I'm not really sure why we have drug laws.

[soccerbud34]

<<
True, people tend to think that their viewpoint is uniquely right. What I mean to say is that unless you are god, your conceptions of right and wrong really only apply to you and those you can convince. Any decision you make about what's best is based on your life and experiences. For example, your belief that seatbelt laws are good for other people makes the assumption that everyone values their life as much as you do. Of course, my pretty little paragraph doesn't really account for when people make decisions they regret, but its all I can come up with off the top of my head
>>



Take a trip down to a drug rehab and see for yourself why we need drug laws.

 

[LethalWolfe]

<<

<< I never said I did/didn't supported the law(s). I just said that if you know you are breaking the law you should be prepared to accept the consequences if you get caught. >>


Well, the way I see it, they can either accept the consequences, or they can not accept them, decide they are unjust and try to change them. Thats what the US is all about, right? >>



I think yer stuck in "disagree" mode.

Let's say, you organized a "legalize pot" demonstration in D.C. And as part of that demonstration you sat in front of the Capital building and lit up a joint the size of cuban cigar. Now, you know are breaking the law and are going to be arrested. Does that mean that when you get released you shouldn't go out and do it again? No. All I'm saying is don't throw a pity party if/when you get busted for doing something you know to be illegal. Understand that you'll have to check "yes" when asked if you've ever been convicted of a crime (going back to that example). That's what I mean by "accepting the consequences of your actions." If yer doing something illegal as part of a non-violent protest more power to you. But don't get bent outta shape when you get busted.


Lethal

 

[shifrbv]

However, many of the currently illegal drugs should be legalized, such as marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms, and possibly even LSD.

I agree with most of this statement. 2/3rds of the people in jail for drugs right now are marijuana users. That's just stupid and a big waste of taxpayer money.

All over the US, marijuana is getting closer and closer to legalization, and that's gonna be the first step towards legalization of drugs and the government backing off on the drug war.

Don't count on it. There was recently one town in Utah that made marijuana legal within it's city limits. Once they did so, there was a major backlash with town residents being stopped by sherrifs from other towns (for any old reason) and the federal government threatening to withdraw money from the town and the state (which made people from all over the state threaten the town). In the end, their ordinance for marijuana only lasted 2 weeks before it was repealed. They were strongarmed too much and backed down.

I would imagine it would be this way in all but the most liberal places in the US (which is only a couple of places - parts of California and New York City judging from the last election).

 

[jobberd]

<< Take a trip down to a drug rehab and see for yourself why we need drug laws >>

Ever hear of Alcoholics Anonymous? So how come alcohol isn't illegal? It's definitely a more dangerous drug then things like marijuana or even shrooms. Drugs weren't made illegal because they were dangerous and the reason they aren't being legalized now isn't because they are dangerous.

 

[flyfish]

We have drug laws because people can't control themsevles !

 

[milagro]

<< That being said, I've never used a drug, smoked or been drunk in my life. >>



not even sugar or caffeine? more power to you...

 

[KameLeon]

<< In Singapore, for example, those who fiddle with drugs recieve death penalty almost immediately >>


That's what we need!

 

[jobberd]

<< We have drug laws because people can't control themsevles ! >>

BS. if that were true we'd also have fatty food laws, alcohol limits, stricter gambling restrictions, video game restrictions (not in the violence/sex sense that we already have) and laws on anything else that people abuse

 

[SpongeBob]

Drugs:

A. F*ck up the economy
B. F*ck up the users...no government wants a country full of a bunch of high idiots...

Opium, anybody?

Yes please

 

[jobberd]

<< I never said that. What I said is, punishments form drug laws in many cases, do more damage to a person's life then the drugs would have done. Ever try to get a job when your an ex-con? Besides, if other people want to mess themselves up, why is it any your buisness? >>

<< But people know that illegal drug use could land them in jail. It's the individuals fault for knowingly breaking the law. >>

But why should the individual have to deal with such harsh rules? The governments reasoning on the issue is that drugs are dangerous to the body, but the fact is that the punishments for drug use are almost always 10x worse to the person then the drugs ever could be. The individual should not have to quit what he likes (as long as he/she does not infringe upon anyone else's rights) just because a government is bullying him/her to stop (without giving any GOOD REASONS as to why).

