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> Drug smuggling is a business, and as long as opiates remain illegal to posses without a prescription than this incentive will dominate. I don't really have a

> Drug smuggling is a business, and as long as opiates remain illegal to posses without a prescription than this incentive will dominate. I don't really have an opinion on opiates legalization, but I'm not sure I follow your reasoning. It could be legal, but smugglers could still sell cheaper drug with higher potency. One may wonder why these people get addicted in the first place. It seems rather specific to the US.

sharadov 2y ago
People seeking illegal drugs ( Fentanyl ) stems from the fact that the government went after pill mills and illegal prescriptions, so people started seeking these elsewhere. I would rather people do Heroin than fentanyl which is 10X worse and a small dose can kill. The problem is that regular pills from the street like oxycodone are being laced with fentanyl. Someone seeking a cheap high, but with the laced pill can end up on the deathbed. At this point, I would rather legalize opiates than people killing themselves with these tainted pills.
fragmede 2y ago
having to manufacture something clandestinely costs more than manufacturing it with the full force of the industrial revolution. What dealer is going to compete with $5/gram of drugs that's actually pure and hasn't been stepped on?
harry8 2y ago
The argument runs like this. Legal, regulated opiate availability implies a known quality, purity and therefore dosage. Any drug user who prefers heroin takes uncut heroin in the precise amount they choose. They would not choose to take cut fentanyl where they can be precise about nothing, including the knowledge that it is fentanyl not something else they might prefer. The secondary argument is the reduction in crime committed to finance addiction. Burglary, mugging, prostitution all are said to expect to decline. The tertiary argument is the reduction in corruption of law enforcement enabled by the sugar bags of cash in the illegal drug trade, a trade that just got undercut by the government to the point where it is out of business. In addition the additional police resource made available by the collapse of the illegal drug trade and reduction in "drug use financing" crime is very useful in reducing other crime and corruption. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. If you have strong views either way it would pay to research results from countries where it has been tried while noting it's a hugely emotive issue so your bullshit detector has to be well tuned. Also keeping in mind any good idea can be ruined in implementation through incompetence, inexperience or malice. Also people do get very excited about ideas they think are fantastic but turn out not to be. Good luck.

sharadov 2y ago

People seeking illegal drugs ( Fentanyl ) stems from the fact that the government went after pill mills and illegal prescriptions, so people started seeking these elsewhere. I would rather people do Heroin than fentanyl which is 10X worse and a small dose can kill. The problem is that regular pills from the street like oxycodone are being laced with fentanyl. Someone seeking a cheap high, but with the laced pill can end up on the deathbed. At this point, I would rather legalize opiates than people killing themselves with these tainted pills.

fragmede 2y ago

having to manufacture something clandestinely costs more than manufacturing it with the full force of the industrial revolution. What dealer is going to compete with $5/gram of drugs that's actually pure and hasn't been stepped on?

harry8 2y ago

The argument runs like this. Legal, regulated opiate availability implies a known quality, purity and therefore dosage. Any drug user who prefers heroin takes uncut heroin in the precise amount they choose. They would not choose to take cut fentanyl where they can be precise about nothing, including the knowledge that it is fentanyl not something else they might prefer. The secondary argument is the reduction in crime committed to finance addiction. Burglary, mugging, prostitution all are said to expect to decline. The tertiary argument is the reduction in corruption of law enforcement enabled by the sugar bags of cash in the illegal drug trade, a trade that just got undercut by the government to the point where it is out of business. In addition the additional police resource made available by the collapse of the illegal drug trade and reduction in "drug use financing" crime is very useful in reducing other crime and corruption. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. If you have strong views either way it would pay to research results from countries where it has been tried while noting it's a hugely emotive issue so your bullshit detector has to be well tuned. Also keeping in mind any good idea can be ruined in implementation through incompetence, inexperience or malice. Also people do get very excited about ideas they think are fantastic but turn out not to be. Good luck.