Let me try to articulate the main reason to legalize drugs,

[Liberty4life]

TO KEEP THE MONEY OUT OF GANGSTERS POCKETS!!

On a side note only people who can prove to a doctor they are addicted to a
drug should be able to get a prescription for them,
this will eventually ensure all drug addicts fade away.

And all you naysayers who like to think its best to keep them illegal,
your part of the reason why they are so prevalent right now.

go ahead, flame on

[MRoCkEd]

Very few people on here want to keep drugs illegal. You're stricter than most of us:

On a side note only people who can prove to a doctor they are addicted to a
drug should be able to get a prescription for them

[Liberty4life]

if you think this idea is too strict, maybe so, thats why theres a failsafe,
and that is, people with prescriptions will turn around and sell their drugs, :eek:
while being illegal it won't be near as bad as having hardcore gangsters doing it.

[paulpwns]

Illegal drugs create illegal black markets.

Black markets create drug culture, violence, murder, and gangs.

These are the worst parts of society and disproportionally hurt the poor.

If you care about the poor, you support drug freedom.

[Liberty4life]

Illegal drugs create illegal black markets.

Black markets create drug culture, violence, murder, and gangs.

These are the worst parts of society and disproportionally hurt the poor.

If you care about the poor, you support drug freedom.

And you illuminate my point better than I did, thank you

[specsaregood]

On a side note only people who can prove to a doctor they are addicted to a drug should be able to get a prescription for them,
this will eventually ensure all drug addicts fade away.

And all you naysayers who like to think its best to keep them illegal,
your part of the reason why they are so prevalent right now.


So you have to prove you are already addicted to a drug to get a "prescription". So by definition you have to have had access to "illegal" drugs in the first place. Which means a market for illegal drugs will continue to exist.....I dont see the logic here.

[Liberty4life]

The logic is in the entropy, meaning that eventually drug users will fade away,
while there likely will be users for the foreseeable future, their effect will diminish,
and yes of course to get a prescription you will have to prove that you are addicted,
but considering the current system..

Or you can continue to think the drug war is the only way to combat drug use..

[specsaregood]

Or you can continue to think the drug war is the only way to combat drug use..

That's a false choice, I never said that was the case. I just don't think your proposed solution with its stipulation for getting a "prescription" will make much difference.

[Liberty4life]

That's a false choice, I never said that was the case. I just don't think your proposed solution with its stipulation for getting a "prescription" will make much difference.

Fair enough, would you care to offer a suggestion?
maybe just make them legal, and let the market decide who profits?

Consider the profit the government could make, now if they were the providers of
varieties of drugs, it seems logical that some way to regulate who gets them would
be needed, so instead of just letting the heroin user go buy drugs in the store,
maybe he should go get his heroin from a doctor,
so say theres an 18yr old who wants to try heroin? :confused: what would you do?

[Expatriate]

instead of just letting the heroin user go buy drugs in the store,
maybe he should go get his heroin from a doctor,
so say theres an 18yr old who wants to try heroin? :confused: what would you do?

What's wrong with an 18yr old trying heroin? It's his own life, not yours. Maybe his parents should yell at him or something.

[specsaregood]

Fair enough, would you care to offer a suggestion?
maybe just make them legal, and let the market decide who profits?


I say treat them the same as alcohol.

[paulpwns]

What's wrong with an 18yr old trying heroin? It's his own life, not yours. Maybe his parents should yell at him or something.

^^ I agree. Is it any different from any other high risk behavior?

Eating fast food? Drag racing? Plastic surgery?

Every decision has a consequence.

[Liberty4life]

Consider that most illegal drugs are illegal for a good reason,
they are dangerous, more dangerous than alcohol, cigarettes
and most any type of risky behavior so not regulating them would
be irresponsible so you have two extremes, the gangsters way
and the ultimate freedom way,
lets meet in the middle somewhere..

[constituent]

Liberty4life,

Let's leave meeting in the middle to the politicians.

I prefer to argue from a position of strength...

[dannno]

if you think this idea is too strict, maybe so, thats why theres a failsafe,
and that is, people with prescriptions will turn around and sell their drugs, :eek:
while being illegal it won't be near as bad as having hardcore gangsters doing it.

You can get a recommendation for cannabis here in CA, in fact it's fairly easy. Then you can legally go to dispensaries and purchase cannabis, way more than a single person would ever need. You have to present your verified doctor's recommendation every time.

So the question is, why are there still Mexican drug cartels profiting off of the cannabis trade? Why is there still such a huge black market? Because there is a demand for it that is being restricted. You still want to restrict the drug trade, so there will still be a black market. It won't be as bad, you're probably right about that. I guess the question is how do you prove you're addicted to a drug? Just because someone is willing to put said information in their medical history?

