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I think the people behind drug prohibition need reckoning. They have caused untold suffering, especially by preventing people from accessing medication they nee

I think the people behind drug prohibition need reckoning. They have caused untold suffering, especially by preventing people from accessing medication they needed. There is no justification for drug prohibition to continue. If anyone thinks otherwise, then it only means they have not educated themselves enough about the topic, they profit from the current status quo or simply they take pleasure in causing suffering to other people.

zepto 6y ago
No justification for prohibition, but quite possibly justification for regulation.
- varispeed 6y ago
  Yes the market should be regulated. Some substances can be more dangerous than others so there should be adequate restrictions and support plus raised tax could help with mental health services and education to ensure people can make informed decisions and also receive help if they get it wrong.
wil421 6y ago
Cocaine, Heroin, Meth, and Fentanyl should never be legal. They are too addicting. Possession in a small amount should be decriminalized using a stick (drunk tank for a couple days) or carrot (state run rehab or classes) method. Stop the prosecutions and jailing of the users. Mandate a class or whatever like they do for DUIs and provide a state run place to ween them off. Combined with a safe place to do drugs and safe needles.
- bunfunton 6y ago
  I mean marijuana is more addicting to me than cocaine so....
  - wil421 6y ago
    Yes but no one is doing crackhead or dopehead things when they want Marijuana.
  - kar5pt 6y ago
    I'm guessing that's because you don't do cocaine.
- fuzzer37 6y ago
  > Cocaine, Heroin, Meth, and Fentanyl should never be legal. They are too addicting. Maybe for you, but why should you be the arbiter of what other people do? Make it legal and tax substances to the point that the revenue offsets the potential negatives.
  - scottLobster 6y ago
    Because those people don't live in a vacuum. I know I'm just one case, but as someone who's mother got addicted to legally prescribed Fentanyl as well as other opioids as a result of her cancer treatments, and to had serve as caregiver for said mother when said drugs sent her into irrational rages and occasionally made her suicidal (she later admitted to not remembering multiple months of time from the years she was on it), the libertarian individual choice argument is particularly full of shit when it comes to these substances. There are some things that the average human biology simply cannot handle. Making said substances illegal or regulating them such that they are impossible for the average person to get is perfectly rational and beneficial for society. Naturally treatment centers should be provided for those who manage to obtain them illegally as opposed to jail time, and that's the part we suck at. No rational person with purpose seeks out illegal opioids, it's a symptom of underlying issues and should be treated as such, not punished. Psilocybin, Marijuana, Tobacco and Alcohol are completely different animals. And yes there are people who can't handle these, but the vast majority of the population is capable of doing so and/or the consequences are less severe when they are mishandled. You can't say that about opioids. Same reason even in the US while I can own an AR-15, I cannot own a Patriot Missile Battery. One the average individual can be relatively trusted with, the other they cannot.
    - captainredbeard 6y ago
      > Same reason even in the US while I can own an AR-15, I cannot own a Patriot Missile Battery Au Contraire! Explosives are just very difficult to buy because you must go through an approval process to purchase a "destructive device" and the storage regulations, which vary widely from area to area, are (rightfully) difficult and expensive to comply with.
    - 6y ago
- varispeed 6y ago
  > Cocaine, Heroin, Meth, and Fentanyl should never be legal. They are too addicting. These drugs should be legal precisely because they are so dangerous. The key is adequate regulation appropriate for the potential danger.
- barbacoa 6y ago
  >Cocaine, Heroin, Meth, and Fentanyl should never be legal. They are too addicting. I know 10X as many people who threw away their lives working minimum wage and minimum responsibility jobs just so that they can afford enough marijuana to make themselves happy with living without ambition. Not that I think marijuana should be illegal but if we are going to legalize one we should be consistent and legalize everything.
  - meepmorp 6y ago
    If they're happy with the lives they live, then how are their lives wasted? Is it possible they just have different values?
    - vokep 6y ago
      It comes down to each individual I guess, but I'm doubtful that such people are really very happy. Smoking every day to offload stress can seem nice, until you're looking back on all the time you could've used better, and realize its not making you happy, it just distracts from what makes you unhappy. It can be really fun to add to experiences that are already enjoyable, and every now and then it can be helpful to offload stress during something undesirable, but if its use is too frequent, given my own experience and those around me, it does become a black hole of time. The old South Park explanation was quite spot on, it makes you alright with being bored, when being bored should motivate to do something. All that said, with conscious planning to use it in a productive way, I've found incredible enhancement of working on creative projects while stoned out of my mind.
- kar5pt 6y ago
  The problem with this is it's biased against poor people. Rich addicts can afford to only be users, but poor addicts are the ones that need to deal to support their habit. So if you jail dealers, you're disproportionately jailing poor people.

