What if drugs went away?

[mascariot]

If there were no guns people couldn't harm themselves with guns....if there were no drugs people couldn't harm themselves with drugs....Some people like guns, some people like drugs, some people like both guns and drugs....Ben Franklin once said that people give up liberty (a form of the right to bear arms) for security deserve neither.....He also said that beer (a drug) is proof that God loves us and wants us to have fun. When I was a supervisor for Walter Kidde some of my best performers smoked pot every day. In areas where heroin has been legalized the crime rate has dropped dramatically....years ago the top priority of the national Mayors convention was to find a way to legalize heroin....Rush Limbaugh held down a job while he was addicted...Nancy Reagen functioned well as a Valium addict. Sigmond Freud was addicted to cocaine...Alcoholics go to work every day...not to mention nicotine and caffeine...don't believe all the propaganda you hear about drugs and the war on them....It is just a modernized version of "Reefer Madness" pure ********.

Criminals are about as likely to stop trying to make things the easy way, as drug addicts are likely to go out and get/hold down jobs just because the price of drugs went down.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Hopyard]

If there were no guns people couldn't harm themselves with guns....if there were no drugs people couldn't harm themselves with drugs....Some people like guns, some people like drugs, some people like both guns and drugs....Ben Franklin once said that people give up liberty (a form of the right to bear arms) for security deserve neither.....He also said that beer (a drug) is proof that God loves us and wants us to have fun. When I was a supervisor for Walter Kidde some of my best performers smoked pot every day. In areas where heroin has been legalized the crime rate has dropped dramatically....years ago the top priority of the national Mayors convention was to find a way to legalize heroin....Rush Limbaugh held down a job while he was addicted...Nancy Reagen functioned well as a Valium addict. Sigmond Freud was addicted to cocaine...Alcoholics go to work every day...not to mention nicotine and caffeine...don't believe all the propaganda you hear about drugs and the war on them....It is just a modernized version of "Reefer Madness" pure ********.

I used to hold the "all illegal drugs" are highly dangerous view. Then I saw something on a TV
magazine which changed my mind. IT was the story of a woman who was an acclaimed, respected,
and revered, HS Principal. She was also a heroin addict. Somehow, she managed to balance both
and not get caught for a very very long time. Meanwhile, there was no apparent negative effect on
job performance. That one story taught me to start to become very skeptical about the claims
against the various illegal drugs, and even more skeptical about the claims against legal drugs illegally
used-- e.g., Rush's as example of an addict holding down a job being a good one, whatever one may think of his
way of making a living and what he has to say.

It seems with the exception of meth perhaps, and some of the horrible psychedelics which cause hallucinogenic
psychotic episodes, most of what is prohibited or scheduled is small potatoes as far as public safety, save the
need of addicts to steal to get the bucks.

[Richard58]

Legalize drugs???? I guess when all else fails lower ur standards"......That's what our government has been doing already for so long now..

[Hopyard]

Legalize drugs???? I guess when all else fails lower ur standards"......That's what our government has been doing already for so long now..

No. It isn't lowering standards. Legalization would raise them. It would raise them by lowering the chance
of folks being convicted for possession crimes. It would raise them by lowering the amounts of money
spent on failed enforcement and incarceration and the amounts of lost productivity from possibly productive people.

The path we are on is so so so wrong; and has been for a very very long time. No longer
satisfied with making big deals out of a handful of illicit items, we seem to choose an ever
expanding list to where people now can be arrested for having a single pill-- of their own prescription
medicine-- in a container lacking the proper markings. This is thoroughly ridiculous and the only
gainers are the drug gangs and the drug testing companies.

The users of psychedelic hallucinogens will do themselves in, law or no law. SOme will do violent
acts and either get killed or kill themselves or go to jail where they at that point will deserve what they
get for punishment. OTOH, I really don't care if a Rush like individual who maintains his ability to
go to work takes excess amounts of Vicodin-- so long as he doesn't drive impaired. I don't really care
if someone abuses the minor tranquilizers, again, so long as they don't drive or endanger others. We have
plenty of tools for enforcing those aspects. WE don't need to criminalize possession/ foolish use of every darn
medicine and every darn chemical that's ever been invented.

