I have figured out why drugs are illegal

[CallMeJoe]

...What I'm saying is you cannot consistently use heroin and not become addicted. You're insane if you think you can use hard drugs like heroin or crack cocaine without becoming addicted...

Not every regular heroin user is an addict. Not every regular cocaine user is an addict. The myth that use = addiction is one of the tools used to demonize drug use, just like the myth of the marijuana "gateway" to heroin addiction.

 

[TruePaige]

Again, you people just love to draw the blurry line. Is chocolate a "drug" too? You are described medicine and prescriptions. When a person says "drug" they are referring to opiates.

Because something like Provigil and Adderall may or may not be illegal, does not make it a drug or not. And it's my personal opinion, but in the long run, I would bet heavy usage of those sort of prescriptions are unhealthy, albeit not as unhealthy as opiates.

What? Hah...opiates are the only true drugs?

Tell the war on drugs people then...at least America would be a little better off without the waste on 90% of the drugs they bust people for (Uppers, Weed, Psychotropics)

Also, Provigil and Adderall, other than building a tolerance and having fatigue, restlessness (more with Provigil) and irritability (more with Adderall) during withdrawl are fairly tame in the long run.

Some people have been taking each for a loooong time with no problems.

Yet the government keeps as much crap as they can behind the counter...

 

[ericlp]

Busting drugs dealers means the government gets all the drug dealer's money, guns, assets, whatever.

People will always find a way to get high, therefore, the government has an eternally built in revenue source, since there will always be drug dealers with money to seize.

Not only does this give the government money, it produces a lot of jobs in the courts, prisons and police departments. This economic boon far outweighs the paltry drug dealer money, but when has our government not devoured millions with glutinous glee?

And your just now figuring this out.?. You could also take this same philosophy and apply it to terrorism! Just look how much money we have spent not to mention all the killing. The war machine must go on!

 

[ericlp]

how many people a year die from legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco? and how many from illegal drugs?

What does that have to do with anything?

Just because more people DIE on tobacco and alcohol then illegal drugs, does that mean the war on drugs is working?

No, it just means people going to do a certain type of drug legal or illegal regardless. Esp, if they are addicted. There is NO way your going to tell an addict they can't do a proscribed or illegal drug. It's just your government taking away another freedom. A freedom of choice.

Ask yourself...

If your going to kill yourself... Whats the difference between tobacco and cocaine? The end result was the same, they both died of addictive substance. I was going to say Marijuana but honestly I don't think Marijuana is addictive nor is it a gateway.

I find it funny that the only drug known to man that is labeled as a "Gateway" is marijuana. Yet, the more dangerous drugs Alcohol and Cigarettes are probably the worst gateway drug since they are highly abusive and/or addictive.

Telling us the government has our own interest in heart on choosing what is right for us... Well, we might as well be living in a propaganda country like China. If they are going to lie to us I don't see a difference. So much for being free.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

What? Hah...opiates are the only true drugs?

Tell the war on drugs people then...at least America would be a little better off without the waste on 90% of the drugs they bust people for (Uppers, Weed, Psychotropics)

Also, Provigil and Adderall, other than building a tolerance and having fatigue, restlessness (more with Provigil) and irritability (more with Adderall) during withdrawl are fairly tame in the long run.
Some people have been taking each for a loooong time with no problems.

Yet the government keeps as much crap as they can behind the counter...

There is no perfect answer to the question of illicit drug use. To legalize drugs would reduce crime for profit while unfettered access would hasten the destruction of addicts and their families.

It's a lose/lose.

There is a difference between prescription drugs and street drugs though. No, not the ingredients, but the mechanism by which they are normally acquired. If someone wants to get their Oxycontin or whatever I'm not going to give it to them if they abuse it. It's certainly possible to circumvent the system, but if people are doing their jobs it's not going to be easy.

Another question is what do we do with addicts who aren't functional? Institutionalize them?

Like I said, no good answers.

 

[brandonbull]

They're illegal because they're bad for you.

Is the government's way of policing them effective? No.

But I don't think the government has ill intentions as far as illegalizing them.

Pot is illegal because believe it or not, some people do think it's bad for you. Are they right, I'm not saying they are.

Everything is not a conspiracy theory.

They don't have an effective way to collect tax money from it so we must make it illegal. Now the government can seize assets and get more tax money to fight drugs.

 

[piasabird]

Pot is just as much a real drug as Alcohol, tobacco, and cold medicine. However, the use of pot stores chemicals in the the fat cells in the body. I would venture that prolonged use of pot may have a lot of side effects, that we have not thoroughly studied. When we study legal drugs sometimes some side effects and interactions with other drugs do not show up until after years of steady use.

 

[VashHT]

Pot is just as much a real drug as Alcohol, tobacco, and cold medicine. However, the use of pot stores chemicals in the the fat cells in the body. I would venture that prolonged use of pot may have a lot of side effects, that we have not thoroughly studied. When we study legal drugs sometimes some side effects and interactions with other drugs do not show up until after years of steady use.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are studies out there on this, I can't look for one because I'm at work, but there are long term pot users around and I'm sure some of them are willing to be test subjects for some extra cash.

