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What would happen if drugs were legalised Part 2. Heroin

MazDan

MazDan

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Joined
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Its time for part 2. Heroin

Lets get those grey cells working and ask you to consider the world in ten years time and what would happen if tomorrow Heroin production and use was made legal.

Would there be some good points?

Would there be any downsides?

Could there be other changes to the law because of this?

Can you see into the future?



This is Part 2 of a series I wish to put forward over the next few months to see how thoughts might change if the substance is different.

Part 1 MDMA can be found here......... http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=504804
 
Firstly, there would unquestionably be more opiate addicts. Heroin is one drug that has been so successfully demonised that I do think the stigma turns away a lot of would be users, something that can't really be said of drugs like MDMA and marijuana.

I think that while it sounds like a really bad negative consequence that heroin addiction is only so severe because it is so expensive to maintain and there is no quality control on the product. A lot of would be addicts could be perfectly good functioning members of society. Any current addicts would be immensely better off.

Cannabis would decrease in popularity whether it was legal or illegal (I am going to guess its legal if heroin is haha) and there would be less respiratory illness caused by marijuana smoke.

Addicts would have less stigma and could get treatment more openly, opiate addiction would be approached with more sense with alternatve therapies like ibogaine as well as less common ORT's would become available.

People could get legitimate pain relief without being looked down on or treated like common criminals for buying a legal opiate. People would have more individual freedom to choose how to treat themselves for medical conditions rather than letting doctors and pharmaceutical companies be the puppet masters.
 
i very much doubt seeing heroin trialled in ORT in australia during my lifetime but here's my 2 cents and my "vision into the future"

the good great - i'd be able to get my pain medication served to me daily over the counter in a clean, supervised injecting room. my heroin would be 99.whatever% pure, measured out into a safe dose; like that of any other ORT in place. i'd have access to clean, sterilised equipment all the time. it would be twice daily dosing initially at the clinic with (cause i'm still dreaming) the reward of earning take homes after a certain amount of time under the program; again in some fashion as ORT's have in place already). less stigma around the drug. more people being able to get proper, easily accessible help.

the bad - addiction/dependency. missed shots depending on where would still be a con. track marks are still a reality. overdose is still possible when used in combination with other CNS depressants used outside of the program. there's still going to be a stigma surrounding it.

as you see from my points it's only going to be a good thing:p;)
 
I predict a noticable drop in a range of "lesser" crimes. People who in the past have had to steal/do all sorts on unsavoury acts to keep up their Heroin habit wouldn't have to do so.

My crystal ball also predicts a large decrease in the numbers of the homeless around major urban areas.

Unfortunately due to the deeply entrenched sogial stigma that goes along with Heroin I don't think this alternative reality would be anything more than a crystal dream.
 
^ A bunch of druggies on a forum can always dream however. ;)

I agree on the drop in crime rates, I think after a few years the drop would probably be phenominal.
 
Well my prescient abilitys lead me to see that legal diamorphine would be a win win for everyone thats been affected by Heroin addiction in some way;

There'd be all but no crime associated with Heroin
entire suburbs would be free of the drug addict who indulges in crime to satisfy one's habit... these people may go on to be socially productive
intravenous infections would hugely drop, which is a massive plus
A lot of people would go out of business who make a living from stepping on and selling Heroin, thus making a place generally safer for everyone else
It would make a positive impact on prostitution, and those same working girls, or guys could get a legitimate job while maintaining their habit.
i'm sure there are way more positives...

But yes, there will of course be some drawbacks... maybe there would be a lot of people who only use once a week due to not lowering themselves to a full time junkie... these people would now be able to afford to be on all the time. so thats defiantly a negative.

It would maybe lift the stigma and attract young people, or someone who's always liked codeine to jump ship, but in that case there could easily be a certain criteria to be able to get a diamorphine script... blood tests, GP history, consent and approval from parents if young etc.

So thats just a few pro's and con's off the top of my head, and it seems like there are defiantly more good things than bad. Personally in my situation, i was the half functioning H addict that never crossed his moral line and subsequently used it only occasionally due to the cost, both financially and personally. So honestly if it was legal, i could see my own use becoming all day everyday... where would that end? It would not give me many reasons to kick it.
 
What does the crime rate really concern though?

