Legalize Drugs, Why?

[kwc57]

You make very good points you may very well be right, its just from my experiences of seeing people I know get hooked on these drugs just makes me shudder when I think about them being sold legally and cheap for everyone to buy.

Alcohol is relatively cheap and easy to buy. I don't drink the stuff. Well, I drink in one year what some people drink in one evening. Alcohol just isn't part of my life. That was the way I was raised. Simply because it is available.......isn't a temptation for me to buy it and use it. Drugs are the same way. For some reason, people think that if drugs were legalized, there would be a stampede on the stores, everyone would get high and there would be orgies in the street. Why? Why do you think legal availability will increase use? If that were true, it would be true with any and all legal products, be it pot, beer or french fries. Do we have a french fry epidemic?

Funny that you mention it lol, have you seen all the fat kids lately? I think we DO have a french fry epidemic!

Yes we do, and look at all the heat Michelle Obama is taking for suggesting limiting what schools can feed kids. Why do we want people to have liberty and freedom in food and alcohol, but not drugs. Misused, they can all kill us. The true conservative response is liberty and personal responsibility. Tain't the gubmints bidness!

 

[kwc57]

Legalize Drugs, Why?

Removing the paranoia would make them more fun to take.

hmmmmm.....some of them cause paranoia, so I'm not sure we can totally eliminate that factor.

 

[High_Gravity]

Not true. Kids already have easy access to any drug they want, just like alcohol.

Yes but if these drugs are legalized the price will go down, which makes the drugs even easier to get, they can find a willing adult to walk into a store and buy them heroin instead of purchasing it on the street for a more expensive price.

Really? Would you buy it for them? I wouldn't. I'd venture that the vast majority in this thread wouldn't either. How many adults do you think they would have to ask....provided they actually had the balls to ask....before they find one willing?

Kids have no problem finding ways to get alcohol now, and find willing adults to go into the store and buy it for them. I wouldn't do it, but if drugs were legalized how would that be any different? adults would take the moral high ground all of a sudden and not supply kids with drugs?

 

[HUGGY]

Legalize Drugs, Why?

Removing the paranoia would make them more fun to take.

hmmmmm.....some of them cause paranoia, so I'm not sure we can totally eliminate that factor.

I think the fact that one's life is pretty much ruined if caught is probably the biggest problem.

 

[kwc57]

Yes but if these drugs are legalized the price will go down, which makes the drugs even easier to get, they can find a willing adult to walk into a store and buy them heroin instead of purchasing it on the street for a more expensive price.

Really? Would you buy it for them? I wouldn't. I'd venture that the vast majority in this thread wouldn't either. How many adults do you think they would have to ask....provided they actually had the balls to ask....before they find one willing?

Kids have no problem finding ways to get alcohol now, and find willing adults to go into the store and buy it for them. I wouldn't do it, but if drugs were legalized how would that be any different? adults would take the moral high ground all of a sudden and not supply kids with drugs?

Define adult. I'm guessing that these adults are just over the legal limit of 21 and still have some maturing to do. The point is this, people who want to use will continue to want to use. People who don't won't all of a sudden have some huge temptation to become drug users. What is the logic that drives anti-legalization folks to think that drug use will all of a sudden take some big double digit jump?

 

[rikules]

Really? Would you buy it for them? I wouldn't. I'd venture that the vast majority in this thread wouldn't either. How many adults do you think they would have to ask....provided they actually had the balls to ask....before they find one willing?

Kids have no problem finding ways to get alcohol now, and find willing adults to go into the store and buy it for them. I wouldn't do it, but if drugs were legalized how would that be any different? adults would take the moral high ground all of a sudden and not supply kids with drugs?

Define adult. I'm guessing that these adults are just over the legal limit of 21 and still have some maturing to do. The point is this, people who want to use will continue to want to use. People who don't won't all of a sudden have some huge tempation to become drug users. What is the logic that drives anti-legalization folks to think that drug use will all of a sudden take some big double digit jump?

"What is the logic that drives anti-legalization folks to think that drug use will all of a sudden take some big double digit jump?"


they are conservatives. logic doesn't apply.

 

[High_Gravity]

Really? Would you buy it for them? I wouldn't. I'd venture that the vast majority in this thread wouldn't either. How many adults do you think they would have to ask....provided they actually had the balls to ask....before they find one willing?

Kids have no problem finding ways to get alcohol now, and find willing adults to go into the store and buy it for them. I wouldn't do it, but if drugs were legalized how would that be any different? adults would take the moral high ground all of a sudden and not supply kids with drugs?

Define adult. I'm guessing that these adults are just over the legal limit of 21 and still have some maturing to do. The point is this, people who want to use will continue to want to use. People who don't won't all of a sudden have some huge tempation to become drug users. What is the logic that drives anti-legalization folks to think that drug use will all of a sudden take some big double digit jump?

