Legalize drugs... for and against

[Ron G]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

I have no problem with weed,i would rather ride with some one high on weed than drunk on whisky.i use to smoke years ago,and ive done just about every other drug out there.there is no place for meth or crack or heroin in our society its so destructive to the body physicaly and mentaly that people cant function ive seen it first hand and ive lost alot of friends to them.i understand the questions about legalizing weed and am all for it,but with our goverment and lawers were would it stop??as ya can tell im a little torn about it.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), we sentence people caught with marijuana to 5 times more jail time than those convicted of manslaughter.:devil:

In America over 44,000 fatalities a year are caused by motorists. Now what is the percentage of people who actually do the speed limit on the interstates? I don't know what it is, but it can't be much. These deaths don't seem to be a concern to many. Even the deaths of our solders in Iraq are media spectacles while deaths on our highways continue without much being done to make better drivers. Safer cars, but dumber drivers are allowed to continue to increase. At least the law breaking pot smokers are not killing people like our highways do. Smoking pot is a misdameanor in most states,,about the same as for speeding. Both are breaking the law.

To me it is a matter of what laws are to be enforced during certain times as per say election time? Pot will never be made legal. It is a bread and butter crime that attorneys rely on to practice their law. Why would they push to have it legalized when it would take away some of their business?

Pot has variables in its potentency. It can have different effects on those that use it. SOme it may make tired and lazy while others become more active and creative. For some it is the only way to rid their body of pain. Of course the pharmacutical company oppose that idea because they wouldn't make their billions.

Legalize pot and just maybe the demand for the harder chemical produced drugs will then decrease.

As for the war on Drugs,,,,,,The Border back in the 60's should have been fenced up then. Just maybe things in this country would be different now in many other ways than just a drug problem.

Legalize Pot, all others substances still need controlled, but made available by permit to prevent money being funneled to terrorist activites.

 

[Gone]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

I find these same discussions/arguments at several other forums that I frequent. They seem to form along generational lines. Take heart, we'll eventually be dead and you'll have all of the votes. (Unless Islam wins and then it will be a capital crime!)

 

[brother chris]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

Might though if it becomes legal!:devil:

Now that is an eye-opening response. I wonder how many others would start, or just try it, since it would be legal.

I think pot should be legal too; it seems to be a harmless drug.

 

[rolmops]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

I grew up in a country where it is perfectly legal to grow and smoke pot.There are 2 side effects.
First there are the "tea houses" where hashish is sold.Only very few people like to go and buy any dope there.You might say that it has a bad name where before legalisation hashish was popular.
The other side effect is more serious.Because the gangs can no longer earn any money on grass, they have started pushing illegal hard drugs in a very agressive manner.The amount of police needed to fight this type of crime has not lessened since legalizing grass.In fact violent crime has gone up with gangs fighting over a smaller market. Prices of hard drugs have come down because of increased competition.Which in turn caused increased consumption.
Often well meant actions have surprizing results.

 

[txswinner]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

If we legalize drugs what are the drug dealers going to do for a living?

For my money, I say legalize and tax them just like tobacco, alchol, and other drugs. It will put a lot of corner dealers out of work. Also they will not be able to buy those 9MM that is the rage on the street today.

 

[Gone]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

Also they will not be able to buy those 9MM that is the rage on the street today.

Ya think?? They can barely afford one that shoots two bullets without jamming now. But that's a whole thread all by itself.

CD

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

I am against legalizing drugs due to the fact I have seen first hand what damage they can do to individuals with low impulse control. There will be no way to control it. If only marijuana was legal and the penalties for other drugs was raised way up (and properly enforced) there might be a chance. It's not a tax issue.

There is not any politician who will back this and survive a career.

Sadly, the "war on drugs" has now prevented us from purchasing over the counter cold remedies. They claim they are used in Meth production. Yes, meth can be made from them however, there has not been one single drug lab busted in this state that used "cold remedies" as the ingrediant. A big waste of money and time. Any politician who is proud of the fact that cold medicine sales are being limited has lost my vote. This is a political issue. It's about as effective as the warning label on my cigarette pack!

