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Those incarcerated for drug dealing would be out, same for those who were caught using. The truth of the drug dilemma is that we have so many people connected to drugs/crime in the course of their work that the question of legalization is now muddied by that fact. Local police, prosecutors, social workers, DEA, court workers, probation workers, prison workers, all count on a considerable amount of drug related crime in order to keep working. Look up the stats on the contribution that drugs are making relative to our GDP, it's a pile of money and it would be sorely missed if the law were to see drugs as a medical problem and not a criminal one.
It isn't so easy to just legalize all drugs without having a rehab component to it, our laws need to change to reflect the fact that addiction IS a medical problem, the effect of legalization on crime shouldn't be the main concern anyway, too much human life is wasted on the back of our dark age drug laws. Please read the extracts online from the studies done by universities on this matter, speculation based on the mainstream media's hype won't get it on this confounding subject, we need to have a comprehensive drug policy in America that is focused on rehabilitation not incarceration......
Vancouver Marijuana Vending Machine - YouTube
LOL only in Vancouver but I guess that is going to be a historic vending machine as it was the worlds first and snack food and soda vending machines should look into getting a spot beside it as it will be a great way to sell Doritos as well as candy bars and Coke or Pepsi beverage products.
No, it doesn't. And I'm no teetotaler. However, I was never swayed by the argument that there are more problems with the legal drugs (usually referring to alcohol and tobacco) than with marijuana. I long said, yes, you legalize it, you make it easier to get, and there will be problems with mj too. And that's what is happening here in CO. A student fell to his death out of an upper story window while high. Some guy shot his wife while high. While the latter, especially, is not necessarily causal, we'll see more of that stuff as more and more use.
Please explain how Ecstacy is "Better".
And no, "their" not free to advertise about alcohol all they want. There are restrictions on alcohol advertising. Not, mind you, that I'm in favor of getting drunk, either.
That type of crime yes. And as someone who "knows someone" who got into trouble with a medical marijuana card (not obtained for real medical necessity mind you), I feel prosecuting him, then him doing the diversion stuff was a complete waste of taxpayer money. But as many others have said, the crooks will just go on to some other type of crime. There's always good money to be made in law-breaking.
My dad just hired a guy who accidentally shot his friend while drunk. Horse a piece.
Ecstasy and alcohol are both party, or socialization drugs. Both leave you hung over, both have a slight addiction potential, but Ecstasy increases intimacy and empathy while alcohol increases violence and stupidity. People on ecstasy report having some of the most bright times of their life while people who were drunk report... I don't remember.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roaddog
It's not separate at all, it all goes hand in hand. legalize the drugs and you make more addicts and more addicts make more crime, simple if you think about it.
It's not that simple. There are two kinds of addictions, casual addictions and hardcore addictions. Casual addictions are ones that allow normal functionality while high. Examples are methadone, opiates, heroin, caffeine and nicotine. Hardcore addictions come from redosing on drugs which do not allow normal functionality. Staying up 28 days tweaking or way high on crack or drunk are not functional. Most users of these drugs return to baseline and normalcy. A few continually redose so they don't have to return to baseline. These are the hardcore addicts. How many alcohol users that you know are actual alcoholics? That same ratio probably applies to these drugs as well. Most meth users are the Ted Haggard variety which use it recreationally and not the toothless hag addict kind.
My dad just hired a guy who accidentally shot his friend while drunk. Horse a piece.
Ecstasy and alcohol are both party, or socialization drugs. Both leave you hung over, both have a slight addiction potential, but Ecstasy increases intimacy and empathy while alcohol increases violence and stupidity. People on ecstasy report having some of the most bright times of their life while people who were drunk report... I don't remember.
It's not that simple. There are two kinds of addictions, casual addictions and hardcore addictions. Casual addictions are ones that allow normal functionality while high. Examples are methadone, opiates, heroin, caffeine and nicotine. Hardcore addictions come from redosing on drugs which do not allow normal functionality. Staying up 28 days tweaking or way high on crack or drunk are not functional. Most users of these drugs return to baseline and normalcy. A few continually redose so they don't have to return to baseline. These are the hardcore addicts. How many alcohol users that you know are actual alcoholics? That same ratio probably applies to these drugs as well. Most meth users are the Ted Haggard variety which use it recreationally and not the toothless hag addict kind.
Good Lord!
First off, yes, crimes get committed while on alcohol. Alcohol is a LEGAL drug. That should give you some perspective about legalizing more drugs.