 

Communism is fun.

 

[shifrbv]

Drugs weren't made illegal because they were dangerous

This is exactly right. Marijuana was initially made illegal because of issues with the US taking claim to states along the borders of Mexico (especially Texas). Originally there were tons of Mexicans down there smoking the stuff (especially as these areas had formerly been parts of Mexico). The white settlers wanted them out of there so they could take over. What better way than to take their favorite "habit" - smoking pot, and make it illegal so they could be thrown in jail for years on end? The method worked for all areas where poor and undesirable people -mainly pot smoking Mexicans and Indians were not wanted (mainly in the border states along the south) and just happened to have this habit and it eventually swept through the country throughout the rest of the 20th century.

Most of our current drug laws were started in these types of fashions. Not because people were concerned about the individuals but rather more about how to get them out of the way.

 

[Warblad13]

YO "crack head" its your choice to do drugs but dont do it around me or anyone for that matter.
i dont want anyone to get hurt by your stupid actions when you are all druged up.







from, ME

 

[Jen]

drugs hurt everyone..........and everything.................



Jen

 

[tweakmm]

<< drugs hurt everyone..........and everything................. >>


i would be more inclined to say that ignorance causes more suffering and pain than anything....

 

[soccerbud34]

<< The governments reasoning on the issue is that drugs are dangerous to the body, but the fact is that the punishments for drug use are almost always 10x worse to the person then the drugs ever could be. >>



I could not think of any punishment that is 10x worse than death due to OD, not only to the drug user himself but also to his family.

Also, it is possible to drink in moderation. However, I do not believe there is such a thing as moderation when it comes to drugs.

 

[jobberd]

<< I could not think of any punishment that is 10x worse than death due to OD, not only to the drug user himself but also to his family. >>

People die from drugs mainly due to abuse. This occurs because a) the person is not too smart to begin with, b) the drug makes the user want to take another hit (only drug that comes to mind is cocaine), or c) the person was sold something that was not what he/she was expecting. In any case, I should have specified drug USE and not ABUSE. A person with a single joint could be prosecuted and put to jail. Due to this, he/she could lose their job, family, respect, etc. I cannot fathom how anyone can consider this fair justice.

<< Also, it is possible to drink in moderation. However, I do not believe there is such a thing as moderation when it comes to drugs. >>

Then your perception on drugs is distorted. Almost all drugs can be taken in moderation, just like alcohol. Of course, most of these drugs cause significant harm to your body if used repeatedly. But guess what? The same goes for alcohol! Many people are surprised to find that alcohol is actually a more dangerous drug then others such as marijuana, psilocybin (shrooms) or mescaline

 

[Ns1]

<< b) the drug makes the user want to take another hit (only drug that comes to mind is cocaine), >>



heroin, meth, oxy also come into mind



<< However, I do not believe there is such a thing as moderation when it comes to drugs. >> >>



then you've been spoon fed by the government/media for far too long. i'm a recreational drug user, i decide to indulge once every 2-3 months.

sure it's fun as hell, but you gotta have control



<< In Singapore, for example, those who fiddle with drugs recieve death penalty almost immediately >>


That's what we need! >>



hah, right, a quarter of the population of the us would disappear

 

[MadRat]

jobberd-

All users of hard drugs are out of control. While there are varying levels of this state of mind, it requires loss of control to use drugs either as a habitual or recreational user. Use of illicit drugs does not measure the mental capacity of the user. Most of the recreational users I know are very well educated. All of the habitual drug users I have known have always fallen back into their addiction unless they have a total change of lifestyle. By your standards all smokers are dumber than a box of rocks.

<<i'm a recreational drug user, i decide to indulge once every 2-3 months.>>

Addiction is the term for out-of-control drug use. Not every drug user is a habitual user. Recreational users still suffer from long term side effects. NeuroSynapsis is just unaware of his problem. My little brother denied he had a problem for two years before his world fell apart. I tell you, NeuroSynapsis, one of these days it will catch up to you when it is least expected. You should quit now before something bad happens. Something bad always happens...

