I bet some people think that drugs are a modern invention, or at least they don´t give that fact much thought. I will use Cannabis as the main example, because I think that what society has done to this plant is outrageous. The Weed has been around for thousands of years, believe it or not, is just a plant for God´s sake!!! Throughout the ages, marijuana has been extolled as one of man's greatest benefactors - and cursed as one of his greatest scourges. Marijuana is undoubtedly a herb that has been many things to many people. Armies and navies have used it to make war, men and women to make love. Fashion designers have dresses the most elegant women in its supple knit. Rope has been done with its fiber. Obstetricians have eases the pain of childbirth with its leaves. Farmers have crushed its seeds and used the oil within to light their lamps. Mourners have thrown its seeds into blazing fires and have had their sorrow transformed into blissful ecstasy by the fumes that filled the air. Besides the fact that it has been used for thousands of years, the Cannabis was banned as illegal in most countries in the Global Criminalization of Drugs. I believe all drugs should be legal!!!!! Althought I am against damaging drugs, I strongly believe that the criminalization of drugs is just one of the biggest forms of corruption ever. You see, by experience, is just stupid, look at the facts: - ALL drugs were banned illegal in the first criminalization of drugs (including tobacco and alcohol)... - Huge mafia movement was emerging because of this fact, and they even took control of Chicago, because they controlled illegal alcohol and tobacco. - USA had to legalize alcohol and tobacco, because they couldn´t control the emerging corruption. - The illegalization of drugs did nothing to decrease consumption, on the contrary, people are more attracted by illegal stuff - Drugs other than tobacco and alcohol have less consumer demand, so they didn´t create any visible thread to the government as those 2 main drugs. - Illegal drug business is a daily multibillionare industry. - Drugs money currently goes to the most evil and corrupted groups. - 95% of all World Civil Wars are financed with money from illegal drugs and weapons. - Imagine if drugs were legal, that makes the drug money, plus the counter-drugs money available for the People!!!! - All the money that is spend on corruption, could be spent in the publicity war on drugs, now that I agree with. I´m not a drug supporter, I think some people just get me wrong. You see, we can´t be ignorant about who is receiving the money for all the drugs, let´s use USA for example, imagine all the money that is being spent by drug addicts, that money is going to someone isn´t it? How about a corrupted government that just can´t get enought of the precious Benjamins? I don´t think there is an undercover civilian hidding all that money, almost all Governments have their hands deep in the drug business. Take a more obvious example, Bolivia, their economy depends on coke export, same as Colombia. And those are directly related to the US, since US is the biggest importer of the product in the whole World. My biggest concern on this is that all the money is going to Evil people right now, you know they KILL whoever speak against them? That wouldn´t happen if drugs were legal, all the money, for social security, and for the REAL war on drugs: - TV education against drugs. - Labeling all the hard drugs with prevention texts about what they REALLY do to your organism. - Money for more school education, specially for those who can´t afford it for themselves. - Basically: conscience people, conscience, Ignorance like some of you have demonstrated is our enemy. But currently, all that money is going to corrupted groups, and for Civil wars. How come 95% of the wars World wide are financed by illegal drugs and weapons money? You will NEVER get rid of all drugs by criminalization; they have been around for thousands of years, but until now they weren´t much of a problem why? because of the ignorance in Ilegalization. Maybe this will not have an impact on anyone, I don´t care, I just feel horrible with all this bullsh*t and corruption, people just don´t learn from past mistakes.
Well, couldn't the same things be said of, say, murder, rape, theft, robbery, vandalism, ...., speeding, illegal parking, ..., geez, a whole bunch of crimes? Baron Max
because smoking some weed is just as bad as killing people right baron?. whats so bad about smoking weed its better for your health than cigs with all the chemicals, and the effects are no worse than alcohol. peace.
