Should drugs be legalized ?

[Leadeye]

Nothing's going to change, there's too many people making too much money off the problem and the mess that it leaves behind. There really isn't a good answer.

 

[steveh_131]

I happen to believe that by doing something, you have proven that you, in fact, do have the right.

I have the right to collect the stuff I need and cook me up some meth and get as high as I want to get. I even have the right to sneak into your garage at 3 in the morning and steal your leaf blower if I wanted to.

But part of the reason that I don't do those things is that I know that you have the right to shoot me if you catch me in your garage, and the police have the right to arrest me and take me to jail if they catch me. I weigh one thing against the other and decide to be a good citizen because it's just less stressful.

So if a man rapes a woman, he had a right to rape her?

 

[churchmouse]

So if a man rapes a woman, he had a right to rape her?

What....??????

 

[Dosproduction]

I don't see the point in wasting money on this. Lets just crack down on people that commit crimes against others and not them selves. I don't agree with people doing most drugs specially prescription pills but its there life they will screw up and who am I to stop them from being stupid. When they harm others is when to stop them and there should be laws with regards to intoxicated when committing a crime with more server punishment. Not that I think that will help either.

 

[zippy23]

Do you want neighbors cooking meth? Do you want people at all hours of the night all drugged up flying through your neighborhood? Do you want more addicts? I think the real nasty stuff like meth, heroine, etc should be illegal. I understand that arguments of "well they are gonna do it regardless of if its legal." Ok then what is the point of laws? Murder is illegal yet it still happens so should we make that legal? I wonder what police officers would say about a community that is filled with meth. If its legal, will those officers then stop getting calls for all the insane stuff that happens in those communities? Punishment for broken law is a deterrent. Will it stop everyone? of course not But it will stop a lot of it. I dont care what someone else does with their body, but if they put a substance into their body and can no longer control their body, well then its a problem.....like maybe alcohol? Some people can handle it, some cant. There is a great casae for it to be made illegal, which is ridiculous i get that. Alcohol is by no means meth. Have the cartels been damaged by what colorado has done? Seems there are now more homeless and crime. i dunno. Just watch "Cops" and see the communities that drugs are in. letting it flow freely doesnt seem like the answer. I think that if these people got no assistance from the gov't they may make better choices, as they wont be able to eat without having a job. That i think is the real key. Stop feeding and housing these people, which gives them all the time to get addicted and stay on the gov't dole, and maybe they'll make better choices....or we will see darwinism as work. Is that harsh? Or the truth? I dunno. i just know i dont want that stuff in my community, i dont think anyone else wants to live next to a drug dealer.

 

[steveh_131]

Do you want neighbors cooking meth?

No, you're absolutely right. I do not. I want it cooked in a factory with proper safety equipment where it belongs, then sold at reasonable market prices so that the people who want to kill themselves with it can do it without breaking into my car to steal my stereo.

Murder is illegal yet it still happens so should we make that legal?

Of course not.

Since we don't like murder, should we ban the pre-crime to murder - possessing a weapon? Since we're banning things that we're afraid of?

Have the cartels been damaged by what colorado has done? Seems there are now more homeless and crime.

Colorado left far too much regulation in place to take out the black market. But I'd like a source for the 'more homeless and crime' assertion. I haven't read that.

I think that if these people got no assistance from the gov't they may make better choices, as they wont be able to eat without having a job. That i think is the real key. Stop feeding and housing these people, which gives them all the time to get addicted and stay on the gov't dole, and maybe they'll make better choices....or we will see darwinism as work. Is that harsh? Or the truth? I dunno. i just know i dont want that stuff in my community, i dont think anyone else wants to live next to a drug dealer.

That's not harsh at all. I agree with you, that is the real key. Personal responsibility. Want to cook your brain with meth? Do it on your own dime. Eliminate all of these welfare programs.

 

[Twangbanger]

You must not be paying attention.

The folks who aren't paying attention, are the ones who believe the Big Lie that government will get smaller when drugs are legalized.

 

[HoughMade]

The Founders had lots of discussions about rights that weren't recognized or protected at the time. They changed a few things.

Which is what you do when you are Constituting​ a new government. That's not what's going on here.