[FindLiberty]

lets meet in the middle somewhere
...how about, you stay out of my life (take the government goons with you as you get off my property, don't go away mad, just go away) and I'll stay out of your life too.

;-)

[paulpwns]

We do meet in the middle. If my drug use harms someone else, you punish me?

I am all for getting rid of speeding laws, but if you kill someone as a result of speeding? THROW THE BOOK AT THEM.

Ultimate freedom comes with ultimate punishment if you abuse someone else's rights.

[Grimnir Wotansvolk]

The main reason to legalize drugs: who are you to tell me what to do?

If there weren't a taxation apparatus that allowed the anti-drug fannypack brigade to outsource the cost of violence, this discussion would be done.

[dannno]

OP, the truth is that heroin would probably disappear if drugs were legalized, at least for the most part. Addicts would gravitate towards opium, which is much safer, less addictive and less dangerous. Heroin actually destroys your red blood cells. After you come down off of the drug, you are literally sick.. so you do more, and when you come down again you are even more sick. Opium does nothing of the sort, although it does have some addictive properties as an opiate.. so why wouldn't a heroin addict switch to opium until their body is able to resupply themselves with red blood cells so they can take a break?? Because opium is almost impossible to find due to the black market preferring the most potent method possible so that you can fit the most $$ into a suitcase or plane or what-have-you.

If legal, quality would increase and a lot of the dangerous side effects from fillers for cocaine and other drugs would help increase the safety for drug users.

On top of that, you can google a poll really quick that shows that around 98-99% of Americans wouldn't use heroin or similar hard drugs even if they were legal. That means we are "protecting" a very small percentage of the population.

[Reason]

there is no logical argument against treating drugs like we do alcohol.

end of story.

[constituent]

there is no logical argument against treating drugs like we do alcohol.

end of story.

agreed. the government should stop taxing and licensing the manufacture/distribution/sale of alcohol rather than do the same with "drugs."

[BillyDkid]

TO KEEP THE MONEY OUT OF GANGSTERS POCKETS!!

On a side note only people who can prove to a doctor they are addicted to a
drug should be able to get a prescription for them,
this will eventually ensure all drug addicts fade away.

And all you naysayers who like to think its best to keep them illegal,
your part of the reason why they are so prevalent right now.

go ahead, flame onWell, that's a good reason, but isn't a better reason that we are supposed to own our own bodies and have the right to decide what we do or don't put into them? Isn't liberty a better reason? And what does liberty mean if you don't even own yourself????

[Seanmc30]

But, but, but....Drugs are bad! They're for dirty, smelly, hippies. They make people think outside the box and start to question the government.

The DARE cop told me so. Then he showed me a whole lot of pipes and let me meet Rosco...the dog who apparently finds rolled up towels in cardboard boxes professionally. Ill bet that puppys' great-great-grandparents served proudly in Germany.

DARE cops are my heroes....criminals are bad and deserve to be in jail.

[Liberty4life]

Well, that's a good reason, but isn't a better reason that we are supposed to own our own bodies and have the right to decide what we do or don't put into them? Isn't liberty a better reason? And what does liberty mean if you don't even own yourself????

I said it was the main reason, your reasons are also good,

how is it that you don't own your own body? I don't seem to have a problem
with mine, unless I try to do something that is against the law, if someone trys
to tell you what to do with your body then you should resist that with all your
ability, if that thing you are trying to do is illegal, you should respect the laws
or you will lose control of what you do with your body.

[BillyDkid]

I said it was the main reason, your reasons are also good,

how is it that you don't own your own body? I don't seem to have a problem
with mine, unless I try to do something that is against the law, if someone trys
to tell you what to do with your body then you should resist that with all your
ability, if that thing you are trying to do is illegal, you should respect the laws
or you will lose control of what you do with your body.You don't see the issue with the there being laws against what you can do with your own body and still claiming that you own it? How you say you own your own body and say that other people have the right to decide for you what you can do with it???

[james1906]

http://buchanan.org/blog/pjb-afghanistan-south-1467

[PreDeadMan]

hahahah the DARE cops I remember those idiots I forgot if at the time they actually did pass around a joint in a ziplock bag or something to show the kids what marijuana looks like rolled up in a joint it was so long ago LOL they probably don't do that today with kids hahaha but anyway YES your body is your temple.... you should be able to eat smoke do whatever take whatever end your life poison yourself because you own your body... it seems to some people government owns their bodies if they want to leave it up to the government for what should and shouldn't enter ones blood stream..... and like many have said on this board prohibition causes black markets the al capones come to life the gangsters and street criminals reign and you've got violence on the streets dealers selling laced drugs to people the price of drugs is extremely high due to it being illegal it's not worth all of that crap the war on drugs has got to end!