<< << << In Singapore, for example, those who fiddle with drugs recieve death penalty almost immediately >> That's what we need! >> hah, right, a quarter of the population of the us would disappear >>

Drug users are not put to death in Singapore, but drug traffickers are sentenced to death. I think somebody confuses the two. I think you'll find more like 60% of the U.S. population fits the recreational and habitual drug use category. If you count legal medicine with mind altering affects then you climb upwards of 75% as my guess. There are alot of doctors sending out behavioral medicine to their elderly and juvenile patients.

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

Tobacco is a drug as bad as any other. Just try to take away the cigarettes of a smoker to see how bad. But the government makes too much cash on tobacco and alcohol to ban it, and those industries are too powerful (they pay too much during the elections).

OD-ing on pot is pretty hard, you don't get as dangerous as with alcohol, and, unlike tobacco, you don't smoke 5 packets a day.
You are allowed to ruin your own and other people's lives with nicotine, you are allowed to ruin your brains and liver with alcohol (you aren't allowed to do nasty things while drunk, but many people lose control and do them anyway), but you aren't allowed to smoke pot once in a while.

I'm against harddrugs, but I view alcohol as being pretty hard too (less addictive but far more destructive), and don't like tobacco much either. I don't mind you messing up your own life or even that of your family, as long as I don't have to co-inhale cigar- or cigarettesmoke.

I never smoked in my life, I have drunk alcohol but stopped doing so, and except for coffee once in a while (socially accepted drug) I do not plan on using any drugs in my future life.

 

[herdmaster]

flyfish;

<< We have drug laws because people can't control themsevles ! /Q]

Because for years now people have been told it's not their fault and not held responsible and have forgotten or never learned how to control themselves. Plus too many do gooders who know whats best for us all.

 

[JonnyDuke]

Well, let's see if I can get in everything I want to...

First of all: Your Q's 2a and 2b are interrelated...Personal freedoms? Where do yours stop and mine begin? Some drug addicts steal, threaten and commit all manner of crimes to get what thier body craves. " Most of the danger is in the illegality of drugs" well...see above, then ask anyone who works in a Hospital ER how only the cost of doing the crime is high.
How much do you think a hand costs some dude who was high for 4-5 days after he punched someone's window out and had such a bad infection that the doctor almost took it off when he finally DID go to the hospital. Credit to the Doctor cause he saved all but one finger if I remember correctly. Oh yeah, and this guy didn't have a job at the time so guess who foots the bill for him getting to keep his hand??? I've seen much of this type of case or similar.



If it were legalized it would not stop the problems of addiction or criminal acts because of the drugs, only that they could no longer be arrested for mearly possesing the drug. Which solves nothing except for the person in possesion.

KthxBye- How old are you??? Most States have amended their laws so that it includes or is changed completely to Driving Under the Influence of ANY drug, not just alcohol. I have even heard of people being charged this for DUI of prescription meds that effected their driving.

Jobberd: How many alcoholics have dropped dead on their first drink???
How many teenagers have dropped dead on their first use of a drug?!!!

Understand... I don't think the laws help that much, we need to address the root cause of why people abuse them in the first place. BUT... if you come up to me some night with the intent of robbing me at knife or gunpoint to get money for your next fix or whatever...I will shoot you.

I guess sometimes we need to just let the genepool decontaminate itself.

And yes Herdmaster... that is true for a great many things.

 

[Captain4]

Realistically speaking, we need drug laws to protect all the stupid people in this country from themselves. However, being the proponent of gene pool chlorination that I am, I think that drugs should be legalized so that all the ignorant people that use hard drugs can kill themselves and rid the world of their stupidity. :|

 

[Hubris]

<< << That being said, I've never used a drug, smoked or been drunk in my life. >> >>





<< not even sugar or caffeine? more power to you... >>



Let me rephrase.....I've never used an illegal drug in my life. But I use caffeine RARELY (iced tea only). Sugar, on the other hand.

 

[Jerboy]

We have enough problem as it is with drinking. Given drugs(cannabis, natural/synthetic opiates, synthetic amphetamines) were legal, we probably wouldn't listen to squeeeaaaaaaaaaal as much since people won't bother to brake, albeit much more "smasssh bang" all over the road.