As far as the "corner dealers" go I would issue LEO's the authority to deliver the death penalty to any idiot dealing to children.... on the spot. No lawyers, no court tie ups just a done deal. John Kersey (Charles Bronson) would do alot of neighborhoods good!! Any questions?

Yes, I believe in the death penalty, pro-choice and even support the use of nuclear first strikes. I am not an eye for an eye person..... take from me and anticipate the worse.

Rolmops hit the nail on the head when it comes to what could happen here.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

As far as driving with users on the road, make illegal for any level of substance in your blood. Drive stoned and get suspended.

The problem with that is you don't have to be stoned to fail a blood test. I would fail a test right now, and I'm certainly not stoned.

Crusty Dude is right, there needs to be some kind of test for any drug just like a breathalizer before it's made legal; however, I have heard of instant marijuana tests that do not require blood or urine. I don't know how they work, but I'm sure they can be refined. There are people orbiting us in space right now for god sake, I'm sure somebody can come up with a reliable, non invasive drug test.

As far as an officer just being able to tell if you're high, no, not really. A lot of people are just weird and crazy for no good reason. My eyes turn red from alergies and make me look stoned when I'm not, and alergy pills make me tired and slow. On the other hand, if I am stoned, nobody ever has a clue, except that I might be extra happy and hungry. (and that other H thing ) My eyes usually aren't red, and I have talked to cops more than once while stoned and they had no idea. I don't drive under the influence of anything, but I certainly could get away with it if I wanted to.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

Sadly, the "war on drugs" has now prevented us from purchasing over the counter cold remedies. They claim they are used in Meth production. Yes, meth can be made from them however, there has not been one single drug lab busted in this state that used "cold remedies" as the ingrediant.

That is not true. Psudeophedrine is the main ingredient in meth, and cold medicine is the only place they can get it. When it was put behind the counter here in Oregon meth labs went WAY down. Now that it's prescription only here they will go down even further. The problem is cocaine is becoming more popular because of it...

 

[xtraham]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

that's the biggest problem, everyone that does drugs is invincible.... "you cant tell I have a buzz I can handle it"

lots of ways to tell the differance between alergies and high, the way pupils react, actions etc.
not to mention you smell like weed from 6' away

 

[CJY]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

Legalizing pot and other banned substances? My knee jerk reaction, no way.

Although I understand the average American can get or buy any illegal drug they choose. I also believe a small percentage have never tried cocaine, heroin, pot for the simple reason that it is illegal and buying or possessing it is a crime.

I don't believe these so-called recreational drugs are healthy for the users and sometimes for those that come in contact with the users. Example, many crimes of robbery are committed for money to purchase the highly addictive drugs.

My cousin is an addict. Crack caused him to rob anybody that would allow him into their home...parents, grandmother, etc. He used to be a good person, hard worker, an all around productive citizen. His addiction to crack has cost him his marriage, his children, and any relationship he had with his family. It all started as a "fun thing to do." You know, a recreation. Last time I saw him was last October at my Dad's funeral. He did show up which is more than he did at my Grandfather's. He showed up wearing cut-off jeans and a torn t-shirt. It was very pathetic to see. I know it sounds as though I am trying to keep everybody safe and make decisions for them. Maybe I am...I don't know. I simply don't want good people to risk losing everything due to ignorance or because cocaine can be purchased legally with a bottle of wine.

I guess my answer continues to be no. I don't want an otherwise productive citizen to become addicted to crack. It makes no difference whether it is legal or not. Some things are simply not worth any amount of revenue earned from taxes.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

ZmOz "That is not true. Psudeophedrine is the main ingredient in meth, and cold medicine is the only place they can get it. When it was put behind the counter here in Oregon meth labs went WAY down. Now that it's prescription only here they will go down even further"

It is not required to have a perscription at least not in VT however, valid ID is required and sales are limited to one item per customer.



