|
Luddite
I watch Fox News


Registered: 03/23/06
Posts: 2,946
|
Re: Why should drugs be legal? [Re: Phantom]
#16323502 - 06/02/12 09:04 PM (11 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Btw why are you a member on this forum if you see drugs so negatively?
Probably because you see drugs so positively.
|
sonamdrukpa
Wayfarer


Registered: 10/18/11
Posts: 2,777
Last seen: 2 months, 7 days
|
Re: Why should drugs be legal? [Re: Luddite]
#16324172 - 06/02/12 11:28 PM (11 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Luddite said: Mind altering chemicals used by humans are seen as some kind of absolute evil by some people. They're just chemicals and evolution hasn't stopped. Its been observed that bacteria become resistant to anti-biotics, insects become resistant to pesticides, etc. It should be obvious that over time humans overall will become more resistant to the bad effects of mind altering chemicals. They most likely will become more resistant to alcohol, tobacco, obesity and the industrial chemicals found in the environment, since they're a big part of the new nature we've created.
Evolution works via speciation. The human race will never as one develop "tolerance" to alcohol, tobacco, etc. unless everyone who doesn't have a "tolerance" dies before they reproduce.
--------------------
|
Freedom
Pigment of your imagination



Registered: 05/26/05
Posts: 5,851
Last seen: 18 minutes, 36 seconds
|
Re: Why should drugs be legal? [Re: Enlil]
#16327808 - 06/03/12 06:38 PM (11 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Enlil said: That thread is about pot...this one is about drugs in general...
I see many drug addicts daily...I see the damage it does to them and to people around them. My opinion of drugs is informed by my life experience...just as your opinion is formed by your experience...
Does that mean that my opinion is less appropriate because this is a forum about drugs?
generalizing the people who end up in court to the general population is a mistake.
its like a doctor in the ER saying driving should be illegal because they generalize the people they see in the ER to the entire population of drivers.
I don't think society is so fragile that it would fall apart from drugs or terrorists or anything else that people are so afraid of. I also think that drug abuse is more of a symptom of other things like having an unfortunate neurochemistry or experiencing trauma at a young age or having no other source of reward in one's life.
I think its unethical to force people to buy their drug off the street rather than from a well regulated manufacturer. I also think its unethical to artificially drive the price so high. It just makes life all that harder for addicts.
The problems you see with the kinds of people who end up in the legal system are multifaceted - psychological problems, family problems, drug problems.
The way drugs are portrayed by the government and media it effectivly markets them to people who are suffering the most. Basically the message is that these things can make you feel good but they will take everything you value away from you. Thats like saying if you feel like you have nothing to lose and want to feel some pleasure, shoot some smack. No wonder the hard drug using demographic has so many poor measures of health and wellness.
|
Enlil
OTD God-King




Registered: 08/16/03
Posts: 65,485
Loc: Uncanny Valley
|
Re: Why should drugs be legal? [Re: Freedom]
#16330032 - 06/04/12 05:14 AM (11 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
I mostly agree with you. There are a host of reasons that people end up in the criminal system, and it's impossible to separate cause from effect within that context...
None of that changes the fact that all of these people are humans...and a good portion of them have been very damaged by drugs. The fact that these people have other forces which may have played a part in their antisocial behavior doesn't change that simple fact. A significant portion of our society is being ravaged by drugs...
-------------------- Censoring opposing views since 2014. Ask an Attorney Fuck the Amish
|
PoisonCrazy
Stranger


Registered: 02/27/10
Posts: 635
Last seen: 8 years, 11 months
|
Re: Why should drugs be legal? [Re: Freedom]
#16537896 - 07/16/12 03:08 AM (11 years, 6 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Freedom said:
I think its unethical to force people to buy their drug off the street rather than from a well regulated manufacturer. I also think its unethical to artificially drive the price so high. It just makes life all that harder for addicts.
This is a big reason why I support legalization over decriminalization (either via some sort of civil sanction, or just a policy of non-enforcement).
Drug addiction has inherent consequences, but it also has many consequences which are directly traceable back to a lack of a high-quality regulated legal market.
When you see someone who is addicted to drugs who is from one of those places in the country where drug addiction is endemic, think of all the drug-war related ills which have affected them up to this point.
Think of the people they have lost due to overdoses, many of which are caused by inconsistent purity levels.
Think of the robberies, of their house and the neighborhoods caused by prices that are artificially inflated by prohibition.
Think of the violence they have witnessed or been victims of because the drug trade is a black market where sometimes the only way to keep your share is by being violent, where people are paranoid because they don't know if the guy coming up to them is looking to buy or looking to arrest them. Many of these street level dealers are using themselves...
These are all great reasons to legalize (because then you can have licensed, regulated distributors). I don't think you have to call it something other than legalization just because you don't let people sell heroin to kids. I also think you can more easily prevent people from doing that by having licensed regulated distributors (like pharmacies).
A previous poster also mentioned shaming, and other social controls and while I don't think those will do much for people in the throes of a heroin addiction, I think they can have a strong effect on keeping people from ever starting.
|
JacksonMetaller
Stranger


