How I would combat the drug problem if I were President

[fskimospy]

I didn't know a cigarette makes you high.

You didn't realize that cigarettes make you high?

Wtf.

 

[TechBoyJK]

You didn't realize that cigarettes make you high?

Wtf.

I know.. right?

He's likely such a tobacco junkie he thinks the 'high' is the tobacco making him normal.

And here he is saying he wants 'crack heads' to be forced into treatment or go to jail.

I think it's actually a cry for help.

He says all of this because he faults society for letting him become a junkie.

 

[WelshBloke]

There's rehab for that too. But we can argue semantics of alcohol v. illicit drugs all day. You can't compare a heroin addict, crack head, coke head to a drink.

No.

But you can compare a heroin addict, crack head, coke head to an alcoholic.

I didn't know a cigarette makes you high.

No.

It has the advantage of being highly addictive and deadly without actually giving you much benefit.

 

[fskimospy]

No.

But you can compare a heroin addict, crack head, coke head to an alcoholic.

No.

It has the advantage of being highly addictive and deadly without actually giving you much benefit.

Cigarettes definitely get you high, it's just a shitty high. That's the thing I never got about cigarettes. If you're going to get addicted to something at least make it something fun.

 

[IronWing]

There's rehab for that too. But we can argue semantics of alcohol v. illicit drugs all day. You can't compare a heroin addict, crack head, coke head to a drink.

Never had a heroin addict, crack head, or coke head try to punch me out. Drunks do that.

How about we mind our own business and not worry about what other people want to put into their bodies? As long as people ain't trying to put it in mine, I'm good.

 

[K7SN]

I'd legalize most drugs (all except those inherently very dangerouse), have the government produce them (or import them from other-government sources) to ensure purity, and sell them at cost + 20% tax to anyone who wants them; to be used only in private (not while using dangerous machinery or driving a car).

The tax would be used to fund detox programs - free to anyone who wanted to get off drugs.

The multiple aims would be to put the black market in drugs out of business, get rid of any incentive to steal things to fund a drug habit, reduce prison populations, stop destroying people's lives unnecessarily, save tens of billions of dollars each year, get rid of a major source of corruption in the criminal-justice system, and allow cops to focus on more important crime.

+1
Common sense in a world of bovine scat.

And if you argue that "But, but, but, but there will be more addicts!" Too bad.

-1

For not taking the argument the rest of the way as others have tried in this thread. Drug use should go down; if when we took tincture of opium of the counter and required a prescription, a third of the users quit. I know that was a hundred and one years ago but Lee Robins and other following her report on continued heroin addiction following becoming addicted in Vietnam showed us that with a much less effort than 'our war on drugs' we could help many; that making drugs legal remove the profit incentive for making and keeping customers, and perhaps juveniles are less likely to start if something is used by older generations.

I'm no expert on drugs, never taken any except drinking a beer now and then but I saw GIs returning from Vietnam get themselves straight. I suspect that less than 5% or so of the population is prone to addict to alcohol and most "elicit" drugs but 95% are prone to addiction to tobacco. The solution is to sell at cost and tax at a rate to handle the rest of the addictions. If drugs were inexpensive, think of all the burglary and similar crime rates which would decline.

Offer help, not fill our prisons and you could be the first president in the 21st century to balance our budget. Reality check, there would be no profit motivation under your plan so it ain't gonna get through lobbied congress and it ain't a gonna happen.

 

[Pipeline 1010]

Companies that make money on the war on drugs... those who do drug testing, sell equipment to fight the "war on drugs", ones who make money from private prisons. Etc. Etc.


...

It was more of a rhetorical question than anything. But yeah, there is no shortage of people who will gladly participate in making the country a shittier place for everyone in exchange for a paycheck...cops, judged, lawyers, prison guards, etc...

 

[Sonikku]

If I were president I would do dick all to fix the drug problem. Because that's about as much as the President can do without Congress getting along.

 

[nickqt]

So, I was thinking. I've been a member of a number of forums and have always argued about the drug problem that plagues the United States. The United States is the number one ranking country in the world that consumes illicit drugs. Something needs to be done. My stance is a hard stance, and it is as follows:

If you are a pusher and convicted in a court of law, you will serve a mandatory minimum twenty five years to life in a federal prison.

If you are a user and convicted in a court of law, you will serve a mandatory minimum of 5 years in a federal prison with the option of taking drug rehabilitation. If that offender decides to take drug rehabilitation, and upon completion, their sentence will be reduced by three years with time served added for rehabilitation.

I would also allow free government payed rehabilitation to anyone that wants it up to three times in their life.

Combined with a "Great Southern Border Wall," FLIR looking over head drones on the border and actually enforcing Customs laws I think the drug problem could be dealt a significant blow. No one wants to serve 25 to life for selling drugs.

So I'm open to constructive criticism and ideas. Lets say you?

Whatever you're for, I'm against, as it's guaranteed to be idiotic.

 

[Subyman]

Did you not read this part in my first post?



I understand that drugs devastate families and peoples lives. That is why I'm a staunch supporter of combating this epidemic we face in this country.

Why is it that the U.S. is the number one user of illicit drugs? Something ain't right.

I read this part:

If you are a user and convicted in a court of law, you will serve a mandatory minimum of 5 years in a federal prison with the option of taking drug rehabilitation. If that offender decides to take drug rehabilitation, and upon completion, their sentence will be reduced by three years with time served added for rehabilitation.

 

[Ancalagon44]

What I would do is setup a massive War on Drugs policy that would channel billions of dollars to my friends in the law enforcement industry. They'd get all the toys and funding they want to go after a scapegoat that I created.

Oh wait they already tried that and it didn't work. Hmm...

 

[Strk]

So you want to continue a failed war on drugs policy with a tiny bit of rehab added to it? Sounds great!

