Should any drugs STAY illegal?

[Archae]

I say yes, in the case of meth.

Legalize pot, but keep meth illegal.

[teddy51]

1. Nope, I say legalize all drugs and take away any profits that might be made by illegal

means. This will also increase the tax base on these drugs.

[cherokeeprogressive]

13. You've never seen a person in the throes of meth addiction... obviously.

[teddy51]

17. As a matter of fact I have a younger brother that has been on drugs for 40 years. Not

a pretty sight, and much worse for his family (me included).

[SATIRical]

24. It is still a choice

Why do you think you have the right to make that choice for others?

[Are_grits_groceries]

32. It can quickly go from a choice,

to an addiction. Then it isn't a choice.

[SATIRical]

33. That is also not true

Even if it an addiction, it is a choice. A much harder choice, but it is still a choice. Or do you claim that once a person is on drugs or a cigarette smoker, they can NEVER quit without being forced?

I know several cases which prove you wrong.

You may be for limiting choice, but not me. I know I've got an addictive personality, so I've never put a cigarette to my lips. That was my choice.

[piratefish08]

35. can we make cigarettes, proven addictive, and killing 400K people a year illegal?

why not?

[LanternWaste]

37. dictating to me which direction I have to go or forcing me to stop when I'd rather not...

Much like red lights and one-way streets-- dictating to me which direction I have to go or forcing me to stop when I'd rather not.


Unless of course we realize that even the most benign choices in our lives may easily and directly affect others, and begin perceiving that the collective good is just as important as an individual right.

If we deny ourselves that perception, "Why do you think you have the right to make that choice for others...?" becomes little more than a bumper-sticker.

[SATIRical]

40. Ah, but in driving, you HAVE to interact with others

People can use all sorts of drugs and not necessarily interact with any other people (ever) while under the influence of those drugs.

[dionysus]

2. i'm with you on that.

[MrSlayer]

3. PCP

No redeeming value to it.

[2ndAmForComputers]

4. Maybe a more specific question will be a better one:

Should the voluntary consumption of any substance be a crime?

[Brother Buzz]

5. I agree with Methamphetamine

I've encountered only one person that thrived on it, but he had mental disorders that ran deep in his family. He smoked meth to simply feel nearly normal, not for the rush.

[Politicalboi]

6. That's a tough question

Cocaine is just as bad as Meth.

[Lucky Luciano]

9. Meth is much worse than coke. nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

18. 28 grams = 1 ounce... 16 ounces to a pound. I bet I've snorted 4-5 POUNDS of cocaine.

I'm 50 now... 51 in two weeks. I bet what I have in my pocket PLUS what I may have in the future that you'll NEVER find someone who used meth to that extent that isn't either DEAD, HOMELESS, or in PRISON.

Your statement shows what you DON'T know about meth.

FWIW I haven't seen coke in 20 years or more.

I have childhood friends who've lost their marriages, homes, children, and lives because of meth. I got into it in the 90s, and lost a job. Kept doing bumps until until I read somewhere a life changing quote... "I'm sick and tired of feeling sick and tired".

You have absolutely NO FUCKING IDEA what meth can do, or you'd never say that blow is just as bad as meth.

[EOTE]

46. Methamphetamine is actually prescribed in the U.S., cocaine is not.

Desoxyn is used somewhat frequently for treatment of ADHD, depression and obesity. The great bulk of people who use it for medical purposes don't suffer any ill effects. A lot of that has to do with the fact that it's pharmaceutical grade as opposed to the stuff you find on the street. If it were legalized (I'm not sure it should be), the crap found on the street wouldn't be an issue. If it were fairly regulated, meth use could become a good deal less common and far safer.

[RKP5637]

7. I think just pot legalized would be a great start. Pot is not going to

F people up like meth.

[Mz Pip]

8. I would start by decriminalizing pot

and go from there.

Meth and crack are nasty nasty drugs. They are very addicitve and they wreak havoc on the body. There doesn't seem to be any grey area where meth and crack are concerned.