Registered: 03/13/11
Posts: 13,361
Last seen: 1 year, 1 month
|
Re: Why should drugs be legal? [Re: PoisonCrazy]
#16562065 - 07/20/12 09:24 PM (11 years, 6 months ago) |
|
|
enlil a lot of what you discuss sounds like you'd prefer decriminalization and not legalization. decriminalization sounds like some pretty cool common ground except you ignore one of the biggest problems with the drug war... product purity. until you get drugs in FDA approved and sealed packaging, kids are going to continue dying from taking bad ecstasy, overdoses on LSD substitutes, overdoses due to varying heroin purities, etc. a couple years ago they estimated 80% of the countries cocaine was cut with levamisole, a veterinary drug that rots human flesh. i know it sucks to say people should have access to heroin, but from a harm reduction perspective i think it's the only way. the issue is not what should be legal, but how should everything be regulated. i think weed should probably be the only other drug sold alongside tobacco and alcohol. club drugs sold in smoke shops out of the general publics eye. and hard drugs in drug clinics like the ones they have in canada. our biggest problem with legalizing drugs is the way we allow them to be advertised. i don't even think alcohol and tobacco should be advertised but it's too late for that
|
Enlil
OTD God-King




Registered: 08/16/03
Posts: 65,485
Loc: Uncanny Valley
|
|
I don't see protecting drug users from impurities as a high priority. The highest priorities should be prevention of addiction and treatment of addiction. Available pure drugs doesn't help either of those.
Availability of drugs, however can and will increase use...which will increase addiction.
I have every compassion for those who are already addicted, and it is a tragedy when an addict dies because of variances in purity or adulterations of their drug of choice...but ultimately, that is a situation they created for themselves. If we could reduce the harm to them without increasing addiction in total, then I'm all for it...I just don't believe that you can increase availability of drugs without increasing usage.
-------------------- Censoring opposing views since 2014. Ask an Attorney Fuck the Amish
|
JacksonMetaller
Stranger


Registered: 03/13/11
Posts: 13,361
Last seen: 1 year, 1 month
|
Re: Why should drugs be legal? [Re: Enlil]
#16564133 - 07/21/12 11:59 AM (11 years, 6 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Enlil said: I don't see protecting drug users from impurities as a high priority. The highest priorities should be prevention of addiction and treatment of addiction. Available pure drugs doesn't help either of those.
Availability of drugs, however can and will increase use...which will increase addiction.
I have every compassion for those who are already addicted, and it is a tragedy when an addict dies because of variances in purity or adulterations of their drug of choice...but ultimately, that is a situation they created for themselves. If we could reduce the harm to them without increasing addiction in total, then I'm all for it...I just don't believe that you can increase availability of drugs without increasing usage.
product impurity is a VERY high priority in terms of drug safety. my friends brother died from adulterated MDMA. that's just bullshit in my opinion. and it is not a situation they created themselves. choosing drugs, yes. choosing impure drugs, no. addicts already have access to drugs as it is. keeping them illegal just ensures that it's more dangerous for them to continue their habit. we could do so much more for addiction in a regulated system.
|
Enlil
OTD God-King




Registered: 08/16/03
Posts: 65,485
Loc: Uncanny Valley
|
|
I meant it is not a high priority as far as I'm concerned.
If we do a good job of reducing the number of users and addicts, that will reduce the number of people harmed by drug impurities. Focusing on providing pure drugs will not reduce the number of users and addicts...and might not even reduce the number of overdoses...
More overdoses occur every year from pharmaceutical grade drugs than street drugs.
-------------------- Censoring opposing views since 2014. Ask an Attorney Fuck the Amish
|
JacksonMetaller
Stranger


