BodhiSvaha33 said:
I think legalizing strong opiates and strong dopaminergics (heroin and coke/crack being the classic examples) would create epidemic-level abuse. In a perfect world, where people understood the risks and used these drugs responsibly, they would be suitable for recreation. But we're not there yet. Giving hordes of emotionally unstable people unrestricted access to highly addictive drugs would ruin a lot of lives (not just the users', either).
I am very uncomfortable with this whole debate, because it feels wrong to say "it's ok for me but not for thee". On the other hand, I am fully aware that many in the US (perhaps the majority) would self-destruct on these substances. Look how many people self-destruct on alcohol and prescription meds. I guess I'm conflicted between idealism and realism on this topic.
I understand what you're saying, but there are ways to go about it that I don't think would cause an epidemic like you'd imagine.
Take Switzerland for example. They started by supplying prescribed heroin to 1100 chronic addicts along with psychosocial assistance offered through government programs. Three years later, following an evaluation of this experiment, it appeared that the mental health of the participants had improved, the number of crimes in this group had decreased and that some of the addicts had a permanent address and had found employment.
On 1 June 2006, A study was published(Incidence of heroin use in Zurich, Switzerland: a treatment case register analysis) including information on 7000 pateints which found that Switzerland's policy of offering heroin addicts substitution treatment with methadone or buprenorphine has led to a decline in the number of new heroin users in Zurich. The study found that People taking up the habit in the canton of Zurich dropped 82 percent from 850 in 1990 to 150 in 2002, as a result of policies such as needle-exchange services and methadone programs. It also showed a decrease in addicts across the board. The study was also independantly evaluated by the World Health Organization who reported:
the results of the Swiss heroin experiment have indeed been positive, with high treatment retention rates (86% after three months, 70% after 12 months, and 50% after 30 months), considerable reductions in the use of illegal drugs (heroin and cocaine) and in the level of the participants' criminal activities, substantial and stable improvements in the domains of physical health, psychological well-being, housing and employment, and a substantial reduction in the number of contacts with drug users and the drug scene in general
The Netherlands did something similar in Amsterdam and Rotterdam with parallel results. Their findings published in 2005 also estimated a total net savings to society of $12,800 euro per patient when they're legally prescribed a combination of Methadone and Heroin. Lifetime prevalence of heroin use for people ages 12+ is 1.4% in the U.S. and only 0.4% in the Netherlands. The Netherlands also has the lowest drug-related deaths per million inhabitants in all of Europe(less than 1/10th that of both Germany and Spain).
People wonder why this country's ecomony is stagnent and we're starting to lag behind powerhouses like China and the European Union. It's because we've been entrenched in a Civil War for the past 30 years; by far the most costly type of war. 80% of the Nation's entire prison population increase between 1980 and 1995 were due to Drug convictions. Over 25% of incarcerations per year since then have been from Drug convictions. We've spent over $36 billion dollars this year alone on the War on Drugs, and $45.5 billion for maintaining incarcerated drug offenders. That's $81 billions dollars not even including the the socioeconomic costs caused by the incarceration of millions of people taken out of the Nation's workforce. That's almost as much as we're spending in Iraq every single year.
I won't even get into how it's caused the cyclic creation of a permanent underclass by limiting the opportunities for education and employment of minorities. Let's just say, in my opinion, this statement:
Damien8787 said:
The benefits are endless.
Couldn't be more accurate.