 

[steveh_131]

This isn't speculation. Ending alcohol prohibition shrunk crime and shrunk government. It's all been done before.

 

[steveh_131]

Which is what you do when you are Constituting​ a new government. That's not what's going on here.

Drug legalization is gaining popularity. I think progress can be made.

 

[HoughMade]

Drug legalization is gaining popularity. I think progress can be made.

I never said that it wasn't gaining popularity...further, I never said that it can't happen. All I am saying that head in the clouds philosophical talk that is unconnected to present legal reality isn't going to help it along.

 

[steveh_131]

I never said that it wasn't gaining popularity...further, I never said that it can't happen. All I am saying that head in the clouds philosophical talk that is unconnected to present legal reality isn't going to help it along.

Sure it is. The more of us who think about liberty when we vote, the better.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

So if a man rapes a woman, he had a right to rape her?

It depends on your definition of what a man has the "right" to do. Any man has the right to do many things. Other men, then have the right to take retribution or, as some might say perform "justice", according to the accepted practices of society.

Rights are purely in the mind of the beholder, and depend entirely on the perspective of the individual.

 

[ziggy]

I generally like the idea of legalization attached to personal responsibility. That is, taxpayers do not pay for the care and treatment of dopers. However, when I taught a class in far NW Indiana and brought up the idea of drug decriminalization or legalization, all of the students of color practically shouted, "Don't do it! Drugs have destroyed our communities." I'll admit I was surprized because I had been led to believe that many black people wanted decriminalization because so many from their communities have prison records because of drug laws.
No one wants the problems of drugs, addiction, and drug dealers in their communities. The question is how best to rid us of the problem. We have done a whole lot of 'make it a crime but then be compassionate and provide for needle exchanges and treatment options'. That has not worked very well, so I am open to trying something different. I do think it is too early to judge the Colorado experiment. Give it at least 5 years.

 

[poptab]

True as far as it goes, but the Courts have ruled on this many times and there is no Constitutionally protected right to do the drug of your choice and the Constitution allows for government regulation of drugs. That is current reality. If people want to have ethereal discussions about the nature of rights floating around in the cosmos that are neither recognized, nor protected, fine, but that's not where any change will come as to this issue.

the constitution doesn't grant the power to regulate drugs anywhere that I can see.

Oh right our rulers make up the law as they go.

 

[steveh_131]

I generally like the idea of legalization attached to personal responsibility. That is, taxpayers do not pay for the care and treatment of dopers. However, when I taught a class in far NW Indiana and brought up the idea of drug decriminalization or legalization, all of the students of color practically shouted, "Don't do it! Drugs have destroyed our communities." I'll admit I was surprized because I had been led to believe that many black people wanted decriminalization because so many from their communities have prison records because of drug laws.
No one wants the problems of drugs, addiction, and drug dealers in their communities. The question is how best to rid us of the problem. We have done a whole lot of 'make it a crime but then be compassionate and provide for needle exchanges and treatment options'. That has not worked very well, so I am open to trying something different. I do think it is too early to judge the Colorado experiment. Give it at least 5 years.

Can you explain to me where the "liquor dealers" went? Are there still moonshiners in the ghettos? These people disappear when prohibition disappears.

There will always be ghettos and poor people. Drugs don't create them.

 

[churchmouse]

Shine is still around my friend. Just because you do not see does not mean it is not there.

It has little effect on the main liquor markets but it is around.

 

[steveh_131]

I am aware that people still make it as a hobby. But apart from areas where liquor is still prohibited, it's production and distribution is no longer surrounded by violent crime. That is the point.

Why bother when you can buy a bottle of a better moonshine equivalent at the store cheaper than you can make it at home?

 

[churchmouse]

I am aware that people still make it as a hobby. But apart from areas where liquor is still prohibited, it's production and distribution is no longer surrounded by violent crime. That is the point.

Why bother when you can buy a bottle of a better moonshine equivalent at the store cheaper than you can make it at home?

Who said it is better at the store......

Just saying there is still a market for the good stuff. Always will be.
Not much violence involved.

 

[steveh_131]

More purity, less blindness? Haha I don't know, I'm not much of a drinker.

But less violence is the important part.