NEWS: 21/04/08 - Herald Sun - "Legalise All Drugs - GP"

[asphyx]

1. Drugs would become safer and possibly less deaths if they were sold with mass education. They would be safer as we would have known doses and purity, also usage could be monitored and people would know what not to mix etc. We could also tax drugs removing crime and putting the money back into the government.

^ This is what I believe would happen if drugs were legalised slowly (MDMA/LSD/Marijuana/Shrooms completely legalised, all other drugs decriminalised, then after a while more drugs would be made completely legal) and people were told the real facts, plus dosage guides and warning labels on the drug packaging to prevent ODs and such.

2. The social stigma of drugs would change making them much more acceptable to use, in turn the number of users would sky rocket. Eg look how many people use alcohol regularly compared to other drugs. This would ultimately mean less people working and more people doing drugs.

Alcohol is a drug that is considered good for social situations at low to medium doses, which is why it's use is more widespread (besides the fact that it is legal, whereas most other drugs are not). It is good for 'breaking the ice' in social gatherings as it lowers inhibitions and gets people talkative. I can't really imagine anyone taking other drugs for most social situations in which alcohol is used, except perhaps MDMA or weed, but both these drugs are A LOT safer than alcohol, so it does not really matter.

 

[rolls]

Alcohol is a drug that is considered good for social situations at low to medium doses, which is why it's use is more widespread (besides the fact that it is legal, whereas most other drugs are not). It is good for 'breaking the ice' in social gatherings as it lowers inhibitions and gets people talkative. I can't really imagine anyone taking other drugs for most social situations in which alcohol is used, except perhaps MDMA or weed, but both these drugs are A LOT safer than alcohol, so it does not really matter.

Sure good point but by legalising drugs the number of users certainly isn't going to decrease, it will increase but to what extent is really just speculation. We need some examples to look at and even then its going to be different in every culture.

 

[johnnyonelove]

i think usage will increase slightly, but problem usage won't increase much (if at all). the problem users will generally obtain what they want regardless of legality.

 

[asphyx]

Sure good point but by legalising drugs the number of users certainly isn't going to decrease, it will increase but to what extent is really just speculation. We need some examples to look at and even then its going to be different in every culture.

As the above post says, "problem usage won't increase much (if at all)".

If every person on earth used drugs responsibly (like the majority of users do) there would be no problems. Only the people that abuse drugs have troubles.

 

[rolls]

Thats the problem though, look at how out of control alcohol use is, if we have everything available then there will be more problems.

(like the majority of users do)

How can you say that? have you done a study on it?

 

[hoptis]

Alcohol is a drug that is considered good for social situations at low to medium doses, which is why it's use is more widespread (besides the fact that it is legal, whereas most other drugs are not). It is good for 'breaking the ice' in social gatherings as it lowers inhibitions and gets people talkative. I can't really imagine anyone taking other drugs for most social situations in which alcohol is used, except perhaps MDMA or weed, but both these drugs are A LOT safer than alcohol, so it does not really matter.

I would tend to disagree. I don't drink and have to fill that social void with other substances all the time... you'd be surprised the variety and usefulness of many illicit substances in social settings where other people would normally tend to alcohol. Stimulants, depressants, even psychedelics can all be excellent in place of alcohol at the right dose and in moderation such that the drinkers don't catch on.

I agree with the general statement alcohol is good for social situations at low/medium doses, but for many of us, either for health reasons or personal choice, it's not always an option.

 

[asphyx]

Thats the problem though, look at how out of control alcohol use is, if we have everything available then there will be more problems.

Is alcohol use really out of control? I'm not sure. I'd say many of the 'problem drinkers' are not actually alcoholics. People cause fights, vandalise, and do other destructive shit on alcohol without being addicted to it, unlike most other substances. Is there such thing as a problem stoner or problem LSD user or problem MDMA user in terms of social harm? I don't really think so.

I would tend to disagree. I don't drink and have to fill that social void with other substances all the time... you'd be surprised the variety and usefulness of many illicit substances in social settings where other people would normally tend to alcohol. Stimulants, depressants, even psychedelics can all be excellent in place of alcohol at the right dose and in moderation such that the drinkers don't catch on.

Fair enough... but I find it real hard to imagine the majority of people replacing alcohol with other substances in most social settings since alcohol is such a common social drug in our society nowadays.

 

[Pistachio]

Yes but do they have more pot smokers then before it was legal? I'd be interested to see the stats for other drugs. I guess all we can really do is speculate until someone does it and we have hard figures to compare.

I agree, it is hard to say anything certain. The only place I know of that has experimented with drug policy is the Netherlands, and even then its a completely different country with a different culture. Add to that that we don't have all the data we would like to make certain suggestions on wise drug policy.


But I think everyone (everyone on BL anyway) can agree de-criminalization should be enacted.

 

[sublimer45er]

i dont really see Kevin 'Dud' legalising drugs here in Australia. We are probably the most harsh on anything illegal. The smallest thing is such a big issue with the Government or the Media in australia. Anything from Ciggarettes to a fuken vegetable that is bad for you. Same with movies or anything like that getting banned. Government is TOO over-protective of us and im sick of it.

 

[expothead]

Not trying to be ageist, but if all drugs were legalised shouldn't the legal age be raised well above 18?

I read and hear a lot about people abusing drugs (legal and otherwise) in a very unsafe manner and frankly I don't think they have the frontal lobe development to act responsibly. Perhaps more factual education would counter this...

 

[djsim]

Thats the problem though, look at how out of control alcohol use is, if we have everything available then there will be more problems.

Why? Wouldn't it seem to be the case that there is always going to be a given percentage of people in the community who are addicts by nature? There's people that do heroin recreationally who never get hooked, and likewise there are other drug users (drinker, cigarette smokers) who dabble and don't get hooked. Why? For a variety of reasons, but mainly because their personality is such that they can easily try heroin or meth and not get hooked. Then there are the people who have one line of coke and never look back, dying as a junkie prostitute. Face it, if a person is predisposed to substance abuse, then it's going to happen, whether it turns out to be something legal like alcohol or nicotine (or even prescription drugs), or something illegal like cocaine or methamphetamine. When opium was legal in China hundreds of years ago, was the whole country addicted? No, or course not!
And furthermore, if illegal drugs like opiates and amphetamine are so "bad" (as those anti-legalisation people will tell you), then why is it that in many cases the very same drug can be prescribed by a doctor? The only "bad" thing about street drugs is that they are impure (thus dangerous to health) and drive crime and PHENOMENAL associated costs.
And lastly, when did getting high become a crime? Who started this fucking bullshit?! Why not give heroin addicts heroin? Why insist on giving methadone? No doubt it is partially due to the fact methadone doesn't get you high. Ya know what, if a heroin addict feels thats what he needs to get through the day and it isn't hurting anyone else, WHO GIVES A FUCK! It's pretty incredible that we champion our democracy as a beacon of freedom, yet our governments have somehow got the power to tell us, as individuals, what we can put in our own body!