The War on Drugs

[Albyint]

Unaware of how you guys treat wiki articles used in debate here but ill use one for general purpose info.

The war on drugs as Wiki sees it:[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs

Alright I start this debate to see how the Toms' hardware forum feels on this topic. I am personally for the total eradication of the "war on drugs". It has cost the U.S tremendous amounts of money, and as of 2008 ([http://blog.norml.org/2009/09/14/breaking-news-marijuana-arrests-for-year-2008-847864/ ) weed possession is half of the arrests.

This is absolutely ridiculous. The government is running out of idas on why weed should be kept illegal. Enjoy this video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk3Fwiov9pU To be honest however if weed is decriminalized there would be strict taxes and such. Laws of underage use. Decriminalization is where it is at.

 

[mrface]

eradicate WOD, legalize all drugs(humans basic right of freedom of choice, IE, how they treat their body), establish taxation of legal drugs.

economy upturn...

 

[strangestranger]

Drink and drugs are bad kids.

Ban all drugs, send drug addicts to work as hard labour. Society will benefit.

 

[Albyint]

Drink and drugs are bad kids? Kids?

Strangestranger you sound like Bill Orielly oddly enough. His idea is to do the same with all the "drug addicts and murderers". Which is totally messed up, whether drugs are "bad or good" -if you only see in such black and white terms- is NOT what we are discussing about. Whether you think they are good or bad, it is not YOUR morality that should determine OUR choices.

And no society will not benefit, society is losing thousands of people a year from non violent arrests. I am a college student going in a major for CIS and i smoke weed. What would happen to my productivity if i got caught smoke a simply joint? I would lose my ability to get student loans and jobs. Why? Because weed (as the DEA commercials and talking dog ON those commericals say "It just isnt cool that you smoke weed") lmao i remember when they said smoking 1 joint was like smoking a whole pack of ciggarettes (school poster), now due to OVERWHELMING amount of evidence on pots behalf all they can say is "Well............. its not the cool thing...." What a farce.....

StrangeStranger 40 million americans have admitted to smoking weed and there is clearly CLEARLY a majority that supports decriminalization/legalization across the board.

I am sick and tired of being afraid of the town guards(police) harassing me for weed when in fact thay have bigger things to worry about like murder, rape, and other violent criminals. But no they use the war on drugs today the same way they used it in the 60's to suppress a counter culture rise up.(hippies)

And clearly the "BAN ALL DRUGS BECAUSE MY MORALITY IS RIGHT AND YOURS IS WRONG!!!!!!" -which has been the case with weed for 70 years- hasn't had any negative effects........ever............

*Because the black market DOESNT make money off of it being illegal.

*Ronald Raegan and Bush Senior didnt smuggle in F****** vast amounts of drugs and shrug it off when they got caught.

*It doesnt cost the government billions of dollars! Thats ludicrous!

*Having it illegal instead of increasing public awareness properly(like idiots id say) definitely does not pique interest in weed...... no not all.....

All im saying is that our draconian laws on something as harmless as weed needs to stop. Thw WOD is killing our freedom, our country, and our ability to trust in local law enforcement. Its not cool.

 

[dokk2]

Well you all know that when the "gov" declares something to be outlawed that is just like giving a carte blanche to the criminals,who do not give a toss for your stupid laws,and anyhow if it were not for the 2.?? trillion something in drugs that scream through the u.s. of a.,every year, your economy would really be in the toilet,you people really need to wake up,any one who is looking for recreational substances can find them in almost every city,town ,village or wide spot in the road anywhere in north america with out too much effort..talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face just more american hypocracy...
+ zipzoomfly....

 

[strangestranger]

You want to do that, go form your own society in your own country.

If you don't agree with societies rules you should not be a part of it.

Further you are going to burn in hell.

Bloody hippy.

 

[Guest]

The problem with cannabis is the long term effects it has on a person, from extreme paranoia to depression and Schizophrenia, these are all documented side effects...now granted not all people suffer from these effects, but some do, and it is a case of protecting those that do not those that will smoke their whole lives and never have a problem.

There is no easy solution to the drug epedemic that is gripping the world, they will always be there, i only hope that my children will not feel the need to go down that path by the love and education I give them. That goes the same for Alcohol in my house!!!

 

[strangestranger]

Rock on man!!