zepto 6y ago

No justification for prohibition, but quite possibly justification for regulation.

varispeed 6y ago
Yes the market should be regulated. Some substances can be more dangerous than others so there should be adequate restrictions and support plus raised tax could help with mental health services and education to ensure people can make informed decisions and also receive help if they get it wrong.

wil421 6y ago

Cocaine, Heroin, Meth, and Fentanyl should never be legal. They are too addicting. Possession in a small amount should be decriminalized using a stick (drunk tank for a couple days) or carrot (state run rehab or classes) method. Stop the prosecutions and jailing of the users. Mandate a class or whatever like they do for DUIs and provide a state run place to ween them off. Combined with a safe place to do drugs and safe needles.

bunfunton 6y ago
I mean marijuana is more addicting to me than cocaine so....
- wil421 6y ago
  Yes but no one is doing crackhead or dopehead things when they want Marijuana.
- kar5pt 6y ago
  I'm guessing that's because you don't do cocaine.
fuzzer37 6y ago
> Cocaine, Heroin, Meth, and Fentanyl should never be legal. They are too addicting. Maybe for you, but why should you be the arbiter of what other people do? Make it legal and tax substances to the point that the revenue offsets the potential negatives.
- scottLobster 6y ago
  Because those people don't live in a vacuum. I know I'm just one case, but as someone who's mother got addicted to legally prescribed Fentanyl as well as other opioids as a result of her cancer treatments, and to had serve as caregiver for said mother when said drugs sent her into irrational rages and occasionally made her suicidal (she later admitted to not remembering multiple months of time from the years she was on it), the libertarian individual choice argument is particularly full of shit when it comes to these substances. There are some things that the average human biology simply cannot handle. Making said substances illegal or regulating them such that they are impossible for the average person to get is perfectly rational and beneficial for society. Naturally treatment centers should be provided for those who manage to obtain them illegally as opposed to jail time, and that's the part we suck at. No rational person with purpose seeks out illegal opioids, it's a symptom of underlying issues and should be treated as such, not punished. Psilocybin, Marijuana, Tobacco and Alcohol are completely different animals. And yes there are people who can't handle these, but the vast majority of the population is capable of doing so and/or the consequences are less severe when they are mishandled. You can't say that about opioids. Same reason even in the US while I can own an AR-15, I cannot own a Patriot Missile Battery. One the average individual can be relatively trusted with, the other they cannot.
  - captainredbeard 6y ago
    > Same reason even in the US while I can own an AR-15, I cannot own a Patriot Missile Battery Au Contraire! Explosives are just very difficult to buy because you must go through an approval process to purchase a "destructive device" and the storage regulations, which vary widely from area to area, are (rightfully) difficult and expensive to comply with.
  - 6y ago
varispeed 6y ago
> Cocaine, Heroin, Meth, and Fentanyl should never be legal. They are too addicting. These drugs should be legal precisely because they are so dangerous. The key is adequate regulation appropriate for the potential danger.
barbacoa 6y ago
>Cocaine, Heroin, Meth, and Fentanyl should never be legal. They are too addicting. I know 10X as many people who threw away their lives working minimum wage and minimum responsibility jobs just so that they can afford enough marijuana to make themselves happy with living without ambition. Not that I think marijuana should be illegal but if we are going to legalize one we should be consistent and legalize everything.
- meepmorp 6y ago
  If they're happy with the lives they live, then how are their lives wasted? Is it possible they just have different values?
  - vokep 6y ago
    It comes down to each individual I guess, but I'm doubtful that such people are really very happy. Smoking every day to offload stress can seem nice, until you're looking back on all the time you could've used better, and realize its not making you happy, it just distracts from what makes you unhappy. It can be really fun to add to experiences that are already enjoyable, and every now and then it can be helpful to offload stress during something undesirable, but if its use is too frequent, given my own experience and those around me, it does become a black hole of time. The old South Park explanation was quite spot on, it makes you alright with being bored, when being bored should motivate to do something. All that said, with conscious planning to use it in a productive way, I've found incredible enhancement of working on creative projects while stoned out of my mind.
kar5pt 6y ago
The problem with this is it's biased against poor people. Rich addicts can afford to only be users, but poor addicts are the ones that need to deal to support their habit. So if you jail dealers, you're disproportionately jailing poor people.