Before i write this, i just want to say, as always, this is my opinion, and i dont want to push it on anyone... i just want to say it out. Now for the feature presentation!
Drugs have been a controversial subject in the US. for years (as well as other countries all over the place, but i am going to focus on the US) I think that the U.S.'s drug policy is hypocritical, and a ridiculous waste of money for many reasons.
For one, its a colossal waste of money. Why? because it is a war we can not win. Now, i'm not saying that we shouldn't fight it because we can't win, I'm saying we have to find a new way of fighting it... perhaps by not making it a war, and treating drug abuse like we treat alcohol, or any other type of abuse... as abuse and not as criminal activity. Excluding those who distribute illicit drugs, the people who are arrested for drug related crimes face unwarranted penalties. They are jailed, fined, etc. for putting a substance in their bodies. Yes perhaps its a harmful lifestyle... I am very willing to admit that. But obesity kills way more than illicit drug use could ever kill, and we don't look at obesity as a crime. Hell, we don't look at alcohol abuse as a crime (and that is exactly the same as abuse of any other drug). We look at it in the right way... As a sickness, and their are various organizations to help you. (yes i am aware of rehab, which is an excellent idea, but when paired with criminal penalties, doesn't make the best combination)
The biggest problem that stands in the way of more fair drug laws in this country is the way the government portrays the drugs. A lot Anti-drug people don't no anything about the drugs they are against, and yet they spread totally embellished generalities about them. Marijuana is probably the most misunderstood plant out there. So many misconceptions exist about it, a lot of which has been dis proven through scientific study. But that is not nearly where it stops. Every illegal drug has had negative effects overstated, and embellished greatly. The most common thing to embellish, it seems, is addiction. Yes, drugs are addictive. However, no one wants to tell you how much so. drugs like cocaine, crack, heroin, are very addictive yes. But their level of addictiveness is not nearly as high as people say. Heroin, the most addictive of the illicit drugs, is at the same addictiveness level as cigarettes. Cocaine addictiveness is comparable to alcohol (they are not the same, as cocaine is more addictive than alcohol, but not much much more as they would have you believe) Marijuana isn't even physically addictive. Don't get me wrong though, marijuana addiction is possible, and not uncommon as it is fairly psychologically addicting.
Im not asking for the government to make all drugs legal, though this course of action might not be ad damaging to our society as everyone would like to make it seem. I would rather have people know the facts about the specific drug, and given the opportunity to say no or yes, rather than being force fed what the government thinks is the right answer. I don't want my government to be my big brother (yes thats an allusion to 1984) i want it to be my government.
You've just said everything I've thought about the "Drug War." I think prisons would be a lot less full if they employed the use of organizations to work with people addicted to drugs. But, as you know, many people running prisons probably wouldn't like to be sympathic to convicted men and women, but gosh darnet, give them the treatment that they need!
"There's no answers when the questions aren't ever asked" --The Decline by NOFX
Can you produce any articles verifying your claims on addiction? I'm not doubting you - just curious, as, exactly as you say, these are the kinds of claims I've heard since childhood.
Also, you haven't mentioned crystal meth, which is supposed to be highly addictive and toxic.
T.k.
I would advise you to go to Erowid.org . It is one of the best online compilations of informations on pretty much every drug out there, including addiction levels, dosage, etc. What i said in the article is pretty much what i have picked up surfing the internet, and though i can verify that my sources are pretty sturdy, i can't verify that i quoted them correctly, so their is probably a few mistakes in their
Crystal Meth, as far as i kno, is very addictive and toxic, but that is a pretty general statement. Most drugs are addictive and toxic to a certain degree. Its not about how bad the drug is, its about the person using the drug. For every person that does something idiotic on a drug, there are 10 that use it just fine, and don't become immediately addicted.
Thank you for the link. I'll flip through it later.
Ah, perhaps I should have specified. I remember one specific article stating that it was common to become deeply addicted after one use - unheard of, or so the article said, for a drug. I can't give you a source, but I'm fairly confident that it's from a local newspaper at least six months ago.
I agree with you that it's usually the fault of the user, but if half the things I've read about meth are true, it needs to be regulated at the very least.
T.k.