 

[BoberFett]

McDonalds and cigarettes never caused anyone to lose their familes, their careers, all their money, and left them on the street and near dead.

Heart disease is one of the biggest killers in the US. Correct me if I'm wrong, but when someone dies they lose their family, career and money. If you consider living in a six foot wooden box to be better than cardboard one, that's just your preference.

You know this but are playing silly debate games.

 

[JMapleton]

Heart disease is one of the biggest killers in the US. Correct me if I'm wrong, but when someone dies they lose their family, career and money. If you consider living in a six foot wooden box to be better than cardboard one, that's just your preference.

You know this but are playing silly debate games.

You're the one playing silly debate games.

Eating McDonalds everyday is not going to kill you in ONE YEAR.

Unhealthy food does not kill anyone, an entire lifestyle based around unhealthy food without exercise kills people.

1. You could eat McDonalds everyday and still be healthy. You cannot use crack cocaine everyday and still be healthy.

2. You could eat McDonalds everyday and live to be 80. You cannot use crack cocaine every and live to be 80.

3. You could eat McDonalds everyday and raise a successful family. You cannot use crack cocaine everyday and raise a successful family.

4. You could eat McDonalds everyday and work your way through college and earn your degree......

Do you see where I'm getting at?

Either you're not thinking, or you're playing still debate games.

Drugs kill and drugs kill QUICKLY and destroy a person's ability to function and become a productive member of society.

It's not just the health reasons drugs are bad. It's the fact that is disconnects your from reality, causes you to be unable to function in society, destroys your health quicker than ANY food or most any legal medicine, and causes severe brain and nervous system damage.

You won't live to be a 100 eating at McDonalds, in my opinion, but at least you can live a decent life.

Drugs wreak severe devastation quickly and make a person totally unable to manage their life. A Big Mac will not do this to you.

You're clueless.

 

[BoberFett]

There are many functional drug addicts. You're simply wrong.

 

[Brigandier]

As I explain you misunderstand the issue, I notice you have Ayn Rand in your sig. Coincidence?

The assests seized in drug law enforcement are much smaller than the costs. THere's just no conspiracy theory there.

Now, the 'gung ho righties for a period some years ago had expanded the seizure laws to be so aggressive that the police could keep assets whether or not the person was convicted, and it was a lengthy legal process to get them back for the innocent. This issue was usually referred to as 'forfeiture laws'. During this period, the police were seen a lot to increase drug enforcement because of the gain, and there were some bad examples of wrongdoing, such as a case where a property owner was targetted for a piece of land the police wanted, and was killed when the police entered for a search. IIRC, he was innocent.

The legal system is burdened by drug arrests. While it's 'jobs', it's also wasteful spending - not something like infrastructure or education. It's throwing money away.

Where you do see more pressure to throw that money away is anything that's privatized - the jails in this case. There are a lot of stories of private jail owners donating to politicians to get sentences increased.

We really don't need that corruption of our political system for people to spend longer time in jail at taxpayer expense than they otherwise would for the purpose of enriching the jail owner.

Instead of saying I don't understand the issue, maybe you should ask questions about my understanding. Yes, it is wasteful spending, but it is still dollars spend which speaks a lot louder than any belief. Why would they throw money away? Well, in the name of the American dream, prisons need good guards. Even though it may be 'wasteful' spending doesn't mean a lot of people don't derive wealth from it.

I don't see any argument that refutes me, I'm sorry you detractors haven't been clear.

 

[Onceler]

I would like it to be the way it was when this country was young without government controling what we put in our bodies.
I think that all drugs should be able to be bought at your local pharmacy with standards in place to ensure the purity of the drugs. I also think that if you do a crime while under the influence they should come down hard on you. It use to be that you could buy whatever you wanted and there was trust.

 

[Onceler]

You're right, you can build a good society if you give amphetamines to attention deficits and give depressants to chronic depressives. Society is already drugged, many of those drugs are right on Schedule II.

Drugs wreak their destructive paths regardless of society's tolerance to them. Tax them an d fund rehab programs for hard drug users, or maybe even create a widespread mental health network, reducing all destructive behavior in general.

I thought this country learned during prohibition that making drugs illegal doesn't reduce it's affect on society, it's available. When it's illegal you just have to pay drug dealers, who some pay rent and get high, some buy guns and take it a step further. You want a drug dealer to get a job? Legalize drugs.

I agree all prohibition did was make organized crime and made them rich.
BF is right,there are plenty of people who do drugs and yet they don't do crime other then buying/using(most are criminals but there are some who aren't). It is a morality issue. You can be moral and do drugs, it is your morals that determine wether or not you do crime.

 

[ahenkel]

There are many functional drug users. You're simply wrong.

FTFY

not everyone that uses is an addict