Is it normal to think all drugs should be legal?

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I don't take drugs, but not because they are illegal, just because I don't want to. I doubt their legal status deters anyone from using them, nor would them being legal make people want to take drugs more.
Whilst there is an illegal trade in drugs, it will aid all kinds of corruption, prostitution, murder, human trafficking etc. as well as criminalising a bunch of people who are otherwise law abiding.
If drugs were legal, they could be taxed appropriately in the same way alcohol and cigarettes are. An increase in rehabilitation and education efforts, funded by the taxes would probably have a better effect than them being banned. People have always taken drugs and always will. Why should they be considered criminals for using drugs? Especially when alcohol is considered acceptable, despite being a dangerous, addictive drug.
I genuinely believe this is the correct and fair approach to drug policy, but is it normal?

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Based on 112 votes (68 yes)
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Comments ( 54 )
  • dom180
    10 years ago

    This is such a difficult question and I could type for hours about it. I might even have an answer at the end of that :P

    Firstly, I do believe making something legal means more people will do it. And that isn't just my opinion - allow me to direct you towards the wonderful world of relevant statistics:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Minimum_Drinking_Age_Act#Relevant_statistics "As self-reported by students aged 18-20, a minimum legal drinking age of 18 increased heavy episodic drinking by 3.4% and increased instances of drinking in the past month by 17.4%". That statistic is in relevance to the age at which alcohol is legal in the United States, and shows that when drinking is legal people drink more. There's no reason to assume that wouldn't be true of other drugs besides alcohol. Obviously there are flaws with that study which I won't bother to discuss (i.e. self-report bias), but you get my point. I can try and describe psychologically why that is, if you would like me to.

    However, I *completely* agree that we need to decriminalise drug addicts and start seeing addiction as an illness that needs to be treated rather than a crime that needs to be punished. Aside from any moral debate, it's obvious that a punitive approach isn't working.

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  • SchumpetersGale
    10 years ago

    YES. 99% of economists agree with you. The drug war will fail. It is inevitable. The only thing that is not certain is when the government will stop wasting money and finally give up.

    There is a simple principle in market economics that says you cannot destroy or limit demand by banning a good/service. How can you keep someone from wanting something? They will want it, whether you try to keep them from getting it or not. If you use law and force to prevent them from getting it, they will either get it illegally (on the black market) or choose a close substitute (on a 'gray' market).

    Examples:

    Weed:

    People's desire to smoke weed does not change simply because the government wants them to stop smoking weed. Therefore, people buy weed illegally (black market) and they buy synthetic weed (gray market).

    Alcohol Prohibition. You guys have taken history class. Enough said.

    Firearms: there is a black market for firearms in places where they are hard to get, and there is a gray market for other weapons (taser guns, knives, batons. All of these weapons become more popular when guns are harder to get)

    Prostitution: Strip clubs and pimps. Enough said.

    AND THE SHINING EXAMPLE IS THE ONLINE BLACK MARKET CALLED THE 'SILK ROAD'. THE SILK ROAD IS A MULTI MILLION DOLLAR MARKETPLACE.

    Anyone disagree? I challenge you to disagree, I dare you. You are wrong if you think that what I am saying is not true. Its not an opinion, its a fact that prohibiting goods/services will always create black and gray markets. I know I may sound arrogant, but is it arrogant to say that you are wrong if you think that water is not H20?

    I will list hundreds of examples.

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  • Anonymous Post Author
    10 years ago

    So according to your logic if, for example, bestiality were to become legal, you think more people would do it? People don't do things because they are legal, they do them because they want to.
    People take drugs because they want to, and because they are there. The fact that they are illegal doesn't deter people, they still take them en masse. In countries in which they've been legalised or decriminalised there has been no change in the amount of users (in some countries where they've simultaneously encouraged rehabilitation and education, the use of drugs has actually fallen)
    Surely the only way to stop people from taking them is to educate them on why they shouldn't take them, the risks, the dangers etc. and to stop addiction through rehabilitation.
    Just because (in this hypothetical situation) drugs are legal it doesn't mean they aren't controlled. On the contrary, they would be better controlled thus making them less accessible to young people. Currently anyone can buy drugs from anyone illegally, if they were sold in a legitimate way, there would be better controls to make sure only adults get them. Of course it wouldn't be guaranteed but the is nothing to suggest it would be any worse than the current situation, logic suggests it would be better.