I stand by what I stated " there has not been one single drug lab busted in this state that used "cold remedies" as the ingrediant." That is a fact from the State Police Drug Enforcement.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

that's the biggest problem, everyone that does drugs is invincible.... "you cant tell I have a buzz I can handle it"

lots of ways to tell the differance between alergies and high, the way pupils react, actions etc.
not to mention you smell like weed from 6' away

Depends on the drug, the user, and how much they've taken. Yes, there are lots of times when users of lots of different drugs can appear totally sober. I'm not talking about when someone thinks they can drive when they are high, they are still impaired no matter what. That's the whole point of drugs, to impair yourself. As I said above, I've talked to cops more than once high as a kite. I wasn't driving or commiting any other crimes before you try to accuse me of that. My eyes weren't red and I smelled like breath mints. My conversation was not impaired in any way. The cop had absolutely no idea, otherwise he would have arrested me for the pot in my pocket, or at the very least confiscated it. Instead I've never been arrested, or ticketed for anything in my life.

Example, many crimes of robbery are committed for money to purchase the highly addictive drugs.

I think the original poster's whole point for legalizing drugs is they won't cost so much and there fore, crack heads won't have to rob people to pay for their drugs. I'm not saying that will actually work or I agree with it, but that's the arguement that is being made.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

I stand by what I stated " there has not been one single drug lab busted in this state that used "cold remedies" as the ingrediant." That is a fact from the State Police Drug Enforcement.

You either read that wrong, it was written wrong, or your state drug enforcers are idiots. Meth is made from cold medicine, period. That's like saying "there hasn't been a single pot bust where plants were the main ingredient". Meth IS cold medicine just like pot is a plant.

 

[POINTER94]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

I would like to see them make cigarettes legal again. d But we have really important things to do like making cooking oils illegal. :}

I don't think it would be the worst idea to legalize, but they will have to do ALOT better job keeping it out of the hands of minors than they do with alcohol. The problem is this is clearly a slippery slope. What is legal and what is not. And what is the cost to society to have a population walking around stoned out of their minds. Smarter people than I will have to make this decision.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

No meth is made from ephedrine among other chemicals. Many sources are controlled but still ephedrine is the key.

Pseudoephedrine is what is found in many over the counter medications. It must be re-processed to form ephedrine. The drug labs in this state that have been busted/raided were not found to be using or breaking down cold medications to extract the Pseudoephedrine to turn it into ephedrine. They were found with Ephedrine, Phenyl-2-propanone and Methylamine among other pre-cursor chemicals. The information is correct as written.

From my personal business in special effects I have a number of chemical pre-cursors that cross to my business. I am very well versed is crossing chemicals so my business does not get raided as a meth lab. This is something I saty on top of. The state drug enforcment people are far from idiots and do not associate that with my original statement.

Many drug busts and meth labs have been found with large quanities of over the counter medication packages but not in VT.

Here are the DEA stats on Meth in VT:
Methamphetamine is not commonly available in the state; although two clandestine methamphetamine laboratories were seized, one in June 2004 and another in September 2005, prior to the seizure in 2004, the last seizure of a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Vermont occurred in 1990.

Look up any state http://www.dea.gov/statistics.html

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

But we have really important things to do like making cooking oils illegal. :}

That's exactly why drugs will never be legal, and it's just a waste of all of our time to argue about it...

 

[Skinnywater]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

Legalize them all for adults, severe penaltys for those that supply to youth.

The money that is used for enforcement would be needed for the initial surge of body bags and emergency room visits.
As that surge subsides it can be used for treatment, then eventually a sustained effective education program.

The degradation of most individuals that choose to abuse drugs will be a powerful influence and example.


And of course the borders have to be absolutely secure as to not perpetuate foriegn influence into a subsidiary black-market.

 

[Scoop]

Re: Legalize drugs... for and against

I don't think we should legalize drugs across the board. meth, crack, and herion are very addictive. If you have ever heard a person talk who has been a meth addict. I have heard them say that you can be addicted in i use (I don't know, I have never tried and never will) I have to take their word.

Once they are hooked, there is is no going back. You will do whatever it takes to get meth and if you have ever seen a picture of a meth addict, you can see if is killing them fairly quickly.

Take a look at the progrssive photos near the bottom and you will see what type of damage it can do. These pictures are typical of the others I have seen. I am surprised she lived 10 years.

http://2stopmeth.org/main.php?pg=gallery