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Eventually all drugs will be legalized and regulated just like alcohol and tobacco. The War on Drugs is America's worst mistake and our biggest most expensive f

Eventually all drugs will be legalized and regulated just like alcohol and tobacco. The War on Drugs is America's worst mistake and our biggest most expensive failure. The big issue is going to be the "how". Who would manufacture the drugs and how would they be sold? Cocaine HCL is Cocaine HCL and the market wouldn't really need more than one brand like it does with cigarettes and beverages. Back when drugs like opium and cocaine were legal in the US the regulatory system was completely different and we don't have any idea what it will look like in the future. It would likely involve the downsizing of the DEA and expansion of the ATF, putting drugs in the same regulatory area as Alcohol and Tobacco - DATF. Grocery stores and liquor stores would be the obvious vendors. A non-profit needs to start a think tank to figure out the best intelligent way for a modern America to manage legal drugs.

AnthonyMouse 3y ago
> Cocaine HCL is Cocaine HCL and the market wouldn't really need more than one brand like it does with cigarettes and beverages. Cocaine HCL is Cocaine HCL because you need a prescription to get it, so it only comes from a pharmacy and they don't put anything else in it. If there wasn't a law against it you could find various flavors of it at the liquor store or combinations with MDMA etc. Want to know why it's called Coca Cola? > It would likely involve the downsizing of the DEA and expansion of the ATF, putting drugs in the same regulatory area as Alcohol and Tobacco - DATF. Don't even joke about such an abomination. If you're going to legalize it then you don't need a federal agency to crack down on international trafficking and states can regulate it locally. We should do away with the DEA and the ATF.
Nathanba 3y ago
I wouldn't be so sure yet, the damage that drugs can do is immense. Meanwhile the damage of outlawing drugs is mainly from imperfect enforcement and inflicted on people who willingly broke a law for personal enjoyment. A person that gets permanently mentally damaged (e.g becomes schizoid) from drug use is causing an 80 year long drain on society in every way. People apparently have to find out the hard way before they can understand how bad drugs are.
- AnthonyMouse 3y ago
  > Meanwhile the damage of outlawing drugs is mainly from imperfect enforcement and inflicted on people who willingly broke a law for personal enjoyment. That's omitting the murderous drug cartels that wouldn't otherwise exist. > A person that gets permanently mentally damaged (e.g becomes schizoid) from drug use is causing an 80 year long drain on society in every way. What about a person who gets denied necessary medication out of overzealous enforcement, or can't get access to it because they would have to already be on the medication in order to navigate the bureaucracy necessary to get a prescription? > People apparently have to find out the hard way before they can understand how bad drugs are. This is like pointing to a stabbing victim and saying "people apparently have to find out the hard way how bad knives are." Yes, cutting tools are dangerous. No, we shouldn't ban cutlery. But maybe we should teach people how to safely use sharp objects.
  - ffgjgf1 3y ago
    I don’t why people keep bizarre metaphors which make little as id that somehow reinforces their point. Fentanyl and knives are not quite the same (I hope I don’t have to try and explain why). More seriously though all those issues you mentioned are caused by flaws in the enforcement mechanism. Addressing them directly seems like a better idea than full legalization. As flawed as the current situation is how exactly would legalization of hard drugs improve it or be a net benefit for the society?
    - amanaplanacanal 3y ago
      Many ways: put the murderous cartels out of business, stop ruining people’s lives with felony convictions, cut down on accidental overdoses from black market drugs of unknown contents and potency, less impetus for corruption in law enforcement. All the same benefits that we gained from repealing alcohol prohibition.
      - alienicecream 3y ago
        The cartels are mostly killing each other, those people weren't going to be a great boon to society anyway, they would've found a different criminal enterprise to get into. And if you don't want to go to jail for doing drugs, you can just not do drugs.
krispyfi 3y ago
The UK already has such a non-profit: Transform Drug Policy Foundation. Their "How to Regulate" series is sober, thoughtful, and has already influenced legalized regulation schemes in several countries. https://transformdrugs.org/publications/how-to-regulate-stimulants-a-practical-guide https://transformdrugs.org/publications/how-to-regulate-stim...

AnthonyMouse 3y ago

> Cocaine HCL is Cocaine HCL and the market wouldn't really need more than one brand like it does with cigarettes and beverages. Cocaine HCL is Cocaine HCL because you need a prescription to get it, so it only comes from a pharmacy and they don't put anything else in it. If there wasn't a law against it you could find various flavors of it at the liquor store or combinations with MDMA etc. Want to know why it's called Coca Cola? > It would likely involve the downsizing of the DEA and expansion of the ATF, putting drugs in the same regulatory area as Alcohol and Tobacco - DATF. Don't even joke about such an abomination. If you're going to legalize it then you don't need a federal agency to crack down on international trafficking and states can regulate it locally. We should do away with the DEA and the ATF.

Nathanba 3y ago

I wouldn't be so sure yet, the damage that drugs can do is immense. Meanwhile the damage of outlawing drugs is mainly from imperfect enforcement and inflicted on people who willingly broke a law for personal enjoyment. A person that gets permanently mentally damaged (e.g becomes schizoid) from drug use is causing an 80 year long drain on society in every way. People apparently have to find out the hard way before they can understand how bad drugs are.

AnthonyMouse 3y ago
> Meanwhile the damage of outlawing drugs is mainly from imperfect enforcement and inflicted on people who willingly broke a law for personal enjoyment. That's omitting the murderous drug cartels that wouldn't otherwise exist. > A person that gets permanently mentally damaged (e.g becomes schizoid) from drug use is causing an 80 year long drain on society in every way. What about a person who gets denied necessary medication out of overzealous enforcement, or can't get access to it because they would have to already be on the medication in order to navigate the bureaucracy necessary to get a prescription? > People apparently have to find out the hard way before they can understand how bad drugs are. This is like pointing to a stabbing victim and saying "people apparently have to find out the hard way how bad knives are." Yes, cutting tools are dangerous. No, we shouldn't ban cutlery. But maybe we should teach people how to safely use sharp objects.
- ffgjgf1 3y ago
  I don’t why people keep bizarre metaphors which make little as id that somehow reinforces their point. Fentanyl and knives are not quite the same (I hope I don’t have to try and explain why). More seriously though all those issues you mentioned are caused by flaws in the enforcement mechanism. Addressing them directly seems like a better idea than full legalization. As flawed as the current situation is how exactly would legalization of hard drugs improve it or be a net benefit for the society?
  - amanaplanacanal 3y ago
    Many ways: put the murderous cartels out of business, stop ruining people’s lives with felony convictions, cut down on accidental overdoses from black market drugs of unknown contents and potency, less impetus for corruption in law enforcement. All the same benefits that we gained from repealing alcohol prohibition.
    - alienicecream 3y ago
      The cartels are mostly killing each other, those people weren't going to be a great boon to society anyway, they would've found a different criminal enterprise to get into. And if you don't want to go to jail for doing drugs, you can just not do drugs.

krispyfi 3y ago

The UK already has such a non-profit: Transform Drug Policy Foundation. Their "How to Regulate" series is sober, thoughtful, and has already influenced legalized regulation schemes in several countries. https://transformdrugs.org/publications/how-to-regulate-stimulants-a-practical-guide https://transformdrugs.org/publications/how-to-regulate-stim...