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    • Short4Words
      10 years ago

      I'd love some actually links or references to the usage. I don't think you can also compare bestiality to drugs for obvious reasons. My arguement was not about selling my arguement was about accessibility. It's not easy for a father of four who works in an office to find cocaine all of a sudden he needs to know people. By making it as easy as walking down the street, how is it so unlikely that he might try it for a change? I think the amount of effort and secrecy and shame that's involved in procuring drugs definitely has some effect on who buys it and how often.

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      • SchumpetersGale
        10 years ago

        It does. I see your point.

        Lets assume the father of four would try cocaine if it were legal and easy and safe for him to get. But he wouldn't if it were illegal and sketchy to get.

        Think about why he wants the cocaine. Legal or not, it is still common knowledge that cocaine is insanely addictive and destructive to the body. He has four children, and yet he would still be willing to do that to his body if he could get the cocaine easily. Does that not suggest a certain internal motivation which would compel him to do similarly irresponsible things that are legal?

        What I'm saying is, this man you describe, he will go buy legal, synthetic cocaine. Because its clear that he doesn't give a shit about his kids or his body. Or, at least, its not as important to him as getting high. So if what he wants is illegal, and he doesn't want to buy illegal things, then he will simply go find a close substitute.

        The fact that cocaine is illegal does not make the father realize the fact that doing drugs when you have four kids is a bad idea. It simply provides an obstacle to him getting high.

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        • Short4Words
          10 years ago

          Fair point, using the father of four was a TERRIBLE example, but think of something of the less responsible people out there, not just parents. The same thing applies.

          But yea all I'm saying is that it serves as a deterrent BECAUSE it is an obstacle, which we didn't need to specify but here we are.

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          • SchumpetersGale
            10 years ago

            They say that the death penalty is a deterrent for violent crime, and yet the statistics say otherwise.

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            • Short4Words
              10 years ago

              That's a completely other arguement. I stated very clearly and that illegality of drugs serves as an obstacle for consumers which can therefore be a deterrent for them. Consequence is something else entirely.

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  • Short4Words
    10 years ago

    Accessibility. I think it would increase the chances of harder drugs like cocaine or heroin or meth, but more realistically things like MDMA and PCP getting into the hands of younger children and young adults. I also think it WOULD increase usage because whether you think it deters people or not, as soon as its legal it's going to seem more tolerable to some people. I think people would try more drugs, and I think more people would try to incorporate drugs into their lifestyles that normally wouldn't have as much. You have to realize by making something legal, like let's say prostitution although quite a bit different, it makes the activity or drug seem more acceptable. I think by making these drugs legal it suggest that society is or will be more accepting towards heroin and other hard drug use.

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    • SuperBenzid
      10 years ago

      I think it being illegal fosters accessibility for children, I grew up in a shitty school/neighborhood and it was always easier to get marijuana and amphetamines than alcohol. Dealers as a rule don't ask for ID (though to be fair some did) so we could always get whatever we wanted with money any time we wanted. Try doing that with a liquor store at 14.

      Where I live getting drugs is the easiest thing in the world , it would be no more difficult for me to buy methamphetamine than a loaf of bread in spite of legality. Yet I don't think attitudes have changed with incredible availability. Just because something is accessible doesn't me you do it, a kitchen knife is accessible but that doesn't mean the average person goes out and robs people with it.

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    • davesumba
      10 years ago

      False. Illegal things are MUCH easier to come by than things with an age restriction like alcohol. In high school I could get marijuana any time I wanted from fellow students, and other people in my school could get coke, heroin, X, you name it. But then when it came time to finding booze for a weekend party, it was harder to find a 21 year old to buy us booze, than to get freaking heroin.

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      • Short4Words
        10 years ago

        I'm not saying you're wrong, you actually raise an incredibly valid point. But what about cigarettes?

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        • davesumba
          10 years ago

          What about cigarettes? There were probably more people at my HIGH school doing hard drugs than cigarettes.

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          • Short4Words
            10 years ago

            When was this?

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            • davesumba
              10 years ago

              They didn't call my school Heroin High for nothing.

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            • davesumba
              10 years ago

              2005-2009

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  • Mark92
    10 years ago

    Cocaine was once legal, and try doing some searches on why it was made illegal....

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    • SchumpetersGale
      10 years ago

      Just because something is bad doesn't mean that making it illegal will solve the problem.

