Legalization of drugs, pros and cons!

[betenoire]

Originally Posted by Mitmo01

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.

[SuperFemme]

Originally Posted by betenoire

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.

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.

[Apocalipstic]

Originally Posted by UofMfan

Did you know that the minimum sentence, according to guidelines, for any drug offense is 5 years?

Let's do the math and see how much money we would save on housing these non-violent offenders and how much we would gain from taxing this stuff.

Thanks for the cookies

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.

[Apocalipstic]

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.

[Cyclopea]

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"?