[Sig 210]

The 40 year old "war on drugs" has been such a roaring success that more dope is coming into the US every year the "war" drags on. Its a sad commentary on our country that cartels are killing thousands of Mexicans every year in their fight for the US dope trade. 80 percent of prison inmates are in jail because of some offense related to dope.

There is no US drug education and treatment program. We are paying big bucks to keep over one million drug users in prison, outfit hundreds of SWAT teams and we tolerate thousands of violations of civil rights in the "war on drugs". Oklahoma imprisons large numbers of folks every year for using meth. They're in prison for a year or two with no drug treatment, can't get a job because of their felony and they go back to making and using meth.

The "war on drugs" is the largest propaganda piece ever foisted on US taxpayers.

[mascariot]

Like I said before...EVERYTHING is toxic, it is the dose that matters....overeating can cause death....I just can't understand why some people who are so opposed to drugs are so worried about others who are not??? Get over it people, live and let live....

I used to hold the "all illegal drugs" are highly dangerous view. Then I saw something on a TV
magazine which changed my mind. IT was the story of a woman who was an acclaimed, respected,
and revered, HS Principal. She was also a heroin addict. Somehow, she managed to balance both
and not get caught for a very very long time. Meanwhile, there was no apparent negative effect on
job performance. That one story taught me to start to become very skeptical about the claims
against the various illegal drugs, and even more skeptical about the claims against legal drugs illegally
used-- e.g., Rush's as example of an addict holding down a job being a good one, whatever one may think of his
way of making a living and what he has to say.

It seems with the exception of meth perhaps, and some of the horrible psychedelics which cause hallucinogenic
psychotic episodes, most of what is prohibited or scheduled is small potatoes as far as public safety, save the
need of addicts to steal to get the bucks.

[mlr1m]

Interesting how everyone seems to have missed the entire point of the thread. Perhaps I didn't ask the question in a comprehensible way.

The main point was, "Would the drug dealers suddenly become productive members of society, or turn to another type of criminal activity? Something more violent perhaps?"

I think we all know the answer to that, just like we know that if the anti-gunners had their way and guns went away it would not stop violence.

Perhaps I should just state my opinion in the future rather than ask questions and assume people will arrive at the same conclusion.

I believe that hose who only grow pot for themselves and sell small amounts to like minded friend would stop.
Large dealers would do the same as the larger bootleggers did when prohibition was ended. Move on to other enterprises.

Michael

[mascariot]

No one knows what people would do....it is hypothetical question....so any answer is also hypothetical....most people deal drugs for the amount of money involved.....I'm sure that if drugs were legalized and controlled they would find another form of income....just like if you lost your job and there was no further use for your profession, you would try to find something else to do.

I believe that hose who only grow pot for themselves and sell small amounts to like minded friend would stop.
Large dealers would do the same as the larger bootleggers did when prohibition was ended. Move on to other enterprises.

Michael

[highvoltage]

I like the Bambi and Thumper in the James Bond movie "Diamonds are Forever"

I don't know, it looked like they didn't wrestle for fun, they wrestled for effect.

[Abner]

It gets easier as time goes by, There will at some point be a day in which you do not crave it,
But one can hit, even years later, but if you just take that day as it comes, and don't give in, it will pass. Never be afraid to call on a friend or your sponsor...

[archer51]

Why worry about it, it's not going to happen. It's like asking if frogs had wings, would they still bump their butts when they landed!

[Tayopo]

bigmacque; You posted --> But I'd even go a step further: annex Mexico. Whether they like it or not.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry my friend, 'they 'are annexing us.

Incidentally, I spent part of my life in investigating and interdicting drugs, I hate most of them, but lately I find myself weakening on the side of marijuana. No, I have never used any of them, I value what few brain cells that I have.

For starters as to why, go to -->

http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1569.html

http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/patients-use.htm

http://www.agmrc.org/commodities__pr...mp_profile.cfm



Don Jose de La Mancha
"I exist to Live, not live to exist"