UNODC in talks to decriminalise all drugs world wide.

[89coupe]

I think this would be amazing. Criminal organizations around the world would blow away like the wind.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-a6699851.html

[01RedDX]

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[sputnik]

Decriminalization is actually worse.

It puts the drug monopoly in the hands of the black market with less legal repercussions and zero benefit to the government.

Full legalization is a much better option as it allows the government to tax and regulate drugs accordingly.

[89coupe]

Originally posted by sputnik
Decriminalization is actually worse.

It puts the drug monopoly in the hands of the black market with less legal repercussions and zero benefit to the government.

Full legalization is a much better option as it allows the government to tax and regulate drugs accordingly.

I'm certain that is the intent.

[Kloubek]

I have difficulty supporting this.

I'm all for legalizing and taxing weed as it is pretty benign and easy to get as it is. But I think doing the same for heavier drugs is both providing opportunity which otherwise may not have existed, as well as having the government support substances which are well known to tear people and families apart.

Let's just do the weed thing and see how it all goes....

[FraserB]

The UN can't de-criminalize anything since it has no power over the laws of member nations. All they will do is call on member nations to do this, then complain when no one does it and go back to begging for more money.

[89coupe]

[sputnik]

Originally posted by Kloubek
But I think doing the same for heavier drugs is both providing opportunity which otherwise may not have existed, as well as having the government support substances which are well known to tear people and families apart.

What are you opinions on gambling and alcohol?

[A790]

I don't feel that the current state of legislation stops anyone from doing drugs. I think that it does a good job of keeping a lot of it under the radar, but the environment that exists today is one of easy accessibility.

Education, more than legislation, is what is proven to bring usage rates down. We can better educate in a legalized environment, where information is more readily available, studies can be done far easier, and people have no need to operate within the black market.

I agree that we should approach this incrementally, but in my mind, it is important that we address it. With the right environment we could really have an opportunity to impact the cycle of addiction and improve the quality of lives for millions of people. I don't see why we wouldn't do that.

[Robin Goodfellow]

Originally posted by sputnik
Decriminalization is actually worse.

It puts the drug monopoly in the hands of the black market with less legal repercussions and zero benefit to the government.

Full legalization is a much better option as it allows the government to tax and regulate drugs accordingly.

I'm inclined to agree with you.

This gonna be a can of worms with unintended consequences.

"All drugs" is a tall order. Don't know I want see Meth sold at the kwikie mart.

[Kloubek]

Originally posted by sputnik


What are you opinions on gambling and alcohol?

Well let's throw gambling right out the window, as it's an activity one doesn't get physically addicted to.

Alcohol is a much better comparison. I actually view alcohol as more destructive than weed, by a fair margin. However, it's already legal and there is no way it would ever not be... so it's kind of a moot point.

But as far as hard drugs go, I just feel it's opening to many negative possibilities.

Meth. Not even once.

[JordanEG6]

Originally posted by Kloubek
I have difficulty supporting this.

I'm all for legalizing and taxing weed as it is pretty benign and easy to get as it is. But I think doing the same for heavier drugs is both providing opportunity which otherwise may not have existed, as well as having the government support substances which are well known to tear people and families apart.

Let's just do the weed thing and see how it all goes....

IMO, it's not about the legality of the drugs that are the problem. It's more about the users and availability. Whether or not it's legal, people will find ways to get high. More so in countries where it's illegal. It's the forbidden fruit theory. People can't have it, so they want it. If it's there, it's no big deal.

Some or most European countries decriminalize drugs across the board (to a certain extent I think) and rarely see the types of drug problems that occur in the US.

Like said above, it's about education and regulation. Up until now, all we've been doing as a society is sweeping these subjects under the rug and throwing people in jail for non-violent crimes or rehab without educating the public or funding research on different kinds of drugs. But then again, it may be too late to change that around for the US/Canada where the general public is mentally conditioned to handle the problem a certain way and where drugs are recurring issues for individuals.

[01RedDX]

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[HiTempguy1]

Saying that legalizing anything gets rid of the black market is silly, because it doesn't

There are still black market alcohol and cig sales to this day.

Additionally, the problem with the argument of "treating" any addicition is there needs to be a desire to be clean. People will always do drugs, no matter what we do. Drug use overall is dropping, and has been dropping just like crime has (guess those tough on crime laws are working eh?). So I do not suppprt decriminalization OR legalization.