  • Possession
  • Trafficking
  • Smuggling
  • Manufacturing
Cutting out the complicated processes from obtaining the precursors in the manufacturing process to possession I imagine would remove a lot of crime, as well as significantly decrease the cost of these drugs to society. It doesn't just involve a dealer and the end user but the chain of events to get the drug into the country and through all the sets of hands.
 
The unemployment rate would rise. The problem is you are only a functioning heroin addict for so long because of a little problem called tolerance. Sure you daily hit would perhaps be more affordable but how many of you started off with a $50 a day habit but quickly upped your daily use? Like Sublimit said, you would be more than happy to be on the nod all day everyday, without a concerned where you had to search out your next hit. Also god forbid if you actually hurt yourself and went to a hospital for pain relief. If your tolerance is sky high it may be a case of shit out of luck.

Functioning addict is a bit of a misnomer. Sure you are better off without the sickness but how productive are you? I would hate to think of the impairment of drivers, heavy machinery operators or heaven forbid call centre operators.

There would be a hell of a lot of sexually frustrated partners. They have to suffer from either a low to non existent sex drive, or if they do suddenly get an erection they have to put up with 3 or four hours of piston sex with no blow and only a raw vagina as reward. mmmmm sexay.
 
^ You just have to balance your dose just right to hit that sweet spot where you can fuck for a decent amount of time... too much though and there's no point even trying.

If heroin became legal I would be a heroin addict but no one would care because everyone else would be too.
 
If you look at the numbers on morphine/opium addiction back in the late 19th century, they were just insane.

I think it'd be a close call as to whether the reduction in damage to the addicts and to society per user would outweigh the increased number of users.

The most sensible option would be to start with decriminalization of personal use and heroin maintainance therapy for hardcore addicts, then slowly adjust policy depending on the results.

You also have to consider the reduction in spending on law enforcement and on HIV/Hepatitis treatment.

I have to wonder if it would be possible to prepare the heroin in such a way that IV use becomes impossible? Akin to concerta or a similar controlled release mechanism, it would allow people to get high or maintain their addiction, but prevent the other dangers associated with IV use. Of course it's possible that a black market for illicit heroin would still exist for those with a needle fixation, but I doubt anyone would choose to deal with all of that over cheap, legal oral administration. I'm not sure it'd actually be a good idea, but it's a thought.

Another thought would be to limit administration to shooting centres. With trained staff on hand to handle doseage and administer naltrexone in the event of an OD, in theory you could drop the risk of dying from an OD to almost zero, and addicts would have their mental/physical health monitored and counselling available on a constant basis. Addicts could be given suboxone or similar to take with them if they need to go on a trip.
 
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as I am pro legalization of all drugs to remove the criminal element and to reduce harm that is caused by drugs to the community.

Heroin imho should be used to treat addiction to heroin, but methadone and subutex etc still to be used aswell.
tightly controlled while legal i don't believe it should be readily available to people, im no doctor so i have nothing to say about its medical use.

basically allowing people to free them selfs from criminality, and providing users with options to quit or to decrease use, stabilize there lives.

injecting users should be provided with safe means to do so.

basically heroin should be used to eliminate the need for heroin, i know that is never going to happen but buy tapering, providing safe doses, education etc it should be aimed at reducing use and not just providing people with heroin.

making it harder to get also opens up the black market, for this I would love to see a clinic or department or whatever that is basically tasked with allowing safe, supervised access to these drugs, in the end if someone is going to use, they will use, if it is easier to get into a program that is monitored than contacting a dealer, then even though there would be more external control it may just be an option people would take and perhaps avoiding overdoses, and the spread of infectious diseases via IV transmission, which should be a major focus upon this demographic of users.

heroin is a really hard one to say it will benefit the wider community with legalization, focusing on heroin to reduce heroin would be the way i would like it done.

but, my words are worth shit and no doubt not even read, but i like this thread so i replied in part 1 and ill do it again!
 
Heroin was synthesized originally to cure morphine addiction - that's a huge lol right there.

I think the statistics from when it was legal (allbeit not accurate) proved it's consequences too damageing to society. I can't really see any way it could work, apart from dicriminlization.
 
aero said:
Heroin was synthesized originally to cure morphine addiction - that's a huge lol right there.
Click to expand...


that is not entirely true, it was a morphine substitute, thought to be non-addictive and was used to treat morphine addiction yes, but it was not synthesized only for that purpose


heroin has been with us for a long time, some times you have to fight fire with fire and this imho is one of them times, decriminalization is perhaps a more apt word for my take on heroin where legalization implies free access to the substance, that is something i do not agree with entirely...
 
