Drugs and their illegality

[nubs]

What are your opinions on this? Should they remain illegal or is it time for a reform?
(Don't have to limit this to Australia)

[Truck]

Could probably write a few thousand word essay on this topic listing the pro's and con's for each viewpoint haha, but ultimately, drugs like Marijuana (which don't make the user more violent so don't really affect other members of the public) should imo definitely be legal for use within privately owned homes.

Others, like Cocaine and Heroin etc I'm not so sure... If I had to make the decision of illegal or legal though, yeah I'd probably say legal.

[nubs]

My views exactly
But even something like heroin won't make you more violent, and you're probably more likely to get into fights on alcohol rather than cocaine, but seeing as they are such high risk drugs I'm a bit hesitant to say that they too should be legal.
The most 'violent' thing about drugs like heroin is the overwhelming dependence, and how some people may feel as if they need to resort to physical violence/thievery in order to pay for their drug habit

Perhaps if marijuana was legalised first, and then depending on the outcomes of the legalisation the harder drugs could also follow

[s...]

I think all drugs should be banned.

Making them legal would just make Australia or other countries go crazy.

Look at China during the Opium War.

s.

[giveup]

My views exactly
But even something like heroin won't make you more violent, and you're probably more likely to get into fights on alcohol rather than cocaine, but seeing as they are such high risk drugs I'm a bit hesitant to say that they too should be legal.
The most 'violent' thing about drugs like heroin is the overwhelming dependence, and how some people may feel as if they need to resort to physical violence/thievery in order to pay for their drug habit

Perhaps if marijuana was legalised first, and then depending on the outcomes of the legalisation the harder drugs could also follow

Complete misconception, heroin dosen't make you violent... it is pretty much a relaxant. It does, however, make people fanatically addicted and pursue their next hit at any cost.
It is a very tricky issue with heroin, I feel as though this is one drug that needs better rehabilitation programs and more education. Because as of present, people think that heroin is the "I'm so hardcore, man" drug, when in actuality it is the "I've ruined my life forever, man" drug.

As for Cannabis, fucking legalize it. It has endless medical benefits... the number of people in Australian, and more prominently American jails, for a completely harmless substance is disgusting.

I hate alcohol. You see idiots drinking goonsacks and fighting one another... so many accidents... drunk driving... so idiotic. Much more regulation and taxing is needed.

[funkyducky]

I believe marijuana should be legalised + regulated, it would be far less dangerous than the huge black market operations. I also think smoking tobacco is disgusting, but in the same vein, shouldn't be banned because then you'd have a horrible black market (and it would never happen anyway, tobacco companies are too powerful).

Also, legalising hard drugs would be beneficial in the long run - once things are out in the open, they can be made much, much safer. Right now, it's easier for under 18s to get hold of illegal drugs because it's no questions asked, whereas with alcohol and cigarettes, there are well-enforced laws and ID checks. The level of underage drug use would fall so much if drugs were legalised, made adults-only, and supplies strictly regulated.

Remember America's alcohol prohibition? That didn't turn out so well...

[aabattery]

I think all drugs should be banned.

Making them legal would just make Australia or other countries go crazy.

Look at China during the Opium War.

s.

+1

Drugs should be banned. Full stop.
Make exceptions and the whole thing could get out of hand... its already bad enough as it is...

[giveup]

I think all drugs should be banned.

Making them legal would just make Australia or other countries go crazy.

Look at China during the Opium War.

s.

+1

Drugs should be banned. Full stop.
Make exceptions and the whole thing could get out of hand... its already bad enough as it is...

Okay then, let's criminalize coffee because there are 20,000 coffee induced deaths each year while there has been 0 cannabis induced deaths. Reasonable, yes?

edit: You also have to take into consideration that the use of psychedelic drugs in treating mental illness is very promising. It is not implemented because of the potential for them to sell them, as do those that take the amphetamine supplement to treat heroin addiction.
Here is a blog post by a renowned neuroscientist that details the benefits of psychedelics: http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/drugs-and-the-meaning-of-life/

[Russ]

As for Cannabis, fucking legalize it. It has endless medical benefits... the number of people in Australian, and more prominently American jails, for a completely harmless substance is disgusting.

Oh rubbish. Marijuana is by no means as bad as some other drugs, but to call it completely harmless is ridiculous

[funkyducky]

I think all drugs should be banned.

Making them legal would just make Australia or other countries go crazy.

Look at China during the Opium War.

s.

+1

Drugs should be banned. Full stop.
Make exceptions and the whole thing could get out of hand... its already bad enough as it is...

Well then, ban alcohol, because it incites violence and costs thousands of lives.

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/deaths1.gif

There has never been a recorded death due to marijuana at any time in US history.

[s...]

sorry, giveup. I should have been more clear when I said drugs. I was going by the assumption that people on this thread were all talking about the bad drugs: cocaine etc.

and also, just becuase no-one has died from taking cannabis doesn't mean that any of the users haven't overdosed/sufferent brain injuries etc.

The blog: interesting... considering that I'm considering becoming a neuroscientist.




anyway, I like coffee. no way am I giving that up!!   

[giveup]

sorry, giveup. I should have been more clear when I said drugs. I was going by the assumption that people on this thread were all talking about the bad drugs: cocaine etc.

and also, just becuase no-one has died from taking cannabis doesn't mean that any of the users haven't overdosed/sufferent brain injuries etc.

The blog: interesting... considering that I'm considering becoming a neuroscientist.




anyway, I like coffee. no way am I giving that up!!   

The amount of THC required to cause an overdose is comparable to a lot of Marijuana (I've forgot the exact statistic, but it's not humanly possible).

[funkyducky]

I was going by the assumption that people on this thread were all talking about the bad drugs: cocaine etc.
anyway, I like coffee. no way am I giving that up!!   

There's this assumption that people make that hard drugs are "bad" drugs and all other drugs are not so bad. If we're judging by effect, then I'd say alcohol is a "bad" drug because it's addictive, alcohol abuse causes serious health problems, and people do horrible things under the influence of alcohol. Drink driving, violence, deaths - does that not make it a "bad" drug?

EDIT: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9077214414651731007 (props to Nirbaan who first posted this vid in the krokodil thread)
I'd take it with a grain of salt, since they're clearly pro-cannabis legalisation and don't really address the negative health effects of marijuana use, but there's a fair amount of thought-provoking material and compelling evidence in that doco.

[JellyDonut]

Coffee induced death? How the fuck did people manage that?

[giveup]

Coffee induced death? How the fuck did people manage that?

I'm pretty sure people inject it as well as conventional drinking of large quantities by people with a weak heart. It is very hard to do, it demonstrates how safe Cannabis is considering there are 0 deaths to it and there are many to a substance that is drunk by people on a daily basis.