As far as the one use thing is concerned. Utter crap. I have never heard even 1 case of this happened for any drug ever. If cigarettes are as addictive as heroin, and it doesn't take 1 cigg to get addicted to nicotine, than what hope is their for the rest of the drugs out there to create an addiction after one use.
Meth is one drug that i never really researched. Its more of a west coast thing distributed by biker gangs and such. It has very serious health issues, like meth mouth, and a few others. If drugs became legalized, yeah i think that all drugs should be regulated to a point, the more harmful the more regulations
and by harmful, i mean with the most potential to cause harm. drugs don't have to be harmful, and if used correctly, they won't be.
Sorry, bad logic there. Just because it hasn't been invented yet doesn't mean it couldn't be.
Meth isn't just limited to the West Coast. I live in Wisconsin, which is a far cry from sunshine and biker gangs, and we're starting to experience problems as well.
Again, I agree with you there. Regulation, not prohibition.
T.k.
I agree with you on the point that drug users get a worse treatment from the authorites than the average alcaholic. Your not arrested if your caught drinking at home. I think maybe the reason why is that they drugs are far more dangerous and do more to your body. Than again, I don't know. You could bring up the same argument with gambling as well, why is that outlawed? Some people believe they should have the legal right to do stupid things and blow their money on things that may harm them.
It's a free country, but I think that the more we do to fight against substances that harm our bodies and the more we do to prevent the possiblities of people getting addicted to them, the better. Thats just my opinion.
Theirs my two cents,
luv, Monica
if our goal was to fight against substances that harm our bodies, than we should make alcohol, tobacco, any opiate, hell every single chemical that effects our body illegal.
I agree that we should do all we can to stop drug abuse from ravaging our people, but what price should we pay. Should we give up the freedom to choose what we put in our bodies because certain people are incapable of doing so responsibly?
In my opinion, we need to spread truth and facts.. not warnings and advice. Like i have said, for every person that does something stupid on a drug, there are 10 who don't. those 10 shouldn't be punished for that one. If people are educated enough to make responsible decisions, then odds are they will make a responsible decision.
And what a lot of people don't understand, is that alcohol is a drug. Drugs don't do "more" to your body than other drugs, they have different effects, and those effects differ in intensity. A question i have is if people can drink responsibly, why can't they smoke/snort/inject responsibly?
Why do you insist that we tell adults what they can or can't do 'for their own good' at all?
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"Conservative thinking gone wrong?"
Alcohol prohibition, and Drug prohibition are both Liberal progressive ideas. They are just liberal ideas that have been with us for close to 100 years.
http://www.amazon.com/Prohibition-Progressive-Movement-1900-1920-Timberl...
1920-1933Alc
"The failure of Prohibition helped remove it temporarily from public attention. Not only was the "noble experiment" an embarrassment, events such as the Great Depression and World War II dominated public concern. Marijuana prohibition in 1937 was relatively insignificant — a mere side effect of narcotics and alcohol prohibitions."
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"Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could."
William F. Buckley
Libertarian conservatives are the only group that have consistently called for their repeal.
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You are right that government misinformation campaigns should be replaced with facts.
A Fact is Always Better Than an Ideal.
so drug prohibition is liberal thinking gone wrong? hah i didn't know that thanks =)
In any case, it is whoever's thinking gone wrong. And if they are going to prohibit something, they should at least tell the public facts about it... not spread their propaganda.
Good point, that. Drug and alcohol prohibition have always been the things I like least about the early progressive movement. They did have a point that alcohol has a role in domestic violence, but they went about prevention in entirely the wrong way.
T.k.
"if people can drink responsibly, why can't they smoke/snort/inject responsibly?"
I agree. Drugs deserve the same regulations as alcohol- don't give it to kids, don't drive while using it, and don't walk around town while you're on it, either.
I like the idea of drug regulation- I don't want to do drugs, but I personally don't care if you do. Get yourself high all day- just don't do it on my property, give it to my kids, or sell it around their school. Don't make it look glamorous to others, don't try to get others to do it, just mind your own business, and I'll mind mine.
I especially don't like all the government spending involved with the drug war. It makes me cringe to think that hundreds of my tax dollars are going to prosecute and imprison someone for growing a plant, moving a plant, sharing that plant with others , and/or occasionally setting it on fire. As said before: Go right ahead, just keep the smoke out of my yard.