I'm not saying that drug use will double or anything, your right people who want to use will continue to use. I'm just saying from my personal experience of seeing and dealing with people addicted to drugs, I just can't imagine seeing these things legally available in stores for people to buy just like that.

 

[High_Gravity]

Legalize Drugs, Why?

Removing the paranoia would make them more fun to take.

hmmmmm.....some of them cause paranoia, so I'm not sure we can totally eliminate that factor.

I think the fact that one's life is pretty much ruined if caught is probably the biggest problem.

If someone is addicted to heroin or crystal meth their lives are pretty much ruined whether they are caught or not.

 

[kwc57]

Kids have no problem finding ways to get alcohol now, and find willing adults to go into the store and buy it for them. I wouldn't do it, but if drugs were legalized how would that be any different? adults would take the moral high ground all of a sudden and not supply kids with drugs?

Define adult. I'm guessing that these adults are just over the legal limit of 21 and still have some maturing to do. The point is this, people who want to use will continue to want to use. People who don't won't all of a sudden have some huge tempation to become drug users. What is the logic that drives anti-legalization folks to think that drug use will all of a sudden take some big double digit jump?

I'm not saying that drug use will double or anything, your right people who want to use will continue to use. I'm just saying from my personal experience of seeing and dealing with people addicted to drugs, I just can't imagine seeing these things legally available in stores for people to buy just like that.

And I've seen alcohol destroy lives. Went to a funeral two weeks ago for a guy who slowly drank himself to death. Do I say, "I just can't imagine seeing these things legally available in stores for people to buy just like that"? No. Why? We went down that road once before and the "cure" was worse than the disease. Legalizing booze did away with the organized crime part of the business that sprang up to give people who wanted to drink the booze they desired. Drug legalization will do the same thing. It still all boils down to liberty and personal responsibility.

 

[Oddball]

$30 a bottle isn't expensive...Try pricing out some of the single malt scotches.

In any case, you've swerved into another point...That being those who do go for the stronger stuff have a large constituency, who do so for reasons other than the buzz.

Pointing to crack and tar heroin as what would be the "norm" under a decrim/legalization scenario simply doesn't hold up in reality.

I agree but several posters have said they should go ahead and legalize all of it, meth, heroin, hash, meth, the whole package.

I'm one of them.

Under that paradigm, things like crystal meth and tar heroin would vanish overnight, much the way bathtub gin did after the end of prohibition.

Now, you might in turn point out that there are still moonshiners, and there are....Yet, they do what they do largely as hobbyists and, as an added benefit, Chicago isn't a shooting gallery for people who are in it only for the illicit profits.

 

[HUGGY]

hmmmmm.....some of them cause paranoia, so I'm not sure we can totally eliminate that factor.

I think the fact that one's life is pretty much ruined if caught is probably the biggest problem.

If someone is addicted to heroin or crystal meth their lives are pretty much ruined whether they are caught or not.

Not necessarily. Most of the trauma of even harder drugs is related to what they have to do to get them. AND more to the point of the OP there would be more people safe in their homes and safely for the public off of the streets if they could do their chemical relaxation without fear in their own environment. i suspect that many of the "accidents" cited were on the way to or from a clandestine drug deal.

 

[High_Gravity]

$30 a bottle isn't expensive...Try pricing out some of the single malt scotches.

In any case, you've swerved into another point...That being those who do go for the stronger stuff have a large constituency, who do so for reasons other than the buzz.

Pointing to crack and tar heroin as what would be the "norm" under a decrim/legalization scenario simply doesn't hold up in reality.

I agree but several posters have said they should go ahead and legalize all of it, meth, heroin, hash, meth, the whole package.

I'm one of them.

Under that paradigm, things like crystal meth and tar heroin would vanish overnight, much the way bathtub gin did after the end of prohibition.

Now, you might in turn point out that there are still moonshiners, and there are....Yet, they do what they do largely as hobbyists and, as an added benefit, Chicago isn't a shooting gallery for people who are in it only for the illicit profits.

But, bathtub gin was taken away because people could now go into a store and buy real gin. Are you saying if we legalized things like marijuana and other lesser drugs, people wouldn't want heroin or crack anymore? I doubt very much that would be the case.

 

[Oddball]

"What is the logic that drives anti-legalization folks to think that drug use will all of a sudden take some big double digit jump?"


they are conservatives. logic doesn't apply.

Plenty of alleged "liberals" use that lame-assed jabbering point....But logic hasn't applied to them either, since at least the onset of industrial revolution.

 

[westwall]

Alot of that is because college kids abuse alcohol and don't know their limits, these idiots guzzle Four Lokos through a beer bong when that has a 14-15% alcohol content, I think classes need to be in these schools on alcohol awareness and training.

Sounds like every other drug that has been listed doesn't it?

But, how do you educate someone on the proper amount of heroin or crystal meth to take?