 

[belial2k]

I'm one of the few non-users that think it should be legal. It doesn't appeal to me, but neither do cigarettes, and for those of you quoting long term health problems, that is where you need to start. Its rediculous to say cigarettes, alcohol, fast food, coffee, guns, ect are all legal and fine, but cause more damage than all illegal drugs combined. If we are going to live in a free society we should have the right to make bad decisions as long as they don't infringe on the rights of others...at that point they should become illegal. EVERY study on the subject shows criminalization does not deter use. If they appeal to you, you will do it whether its criminal or not. And you can be a big fat hypocrite like Rush Limbaugh and others, but the sad truth is there is no logic to our current laws. Just check out the countries that have decriminalized drugs...they thrive and have some of the lowest crime rates in the world. Not to mention the actual number of people who have drug 'problems" (junkies) seems to stay stable or actually decrease.

 

[Albyint]

"You want to do that, go form your own society in your own country.

If you don't agree with societies rules you should not be a part of it.

Further you are going to burn in hell.

Bloody hippy."

You sir a hypocritical person. If you want to judge me for your insecure, unethical, unstable, and absolutely hogwash arguement (which thus far has been nothing but "my opinion is right your wrong" while i have been using points to bolster me position, your position on this subject is nothing other than your idiotic "morality"

If you dont want weed in your house/home thats fine, but arresting people with no intent to cause any harm but to have fun is just stupid.

Form our own country? So what your telling me is thusly: the majority wanting decriminalization/legalization isnt enough to turn the government because we are going to burn in hell for being bloody hippies, and that the people that want in decriminalized (majority of the USA) should leave the USA and start a new country, where in the first place the USA (thats our country if your an idiot btw) is supposed to listen to the majority and rule on our behalf?

But your right man, we are gonna burn in hell because we are hippies.

Also to the person who mentioned schitzophrenia, a recent UK study of cannabis has concluded there are no medical proof that cannabis contributes to schitz(sp).

http://stash.norml.org/cannabis-has-not-shown-any-evidence-of-increasing-schizophrenia-in-the-uk This link is my evidence for my claim.

 

[jimishtar]

The problem with cannabis is the long term effects it has on a person, from extreme paranoia to depression and Schizophrenia, these are all documented side effects...now granted not all people suffer from these effects, but some do, and it is a case of protecting those that do not those that will smoke their whole lives and never have a problem.

There is no easy solution to the drug epedemic that is gripping the world, they will always be there, i only hope that my children will not feel the need to go down that path by the love and education I give them. That goes the same for Alcohol in my house!!!

nothing personal, but have u been using cannabis in a long term? ask any scientist or a doctor and they will give u a million reasons not to breath air imagine what they will come up with when it comes to cannabis. marijuana does more good than bad. its on the same level as alcohol, i dont know whats the big deal with it. u can get it in USA with a doctor's prescription very easy. and its not forbidden for use. u can use it world wide, but u are only allowed to posses 1-2 gr, depends from the country u live in.

now heavy drugs are something else, i also dont care what individuals do with their body and health, but heavy drugs automatically lead to stealing, murder and other crimes. its also interesting that most of the drug import to USA comes from Afghanistan. Just imagine how much money the US military makes from this.

 

[amnotanoobie]

Have you ever heard of someone beating their wife cause they were stoned? Have you ever heard of someone committing vehicular manslaughter cause they were stoned? Have you ever heard of someone dying from weedism? Have you ever heard of a homeless person on the street because of weed? Have you ever heard of disorderly conduct by someone stoned? Have you ever heard of a brawl between two stoners?

Well I could imagine if nearly everyone is stoned then crimer might go down because everybody is just chillin.

Drink and drugs are bad kids.

Ban all drugs, send drug addicts to work as hard labour. Society will benefit.

This is the course of action that has been done for the past few decades, and still drug users are increasing. Don't you think we should try something new?

now heavy drugs are something else, i also dont care what individuals do with their body and health, but heavy drugs automatically lead to stealing, murder and other crimes. its also interesting that most of the drug import to USA comes from Afghanistan. Just imagine how much money the US military makes from this.

Coke, E, etc, similar to food today, anything that is reprocessed, and has additional chemicals is usually bad for you. That is where marijuana shines, because people could argue that it is taken directly from the earth, and people have yet to prove that anything natural is bad (except for venoms and poisons duh).

 

[strangestranger]

Albynit, you clearly see where I am coming from and I think with time you will come to realise the superiority of my argument.

When you come to realise this, you will not need to thank me. The pleasure in converting a hippy to the correct way of thinking will be reward enough.

