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One of the big hurdles with full legalisation / taxation which you're suggesting (as opposed to decriminalisation) is how to deal with the approval processes fo
by nippoo 7y ago
One of the big hurdles with full legalisation / taxation which you're suggesting (as opposed to decriminalisation) is how to deal with the approval processes for future substances.
Do you just grandfather in a certain number of existing drugs (ie marijuana, MDMA, etc?)
What happens when a new substance hits town? The approval process for new therapeutic drugs is huge and very expensive - and only major pharmaceutical companies can generally bear the cost (plus the safety requirements are stringent enough that many currently illegal drugs wouldn't pass).
If you allow future street/recreational drugs to get a free pass (and tax them), you're opening a loophole for new pharmaceutical drugs to make it to market without due approval and safety checks.
Decriminalisation (Portugal-style) is a different thing altogether, but you don't get the tax revenues and the implicit sanctioning that brings.
- GordonS 7y ago> What happens when a new substance hits town? I don't mean to detract from the point you were trying to make, but a lot of the novel psychoactive substances that have appeared in recent times (e.g. synthetic cannabinoids such as spice) only ever came to be because of current drug regulations - they were created because in many countries individual drugs are outlawed, so if you create a new one, it will be legal to sell it for a time. The "traditional" drugs are more than enough for most psychonauts - why risk some novel substance with an unknown safety profile if you could legally and safely obtain high-quality cannabis, MDMA, cocaine etc?
- leetcrew 7y agolegalization doesn't have to mean that you can just walk into CVS and buy any drug you want, and it certainly doesn't have to mean that your doctor can recommend unapproved drugs to you. legalization is compatible with certain reasonable constraints. advertisement of any drug (maybe even FDA approved) can be prohibited. sale of unapproved drugs can be restricted to certain specialty stores so there's no risk of people assuming it's safe just because it's at their pharmacy or grocery store. you can mandate warnings on the packaging and/or at the entrance to the store. you can say no such stores within x feet of a school.
- chmielewski 7y agoCVS does not sell alcohol or tobacco
- PeterisP 7y agoI'd argue that for most customers the various drugs are somewhat feasible substitutes for each other, many of them fill similar needs. The introduction of new "products" seems to be driven by supply side because they're easier to manufacture or transport, because some chemicals aren't yet illegal, etc. IMHO if a limited number of mostly well-understood drugs (from different types) would be legalized, then it would seriously undercut the demand for any of the new substances.
- blotter_paper 7y ago> If you allow future street/recreational drugs to get a free pass (and tax them), you're opening a loophole for new pharmaceutical drugs to make it to market without due approval and safety checks. I'd love being free to buy pharmaceuticals without the approval of my government and doctor; that's a feature, not a bug!