You don't. You educate them on what the signs of toxicity are. What to do when the signs emerge and most importantly when it is no longer a legal issue they will be far more likely to call for help. A simple shot of Narcan deals with a heroin overdose...provided the paramedics get there to administer it.

 

[High_Gravity]

I think the fact that one's life is pretty much ruined if caught is probably the biggest problem.

If someone is addicted to heroin or crystal meth their lives are pretty much ruined whether they are caught or not.

Not necessarily. Most of the trauma of even harder drugs is related to what they have to do to get them. AND more to the point of the OP there would be more people safe in their homes and safely for the public off of the streets if they could do their chemical relaxation without fear in their own environment. i suspect that many of the "accidents" cited were on the way to or from a clandestine drug deal.

Legalizing drugs may take crime off the streets and people will be able to shoot up in their own homes but it still does not take away the damage that years of heroin, meth, crack etc. abuse will do to an addict, legalizing these things does not automatically fix everything for these people.

 

[High_Gravity]

Define adult. I'm guessing that these adults are just over the legal limit of 21 and still have some maturing to do. The point is this, people who want to use will continue to want to use. People who don't won't all of a sudden have some huge tempation to become drug users. What is the logic that drives anti-legalization folks to think that drug use will all of a sudden take some big double digit jump?

I'm not saying that drug use will double or anything, your right people who want to use will continue to use. I'm just saying from my personal experience of seeing and dealing with people addicted to drugs, I just can't imagine seeing these things legally available in stores for people to buy just like that.

And I've seen alcohol destroy lives. Went to a funeral two weeks ago for a guy who slowly drank himself to death. Do I say, "I just can't imagine seeing these things legally available in stores for people to buy just like that"? No. Why? We went down that road once before and the "cure" was worse than the disease. Legalizing booze did away with the organized crime part of the business that sprang up to give people who wanted to drink the booze they desired. Drug legalization will do the same thing. It still all boils down to liberty and personal responsibility.

You make a good point.

 

[geauxtohell]

$30 a bottle isn't expensive...Try pricing out some of the single malt scotches.

In any case, you've swerved into another point...That being those who do go for the stronger stuff have a large constituency, who do so for reasons other than the buzz.

Pointing to crack and tar heroin as what would be the "norm" under a decrim/legalization scenario simply doesn't hold up in reality.

I agree but several posters have said they should go ahead and legalize all of it, meth, heroin, hash, meth, the whole package.

I'm one of them.

Under that paradigm, things like crystal meth and tar heroin would vanish overnight, much the way bathtub gin did after the end of prohibition.

Now, you might in turn point out that there are still moonshiners, and there are....Yet, they do what they do largely as hobbyists and, as an added benefit, Chicago isn't a shooting gallery for people who are in it only for the illicit profits.

The grandchildren of the moonshiners are now cooking crank in my old hometown. It doesn't matter what the substance is, as long as it is illegal there will be a market for it and people will use that to try and supplement their incomes (or simply survive in the case of the new "Moonshiners").

That doesn't mean that just making everything legal is the solution to it. At some point asking "what is the net gain for society"? is a legitimate question.

Even the purest of Methamphetamine is a wicked drug.

 

[High_Gravity]

Sounds like every other drug that has been listed doesn't it?

But, how do you educate someone on the proper amount of heroin or crystal meth to take?

You don't. You educate them on what the signs of toxicity are. What to do when the signs emerge and most importantly when it is no longer a legal issue they will be far more likely to call for help. A simple shot of Narcan deals with a heroin overdose...provided the paramedics get there to administer it.

But, as soon as you inject heroin its pretty much too late to try and stop the high right? I mean using heroin is not like sitting there and drinking beer after beer, you can always stop drinking after a certain amount but once you inject that needle how can you go back?

 

[geauxtohell]

You don't. You educate them on what the signs of toxicity are. What to do when the signs emerge and most importantly when it is no longer a legal issue they will be far more likely to call for help. A simple shot of Narcan deals with a heroin overdose...provided the paramedics get there to administer it.

Narcan is only effective if you are able to find the person the person before their respiratory drive goes to 0.

It also doesn't deal with the problem of narcotics. It's just an antidote to overdose.

 

[HUGGY]

If someone is addicted to heroin or crystal meth their lives are pretty much ruined whether they are caught or not.

Not necessarily. Most of the trauma of even harder drugs is related to what they have to do to get them. AND more to the point of the OP there would be more people safe in their homes and safely for the public off of the streets if they could do their chemical relaxation without fear in their own environment. i suspect that many of the "accidents" cited were on the way to or from a clandestine drug deal.

Legalizing drugs may take crime off the streets and people will be able to shoot up in their own homes but it still does not take away the damage that years of heroin, meth, crack etc. abuse will do to an addict, legalizing these things does not automatically fix everything for these people.

I don't think it is anyone's business to "fix everything" for anyone else. Some people are just going to be alcoholics...heroin users...pot smokers etc.. Dehumanizing them certainly does not improve the whole situation...for the user or society.