Isn’t legalising all drugs the quickest way to reduce the crime-rate, get rid of street gangs, and empty jails?
Tax it heavily, and make them available at legal dispensaries.
Only keep the most dangerous, harmful drugs illegal, such as meth and heroine.
I’m not advocating this idea necessarily, this is more of a thought-experiment. At the moment I’m only really for legalising marijuana. I think I might get some interesting responses though.
No. If you’ve ever worked with or studied drug addicts, you’d know that this is not a good idea.
I think it is a start in the right direction.
No. Why would someone pay $100 for a joint at a “legal” place when they can get it on the street for $10?
I don’t want a legal drugstore in my neighborhood. Check out all the run down, crime filled cities and the drug problem there is huge. No thanks.
No, by the time the government finished taxing, marketing, regulating, legislating and analyzing it, you would see an even larger black market.
Yes.
Making something illegal doesn’t make it go away, it just puts it into hands of criminals (and the CIA)
So, you are saying, that when the drug addicts run out of money to buy drugs, then they will rob the local markets for drugs instead of the local drug dealers? Or maybe somehow you think all those drug dealers and addicts will just magically go out and get real jobs if this were to happen. I’m just looking at the real picture here.
I guess if the drugs weren’t illegal – there would be fewer people arrested for use. I don’t think it would be a good idea to legalize all drugs – even if they were taxes. I would be in favor of legalizing and taxing marijuana, but not addictive drugs.
the only ‘drug’ id be for legalizing is weed.
if we legalized all hard/drugs, ya… the prisons would be a little less full. but there woudl still be gangs and the guys in prison would be out on the streets doing something else illegal.
Yes!!!!!! Legalising marijuana and magic mushrooms was a HUGE success in the Netherlands.
Crime rates lowered, and overall drug usage went down (I have no idea why).
Im going there in a few months to see family, and whilst Im there Im going to get so stoned everyday.
They also have public controlled-injecting rooms over there, where you can legally inject yourself with whatever drug under medical supervision, and given clean needles.
It grealty prevented the number of people ending up in emergency rooms and straining the healthcare system because they injected it wrong.
Crime rate would skyrocket, more people committing robbery to buy drugs.
Legalize all of it.
Tax it if you must but, yes, it will fix many of society’s ills when you put responsibility back in the hands of the individual instead of the State.
Conservatives should agree with this…
No emptying jails would put one million murders and rapist back on the street but high all the time.
All drugs should be legalised, including heroin. In fact, especially heroin. Heroin is far to dangerous to leave in the hands of criminals.
Heroin is essentially morphine (your body actually converts it into morphine); it is not an inherently dangerous substance. What is dangerous, is administering heroin of an unknown concentration, with the presence of any number of harmful adulterants, using an unsterilised needle. Those problems are caused by prohibition. If heroin were legal, it would be sold in pharmacies with the concentration clearly indicated on the label, it would be free from harmful adulterants, and users would have access to clean needles. In that situation, heroin would not be anything like as dangerous as it is today. And there is no evidence to suggest that more people would use it.
Obviously we would keep laws against driving under the influence of drugs, and supplying drugs to minors. But there is not, and never was, a reasonable argument for the total prohibition of drugs.
What we seem to overlook is the fact that ordinary people use drugs. The image we have of the crack addict lying in a gutter is very much the exception, rather than the rule. Doctors and lawyers use cocaine, and remain productive members of society (if you consider lawyers to be productive). There is really no logic to a system in which it is illegal to consume, for example, a pill containing MDMA; but it’s perfectly legal, and commonplace, for someone to drink alcohol until they throw up.
To the extent that illicit drugs do pose health risks, that is better taken care of within the health care system, rather than the criminal justice system. Our crack addict should be treated more like an alcoholic, rather than like a criminal.
you think the street gangs kill over just marijauna?
even if you made pot legal you still would have the same street gangs battling it out over the coke trade.
no, zero tolerance and full clips are the way to stop the drug menance
Drunk drivers and liver cirrhosis kill far more people per year than all of the gang violence during the 20’s and there is no reason to believe similar problems will not occur because of other drugs being legalized.
However, I’m a libertarian and I really don’t care at all if people want to kill their own brain cells. Just don’t make me pay for the very predictable damage and keep it within the confines of your own home so that no one else is put in danger.
No, maybe you have not seen a person on crack or some of the other stronger drugs that you suggested.
I have very little against legalizing marijuana as long as it is regulated like alcohol. but gangs are not really in jail and killing people over Marijuana, it is the stronger drugs that there are fights murders and assaults. It will not get rid of gangs or empty jails.
Gangs will still sell marijuana since it is so easy to grow. and if it is taxed heavily like you suggested, then gangs will make a profit by simply selling on the streets rather than tax it at all.