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  • Mark92
    10 years ago

    Yeah, make HEROINE legal, take it and find out what happens to you!

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  • EccentricWeird
    10 years ago

    It's a trade-off. You can never win when you try to control millions of people at once.

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  • [Old Memory]
    10 years ago

    I used to think this. Then I worked in the entertainment business where I was surrounded by tweakers. Meth should never be legalized. I've seen what it does and I am thankful that I never got into it because I do not want to be like them.

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    • RoseIsabella
      10 years ago

      Every time I see a tweaker or tweakers I think, "the Zombie Apocalypse is upon us!"

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    • davesumba
      10 years ago

      because keeping hard drugs illegal totally stops everyone from doing them.

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      • [Old Memory]
        10 years ago

        I don't think that is true at all but I do think legalizing them will make the problem much worse if you can by meth from the gas station.

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  • BlueJeansWhiteShirt
    10 years ago

    I know the legal status of drugs does not deter anyone from taking them but it sometimes forces an addict into rehabilitation so they can improve their lives. Being prosecuted for a crime isn't all about punishment and deterrent. It's about making society a better place by helping the offender.
    I agree with you to some extent, but I don't think ALL drugs should be legal.

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    • davesumba
      10 years ago

      most people who are punished for possessing illegal drugs are not deterred from using, it just makes them realize they were getting cocky and reckless, and need to be more careful about where they carry their drugs.

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      • BlueJeansWhiteShirt
        10 years ago

        Seeing other people being prosecuted for the possession of drugs has definitely not stopped me from taking drugs.

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  • [Old Memory]
    10 years ago

    Normal? Yes.

    Smart? No.

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  • Grapist
    10 years ago

    Yeah so can od yourself right. Go back to the alley you druggy

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    • SchumpetersGale
      10 years ago

      Hah your ignorance is amusing. Do you know how many years we've been fighting the drug 'war'? What do we have to show for it? Weed and many other drugs, such as MDMA, are more popular now than they've ever been. Do you know how much money is wasted on the drug war? Did you ever learn about alcohol prohibition? Remember how well that worked out? During that time the only people who were selling alcohol were violent criminals like Al Capone. People still used alcohol, but they did it secretly, and the people who sold it were violent because they had much more to lose if they were caught. Are the merchants of alcohol violent now? Do you think people get killed for selling alcohol nowadays?

      Do you think that if I want something, and I'm willing to pay for it, I will stop wanting it because the federal government says I can't have it?

      Its people like you that make me feel pessimistic about the future of developed countries like the United States.

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      • Grapist
        10 years ago

        not that I was serious the first time, but I feel the same way about you

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  • Strat
    10 years ago

    The "drug war" provides two very important things,profits for criminlas on all sides of the law and an excellent excuse to shred the constitution in the process of fighting this so called war,it also provides other benefits such as the police calling any crime they cannot solve or just want an easy excusae for "drug related" and let's not forget those do gooders and crusaders out to save the world from it's self.

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  • davesumba
    10 years ago

    Yes. SO many problems would be resolved if all drugs were legal. Less crime, less strain on government economics, and actual freedom that they falsely advertise. Legalize AND educate. Have on the box a whole shpeal of what you can expect to happen to your body in the short/long term. Have a chart that says how much to do based on your tolerance or something. Have the strength accurately labeled.
    And because drugs, especially HARMLESS plants/fungi, are illegal, companies are making legal synthetic drugs which are FAR worse for you than the natural.

    And if marijuana was legal, then many companies would start producing it, competition and supply will drive the price way down, and you will be able to buy the absolute highest quality of weed any time you want. This way, the "gateway" druggies don't feel as much of a need to try harder stuff if their mind can legally be in outerspace at one dollar a pop.
    If drugs were legal, then it would be more well known that there are HARMLESS herbal opioids, muscle relaxers, anti anxieties, psychedelics, and the ever popular cannabis (there might even be herbal amphetamines/uppers, but I had no interest in trying to look those up)

    The only reason I ever tried drugs in the first place was to do something illegal and rebel against my abusive parents (I didn't even know what marijuana was or what it would do for me, good or bad). If drugs were legal, then I at the minimum wouldn't have started doing drugs at the young age of 15, and might not have ever tried them.

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  • Fabulous
    10 years ago

    You're one of those people who talks smart, and tries to be smart, but really is a fool.