Of course, anything that comes out of the UN is suspect nowadays, what with the war criminals running organizations like the human rights commission

The UN is a joke.

[frizzlefry]

"End the war on drugs" really should be "End the war on drug users". Which I am all for. But the dealers and those who traffic should get kicked in the nuts. Drugs, particularly with weed, is a supplemental income for them. Unless you are Escobar and moving trucks full of blow then your hands are in other more harmful illegal activities such as prostitution, weapons smuggling, illegal gambling, loan sharking etc. Drugs are just a low risk compliment to your income profile.

Go after those guys, use the drugs to take down their other shit. Give the addicts treatment when busted for possession.

[sabad66]

I agree with the view that all drugs (yes, including "hard" drugs") should be legal. Almost all of the negatives around drugs are actually a consequence of them being illegal. For example:
- criminals getting rich and not paying taxes
- violence due to above.. take away their money and gangs will be no more
- people don't know the long term effects because researchers aren't allowed to study them
- overdoses due to inconsistent purity and/or cutting agents
- addictions because people are too afraid/embarrassed to get help before its too late
- people that could have turned out to be successful members of society having their lives ruined with a criminal record over a non-violent "crime"
- families destroyed/shamed because someone is in jail

Besides all the above problems, the #1 reason IMO is basic freedom. Why should anyone/government dictate what a free person can/can't put in their own body? I personally don't have any desire to snort coke or smoke meth or inject heroin, but if someone else wants to do it safely on their own without harming anyone else and with their own money then by all means go ahead. They are going to find a way to do it anyways, so why should they have to go buy something on the street from a criminal to do this instead of paying a legit business that can guarantee purity and pay taxes?

Just look at all the recent fentanyl deaths and all of the people dying of overdoses at raves/festivals. These are real people that are brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, parents to someone. Most of them dead because some criminal somewhere along the line lied about what they were selling.

I think society will eventually get to the point of full legalization, but not for at least another 40 years. Decriminalization is a good first step though... at least it solves some of the issues above

sorry for what seems like a Seth/Toma type rant... I have a few family members/friends (mostly in the US) that have been thrown in jail/overdosed so I have thought this through a few times

[frizzlefry]

^^^

You can't blanket all drugs like that though. Heroine maybe, but shit like bath salts or meth are a danger to others aside from the user. There is a public safety concern.

[sabad66]

What makes meth or bath salts a danger to the public? They can be used responsibly just like anything else. Did you know that people can be prescribed meth for ADD? Look it up... it's called desoxyn. Yes, I was just as surprised to learn that the FDA licensed METH to give to kids.

It all comes down to responsible use and education.

[FixedGear]

All drugs should be legalized.

[frizzlefry]

Originally posted by sabad66
What makes meth or bath salts a danger to the public? They can be used responsibly just like anything else. Did you know that people can be prescribed meth for ADD? Look it up... it's called desoxyn. Yes, I was just as surprised to learn that the FDA licensed METH to give to kids.

It all comes down to responsible use and education.

But the legalize all drugs statement is rubbish. Desoxyn IS legal. Meth is not for a very good reason. The component that has a mood altering effect is extracted from legal drugs and then used to make meth. Say a cook buys up all the cold medication at a store to make a batch of meth. We give cold medication to kids! So meth should be legal! Gawd.

Looking at a simple ingredients list is asinine. Its the composition, ratio, chemical make-up and interaction of said chemicals that make something dangerous.

Some drugs are more dangerous than others. Some drugs when overdosed put a person in a coma. Some when overdosed put people into a violent psychotic episode then they die. Those drugs should not be legal.

Oxy is legal. And huge on the black market. Overdose on oxy and you slip into a coma then possibly death. Try and force yourself to OD on cold medication, same chemical component as meth, and you may die but you won't do this:

Link

All drugs are not equal. There are drugs that make people dangerous. This guy was on a small amount of PCP.

A responsible use message is fine but will fail just like MADD learns all the time...when people need to refer to or use the don't drive drunk lessons they are drunk. Or in the case of meth, whacked out on meth. Responsible thinking is not on the top of the brain's priority list. And when a couple of grams of something can take you from bliss to maniac we need to treat those drugs slightly differently.