Legalization of drugs, pros and cons!
 

Should drugs be legalized?

Yes, no; if yes what are the consequences, benefits. If no, can we continue waging another losing war?

Who gains, who loses?

Opinions, facts, etc, all are welcome as long as cookies are provided for the OP.

:)

Legalize marijuana and mushrooms and use the tax money to pay for health care.

Keep Chrystal Meth and other "hard core" drugs illegal.

Would make for way less people in prison for us to pay for and increase revenues and taxes. No one loses.

Cookies all around! :)

Opinion only...

Legalize pot. Never heard of anyone od'ing on pot or committing homicide in a pot induced haze. Never heard of anyone jonesing so bad for pot they commit larceny or murder or rape. Keep narcotics/ opiate derivitives /methamphetamines etc illegal.

Legalize ALL drugs and prostitution.
Who gains? Everyone but the criminals.
Who loses? The cartels and the CIA.

But it MUST be done at a Federal Level otherwise you end up with the mess we have here in CA. Medical Marijuana growers being prosecuted by the DEA and a Federal Jury not being told about the state law. Long sentences handed out.

I agree with Superfemme

make prostitution legal and drugs legal and tax the hell out of both

treat adults like adults let them make thier own choices since we all know that people are going to do both no matter what....


by having drugs and prostituition illegal all that does is make more money for the government and the cartels....

oh and it does create a hell of a lot of jobs and fills up prisons which create more jobs......

But legalizing it would -also- create a tonne of jobs. They would have to go real heavy on education and harm reduction - and they'd have to hire people to do that.

Like I said in that other thread: making it legal doesn't mean that people who don't currently do drugs are going to start. I don't do any currently illegal drugs - at all. I don't even smoke pot. And my not doing drugs has -nothing- to do with it being illegal - legalizing it isn't going to make me start sticking needles in my veins and stuff up my nose. It's just not.

People are going to do what they are going to do. We may as well create an environment where they are less of a danger to themselves.

Pot needs to not be an offense at all. It is just dumb. I agree with SF, it need to be legalized at the Federal Level. Mushrooms, Poppies, Peyote, etc.

I do think Chrystal Meth is scary and it makes the entire area it is cooked toxic and can explode easily and kill innocent bystanders. Other than that, I really don't care. Decriminalize away. Yes, prostitution too.

I agree that the government does not need to legislate morality.

I'm "anti-drug". Don't like them, don't do them.
But I think all drugs including pharmaceuticals should be legalized and the taxes put towards treatment for addiction.
The practical problem with this is that there is a massive economy built around drugs which would collapse. If the black market was wiped out and most of the prisons closed by legalizing drugs what would replace this economy? What would happen to all the people who make a living on the black market? Would they sell Avon or what? It's not just "cartels" that make a living in the drug economy but lots of regular people too. There are not enough jobs in the legal economy as it is without displacing the massive underground economy and all the legal jobs that feed off it. Would the average street dealer be re-trained as an addictions counselor in the new "treatment economy"?

Of course for those people who think pot is a gateway drug and leads to Crystal......

I think they need to read up and look a their logic.

We could legalize and treat addicts for the disease of addiction.
Offer a safe place to buy/use and save tons on future medical care costs by taking away the risks of HepC and HIV.
Open up rehabs to ALL who need it, not just the folk that can afford a 30k stay.

And no, nobody is gonna start shooting heroin just because they can. I agree with Betenoire.

Check this out:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8255418.stm

Legalizing drugs benefits us all for many reasons!!

Here are some off the top of my head.

1-Societal Benefits- Illegal drug sale creates a criminal culture. People, such as myself (recreational user),has to come in contact with not so nice people. It also affects our youths and creating a space to choose a life of crime selling drugs on the street.

2-The Potency Effect- Remember prohibition...more people chose to drink alcohol over wine or beer because it was more potent. Alcohol related deaths skyrocketed. When it comes to drugs if a dealer is gonna take a risk, then the dealer is more likely to risk transporting/selling a more potent product for the public to purchase. Potency does not equate quality!!

3-Health Benefits- Legalizing would ensure market driven high quality substances to purchase. There would be brand name competition and accountablity.

4-Reduction in Crime- four reasons for this thought
1-reduction in market prices from the influx of users that were normally deterred because of criminal laws.
2-substance related crime will decrease because the courts will now be open for companies to settle disputes in court.
3-Profits for cartels = money for terrorists!!!
4-legalizing sale,transport and possession will now be viewed as legal buisness transactions.


This is all I have for now...