Catch 22, Legalizing Drugs and Defeating Dangerious Criminal

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Catch 22, Legalizing Drugs and Defeating Dangerious Criminality.


Organized crime would be dissolved due to lack of funding simply because of legalization. However the harms of those drugs would be seemingly ethically supported and the toll upon societies would be devastating.

Giving up on any effort to defeat a danger for financial reasons just to create another danger is loosing. Drugs legalized would empower a degenerative culture with the availability to distribute freely and would create a large part of society that will continue to de-evolve and self destruct.

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They have moved on before they'll move on again as long as people have something to hide or protect they'll be around maybe not as big but still dangerous



That was the idea in some of the Larry Niven science fiction books and within a few generations all the people who would do them where weeded out others saw the harm. I don't think it would work but that was the idea. I think some of the drugs such as pot should be decrimailized or even outright legal . I dont see the contry de-evolving of destruction. Regulation could work though you said it's complicated so are many things but we still do them.

Putting someone in jail for using M.J I think is not good, should be fined instead. All of which go to the funding of educational programs and treatment programs, instead of paying for jail time.

Sellers however should go to jail.

Those with guns and other weapons should go to jail much longer who sell as well.

That would be reasonable. I belive violent criminal should be put away for a long time.

That's true. Many criminal organizations, such as the Yakuza in Japan as well as the American, Italian, and Russian mafia deal extensively in extortion, some of it even semi-legitimate (some Japanese companies even include payoffs to the Yakuza in their annual budgets). Some are also heavily involved in the pirating of DVD's and software, theft, arms smuggling, and sex trafficking (just as a side note, it's not likely that the legalization of prostitution would change this; thousands of women are still trafficked into Germany and the Netherlands each year, prompting some Dutch officials to wonder if it is working as well as they'd hoped). So no, the legalization of drugs would not eliminate organized crime, though perhaps it would lessen it somewhat.

An interesting fact I read recently was that at one time heroin was legally introduced into China, leaving a quarter of the adult population addicted. While I understand the rationale for legalization, I simply cannot throw my full support behind the legalization knowing how harmful these substances are (and it seems too many people discuss the issue and even mock people like me without having any idea of how they affect some people. I've seen old friends and classmates become ghosts of their former selves, read harrowing accounts of addicts, and believe me, it ain't pretty. Don't tell me they're not harmful). Especially since I've been depressed before and understand how powerful the lure of something-anything-to take the pain away is. People with emotional troubles are especially susceptible to emotional and then physical dependency, and it is my fear that legalization would make drugs even cheaper and more widely available to these people, giving them a quick fix without solving any of their problems and leading to addiction and self destruction as you mentioned. And I'm not one of those that say if someone messes their life up with drugs it's their own fault, because I know better than that (and I've got more compassion than that)-I've been depressed and lost and miserable and desperate for something to take the pain away, and it's d*mn hard to resist doing that, and d*mn hard to resist peer pressure as well. That being said, I'm not saying the current war on drugs is working though-if anything it's only making things worse. There's no easy solution to this one. For anyone interested in the subject, I would recommend the book Chiva: A Village Takes on the Global Drug Trade, by Chellis Glendinning. I haven't read it yet, but I've read about it, and I plan to as soon as I can get it.

I see no reason for drugs with no significant negative side effects such as MJ, hash and LSD to be illegal. The government shouldn't ban any substance though. We aren't societies slaves that we have to be productive citizens if we don't want to. Maybe we want to be crack-shooting bums, it's our own choice to make.

Of course, because who wouldn't want to live a miserable life and die alone at the age of 30?

Laugh Snort

I think talking about the legalization of "drugs" is kind of pointless anyway. There's a huge difference between marijauna and cocaine, or between any other set of substances that are covered under this blanket heading that doesn't mean anything but that the government has arbitrarily decided these chemicals are bad under a certain set of circumstances.

I do believe marijauna should be legalized, because when used in moderation -- especially when it's not smoked (i.e. taken some other way), it's basically harmless, non-addictive for most people (people with addictive personalities can become addicted to anything; that doesn't mean we should outlaw everything) and in any case, its benefits far outweigh any negatives that might be associated with it. I feel especially strongly about this when it comes to medical marijuana for diseases like multiple sclerosis (which my little sister has) and for anxiety, in which case it's much safer than most SSRIs and anti-anxiety chemicals on the market.