[applegrove]

10. All of the addictive ones.

[RC]

14. Addictive like nicotine and alcohol?

How about caffeine? Chocolate?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002566119#post11

[applegrove]

15. As a former smoker and a current alcoholic I would say that the addiction to cigarettes is much

greater. The physical addiction to alcohol is not so strong....it is more of an emotional bond that I had with alcohol. I would think that making smoking illegal should be studied. It really is terribly hard to quit it.

[RC]

25. I know.

I used to smoke too. I still had cravings many years later. Luckily they did not last long.

[RainDog]

31. lol. so, you want to make criminals out of people who did the same thing you did?

we already know prohibition doesn't work.

I, for one, do not want to see the Kentucky mafia smuggling cigarettes and murdering innocent people so that someone can do what you did, and then quit.

[EOTE]

47. A nicotine addict quitting cigarettes doesn't risk dying if he/she quits cold turkey.

Alcohol, along with benzodiazapemes actually has the ability to cause death by withdrawal. So in that regard, alcohol can be far, far worse than cigarettes in terms of withdrawal.

Either way, we need to stop playing games with people's lives and stop criminalizing consensual activity.

[Go Vols]

11. .

methamphetamine is quite legal with prescription to be fed to millions of kids daily.

Pot on the other hand isnt.

[limpyhobbler]

12. Yes IMO crack, meth, and heroin should stay illegal.

Maybe some others. Not sure about PCP and cocaine.

[Iggo]

21. While I'm for total decriminalization...

...let me tell you, you don't need to be unsure about PCP. That shit is poison with no redeeming value.

[ProfessorGAC]

53. Kind Of Different Things, Though

I'm with you in principle. But, you're talking about decriminalizing, not legalization.

I'd be ok with decriminalizing EVERYTHING! If you have it, it's confiscated and you pay a fine, but no criminal proceedings.

Then you could still "criminalize" (although to a lesser extent) trafficking. That might help reduce some consumption, but probably not.

But, it would not do anything to encourage things like PCP.

Pot, OTOH, should be totally legal. It's a wholly unprocessed natural substance. Ever with coke or smack, there is a lot of processing that has to be done. More even than brewing beer.

GAC

[I Make Sure]

22. Yea, let's keep them all illegal so only the cartels and BigPharma get to profit.

IMO, the DEA should be shut down and the WOD ended since it's a sham and corrupt. The shit that's prescribed by the millions legally is just as addicting and harmfull as meth, smack and blow. But it's legal because some corrupt politician hooked on campaign contributions makes sure his buddy at the FDA gets it passed.

And on the other end, let's send a (taxpayer funded) SWAT team to kick in some doors and shoot some dogs just for a few weeds. Gotta keep those lawyers in business.

[Jamaal510]

16. Pot should definitely be legalized.

I'm on the fence with the others, though. So many lives have been ruined with the likes of Heroin and Meth, and especially Crack. My father is nearly 60 years old and still does it sometimes, and it makes him act loony and not want to work. It's embarrassing, and I pity him.

[Lucy Goosey]

19. I'd say heroin.

And meth and cocaine.


Pot and shrooms should be legal, no question.

[Tom Ripley]

20. No

[airplaneman]

23. Good question

De-criminalize - yes.
Make legal- yes on pot. No on most of the other drugs.
-Airplane

[LadyHawkAZ]

26. anything that requires a lab to manufacture.

If it grows, it should be legal.

[ProfessorGAC]

54. Said Something Similar Above

You said it far more succinctly.
GAC

[saras]

27. Yes. Anything that is chemically impure or improperly labeled.

Properly manufactured methamphetamine is a pharmaceutical drug with few or none of the side effects, physical or mental, associated with street or homemade meth. Hundreds of thousands of people have used it for decades.

I'm not saying it's great, it's still speed, but the "meth" epidemic is actually a "badly made toxic drugs" epidemic. Did anyone ever notice that the people who had access to really good LSD did hundreds of thousands to millions of trips with few to no bad trips and even fewer long-term consequences? Or that the pharmaceutical industry handed out meth for a generation with generally no results worse than we get from Seattle coffee?

So I'd say pot and hash should be legal, but any solvent-extracted product or anything like that needs to be tested for purity by a neutral lab and the extraction process ISO documented.

