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This is a good thing in one way. People should be free to buy chemicals at will. The disturbing part is that it's a forced tax paid to doctors to get RX's writt
by MichaelGG 11y ago
This is a good thing in one way. People should be free to buy chemicals at will. The disturbing part is that it's a forced tax paid to doctors to get RX's written each month.
Even worse, this further kills equality. A worker desiring to boost performance can easily afford top-notch medicines -- speed's only $20 a month for a starting dose at a pharmacy. But the prescription alone can be 10x that, and sometimes may be required every month. Not to mention the cost of a higher-end doctor that will assist customers. Poorer patients are thus denied medicine, creating a negative feedback loop.
- zzzeek 11y ago> People should be free to buy chemicals at will. this would introduce a myriad of acute public health issues and do great harm to the public good, costing taxpayers billions of dollars for remediation. Edit: the DHHS's report on prescription medication abuse is good reading in this area: http://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/pdf/hhs_prescription_drug_abuse_report_09.2013.pdf http://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/pdf/hhs_prescription_drug_ab...
- rtl49 11y agoI don't claim this myself, but I believe his or her argument is that the freedom to choose should take precedence over the cost to taxpayers, regardless of the cost.
- Igglyboo 11y agoI really don't think it would, alcohol is pretty heavily used in the USA and it's a pretty dangerous substance. There are definitely more dangerous drugs than alcohol but legalization of all drugs isn't going to destroy society.
- enraged_camel 11y agoAre you not aware that 88,000 people die from alcohol-related causes every year in the US and that alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of death? http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-con...
- tedks 11y agoDo you support banning alcohol?
- enraged_camel 11y agoNo, but I also don't think people should be free to buy any chemical at will. Alcohol is heavily regulated and still causes massive issues for society.
- MichaelGG 11y agoAlcohol is mostly regulated for taxation, not usage. (To the point of poisoning untaxed alcohol to make sure you get hurt if you sneak around the tax.)
- zzzeek 11y agoit is most certainly regulated for usage. Widespread restrictions exist on consumption (usage) of alcohol in public places as well as within motor vehicles. It is illegal to purchase alcohol in the US if you are under 21 years of age, as it is to purchase alcohol on behalf of someone under 21 years of age; drinking is outright illegal for people under 21. Many counties around the country are "dry" counties where selling alcohol itself is entirely illegal. Regulations exist on bars as to when they can sell alcohol and when they can't, under what circumstances. Restaurants need special licenses in order to sell alcohol. All of these regulations are again in the interest of public health and the public good. To claim that alcohol isn't regulated on usage or that most alcohol regulations are for taxation purposes only is pretty far off the mark. The primary rationale for the taxation of alcohol itself is to counterbalance the public health issues that alcohol causes. Public health issues cost money to remediate.
- enraged_camel 11y agoTaxation is one reason. But we also regulate it so that only 21-and-over can buy it, that it can only be consumed in certain locations, and we also make illegal many activities that are performed while intoxicated.
- dragonwriter 11y ago> People should be free to buy chemicals at will. Any chemicals? In any arrangement?