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Drug legalization highlights one of my frustrations at the practical American dialog about controversial topics: 1. Liberals get acknowledgement that weed isn'

Drug legalization highlights one of my frustrations at the practical American dialog about controversial topics: 1. Liberals get acknowledgement that weed isn't so bad and should maybe be legal. 2. Liberals: "Legalize all drugs!" 3. Conservatives: "No." 4. --- 20 years pass and another generation is born --- I wish nuance made it to the front page more than diatribes expounding upon, essentially, hard yes and hard no.

lotsofpulp 4y ago
Source for #2 being the opinion of a size-able population? I do not know of any jurisdiction that has legalized (being able to buy) all drugs. However, there are many jurisdictions that have legalized just cannabis. Seems pretty evident that one major group are proponents of cannabis legalization, and the other is not. No major group is a proponent of legalizing all drugs.
- thriftwy 4y ago
  Unless it happens to be opioid pain killer.
- SwSwinger 4y ago
  Oregon has decriminalized all drugs and I have heard a number of people in the Bay Area wanting to make progress beyond this without definitive results: https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2021/11/03/oregons-drug-decriminalization-may-spread-despite-unclear-results https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/sta... . Personally, I tend more towards the liberal viewpoint but I also believe that the more granular we can make A/B Scientific Testing here, the more our country will reach a positive equilibrium faster.
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    That is decriminalizing, not legalizing. Even taking decriminalization, however, I would wager there are many, many more people who simply want to legalize cannabis relative to those who might want to decriminalize/legalize all drugs. It is probably more accurate to say lots of liberals and conservatives want to legalize cannabis, and a non representative extreme contingent on both sides either want to decriminalize all drugs or continue to ban cannabis.
- rahimnathwani 4y ago
  "I do not know of any jurisdiction that has legalized (being able to buy) all drugs." There is at least one city in the US where: - prosecutors won't prosecute people for buying or selling drugs of any kind - police won't arrest people for buying or selling drugs of any kind - the government pays many buyers a monthly stipend, to do with as they wish There's some restrictions on who can sell in which places, but that's enforced by private groups.
- tbrownaw 4y ago
  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oregon-first-state-decriminalize-cocaine-heroin-measure-109/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oregon-first-state-decriminaliz...
rayiner 4y ago
Nobody wants to admit that the other side is sometimes right. Conservatives don’t want to admit that liberals sometimes identify areas where society should change, often because the economy or technology has changed. And liberals don’t want to acknowledge that conservatives filter out a lot of bad ideas that are unworkable.
- SwSwinger 4y ago
  I agree with your analysis. My frustration is in this reality, which I think could have faster iteration speed with the right framing & education.

lotsofpulp 4y ago

Source for #2 being the opinion of a size-able population? I do not know of any jurisdiction that has legalized (being able to buy) all drugs. However, there are many jurisdictions that have legalized just cannabis. Seems pretty evident that one major group are proponents of cannabis legalization, and the other is not. No major group is a proponent of legalizing all drugs.

thriftwy 4y ago
Unless it happens to be opioid pain killer.
SwSwinger 4y ago
Oregon has decriminalized all drugs and I have heard a number of people in the Bay Area wanting to make progress beyond this without definitive results: https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2021/11/03/oregons-drug-decriminalization-may-spread-despite-unclear-results https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/sta... . Personally, I tend more towards the liberal viewpoint but I also believe that the more granular we can make A/B Scientific Testing here, the more our country will reach a positive equilibrium faster.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  That is decriminalizing, not legalizing. Even taking decriminalization, however, I would wager there are many, many more people who simply want to legalize cannabis relative to those who might want to decriminalize/legalize all drugs. It is probably more accurate to say lots of liberals and conservatives want to legalize cannabis, and a non representative extreme contingent on both sides either want to decriminalize all drugs or continue to ban cannabis.
rahimnathwani 4y ago
"I do not know of any jurisdiction that has legalized (being able to buy) all drugs." There is at least one city in the US where: - prosecutors won't prosecute people for buying or selling drugs of any kind - police won't arrest people for buying or selling drugs of any kind - the government pays many buyers a monthly stipend, to do with as they wish There's some restrictions on who can sell in which places, but that's enforced by private groups.
tbrownaw 4y ago
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oregon-first-state-decriminalize-cocaine-heroin-measure-109/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oregon-first-state-decriminaliz...

rayiner 4y ago

Nobody wants to admit that the other side is sometimes right. Conservatives don’t want to admit that liberals sometimes identify areas where society should change, often because the economy or technology has changed. And liberals don’t want to acknowledge that conservatives filter out a lot of bad ideas that are unworkable.

SwSwinger 4y ago
I agree with your analysis. My frustration is in this reality, which I think could have faster iteration speed with the right framing & education.