How should a society deal with drugs?

[Misfire]

[ QUOTE ]
Why leave it open for others to find out what kind of hell drugs has to offer?

[/ QUOTE ]

How do you know what kind of hell drugs has to offer?

A) I learned about them without using them.
B) I was on drugs despite their prohibition.

If A, why can't others as well? If B, why advocate prohibition when it didn't work to keep you off the drugs?

[DCJ311]

The "War on Drugs" comes mainly from prohibition-era laws that are well out of date, as well as a corrupt and overly religious-centered government.

This is all speculation, but I think if politicians were to openly endorse drug legalization, not only would it be political suicide (this day in age), but the floodgates would open for big tobacco and big alcohol to put up a fit. I find it hard to imagine that these industries don't have a lot of politicians firmly entrenched in their pocket. Pete Coors ran for Senator in '04, I wonder if he would have anything to gain by holding such a position...

For a humorous dose of truth, sometime listen to comedian Bill Hicks' "Beer vs. Pot" routine.

[andyfox]

We can always find incidents of people acting irrationally over a gambling problem. But we're talking about hundreds of thousands of automobile deaths caused by alcohol.

I'm not saying that we ought, therefore, to make alcohol illegal. (We tried that once.) I am saying reasonable regulation, not because I don't like you drinking alcohol, but for reasons of public safety, seems prudent.

[tomdemaine]

Don't constrain peoples freedoms to do whatever they want with their own body. Do encourage people to voluntarily give up drugs or choose not to take them in the first place.

[John Kilduff]

[ QUOTE ]
We can always find incidents of people acting irrationally over a gambling problem. But we're talking about hundreds of thousands of automobile deaths caused by alcohol.

I'm not saying that we ought, therefore, to make alcohol illegal. (We tried that once.) I am saying reasonable regulation, not because I don't like you drinking alcohol, but for reasons of public safety, seems prudent.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that is a reasonable and sound argument.

To me the offsetting factor to be weighed is whether or not the costs of enforcement along with giving up that much personal sovereignty to the government, are worth it for the trade-off.

I'm not sure on the answer to that question as I value personal sovereignty very highly, and probably do not view statistical savings of lives as highly as most people would (in part because I think we are already overpopulated).

I don't have a fully defined and firmly established position yet on the specific matter addressed in this thread, but I do think you have at least a valid and strong argument since alcohol-related automobile deaths are so numerous. Therefore it would take a strong argument to counter it.

[AlexM]

[ QUOTE ]
I think whether you abuse poker or not you may easily find yourself addicted to it and that's when your problems start.

[/ QUOTE ]

[hmkpoker]

[ QUOTE ]
We can always find incidents of people acting irrationally over a gambling problem. But we're talking about hundreds of thousands of automobile deaths caused by alcohol.

I'm not saying that we ought, therefore, to make alcohol illegal. (We tried that once.) I am saying reasonable regulation, not because I don't like you drinking alcohol, but for reasons of public safety, seems prudent.

[/ QUOTE ]

As far as highway danger, how would you guys rate the threat that various illegal drugs pose? Is there anything more dangerous than alcohol?

Here's my list:

Cannabinoids: Not even close. It makes you hyper-focus on the road and completely content to drive the speed limit. If you're stoned beyond the point of capable driving, you're not even going to get off the couch let alone make it to your car.

Uppers: Increase alertness and probably improve driving ability.

Opiates: Same as pot. If you're physically capable of getting into the driver's seat, you're ok to drive.

Dissociatives: These I would say are worse, but honestly, in a free market, how many people are really going to do this stuff? I've never met anyone who wanted to do PCP again, K is pretty much the same thing, and no one seems to be into DXM despite the fact that any twelve year old can get it for ten bucks at Wal-Mart. The only people who do them are either losers with nothing better to do (and probably don't even have a car), or intense head-trippers who are already doing it in the privacy of their own home.

Empathogens: Shrooms are probably about as dangerous as alcohol imho, ecstacy I wouldn't know.

Psychedelics: Admittedly, it's pretty difficult to drive on acid. Not just the actual driving, but doing the things necessary just to start driving (finding your keys, remembering where the ignition is, figuring out how to work the clutch, etc). If you're having these problems, chances are that you'll just give up and stare at the windshield for a few hours instead. While this could theoretically pose a threat, acid-related highway fatalities have always been pretty low. I've been googling it and can't seem to find anything.

Seriously, if we're willing to allow alcohol in society, are the other drugs really that bad?

[Copernicus]

All of these depend on dosage, tolerance and individual reactions to each form of drug. There are people who become totally incapable of focus and function on small doses of marijuana or alcohol, and there are others who can be quite focused on large doses of acid.

(Given your avatar, anecdotal evidence for that was after the Band of Gypsy's concert NYE 69-70. There was an ice storm during the concert and the sidewalks outside the Fillmore East were treacherous. People were slipping and falling constantly, in all different states of sobriety. I was dosed very high that night, but when I saw the conditions I decided that I wasnt going to slip, and was the only one in my group of 8 not to. Something very similar happened driving home from the second night of The Wall. While others were having tremendous problems holding the road (through a paranoia causing line of police on the LIE aiding stranded motorists no less), I found that "oneness with the car and the road" and didnt have the slightest bit of trouble adjusting to the conditions.)

[DCJ311]

If nearly "all" drugs were legalized, what kind of effect would that have on our economy? It seems like it could have a crippling effect on some entertainment industries, such as bars, restaurants, clubs, and any industry that relies on alcohol sales.

Obviously the minority of the population does "illegal" drugs, with the majority of them doing marijuana, but I doubt I and many others would go out nearly as often if there was a limitless supply of green.

[Kaj]

[ QUOTE ]
If nearly "all" drugs were legalized, what kind of effect would that have on our economy? It seems like it could have a crippling effect on some entertainment industries, such as bars, restaurants, clubs, and any industry that relies on alcohol sales.

Obviously the minority of the population does "illegal" drugs, with the majority of them doing marijuana, but I doubt I and many others would go out nearly as often if there was a limitless supply of green.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, because if drugs were legal then people wouldn't want to socialize anymore. Men wouldn't want to meet women. People would stop drinking. Sports would end. Oh, the humanity. [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]