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  • somebodysgirl
    10 years ago

    If people had a choice of buying drugs in a drugstore, they would certainly go there instead of buying drugs from a gun toting thug on the street. Legal drugs would put the street dealers out of business instantly.

    Didn't we learn anything from the prohibition of alcohol? Legalization put the bootleggers and gangsters out of business. And in my own lifetime, the legalized lottery put the numbers racket out of business. Let's do the same with drugs.

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  • lolol555
    10 years ago

    The drug war is a horrible waste of money, especially since the economy is so poor right now.

    This video nicely sums up my opinion on drugs legalization:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEXtNM7Lf0o

    In short, yes, they should be legal.

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  • Terence_the_viking
    10 years ago

    Why take the fun out of smoking pot.

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    • RoseIsabella
      10 years ago

      I don't think that's possible but pot is the only thing that should be legal.

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      • davesumba
        10 years ago

        At the absolute minimum, pot should be legal.

        FTFY

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      • Terence_the_viking
        10 years ago

        but doesn't it being illegal add to the fun somewhat.

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        • davesumba
          10 years ago

          no... Never have I met someone who smokes pot to be cool, or have the illegality add more fun. I don't know anyone who even thinks about the illegality of it while smoking. As far as I'm concerned, I'm smoking a harmless herb that is legal in 2 states, medicinally legal in 18 states, and decriminalized in 28 states for personal use.

          You must be underage if you think illegal stuff is more fun, now go back to drinking your natty light and vitali.

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        • RoseIsabella
          10 years ago

          Nah, I mean crack and meth are illegal and I have zero interest in doing those drugs. Of course those are nasty drugs for nasty wretched people.

          If weed were legal life would be much better on a whole for a lot of decent, hard working people who just happen to enjoy the herb especially those who have medical problems. I have arthritis in my back which contributes to chronic myofascial pain and fibromyalgia symptoms that complicate my life in a big way. Medical marijuana is at least legal in Nevada where I live but I still need to get a medical Marijuana card which I don't currently have. Also I resent the idea of needing a card to get something natural that could help me and I don't believe it's the government's business how I choose to alleviate the chronic inflammation in my body that causes me so much pain and difficulty on a daily basis.

          So I guess that's my rant. But if it's any consolation about ten years ago I went out on a date with a police officer smelling like California chronic and it was kind of a thrill. He remarked about the smell and laughed but otherwise it was no big deal. That's one thing I love about living out West; more intelligent and enlightened attitudes about marijuana.

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          • Terence_the_viking
            10 years ago

            Woah thats pretty deep.

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          • slutzombie
            10 years ago

            crack and meth are for nasty wretched people?
            anyone can become an addict. that doesn't make them a bad person.

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            • RoseIsabella
              10 years ago

              How about just not doing nasty wretched drugs like crack and meth in the first place? Whether or not a person is fundamentally good or bad doesn't change the fact that those are highly addictive drugs that make people dirty, cause the deterioration of bones and teeth among many other physically unpleasant symptoms. A person who presents in that sort of way is in fact wretched, nasty and unsanitary. Have you ever gotten a whiff of meth mouth, it's a horrid stench. Also many people who are addicted to hard drugs lie and steal in order to get money for their next fix which as far as I'm concerned makes them bad people. I don't care to know or sympathize with thieves and liars.

              I've had so called "friends" who hid their addictions well and ended up stealing from me. I don't hate them but my heart doesn't bleed for them either and it never will! If I know or find out someone is a tweaker or crackhead I disassociate from them.

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  • RoseIsabella
    10 years ago

    There's only one thing I want to see legalized!

    I'm a joker
    I'm a smoker
    I'm a mid-night toker

    Actually I haven't smoked in a good while but I'd like to again soon.

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  • Mark92
    10 years ago

    Becareful what you wish for and being half knowledged is dangerous!!!!

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      10 years ago

      One ill-informed comment is more than sufficient, thank you. Three is just silly.

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      • Mark92
        10 years ago

        I dare you to start taking heroine yourself!

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        • Anonymous Post Author
          10 years ago

          That's not really possible. A heroine is a female hero. Do you mean heroin?

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        • davesumba
          10 years ago

          If drugs were legal, then companies and smoke shops can be more open about Kratom (a legal, herbal, harmless, heroin/opioid), since they don't have to worry about the Government catching word and banning it.

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