No, but it's just one more thing that laws control in one way or another. To say that one law should be voided is to bring into question all laws. What's so bad about speeding? Illegal parking? Driving without a permit? Drinking booze while driving (as long as one is NOT drunk)? Throwing litter out on the highway? ....and any of thousands of "illegal" activities? The people of the society have determined that those laws are useful and, in most cases, they've all been challenged at one time or another .....and the society has decided to keep those laws. And the same is true of illegal drugs. Baron Max
I am not a user of drugs, not do I have any sympathy for drug users; they deserve whatever problems they bring on themselves. But I agree with the proposition that using drugs should not be illegal. My libertarian viewpoint leads me to insist that it is NOT a legitimate function of government to protect people against themselves. People should be free to do whatever they please concerning themselves, and should only be stopped from harming others. And I mean a direct sort of harm, not simply the fact that your drug use upsets your family or offends someone's sensibilities. I'm sure someone will come along to point out that a person under drug influence might be imparied enough to kill someone (with a gun, a car, or whatever). Well the same could be said about alcohol, so why is that legal? I believe in strong measures to keep drug-impaired individuals away from guns and vehicles, and strong punishments if they commit a crime while they are high. But if drugs were decriminalized, I don't believe there would be any more adverse affects than we see from alcohol consumption. And there is something to be said for treatment as opposed to prosecution. We could take a fraction of the obscene amount of money spent on the "drug war" and put it into treatment and prevention programs, and still come out ahead in terms of effectiveness AND money saved.
Well, I still think that the people of a society should be permitted to make laws that they think are valid for the entire society. One person, or only a few, should not be permitted to flaunt the laws that society deems valid and in accordance with legal authority in their society. My guess is that criminals would like to make all applicable crimes legal, too, but should we allow that just because they would like it? Let's make armed robbery legal since robbers would like that! How fuckin' ridiculous is it to let the law-breakers make the laws? Baron Max
reading that makes my head hurt.so even if there is an unjust,mollycoddling law the people who break that still shouldnt be allowed to have a say in it being overturned?
Drugs laws are distinct from almost all other laws in as much as they cant be correlated with any intuitive sense of morality. Noone really wants to say it, but drugs are illegal purely due to the belief that they will lead to a less economically stable/productive society. Which has a sort of rationality to it, but on that basis alone you can never really justify imprisoning someone for selling drugs or taking them . In practice you can only justify confiscating people's drugs, although even that has its own rational pitfalls - is it not just another form of theft? In any case, id predict this is the way western societies will move in the next 100s - drugs will become uniformly decriminalised (subject to confiscation only) so as not to punish what is in effect isnt even a faux pas, let alone a moral sin. At the moment drug laws are really a perversion our system of justice, theyre just creating more injustice and imbalance in the world, rather than less. Which sort of defeats the whole point of having a framework thats supposed to promote fairness and altrusim.
Unjust by whose determination? Those who break the laws, or the majority of citizens of that society? "Unjust" is a term that's often thrown out in discussions like this, but what does it mean? And who decides what "unjust" or not? If the majority of citizens want drugs to be illegal to use or to possess, shouldn't they, the citizens, be permitted to decide? ...and not the few drug users? Baron Max
Why not? I think we've "justified" it quite well in this great nation. And there are plenty of drug dealers and users in prison right now who'd agree with me! Baron Max
I'm not sure that doing that is against the law, is it? And that presumes, of course, that you own the place where you grow it and use it. You can't do that in a rental home or property. Baron Max
Only for your own personal use ...yes, I believe that it's legal in the USA, or at least in most states that I know of. Hmm, now that I think about it, I think that's even illegal in Florida. Baron Max
So once I have the seeds, and I have (my own) place, I can grow my own weed openly? As long as I am the only one using it?
in the UK and as far as i know the US too. the sentences are less severe if you are caught in possesion with small amounts but it is still a crime.
I'd check with the laws in your locale before I did something stupid! But as far as I know, only a few states make that personal usage illegal ...and even they admit that they can't enforce it without invading the person's rights of privacy. No judge would issue a warrant for such a search. But check the laws in your locale or you might be in for a rude awakening. Baron Max
No, that's possession ...IN PUBLIC! You should check the laws before you do or say something that's foolish and wrong. Baron Max
