This is certainly an option. Prohibition of alcohol didn't work, it created a powerful mafia. How successful was this legalization in the netherlands, or Holland. I don't know.
Another example of normalizing deviancy
Common Sense Ping.
Bill is probably fried most of the time.
This is where my quasi-libertarian side kicks in. Here in the Pittsburgh area, the media for the past few days has been innudated with stories of a supposed epidemic of heroin overdose deaths (three I believe). All the politicians and do-gooders are wringing their hands. My view? Good and good riddance. This is not some disease where you become ill and die through no fault of your own. This is a behavior choice. These individuals make the choice to take these drugs. They take the risk. Why should I weep and gnash my teeth over them? In my view, these are three fewer lowlifes my tax dollars have to support.
On the other hand, there is money that could be made from legalization. If we have to spend so much money treating the addicts, not to mention feeding, clothing and housing them, then why not legalize the drugs? In doing so, we could regulate and tax the stuff. In taxing the drugs, we could recoup at least some of the money we lose on these lowlifes. And the supply would be a heckuva a lot safer.
I don't know if the country would be safer. I do support the decriminalization of marijuana. That's a start. I don't know how effective treatment is. Probably not too effective because many people enjoy getting high and do not want to be treated.
Violent crime rates remain at the lowest levels in the history of the Bureau of Justice Statistics' survey (which started in 1973). We are experiencing the sharpest decline in teen crime in modern history.
Why the urgent push for a "safer society"? Why the push to legalize drugs? Seems to me that we're pretty safe, and it seems to me that giving the Green Light to rampant drug use might end up hurting a lot of folks.
I read this opinion piece this morning and disagreed with it entirely. While I fully support the legalization of marijuana, I think legalizing drugs of this nature---heroin or even cocaine---is not the same, and does not offer a solution, because the nature of the drug is different, as is the nature of the user. I have a hard time believing someone who'd resort to violent crime in order to maintain his or her drug-centric lifestyle would suddenly reform himself or herself if their drug of choice were legalized. In fact, I'd wager that the criminal element involved with this lifestyle is as attractive and addictive as the drug itself. Legalize heroin and "Eddie" becomes a legitimate contributor to society? Those are long odds, at best.
Did anyone else see Nightline night before last about the counterfeit drugs coming from China? Drugs like Crestor, Lipitor, Procrit and others. Some are made from drywall, cement, and the yellow lead-based paint used for highways. I fell asleep and missed the ending telling how drugs get to the drugstore. Dummy me, I thought they came from the manufacturer. I will be looking for a replay. Pfiser is aware. These drugs have reached drugstores such as Rite-Aid and are dispensed unnoticed as they are such good counterfeits. Pretty scarey stuff going on all over.
Methinks Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) exaggerates just a little. The 2007 Federal ONDCP budget (which includes the DEA) is $12.7 billion, and the states spend about the same. That's excluding incarceration.
Half of the federal money is spent on drug education, anti-drug advertising and treatment. The other half is spent on overseas inderdiction and local border control. Which of these areas the author would eliminate is unknown.
Darwin will be a bit busy for a while. But once all those bent on destroying themselves have done so, the rest of us will be MUCH better off...
More drugs = more AIDS.
This is insane.
Why is alcohol regulated? Because the use of it will cause you to lose motor function proficiency and slows down cognative skills.
Why is cocaine regulated? Use of it will cause:
anxiety
panic
bloody nose
increased energy
talking rapidly
rapid pulse and respirations
paranoia
confusion
dilated pupils
hallucinations
altered motor activities (tremors, hyperactivity)
stuffiness and runny nose
How about marijuana?
Sleepiness
Difficulty keeping track of time, impaired or reduced short-term memory
Reduced ability to perform tasks requiring concentration and coordination, such as driving a car
Increased heart rate
Potential cardiac dangers for those with preexisting heart disease
Bloodshot eyes
Dry mouth and throat
Decreased social inhibitions
Paranoia, hallucinations
Impaired or reduced short-term memory
Impaired or reduced comprehension
Altered motivation and cognition, making the acquisition of new information difficult
Paranoia
Psychological dependence
Impairments in learning, memory, perception, and judgment - difficulty speaking, listening effectively, thinking, retaining knowledge, problem solving, and forming concepts
Intense anxiety or panic attacks
So why would we want to legalize these drugs? There is NO NEED for cocaine. None. There is no "good" to outweighs it's bad.
I wish some of these people would grow a brain.
Oh, puhleeze.
Good idea, then all the druggies can overdose. Then we would need fewer police and the hospital emergency rooms would not be so crowded. Of course the money that the dealers spend on large ticket items would put a hurt to many companies. /sarc