When drugs are legalized...
Discussion
Quote from somewhere:
"When drugs are legalized, their price will collapse as will the drug related motivations to commit nearly all drug related crimes. The Mafia (heroine), the Medellin Cartel(cocaine) and the jamacian gangs(crack) stand to loose billions in profits, from the legalization of drugs"
How much truth do you reckon there is in that statment?
"When drugs are legalized, their price will collapse as will the drug related motivations to commit nearly all drug related crimes. The Mafia (heroine), the Medellin Cartel(cocaine) and the jamacian gangs(crack) stand to loose billions in profits, from the legalization of drugs"
How much truth do you reckon there is in that statment?
production prices might colapse, but the tax will make petrol look cheapRemove an organisations income and it collapses.
If you rely on the profits of illegal drug smuggling/dealing and they become legal and available cheaply, your organisation will collapse.
To be honest i would reckon the availability and legality of drugs and the consequences of such a policy would out weigh the current situation we have of mass drug-related crime, organised crime etc etc
If you rely on the profits of illegal drug smuggling/dealing and they become legal and available cheaply, your organisation will collapse.
To be honest i would reckon the availability and legality of drugs and the consequences of such a policy would out weigh the current situation we have of mass drug-related crime, organised crime etc etc
fulham911club said:
Sorry but this is a ridiculous thread. Class A drugs being legalised just aint going to happen.
No, you're right, but it is interesting to get everyone's thoughts. On the surface it sounds bloody ridiculous....But given some thought, it might not be...I mean at least it'd be "regulated", but then again addicts would still need to fund the habit, and that's one of the biggest issues around addiction...Isn't it??!! Dunno really, but would be interested to read peoples' opinions......
Cheers,
Chilli.
I like the intro scene in Layer Cake - probably not far off where we'd be if it were all legalised.
As has been mentioned, the government would want their (extremely large) cut of the action, dressed up as "discouraging unhealthy practises" in the same way as beer 'n' tabs currently...
As has been mentioned, the government would want their (extremely large) cut of the action, dressed up as "discouraging unhealthy practises" in the same way as beer 'n' tabs currently...
rude-boy said:
Sorry but this is a ridiculous thread. Class A drugs being legalised just aint going to happen.
I ain't ever going to get to sleep with Hallie Berry, dosen't mean i don't think about it
Hehe good point....if it does happen, they'll be taxed to the hilt, but the other avenues of obtaining recreational pharmaceuticals will still be there.
Not that I know anything about such matters
UKBob said:
Sorry but this is a ridiculous thread. Class A drugs being legalised just aint going to happen.
>> Edited by rude-boy on Wednesday 9th November 17:46
I've racked my brains long and hard over this one and I can honestly say this:
Legalised or illegal, it wouldn't make much difference.
Thing is, the problem with drugs isn't the drugs, it's the people who take them, and as long as there are people wanting to take drugs, the problems will continue in much the same form as they always have done. It's like fireworks - the fireworks aren't the problem, it's the people who arse around with them, and banned or legalised it won't stop them blowing up animals with them.
As drugs are now (ie illegal), they're a problem. Dealers are the biggest culprits, preying on vulnerable people, treating them as markets, exploiting them, bleeding them dry and leaving whole communities ruined.
However, there are two sides to the story. For the dealer to be successful there have to be people who want the drugs. Legalising them would turn a criminally exploitative trade into a 'respectable' profession.
Handing the legislative issues over to the politicians would make them the dealers - and would you trust them not to make it 'commercial'? They would want taxation, and how would they ensure they got it? They'd just 'hijack' the current exploitation cycle. And then they'd privatise it, which of course would entail things like advertising and profit margins - I dread to thing of the potential consequences.
Or the politicians could go the other way and severely restrict their availability to recovering addicts. So what happens then? People still want the drugs, so they'd rely on drug dealers to slip them under the government radar for them and the dealers would probably make even bigger profits. To say 'legalising drugs removes the dealer's market' is an extremely simplistic way of looking at things.
Looking at it this way, legalisation just looks like a giant and unpredictable can of rather tenacious worms. In their present illegal state, at least the law can be used to just keep the exploiters off the streets. It might be ineffective but it's better than no law at all.
Thing is, when considering the drugs trade, you've got to consider the global implications. This country isn't a sealed unit so far as its drugs go. What about the drug barons invading farmland in Bolivia and forcing the locals to work on it or be evicted/shot? If the trade was legal, would they be legitimate businessmen or would the Bolivian government take it over? If the government took it over, its economy would rely purely on exploiting and creating addictions in other countries - is that right?