Don't leave it to late though, give up that foul drug now while you have time!!

 

[Guest]

Well well, no jimishtar, I have not used cannabis long term...but I did watch one of my friends smoke themselves into a depression where even leaving the house was too much and she shot herself in the head one day in her parents bathroom ...... She was a normal happy person before smoking cannabis, and dare you say that it did not have a part to play, she may have had problems, but I can guarantee a clear head would have been better able to cope with her problems...God bless Natascha..


I did say that the side affects would not affect everyone the same, this is the same as alcohol, some people are more susceptible to the problems associated to drink and some will be more susceptible to the problems associated with cannabis.

Any person thinking that alcohol is worse is correct in the sense that it does destroy more lives than cannabis ever will, but do you ban alcohol and allow cannabis free, or allow both free, seems to me we have enough problems to deal with without adding another legal one to the mess...

Albyint..... Using a link on a site cleary pro-cannibis does not make it true, the same as me using this link http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfo/problems/alcoholanddrugs/cannabis.aspx which does show level advice on cannibis confirming my view on cannibis and the possible risks involved...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_cannabis read through that, follow some links on there as well, interesting reading

http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=95509

Thesis study on cannabis, also interesting reading although a bit heavy

http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/RN/2006-07/07rn21.htm

Another very large study...

http://www.medic8.com/healthguide/articles/marijuana.html

This could go on for a long time,

I do not look down on cannibis at all, I think it is no different to alcohol in its capacity to destroy human lives, that is not to say that I would not want my children using cannabis before alcohol, I just hope that they will have an even balanced view on themselves and not feel the need to gain confidence through alcohol or cannabis and that they do not need to take a drug or alcohol to relax and have fun!

Also jimishtar, yes cannabis does have great medical use, which is why it is approved for this use if you get a prescription, thats the current laws in most countries, the risks of use are outweighed by the benefits it gives to ILL people, when you are healthy, there are no medical benefits to be outweighed by the risks.

 

[jimishtar]

moricon, i am sorry about your friend. i am also sorry for all those that had heavy depression and committed suicide, without using any drugs or alcohol.

 

[Guest]

+1 jimishtar heavy topic, leaves everyone behind thinking what could, should, we have done! Very sad especially for families.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Huh?

 

[strangestranger]

You should work for the DEA and be part of a multi-billion dollar drug war that does not work.

Nah that would mean moving to the US, do you think I am crazy, stupid or both?

 

[Albyint]

Strangestranger for a minute i thought you were being serious. -_- I have it in my head to run you over with my 1988 mercury cougar. We shall see who is the bloody hippie........

 

[mrface]

lol, the hypocrits are the ones who would legalize something because something else is more harmful, thus it should be ok... why not legalize all of them? if you dont use what harm can it do to you? let others make up their minds on if they should destroy their lives or not.

and please be realistic, dont say, "well if coke, heroin, etc... is legalized more people will commit crimes because they are high all the time!!!" thats just a pathetic argument, baseless and with out proof...

 

[Albyint]

Mrface, on youtube there is a video of a black man in Amsterdam. He is a crack head. I cant find the vid but i know its there, he says he can 'afford to be a "responsible" crack head' over there because drugs are tolerated and the black market price is so low he can actually afford to do the thing he loves while maintianing a decent lifestyle. He never steals, never has hurt anyone, just loves his crack......

Whats wrong with this picture? Nothing.

As long as the man does was he pleases on his own time it is not in my rights to deny him for smoking his crack.

my point is I possess no moral superiority because like everyone else i am human and w want my rights protected by having his rights protected despite the fact that i personally would never buy crack XD

 

[sminlal]

Another non-user here who sees no objection to legalization. Criminalization does NOT stop it's use. Criminalization creates a huge host of other problems. Different standards are applied to marijuana and the "legal" drugs.

It's not logical, it's not rational, and IMHO it's just plain stupid.

Legalize it, regulate it, and redirect the huge amounts of money now collected by criminals to the government where it has a better chance of doing some good.

 

[jsc]

Have you ever heard of someone committing vehicular manslaughter cause they were stoned?

Yes. Marijuana can impair driving just as badly as alcohol.

 

[Albyint]

^^^ JSC yes, weed is an intoxicant and no you shouldn't drive. But it does not impair as badly as alcohol, though using it in combination with any kind of mechanical use/driving is still a terrible idea.

Remember its not a war on drugs, its a war on personal freedom.

 

[strangestranger]

Social>personal.