Likewise for other drugs - if you're competent to make them and prove their purity, go for it.

You can grow poppies, but you have to be a chemist to make heroin.

[cynatnite]

28. I support legalization of pot. n/t

[jeff47]

29. What's the point of keeping them illegal?

It should be clear to everyone that making drugs illegal doesn't actually make them unobtainable.

[RainDog]

30. marijuana should be removed from all schedules

it's a plant, not a drug. nutmeg can also make people drugged, but we don't consider it a drug. the reason it's considered a drug is because of a bunch of lies.

poppies that can be manufactured to make heroin are legal to grow. when they are processed to make a drug, the drug is illegal.

so, first I say to separate marijuana from drug classifications.

then, with drugs, I think all should be legal and available through clinics that also have on-site addiction treatment so that people who use meth or heroin, etc. have access to treatment.

I don't think this will happen in this nation anytime soon unless something strange happens.

However, the first step toward making this happen is to do away with the for-profit prison system. it's repulsive that there is a profit motive for incarceration, and that these prisons LOBBY to create criminals.

we can do better than that sort of disgusting view of how to make money - because the application of this current system is racist to the core.

hopefully this system will soon be viewed in the same way that the system of imprisonment of blacks in the south, after civil war, was seen as yet one more iteration of the slave holding racist mentality that continues to persist in this nation.

back then, illegally imprisoning blacks in the south was done for profit as well.

now, the SAME action is gussied up with right wing calls to move work from the govt to the private sector, but it's the same old racism.

[Marrah_G]

36. Nutmeg? really?

I've never heard that!

[Tom Ripley]

41. An old sailor and prison trick that some kids have been picking up on recently

Who says they don't study history?

[Ohio Joe]

42. A lot of truth in a short post

The shame of it is, a lot of people are completely aware of all this but yet... It still goes on. I don't like to think too much on what that means

[Marrah_G]

34. I would say Meth should stay illegal

It's manufacture and use is dangerous to everyone around it.

[EOTE]

48. Meth staying illegal will only ensure that remains the case.

How many people do you suppose die every year from pharmaceutical grade methamphetamine? Not a whole hell of a lot. How many people a year die from pharmaceutical grade "meth labs"? Magnitudes of order less than the illegal ones, I can assure you. Regulate the hell out of it, for sure, but keeping it illegal obviously hasn't helped one damned bit.

[JonLP24]

38. With that

It is still easily accessible (depending on where you live) despite being illegal. In Arizona, politicians came up with the brilliant idea to make it illegal as possible and all it does is increase the price, therefore theft because you need more to get the personal amount, and probably violence to avoid getting caught. It is a Class 2 Felony in Arizona, what else is class 2? Kidnapping. What isn't a Class 2? Burglary. If having the shit a Class 2 because it leads to burglary, why is it considered worse to have a bag(that could be empty) than it is to steal shit from someone's house? That was always baffling to me.

Me, personally? If someone just uses the shit and goes home and doesn't harm anybody I don't have a problem with it. Prosecute crimes that are associated like you do with alcohol but if someone can handle it responsibly I see no reason to interfere especially since they can already get it anyways. Plus I support it for the usual arguments such as taking the profits away from criminals, lowering the price(price is often associated w/ risks such as crossing it over the border), having some quality control so you know exactly what you're getting and how strong it is.

I know it won't happen so I feel more comfortable with that argument but the current approach isn't doing anything to prevent and making problems worse for those that stay home & use by making it nearly impossible to find employment due to records. Decriminalization model like in Spain or Netherlands would probably be better with treatment rather than incarceration.

[sofa king]

39. I hate the white powders.

You know what's fucking up my little neighborhood these days? Prescription drugs. There is an apartment across the street which is like a little corner of Anacostia dropped into the middle of nowhere. Domestic disputes every day, cops every other day, parole violators scattering out the back of the building when the cops arrive and hovering on either end of the street until they leave, paramedics and fire trucks every week.

