Should drugs be legal?

[thir]

A short article about the Portugeese experiment:

Now We Know: Decriminalization DOES Cut Drug Use

"Ten years ago, Portugal took the unprecedented step of decriminalizing all drugs. One decade after this much derided experiment, drug abuse is down by half. Street drug related deaths from overdoses and the rate of HIV cases have crashed."

John Stossel spoke to a chief police inspector in Lisbon who was very dubious about decriminalization at first. But now he’s a convert. He told Stossel, “the level of conflicts on the street are reduced … drug related robberies are reduced … and now police are not the enemies of the consumers.”

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/now-we-know-decriminalization-does-cut-drug-use.html#ixzz1q9FOWUFj


Drugs in Portugal: Did Decriminalization Work?

"The paper, published by Cato in April, found that in the five years after personal possession was decriminalized, illegal drug use among teens in Portugal declined and rates of new HIV infections caused by sharing of dirty needles dropped, while the number of people seeking treatment for drug addiction more than doubled."

"At the Cato Institute in early April, Greenwald contended that a major problem with most American drug policy debate is that it's based on "speculation and fear mongering," rather than empirical evidence on the effects of more lenient drug policies. In Portugal, the effect was to neutralize what had become the country's number one public health problem, he says."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html#ixzz1q9IR3HqY


Legalizing Drugs Decreases Use - Proof In Portugal, Netherlands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDt8NXLs1ws

At some time US was likewise considering this: "In 1972, after an exhaustive study by a team of top experts, President Richard Nixon's hand-picked National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse recommended decriminalization of marijuana. Five years later, President Jimmy Carter and many of his top cabinet officials made the same recommendation to Congress. Both the Commission and the Carter administration felt that the "cure" of imprisonment was worse than the "disease" of marijuana use. U.S. drug control officials argued strenuously that Congress should ignore such recommendations, which it did."

http://www.cedro-uva.org/lib/reinarman.dutch.html


I do not know what the position is now on the Democrat's side, but the Republicans want strict measures.

So, would it be a good idea to legalize drugs in more countries, in an attempt to handle the problem and also free police resources for other things, or would it make it worse?

Would it be a good idea to legalize trading drugs, in order to stop the drug overlords and their power and influence in many countries and free police resources for other things, or would it make the problems worse?

[lucy]

It should be handled like other drugs like alcohol or tobacco: State controlled, not available for underage persons (however, that should work better than it does now) and with high enough taxes so the price is a deterrent for non-users but not expensive enough to lure organized crime into the business.

[denuseri]

So, would it be a good idea to legalize drugs in more countries, in an attempt to handle the problem and also free police resources for other things, or would it make it worse?

Yes all drugs should be legalized period.

Good luck getting it passed in the USA. The law enforcement and corrections people and corporations who back them will have a hissy because it removes revenue from what they collect and removes a purpose for their existence.

Would it be a good idea to legalize trading drugs, in order to stop the drug overlords and their power and influence in many countries and free police resources for other things, or would it make the problems worse?

Legalize and tax it across the board.

[TrIcK]

Just to play devils advocate for a bit, but all of the evidence you've given is based on one culture,
how do you know that legalising drugs in other countries will give the same effect?

Also regulation can be ineffective (notably taxation), for instance increased taxation of fuel has
hardly stemmed the use of it (I appreciate the flaw in this argument ), or the increased taxation
of alcohol?

I am actually in favour of legalising (some) drugs, just a bit sceptical about how effective it would be.

[Thorne]

for instance increased taxation of fuel has hardly stemmed the use of it (I appreciate the flaw in this argument ), or the increased taxation of alcohol?
The point is not so much to stem the use as to eliminate the criminal aspect of it. When was the last time you heard of any large-scale cartel smuggling gasoline or alcohol into the US? There just isn't enough profit in them to justify it. And when you eliminate the criminal charges for buying or selling LEGAL drugs, you tend to limit the possible clients for those selling illegal drugs. Just too much risk involved to justify the small profit.

Personally, I would cast a wary eye on the motives of those who would oppose the legalization of drugs. The possibility that it would cost them a lot of money can't be overlooked.

[IAN 2411]

Marijuana..was decriminalized in the UK...it lasted until the next Home Secretary was in power, 2 years I think. All the time governments pander to the whims of frigging idiots, there will never be a solution. Until there is I will keep growing my own...lmfao.:p

Be well IAN 2411

[StrictMasterD]

Yes, whether they are Legal or notthey wil always be used, Legalized, Tax them Control them and be done withi t, it would seem to me that the Police have far more inportant things to do daily, with Crime as it is to worry about someone smoking a joint, this is 2012 Folks not 1912
Drugs wil be used, so make them legal the exceptiobn may be those that ar very Additive, Crack, Heroine etc)

[TrIcK]

The point is not so much to stem the use as to eliminate the criminal aspect of it. When was the last time you heard of any large-scale cartel smuggling gasoline or alcohol into the US? There just isn't enough profit in them to justify it. And when you eliminate the criminal charges for buying or selling LEGAL drugs, you tend to limit the possible clients for those selling illegal drugs. Just too much risk involved to justify the small profit.


You are right about smuggling petrol or alcohol in the US however I have heard there is a rising problem with smuggling illicit tobacco in some countries (generally sold as fraudulent products). So would the current drug production move towards producing cheaper fraudulent drugs?

I actually like the idea of legalizing some drugs as it will bring control to drug production (preventing cutting drugs with other drugs or other dangerous chemicals). I would certainly prefer a incremental implementation, so start with the weaker drugs and move upwards.

[Thorne]

You are right about smuggling petrol or alcohol in the US however I have heard there is a rising problem with smuggling illicit tobacco in some countries (generally sold as fraudulent products). So would the current drug production move towards producing cheaper fraudulent drugs?
There would always be some small-scale bootlegging operations, the lack of government taxes providing a small profit for the smugglers. Larger scale operations have a larger overhead, though, and far more risk of detection. They wouldn't be able to compete. However, you would still have drug producers developing different drugs, designer type drugs. But with ready, and legal, access to drugs, I would think the demand would be relatively small.

[Punish_her]

Just to play devils advocate for a bit, but all of the evidence you've given is based on one culture,
how do you know that legalising drugs in other countries will give the same effect?

Also regulation can be ineffective (notably taxation), for instance increased taxation of fuel has
hardly stemmed the use of it (I appreciate the flaw in this argument ), or the increased taxation
of alcohol?[QUOTE=TrIcK;965450]

extremely good point. Singapore has a draconian system for punishing drug users and sellers, and it works because it's a tiny country that is easy to control.
Furthermore, why does anyone care about how many people use drugs? It has little to no impact on my life. The crux of the matter is this:
1) drug offenders (nonviolent felons) being incracerated is bad for the social fabric, ie broken homes and burdens of the state
2) the real problem with drugs is not some guy sitting in a basement smoking pot, it's the cartels that behead neighborhood activists. All the violence associated with drugs is a direct result of the illegality.
3) Spending on police and DEA units has increased threefold in the last 20 years while drug use rates have actually increased slightly. It simply does not justify the costs

I am actually in favour of legalising (some) drugs, just a bit sceptical about how effective it would be.