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::For the sake of this thread, let's assume that the people actually had control of their country. No political parties, but causes that were shared::
For nearly a century America has been "at war" with drugs. The government has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on it, and there have been many casualties. Despite being a very populous country and having widespread "safe" areas to live in, there are some neighborhoods where the murder rates are so high that they raise our overall country's rate to amongst the highest in the world. For a developed country, we shouldn't be having such a high murder rate, even if its contained to a small number of neighborhoods.
There's growing evidence and philosophy that through legalization and decriminalization, we can improve our addiction issues and still raise revenues through its enforcement. By allowing the plant to be taxed, the money flows into our budget instead of into the hands of cartels and gangs. By allowing the plant to be legalized and normalized, it can be prescribed instead of some synthetic medications that often have more serious side effects.
The arguments for legalization are strong and support for legalization and taxation is at it's highest in history since the War on Drugs has been declared.
Do you support legalization and decriminalization laws within your state?
I think the Dutch had the right idea: legalize 'natural' substances (ones that come from plants with minimal post-processing, such as cannabis and mushrooms) and forbid synthetic ones like cocaine and methamphetamine.
But then they realized that Amsterdam in particular had become a mecca for drug tourists who didn't know what they were doing; first they banned "smart shops" where mushrooms were sold, then they made "coffee shops" (which sell cannabis products) off-limits to non-residents.
Would legalizing relatively innocuous substances like pot and mushrooms reduce the temptation for people to use seriously damaging ones like meth? I don't have any answers, but it's worth a try.
If there's enough support in this thread I'll look into how to get some ballot initiatives started. I truly believe that if it came up in a vote, it could get enough support to be pushed through.
You'd have your alcohol/tobbacco/pharma lobbyist pissed, but it would be great for this country and great for the economy. There's tons of things that hemp can be used for from clothing and rope, to paper and oil. There's also a chance there could be less deaths due to prescription drugs if marijuana was cultivated and prescribed rather than synthetics. Marijuana has never been known to be the direct cause of death in a person. Prescription meds kill hundreds and thousands of Americans every year.
Marijuana has never been known to be the direct cause of death in a person.
The same cannot be said for meth, heroin, etc., which are truly dangerous and addictive substances (and yes, I know nicotine is too, but the damage -- though more widespread -- takes much longer). I would vote, and in fact have voted, 'yes' to legalizing cannabis, but having seen the enormous damage that crystal meth in particular has done to certain communities, I would absolutely not support legalizing it.
If there's enough support in this thread I'll look into how to get some ballot initiatives started. I truly believe that if it came up in a vote, it could get enough support to be pushed through.
You'd have your alcohol/tobbacco/pharma lobbyist pissed, but it would be great for this country and great for the economy. There's tons of things that hemp can be used for from clothing and rope, to paper and oil. There's also a chance there could be less deaths due to prescription drugs if marijuana was cultivated and prescribed rather than synthetics. Marijuana has never been known to be the direct cause of death in a person. Prescription meds kill hundreds and thousands of Americans every year.
Oh well! Screw 'em! And I smoke and drink! Let's not forget Big Pharma as well. Oh... and the Prison Industrial Complex! The only thing I'd be leary about is meth! Some dangerous stuff not only to the user, but the producer as well.
I think the Dutch had the right idea: legalize 'natural' substances (ones that come from plants with minimal post-processing, such as cannabis and mushrooms) and forbid synthetic ones like cocaine and methamphetamine.
But then they realized that Amsterdam in particular had become a mecca for drug tourists who didn't know what they were doing; first they banned "smart shops" where mushrooms were sold, then they made "coffee shops" (which sell cannabis products) off-limits to non-residents.
Would legalizing relatively innocuous substances like pot and mushrooms reduce the temptation for people to use seriously damaging ones like meth? I don't have any answers, but it's worth a try.
You raise a very good point.
I haven't thought about it much, but from my experience, I would be pretty confident that it would. Indirectly it definitely would. The availability of legal drugs would make them much more accessible than illegal drugs. Even more so in a culture where there's less reasons citizens need a "drug dealer."
There's definitely a lot, probably at least 30x times more marijuana users than meth users. That would drastically cut the funding of a "future" drug dealer. Enough that it wouldn't really be a highly profitable business. They'd have more incentive to work a regular 9-5 than sell meth to addicts for minimum wage.
I imagine that would just be a shot to the heart for all those policeman and women who have been fighting for years to get it off the street.
Well perhaps they will then have the time then to go after the REAL criminals... murderers, rapists, pedophiles...ect...ect...................some of the scumbag banksters?
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