One dude actually died of a heart attack and fell down a flight of stairs, only to be revived by another resident and successfully riding out his three-month visit until evicted. Another guy nearly solved the problem by running a gas stove without a pilot light for a while, being too f-ed up to notice the smell, and lighting a cigarette just before the fuel-air composition was right enough to blow the building (the flashover burnt off his eyebrows and most of the hair on his head). "I was rooting for the fire," I heard one fed-up resident say.

And the kids. Kids everywhere, trying to grow up in a hillbilly heroin culture that knows no past or future, no politeness, kindness or empathy, and which is barely cognizant of the present. All over drugs that are already legal, which can easily find their way into anybody's pocket.

It is so painfully obvious to me that what I'm seeing is a public health problem that in turn creates the behavior which is the cause of the law enforcement problem. If we had a real health care system in America, this would be much less of a problem.

[backscatter712]

43. Make the really nasty ones - meth, heroin, available by doctor's prescription.

I'm convinced that our medical procedures focused on breaking addictions are not entirely realistic.

Sometimes, with a serious addiction case, doctors should have the option of managing an addiction rather than making futile attempts to get someone to quit cold-turkey.

So I'm in favor of injection clinics - like methadone clinics for heroin addicts, but in some cases, an addict might be best-treated by giving him or her controlled doses of the drug - enough to take the edge off of withdrawal, make sure he or she can function in society and get a job, and done in a controlled setting where the doctors control the doses, the patients have a safe place to get them without fear of prosecution, and if necessary has a safe place to lie down and be monitored if there's dangerous effects from the drugs.

Addiction needs to be treated as a medical problem, not a criminal problem, and doctors should have all the tools available to help them.

[Bluenorthwest]

44. Show me that the illegality is helping stem the use or the trade. Make a case for

illegality. So far, it has not slowed the market, it creates associated crimes, and keeps those who need treatment from getting it. So do you really want to support a set of laws just 'cause it sounds so good. Keep 'em illegal! Well, to what end? What results from that grand stance? Look around you, the results are prisons filled with minority people, gun fights, territorial gang wars.....
And for all the preening on 'meth' amphetamine is legally sold to hundreds of thousands of Americans daily with the full support of the Feds. Yep. Yet they say marijuana has no medical use at all, that it is far worse. According to the Feds, no one uses marijuana legally, not matter what the State law is. On the other hand doctors in all States write up orders for amphetamine constantly.
So the OP is just confusing to me. You mean 'keep meth as prescription only? It is far more legal right now than marijuana. Did you know that?

[killbotfactory]

45. They should be regulated based on how harmful they are to the user, and how addictive they are.

But once someone is on meth, and want to continue using it, they are going to find it somehow. It would be better they get it from a safe source, one not motivated by profit to keep the user hooked, and with an incentive to help them get treatment for their addiction.

Much of the damage caused to a persons life from illegal drugs comes from the fact that they are illegal in the first place.

[loyalsister]

49. Yeah

I think that synthetically produced drugs that aren't subject to regulation and safety measures should not be legal because of the level of toxicity. Not only that, producing meth is an extremely noxious environmental hazard.

I think that a shift in how we think about it would be useful. People who use drugs have preferences. If a person seeks a stimulant intoxication, it should be available via medically regulated sources. Likewise drugs with sedative effects. It seems counterintuitive to place regulations on unsafe behaviors, and there would no doubt be problems. But, removing\reducing the criminal element might work better than what we are doing now.

[LynneSin]

50. Designer Drugs should be made illegal

Like Bath Salts. That was nothing more than a manufactured chemical made in China to be sold as a cheap high here in the states. Only problem was that it made people fricking delusional schizo minded. Some of the people who took that shit will never be normal again.

[Gregorian]

51. No, and here is why.

It is not about drugs. It's about choice.

Look at the 1st Amendment, and what price we have paid for giving the likes of Limbaugh the right to say what they want. Or FOX.

People are going to do whatever they want dispite the law. See Bush/Cheney. They murdered a nation or two.

Choice is freedom. And those who would do dangerous drugs will. I was talking with a friend this week about what we had been through. All of his high school friends are dead from injecting heroin. Some of mine as well. Yet they were illegal drugs. Had they been legal I still would not have done them.

[madokie]

52. Meth AKA crank

some nasty shit right there