As far as drugs go, I'm far more concerned about the dangers of alcohol and cigarette smoking than about any of the controlled substances the failed "War on Drugs" was waged against. If that money had gone into programs to help the average alcoholic or cigarette smoker quit, America would be a much safer and healthier country today, but we're more concerned about appearances. :/

If you're going to use the argument that drugs should be illegal because they make people die alone at 30 then there are a lot of things that could be made illegal: Oreos, McDonalds, televisions, and emo music.

I don't use any of those things, or drugs. At the same time, I'm not going to prevent somebody else from using them because of my personal preferences.

I like the idea of legalizing all the dangerous drugs, provided that plenty of education about them is also provided. Then the people who are stupid enough to use them can die and stop polluting the gene pool.

Perhaps I am being excessively idealistic here. i.e. it sounds good in theory, but in practice there may be problems. For example, if a person manages to give birth to a child before overdosing on drugs and dying, then they have managed to continue to pollute the gene pool, as well as creating a child that someone has to care for.

My suggested solution to this problem is to randomly spike the drugs that are available, making them more lethal, and thus more effective. The spiking operation would be done randomly and with utmost secrecy, so a drug user can never be sure whether he receives dangerous heroin or extra dangerous heroin. It is similar to a lottery.

Strict labelling laws would be needed, much the same as the existing labelling laws for cigarette boxes. For example, it would be legal to sell heroin but only if there is a giant warning label on it saying:

"WARNING: USE OF THIS HEROIN MAY RESULT IN A SLOW AND AGONIZING DEATH."

you are a sick and twisted individual......i like you.

I am bored of socializing online. Yawn!

So what if some people will join a "degenerative" drug culture whose members self-destruct by taking too much? It's their choice to join such a culture. There will also be people doing research into how to make better recreational drugs with fewer side effects, just as there are now with therapeutic drugs. In fact, I find the line between psychoactive therapeuic drugs and recreational drugs quite blurred in some places. This will provide opportunities for those who wish to alter their brain chemistry without suffering as many problems from it.

Legalizing drugs will cause a 'spike' to occur in its use. This shouldnt be a shock but anti-drug advocates love the idea because it "supports" them. It doesn't, not long term.

You have just legalized something you have FORBIDDEN, like a Father to a child, to do. Now they are free, they are allowed to make a "choice" and many will try pot. This is where the stupid people are separated from the normals in that those who go for crack and more are, well, stupid. If they are intelligent, they will make the right choice - sometimes you have to let some people fail, its how they learn. Offer them the help but don't offer then the help in 'making the choice for them' because you simply don't learn when that happens.

So, a spike in 'use' is totally expected, its psychology and maybe even a form of 'chaos' but chaos is a requirement for change. Its NEEDED. Either do it now and reap the benefits of what happens after chaos or continue to build the house on sand. It'll be easier to fix drug problems afterwards then now, I believe.

As well, legalizing removes a TON of crime, crime beyond simple drug use, it removes crime such as 'assault' and 'murder' resulting from bad 'deals.' Making a drug illegal increases the risk for a drug trafficker - it also increases the amount of money they can earn - pretty appealing for someone who is low on funds. Some countries 'execute' drug traffickers but why would they do it? MASSIVE profit. Profit honest people could be receiving, but instead, criminals are getting it. Then who knows where that money goes. The chain reaction of events that occur are tremendous for something as simple as buying "pot."

Prohibition - Crime increased. Hitler banned cigarettes, smoking increased. Seems bans create 'rule' and many people dont like being 'told.' I dont, makes me feel incompetent when I cant make my own choice

I do think light drugs like marijuana should be legalised.... I mean alcohol is legal, and alcohol is far worse than marijuana. Now as far as hard drugs, like coke, heroine, crack, pcp, meth, etc, they should not be legalized.
Legalising drugs won't stop the funding of criminal organizations.... They'll just turn to one of their other illegal money-making operations, the sale of guns, or prostitutes (the human trafficking industry is growing at an alarming rate). Technically the US government are criminals, because a number of designer clothing companies and such that are based out of US are running overseas sweatshops. Companies like Ambercrombie, hillfiger, etc. And that's not even considering the sex slave trade (which is sickeningly abhorable). It might just make matters worse with these organisations.
However, legalising weed wouldn't make much difference to them... They really don't make that much on weed, most of their drug money comes from harder drugs.