 

[dank69]

Looks like Conner gonna have to add a lot more people to his ignore list.

 

[KMFJD]

So, I was thinking.

 

[waggy]

I don't think the answere is "get rid of drug laws". they do need a major rework though. Can't say i think about this a lot.

1) pot should be legal. let's be honest with the nation. It's less harmful then beer.

2) get rid of mandatory sentances

3) not sure on other drugs but lets really think about legelizing some. no not all. the "it's your body and harms no one else" is not true.

4) lets get rid of the fact that police actually make money off it. rework seizure laws no more "police for pay" situations.

5) Government backed places to buy drugs. many states are making bank on pot. rightfully so too!

get pharmaceutical company's out of laws. in fact get all businesses out of making laws.

with that i think we need to get rid of private jails.

we need to end the "war on drugs" it was a failure. all it did was make small time crimes into felony's


we need real rehab. not put people in jail. Again i said it before how we treat people with problems in this nation is a joke. from mental issues to addiction.

 

[Strk]

I don't think the answere is "get rid of drug laws". they do need a major rework though. Can't say i think about this a lot.

1) pot should be legal. let's be honest with the nation. It's less harmful then beer.

2) get rid of mandatory sentances

3) not sure on other drugs but lets really think about legelizing some. no not all. the "it's your body and harms no one else" is not true.

4) lets get rid of the fact that police actually make money off it. rework seizure laws no more "police for pay" situations.

5) Government backed places to buy drugs. many states are making bank on pot. rightfully so too!

get pharmaceutical company's out of laws. in fact get all businesses out of making laws.

with that i think we need to get rid of private jails.

we need to end the "war on drugs" it was a failure. all it did was make small time crimes into felony's


we need real rehab. not put people in jail. Again i said it before how we treat people with problems in this nation is a joke. from mental issues to addiction.

As far as #3 goes, decriminalize, absolutely, but legalize? Except for pot, other drugs really are nasty and have some terrible effects. I know you said you weren't so sure about it. But that's why I'm a big fan of rehabilitation programs. Let's stop making drug users felons -- making them a permanent burden. Let's give them abilities and skills. If I remember correctly, from that Harvard vs inmate debate thread, the people who went through that program had a 2% recidivism rate.

I definitely agree with everything you said though. I just went a little more on #3

 

[unokitty]

I don't think the answere is "get rid of drug laws". they do need a major rework though. Can't say i think about this a lot...
we need real rehab. not put people in jail. Again i said it before how we treat people with problems in this nation is a joke. from mental issues to addiction.

In the US, two groups profit from the 'war on drugs.'
One group is the Law Enforcement/Prison/Lawyer complex.
Other group, are the Drug Cartels.

The fact that marijuana isn't legal at the federal level is an indication of the political influence that those two groups have...

Uno

 

[waggy]

In the US, two groups profit from the 'war on drugs.'
One group is the Law Enforcement/Prison/Lawyer complex.
Other group, are the Drug Cartels.

The fact that marijuana isn't legal at the federal level is an indication of the political influence that those two groups have...

Uno

I agree.

trouble is I have personally seen family members addicted to meth. it's not a pretty sight. the damage they do to friends/family etc is bad.

just ending all drug laws is not the answer. Pot is one people continue to point out as whyt hey should end drug laws.

pot though should be legel. studies continue to come out that say it's safer then beer, it actually safer (some say better) then opiods for pain and other medical issues.

so yes the only reason i see that it is against the law is political. the police/private jails etc. want it to stay against the law because many do it. it's something that is common so odds are someone has some residue on them.

 

[MovingTarget]

So, Portugal decriminalized all drugs and:

1) Drug usage is down
2) HIV infections have tanked
3) Peoples futures are no longer being taken away with criminal records and jail time
4) Drug related deaths have tanked

Who in their right mind sees this and still says we need to keep fighting or even increase the war on drugs?

This. Even if you do believe that drugs are as sinful and dangerous as the "Just say no!" crowd would have you believe, the war on drugs is an utter failure. It is a failure not because of the number of people it successfully prevents from using drugs, but because the damage to society that the laws cause is far greater than the damage the drugs have caused. Families broken up and forced into poverty due to mass incarceration, futures ruined due to criminal records, etc. It all adds up.

The experience of Portugal and many other nations that have seen the light wrt drug laws provide the perfect counterexample to the "tough on crime/drugs" argument. We have more success as a society when we rightfully treat drug use/abuse as a public health problem as opposed to a criminal justice problem.

 

[unokitty]

I agree.

trouble is I have personally seen family members addicted to meth. it's not a pretty sight. the damage they do to friends/family etc is bad.

just ending all drug laws is not the answer. Pot is one people continue to point out as whyt hey should end drug laws.

pot though should be legel. studies continue to come out that say it's safer then beer, it actually safer (some say better) then opiods for pain and other medical issues.

so yes the only reason i see that it is against the law is political. the police/private jails etc. want it to stay against the law because many do it. it's something that is common so odds are someone has some residue on them.

Agree that addiction, especially methamphetamine addiction, is a serious issue. Likewise, I think that alcohol addiction is also a serious issue.

Though, like alcoholism, I think that methamphetamine addiction would be more effectively dealt with though the social/welfare rather than the legal system.

Uno

 

[John Connor]

So I'm open to constructive criticism and ideas. Lets say you?

So the general consensuses is that all drugs should be legal? Okay, as quasi-President I here by make all drugs legal. Go ahead, what's stopping you? :awe:

 

[NoStateofMind]

If I were King

 

[John Connor]

tl;dw

 

[Slew Foot]

we should legalize murder too! then we wont have any murderers!

 

[alcoholbob]

Sounds like OP will be spending a lot of money chasing El Chapo with helicopters.