Should Drugs Be Legalized in the USA (Taliban, illegal, heroin)

[TheLongestJourney...]

My position: I think drugs should be legalized in the USA. I think the war on drugs is lost and too much money and time is being wasted fighting a lost battle. The same money and time would be much better spent in education efforts/prevention and rehabilitation.

Let me state that I do not do drugs myself except for smoking pot when I was a teenager. I do not smoke anymore and have not for a very long time; however, I am not totally adverse to smoking pot once in a great while, but in truth have no urge to do so. I do not smoke cigarettes either and think they are a horrible habit. I have had MANY opportunities to do cocaine, speed, heroine, etc, etc, etc, and have elected not to. I grew up in the East Village of Manhattan and I was surrounded by drugs. My reasons for not doing any hard core drugs had absolutely nothing to due with the fact that they are illegal. It was in large part to my seeing how they ruined many lives; seeing the destruction all around me created an aversion to even trying them once. I didn't want to play Russian Roulette. I am anti drugs by personal choice because I see how much damage they cause. I do not see laws against drugs being a deterrent in any way. If anything, I think the illegal nature makes it even more appealing to rebelling teenagers. If drugs were legal, they may lose some of their appeal. I have personally never once heard a person say they did not do drugs because it was illegal.

I am very saddened by how drug problems and associated crime is ruining this country. When I lived in the Seattle area for 1 1/2 years recently I was shocked by how much meth was a problem on the entire west coast. So much of this countries resources and so many lives are being wasted. It is immensely depressing. We need a radical change in policy.

[anonymous]

Drugs?

"Drugs," the way you describe them, cover a wide range of legal, illegal, beneficial, harmful, natural and synthetic substances. Are you talking about Tylenol? Hydrocodone? Methamphetamines? Aspirin? Marijuana? Heroin? Tobacco? Caffeine?

Those are all drugs. I understand that you are just referring to certain illegal drugs, but even then, what illegal drugs are we talking about? Some drugs can be legal or illegal, depending on how they are used and who uses them. Even with clear-cut 'illegal' drugs, you have to distinguish which drug you're talking about. I think marijuana should be legally available, but I think that heroin should remain illegal.

So when you say you "Don't do drugs", literally that means that you don't even drink Diet Coke because of its caffiene. If you're only talking about illegal drugs, you may want to specify which drugs you are talking about.

[TheLongestJourney...]

All drugs currently considered illegal substances. Cocaine, marijuana, meth, etc.

[anonymous]

Originally Posted by TheLongestJourney...

All drugs currently considered illegal substances. Cocaine, marijuana, meth, etc.

Well, I'm not an expert, and I haven't tried the majority of these. But my opinions:

Methamphetamines are legal with a prescription, under the brand name "Desoxyn." It can be illegal, but meth itself is a controlled substance, and not illegal across-the-board in America. They are pretty dangerous to society in general, and should remain controlled. As medicine advances, I would guess that eventually they will be made obsolete and fully illegal.

Narcotics (opium-based drugs) are mixed. Morphine is legal, and probably should be. Heroin is illegal, and should be. Opium is illegal, and I don't have much of an opinion about it, because I'm not sure how dangerous it is.

I believe psychadelics are all illegal. Psilocybin (mushrooms) should be legal, imo, but I don't have an opinion about any others. They don't seem as dangerous as amphetamines, narcotics, or coca-based drugs, but I can't say for sure.

Cocaine & crack should remain illegal, mainly because of their extremely addictive properties and in the case of crack, their intense high.

Marijuana should be legal, because its effects are no worse than alcohol or tobacco.

Like I said, I'm no expert, but those are my opinions.

[Crew Chief]

Despite having a somewhat liberal attitude about illegal drugs; my true fear is that even MORE people will post here on C-D after ingestion of creative chemistry if our drug laws are liberalized...

[danny4kj]

Are you insane?? should drugs illegal drugs such as heroin, extacy and cocaine become legal? Thats a ridiculas suggestion. Of course the fact that these drugs are illegal deters people from aquiring them. Every one is cautious when dealing taking or working with drugs. People hide in abandoned sheds, people hide in bushes, people do it indoors. We still have a massive amount of people doing it on the streets but imagine if these substances were legalised. People would be coming out of hiding and taking drugs wherever they felt like it. I dont wnt to explain this as i need to go to work but imagine difference in the way drug addicts would act.

[TXboomerang]

I would like to see marijuana made completely legal with age restrictions only like alcohol. Yes I know kids would still get their hands on it, but they do anyway, just like with booze.

As for other drugs, I'd like to see a hands off approach. XTC, LSD, shrooms, and narcotic prescriptions should remain technically illegal, but with a loosened approach towards arrest, especially on users.

The hard drugs I think should stay illegal. Coke, crack, herione, and meth should be illegal, straight across the board with the same penalties for all of them. But I would support lighter actions against end users, with all enforcement efforts being targeted towards big dealers/importers/labs. Targeting end users just fills up the jails with people who are too poor to afford defense, and rarely do they clean up just from spending a few months in the pokey.

[GregW]

Legalize, regulate (quality standards), and tax. Should be available in government owned store only like hard booze in New Hampshire. Use some tax revenue to assist people who want to stop. Otherwise people should be able to ingest what ever they want and take the consequences. This is way cheaper for the society than the false and class based “War on Drugs” infesting our culture.

[TheLongestJourney...]

Originally Posted by danny4kj

Are you insane??

I don't see our current attitudes/policies/laws working. That is a fact. Read/watch the news; read these forums and all the drug-related concerns of different neighborhoods across this county.

I seem to recall one definition of insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. By that definition our current drug policy is insane.

[Marodi]

War on drugs is unwinnable. There have been illegal drugs for thousands upon thousands of years. Regulation is the most logical way of controlling it. Not to mention the government can then choose not to buy it from armed rebels in South america, taliban in afghanistan (which makes I think it's 80% of the world opium), etc.

It's WAY more logical.