Decriminalising Drugs

[pi]

There's been a lot in the media regarding this topic, what do you guys think? Should Australia decriminalise drugs, and if so, what's an alternate model we could use?

[ekkyduide]

Pcp meth crack and ghb should all be legalized

[Russ]

lol

Decriminalization is an important part of a response to drugs and I don't have an objection to it per se, it's more that I think it's inappropriate for certain classes of drugs. There was a thread about this a while ago and there are benefits from it (and downsides) which would probably be best explored via a pilot program.

Major objection is of course that there aren't any safe drugs and you'd need some pretty solid monitoring of the whole thing

[Yi]

Cheap meth is good meth.

[kensan]

Pcp meth crack and ghb should all be legalized

same with weed.

how about shrooms? what's the regulation on those?

[Truck]

Yeahhh weed should be decriminalized.

[CaiTheHuman]

If we decriminalize drugs, we won't get those awesome shows like Underbelly and stuff. Now that stuff entertaining.
Nah but in all seriousness. We should take a different approach, however it would be arduous task to convince the Government and the people to do so. Australian society is not as liberalized as some "European nations''.

[pi]

What do people think of doctors being able to prescribe such drugs to addicts (assuming decriminalisation was in place)?

[kensan]

They kind of do at the moment. For example heroin users can get methadone from pharmacists, and even clean needles for injecting other stuff. They should develop alternatives to things like ice and hand that out to addicts, similar high but much less harmful for the body.

[nubs]

There's been a thread similar to this before:
Drugs and their illegality

The so called soft drugs should be decriminalised without question (in my opinion). i.e Ecstacy, LSD, GHB, 'shrooms' Marijuana etc. Why Mescaline is illegal is completely beyond me, I can't find a single potential harm in using mescaline if used responsibly, and even irresponsible use could yield very minor repercussions.

As adults, we should be able to do what we wish as long as we do not harm anyone else in the process. I can't believe the government has the nerve to tell us what we can and cannot experience inside our own heads, in the privacy of our own homes, where we are no risk to anyone other than ourselves, and even the danger the user poses to him/herself is very, very questionable. They cross the line when they tell me what my mind can and cannot experience when I am zero risk to anyone else - regardless of whether or not I'd want the experience. It's like skydiving, yeah there's a potential danger, but when used correctly it could be a worthwhile experience - and society should not see it as anything different when it comes to the 'soft' drugs in particular.

[ecvkcuf]

sorry if this is off-topic. But this is a genuine question concerning a rumor I heard today.. is it true that a lot of Melbourne Uni students smoke weed?

[nubs]

A lot of uni students in general smoke weed

[Truck]

A lot of uni students in general smoke weed

^ This.

[Special At Specialist]

I say legalise marijuana and keep everything else illegal.
I know that weed has a lot of negative connotations, but marijuana actually isn't as bad as the government pretends it is. Cannabis is less addictive and less harmful than tobacco, and tobacco is legal, so why isn't marijuana?

[Russ]

The reasoning of X is dangerous and legal, therefore we should legalize other slightly less dangerous compounds is probably not good logic.

Tobacco is legal because the industry has a massive amount of money and can lean on governments. Australia's slowly moving to place heavier and heavier restrictions on tobacco usages and tobacco smuggling etc. and the health minister has intimated she wants it eventually made illegal.

Anyway, the major stumbling block in the road of legalizing hallucinogenics is the fact that they can cause health problems (just like why tobacco is moving to an illegal state). Ecstasy (MDMA) causes hyperphosphorylation of the tau protein, which is a key part of Alzheimer's Disease. Does it cause AD? Probably not, but there are plenty of reasons to think it's something that shouldn't just be opened up as completely legal.

Ultimately you also need to consider addiction issues and whether or not it's a good/ethical idea to promote things that can cause powerful dependence.