always guarantee a primary physical and psychological addiction which people will rob convenience stores to get the money to feed (and to avoid the severe symptoms of withdrawal). The majority of people react this way to the highly addictive drug group. These people also exhibit dangerous and inappropriate behaviors when under the influence.

    The question is, do you want to legalize another much larger class of addicts than even alcoholics? The nature of crime would probably change from robberies to fatal accidents, but the overall crime picture would remain about the same or become worse with easy availability of unlimited quantities.

    It makes more sense to deny the alcoholic class of drinkers alcohol than it does to legalize physically addictive substances and insure unlimited, cheap supplies to the addicted.

    Smoking cigarettes falls into an entirely different class, not becuase it is not dangerous to the person who smokes or those who put up with it second-hand, but because it does not involve major mental impairment as do the other drugs under consideration.

    No government made up of elected officials is going to legalize significant mental impairment. Organizations like MADD would have their rumps for brunch, and justifiably so. It could conceivably become like holding New Year's Eve every night of the year, on your drug of choice, around the country. The fallacy is that we imagine social use, people sitting in arm chairs having a smidgen of their favorite drug in their equivalent of a brandy snifter. But the drug doesn't stand for that. The drug equivalent of the social drinker doesn't exist in large numbers in real life. Anyone who treats heroin addicts will tell you they go from zero to near-overdose to get high in a very short time. And crack addicts go on binges that last days at a time, returning home in a condition that may call for paramedic services, or at least a gallon of wine to come down on.

    It is my guess that most who favor legalization have either a) been in the minority that never seems to have (or admit to) a serious problem with a given drug, or b) haven't spent nearly enough time around detox centers to see the typical results, or c) are addicts themselves craving cheaper, better availability on the basis of rationalizations.

    This is not to deny the list of advantages described above. It's just that the social problems far outweigh them in most experts minds (which the users are NOT, by the way -- the first thing to go after inhibitions is objective thinking).

    - Life NRA Member
    If dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
  • woodsrunnerwoodsrunner Member Posts: 5,378 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Well when I was young and stupid I did my share of experimenting. Back then my drug of choice to abuse was alcohol. To be honest, I only see one difference between booze and most of the other drugs. Booze is legal and the others aren't. But I have a thought for everyone to ponder. The local liquor store owner doesn't stand in a school yard passing out samples. His license is too valuable to him. I have a better solution. Legalize drugs. Make it Illegal to medically treat anyone with a drug related illness or injury. Get drunk get in a car accident= DIE! Treat drunk from car accident= GO TO JAIL! Overdose on drug= DIE! ETC... Let Darwin solve the problem of people with no willpower. Before you know it there will be no drug abusers and the prisons will be empty too.And before anyone jumps my case on this oppinion, I had the priveledge of watching my grandfather die of liver cancer, because he wasn't man enough to get his * out of bed every morning without cracking a can of Genesee Cream Ale 1st thing. I've watched my grandmother get passed around the various parts of the family over the past 15 yrs, because this man's lack of willpower left her broke at an old age.

    Woods

    How big a boy are ya?
  • robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    woodsrunner,
    That would go against the doctors opinions of PC these days, because they believe its not a lack of moral courage, or will power, its a disease, and has to be treated. The same doctors who believe guns are the cause of deaths, not the drug users and dealers who stold or appropriated them. Hmm. Makes you think maybe the doctors are the problem. DIE!!

    SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
  • allen griggsallen griggs Member Posts: 35,621 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I spent over a decade working as a Parmedic. Paramedics get to see the people who have really screwed up. People who got shot, who crashed the car, who got beaten up. Easily 50 per cent of the people who ride in the ambulance get there as a result of drug abuse. The worst offending drug is alcohol, hands down. Second is smoking cigarettes, causing cancer and an epidemic of emphysema. Illegal drug ingestion puts few people in the ambulance. I saw one guy die from illegal drugs, he was shooting cocaine. His wife tried to flush the little plastic bag and the syringe but failed. The battles among drug dealers get some people hurt and killed, but anyone today who wants an illegal drug can get it, whether an 8th grader or a prison inmate. Why would so many people who avoid illegal drugs now suddenly go destroy their lives on these drugs just because they became legal?

    "Not as deep as a well, or as wide as a church door, but it is enough."
  • treedawgtreedawg Member Posts: 321 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    thanks for the feedback. all great, pro and con alike, except for a few such as shoot anyone found with illegal drugs, ect.....
  • Jody CommanderJody Commander Member Posts: 855 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I believe drugs should be made legal.............but just the ones I use.
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