There is of course the risk that there'd be more addicts, but I wonder if the number of users would actually increase by that much? As several people have said, there would still be a stigma attached to its use, with many still viewing it as 'only for junkies'. Add that to the people who are either scared of it, or simply aren't interested (myself included), and the number of users may not sky rocket.

I don't think it'd be like MDMA where every man (and some enterprising canines) want a piece of the action.
 
boodha said:
that is not entirely true, it was a morphine substitute, thought to be non-addictive and was used to treat morphine addiction yes, but it was not synthesized only for that purpose


heroin has been with us for a long time, some times you have to fight fire with fire and this imho is one of them times, decriminalization is perhaps a more apt word for my take on heroin where legalization implies free access to the substance, that is something i do not agree with entirely...
Click to expand...

Yes it was substituted for morphine as it was seen as a stronger and less addictive substance. But back then they really had little understanding of addictions and how they develop. So heroin seemed like a magical cure for Morphine addicts.

The problem was that it became impossible to monitor who was an addict and who was not. Drug related crimes were low due to the ease in which i was aquired but drug related medical conditions were higher.

Once they saw the impact it had on society and its highly addictive nature they sought to outlaw it.

Legal opiates have never worked in any society - think china and opium/all early western nations etc. Today it would be worse, unless they somehow synthed something into the heroin that made it non addictive.

But then again i'd love legal opiates; just for me and my friends though :P
 
I don't really know a great deal about Heroin to comment, but from what I know, it is much a habit forming drug, and is both physically and psychologically addictive (am I right?).

Whereas when we talked about MDMA being legal, it is none of these, and users are not met with the same sort of withdrawals and physical dependance that Heroin brings. Once addiction starts, tolerance most definitely increases, which would result in your personal productivity decreasing, which would make it harder to get the money to pay for your ever more expensive hit.
Therefor, I could almost see a rise in unemployment.

I would hazard a guess by saying that legalising Heroin would be a very slippery slope, and I personally wouldn't like to see it happen other than to treat addiction.
 
I think everyone who has mentioned earlier times when opiates were legal and available and the effect they had on societies has a valid and interesting point, I think it would be a lot different today at least at first due to the massive stigma society has regarding this drug. I do foresee there being a lot more users and addicts if it were legal though, even if it did take a bit of time to build up.
 
aero said:
Legal opiates have never worked in any society - think china and opium/all early western nations etc. Today it would be worse, unless they somehow synthed something into the heroin that made it non addictive.
Click to expand...

Here I was thinking OTC codeine and dihydrocodeine were legally available in this society without causing too many problems.... Hmmmm

I think if they legalised heroin they should do something to make it a hassle to use without increasing the harm caused by it. I couldn't really think of a way to do it though. Pretty much anyone I have been friendly with in the last 2 years is aware of CWE and many of them would actually be interested in certain opiates. Many of my friends express interest in morphine and are aware codeine converts to morphine. If I counted on one hand the amount to have gone out and done it themselves I would have fingers left over! And I have offered to do all the bloody work for a few closer mates if they came around with a packet when I was using. Nobody really seems to be arsed with the little bit of hassle for a nice and cheap buzz, people really are that stupid and lazy.

I think if you made heroin available in some kind of form that required a decent amount of preparation before it was injectable, making sure not to add anything nasty that would end up in the final solution to be injected, a shit load of people would never actually bother with it. I don't think the vast majority of non drug users view sedatives as particularly interesting or attractive drugs on the whole and while curiosity may get the better of them if it involed little effort, having to go the extra mile would probably dissuade many would be users.
 
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^d_m raises a good point.

I have several friends who have injected heroin a couple of times but don't go back simply because its too much effort.

One other point that hasn't been raised is wether people would bother with opiates if many of the other popular drugs were legalised. Apart from those who were already Heroin users before legalisation, I'm sure many people would stay away from Heroin due to healthier, less addictive drugs being easily available.

As with MDMA there is also the potential for research into anologues of Heroin and other Opium derivitives. Imagine if we had an opiate with the recreational profile of Heroin but the safety profile of Codeine.
 
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