IMO the solution is to stop viewing drug addicts as criminals, but as victims of a particularly vicious system. They need to be securely rehabilitated and helped back into functioning as a contributing member of the community. Locking them up just criminalises them further. Secure rehabilitation (basically a cross between a hospital, a prison and a school) is the key.
Education is the other key. IMO drugs education needs to be more 'medical'. When I was taught about drugs the teachers basically said "this is what cocaine looks like, it makes you feel great but it's really bad". What people need to learn should be more along the lines of "cocaine creates a feeling of a 'rush' by destroying several brain cells in your frontal lobe and eroding your septum." - there you go, it's the truth, it's unbiased and it's pretty brutal.
Legalised or illegal, it wouldn't make much difference.
Thing is, the problem with drugs isn't the drugs, it's the people who take them, and as long as there are people wanting to take drugs, the problems will continue in much the same form as they always have done. It's like fireworks - the fireworks aren't the problem, it's the people who arse around with them, and banned or legalised it won't stop them blowing up animals with them.
As drugs are now (ie illegal), they're a problem. Dealers are the biggest culprits, preying on vulnerable people, treating them as markets, exploiting them, bleeding them dry and leaving whole communities ruined.
However, there are two sides to the story. For the dealer to be successful there have to be people who want the drugs. Legalising them would turn a criminally exploitative trade into a 'respectable' profession.
Handing the legislative issues over to the politicians would make them the dealers - and would you trust them not to make it 'commercial'? They would want taxation, and how would they ensure they got it? They'd just 'hijack' the current exploitation cycle. And then they'd privatise it, which of course would entail things like advertising and profit margins - I dread to thing of the potential consequences.
Or the politicians could go the other way and severely restrict their availability to recovering addicts. So what happens then? People still want the drugs, so they'd rely on drug dealers to slip them under the government radar for them and the dealers would probably make even bigger profits. To say 'legalising drugs removes the dealer's market' is an extremely simplistic way of looking at things.
Looking at it this way, legalisation just looks like a giant and unpredictable can of rather tenacious worms. In their present illegal state, at least the law can be used to just keep the exploiters off the streets. It might be ineffective but it's better than no law at all.
Thing is, when considering the drugs trade, you've got to consider the global implications. This country isn't a sealed unit so far as its drugs go. What about the drug barons invading farmland in Bolivia and forcing the locals to work on it or be evicted/shot? If the trade was legal, would they be legitimate businessmen or would the Bolivian government take it over? If the government took it over, its economy would rely purely on exploiting and creating addictions in other countries - is that right?
IMO the solution is to stop viewing drug addicts as criminals, but as victims of a particularly vicious system. They need to be securely rehabilitated and helped back into functioning as a contributing member of the community. Locking them up just criminalises them further. Secure rehabilitation (basically a cross between a hospital, a prison and a school) is the key.
Education is the other key. IMO drugs education needs to be more 'medical'. When I was taught about drugs the teachers basically said "this is what cocaine looks like, it makes you feel great but it's really bad". What people need to learn should be more along the lines of "cocaine creates a feeling of a 'rush' by destroying several brain cells in your frontal lobe and eroding your septum." - there you go, it's the truth, it's unbiased and it's pretty brutal.
Twincam16 said:
Education is the other key. IMO drugs education needs to be more 'medical'. When I was taught about drugs the teachers basically said "this is what cocaine looks like, it makes you feel great but it's really bad". What people need to learn should be more along the lines of "cocaine creates a feeling of a 'rush' by destroying several brain cells in your frontal lobe and eroding your septum." - there you go, it's the truth, it's unbiased and it's pretty brutal.
[pedant]
I think the 'rush' feeling has more to do with the neurotransmitter dopamine, rather than destroying your braincells. Sigmund Freud was a (cocaine) addict coincidently, a clever guy too.
An interesting point to add is that Afghanistan since its liberation from the Taleban now produces over 75% of the worlds opium (Heroin, Morphine, etc).
>> Edited by scorp on Wednesday 9th November 18:28
UKBob said:
Quote from somewhere:
"When drugs are legalized, their price will collapse as will the drug related motivations to commit nearly all drug related crimes. The Mafia (heroine), the Medellin Cartel(cocaine) and the jamacian gangs(crack) stand to loose billions in profits, from the legalization of drugs"
This was the case with the Mafia. They became very rich from the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920/30s.
Once this was legalised they had to look elsewhere for money - drugs.
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