Secondly, ecstacy? Seriously? This is old, but I don't think anything has changed much since it was written:
**MDMA¿s acute effects last from three to eight hours [1] and its short-lasting effects include feelings of euphoria, enhanced mental and emotional clarity, sensations of lightness and floating and other hallucinations. Users of MDMA also have suppressed appetite, thirst or need to sleep. Sometimes users who are attending two- to three-day parties suffer from severe dehydration or exhaustion [1].
Other unpleasant and/or dangerous acute effects include feelings of depersonalization, elevated anxiety, muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, chills and sweating, hypertension, tremors, seizures and increased body temperature. It is very possible to overdose on MDMA; these overdoses may produce fatality by heart failure or extreme heat stroke [3]. ** What are the effects of the drug Ecstasy? - Scientific American
The article goes on to discuss other negative effects of its use.
Think about it, first of all, a significant portion of "criminals" are nothing more than users. Then, beyond just the users, drugs provide a steady criminal source of income. If this income was eliminated, how would people who do not work or have government assistance get money? Robberies? I don't think very many people have come out ahead continually for robbing and it's not a 20 year income plan.
And if you haven't heard about how bad cartel violence is getting, go to the thread in the Great Debates section and read up on it. It's really disgusting.
But the one of the bigger issues to me are that if a person does decide to use drugs, then they are shut out from participating and working in most parts of society. So, the criminal option has more appeal. If people could go to work on monday after using drugs like people now go to work on monday after using alcohol, those users would have a greater chance at not turning to crime.
Also, once a person has a felony on their record, they are essentially doomed from ever having a good shot at achieving a good job in the future. So, then again they turn to crime.
I talked to a person in one of my college classes the other day who sold marijuana at CSU. He said a doctor proscribed him 8 ounces of weed a day due to a $30 purchased medical back issue card he got. He turned around and sold it on the street because it was 1/2 the cost of legal weed. He was making more than $1000 a day. He said adderal and ADHD drugs, (methamphetamine) and the pain meds worked the same way. People would get ridiculously large prescriptions, then sell them on the street for big profit margins. And his sentence for getting caught? A $20000 fine.
So, lets take a look at it. My, Phil P's, options for drugs: we have alcohol, tobacco, cough syrup, marijuana, pain meds, ADHD drugs/amphetamines, crack, heroin, benedryll, datura, inhalants, and amanita muscaria. ALL of them are crap drugs with the exception of marijuana, which i have not tried.
The ones I have tried have left me really wondering why anybody does them? Pain meds were boring and numbing, cough syrup had less effect than sugar or caffeine does, and benedryll was interesting in that it showed me how mentally ill people think, but it was definitely dysphoric. All the halfway decent drugs, like DIPT, are no where to be found. I will never use drugs habitually, but, people are curious, and their choices for their curiosity are the most highly addictive, damaging drugs. I say that if people were given the options, crap drugs like opiates and nicotene and alcohol use would decrease dramatically in favor better, less addicting, less potentially harmful options.
I disagree. The way to stop the crime element attached to drugs is to go to the root of the problem which is to teach people what drugs do to their brains and how they ruin their prospects for having a good, healthy and productive life.
I grew up at a time when we children knew this and the use of drugs was taboo...those very few who got caught up with that drug mess were immediately ostracized. We knew better. Surely we now have indisputable proof and can start with the youngsters education "before" they get hooked which dumbs them down.
No market stops the killer drug dealers from Mexico, stops the dealers here in this country who sucker people in and stops the users from criminal activities to support their bad habit which will lead to bad health and brain damage.
Excellent point. The legalization of drugs doesn't necessarily mean that street dealers would disappear or that drug users would stop committing crimes to obtain funds to buy then legal drugs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pknopp
I support legalizing certain drugs but the example we have in real life in Colorado supports the position I've held all along.
It will do very little to stop crime. Dealers in Colorado are simply undercutting the state with their prices and because its now less risky they are doing just as well.
If a person doesn't have $250 for pot while its illegal they still don't have that kind of money for it when its legal.
Excellent point. The legalization of drugs doesn't necessarily mean that street dealers would disappear or that drug users would stop committing crimes to obtain funds to buy then legal drugs.
Again, stop the demand! When the market disappears the problem diminishes.
I hope you realize how naive your idea is? Human kind have been using drugs since day one and no amount of drug education would stop people from using drugs. Just like with alcohol, many drug user turn to drugs as a result of an underlying mental issue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by larrysda
Again, stop the demand! When the market disappears the problem diminishes.
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