Registered: 03/13/11
Posts: 13,361
Last seen: 1 year, 1 month
|
Re: Why should drugs be legal? [Re: Enlil]
#16564709 - 07/21/12 05:59 PM (11 years, 6 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Enlil said: I meant it is not a high priority as far as I'm concerned.
If we do a good job of reducing the number of users and addicts, that will reduce the number of people harmed by drug impurities. Focusing on providing pure drugs will not reduce the number of users and addicts...and might not even reduce the number of overdoses...
More overdoses occur every year from pharmaceutical grade drugs than street drugs.
well the way i see it they go hand in hand. the cost of making drugs is cheap. making cheap drugs allows for heavy sin taxes without drastically increasing the price of drugs. heavy taxes = more money towards drug rehabilitation programs. less money spent on drug busts/prison = more money for the government to use towards these programs.
seriously go look up the canadian heroin clinics. they don't necessarily provide the drugs, but if they did it would be the last step to the ultimate harm production program imo. in 10 years they have provided clean needles, a medical staff, and everything except the heroin itself. they've had over 1000 overdoses and not a single death. if they had provided the heroin too those overdoses would probably be cut down significantly as well.
i don't think allowing heroin to be distributed is going to increase its use much, if any. the point is to not advertise it on TV and billboards like we do with alcohol and tobacco. look at all the legal drugs that exist that people rarely do. it needs to be kept behind the counter in places where kids won't be stumbling across it on a daily basis. like a drug clinic. then if anyone went in there to buy heroin i think the sight of crippled addicts would turn some of them away.
just a thought. but my point is there are different ways to regulate it without promoting it's use. the way i see it, dangerous things are always better handled by people with good intentions.
|
PoisonCrazy
Stranger


Registered: 02/27/10
Posts: 635
Last seen: 8 years, 11 months
|
|
Quote:
JacksonMetaller said: the cost of making drugs is cheap. making cheap drugs allows for heavy sin taxes without drastically increasing the price of drugs. heavy taxes = more money towards drug rehabilitation programs. less money spent on drug busts/prison = more money for the government to use towards these programs.
This is a point no one seems to understand. People seem to think heavy sin taxes will put prices right around where they are on the blakc market, thus encouraging the formation of a black market. The drastic cost reduction caused by legalization means this is not the case AND most people would be willing to pay a small surcharge for knowing the purity and potency of the product.
|
JacksonMetaller
Stranger


Registered: 03/13/11
Posts: 13,361
Last seen: 1 year, 1 month
|
Re: Why should drugs be legal? [Re: PoisonCrazy]
#16564834 - 07/21/12 06:21 PM (11 years, 6 months ago) |
|
|
honestly i think with the taxes it would probably come to the standard black market price. with competition and time you might see it drop slightly. maybe acid tabs for 5-7 instead of ten or something. but it certainly is never going to be higher than the black market. reason for black market prices is almost always due to lack of availability or a cover charge for the risk of going to prison. no ones going to risk their life to sell 3 dollar acid.
similarly alcohol can get pretty expensive, but you don't see many people making and selling it for cheaper out of their homes. usually businesses will just create lower grade product for the poor folk. you could even drop the grade by cutting it with benign in actives.
Edited by JacksonMetaller (07/21/12 06:21 PM)
|
PoisonCrazy
Stranger


Registered: 02/27/10
Posts: 635
Last seen: 8 years, 11 months
|
|
What the price would look like if the substance were legal varies a lot depending on the substances. LSD is an outlier because while it requires incredibly advanced techniques to produce it, the dosage required is very very small. If you read up on William Leonard Pickard's LSD lab, you'll realize in a legal setting LSD would become incredibly cheap. Pickard, in an illegal lab he had to keep moving with very little help and often working completely alone, was producing a Kilogram of LSD in each batch (though batches took him ~5 weeks).
Edited by PoisonCrazy (07/21/12 06:52 PM)
|
JacksonMetaller
Stranger


Registered: 03/13/11
Posts: 13,361
Last seen: 1 year, 1 month
|
Re: Why should drugs be legal? [Re: PoisonCrazy]
#16565115 - 07/21/12 07:12 PM (11 years, 6 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
PoisonCrazy said: What the price would look like if the substance were legal varies a lot depending on the substances. LSD is an outlier because while it requires incredibly advanced techniques to produce it, the dosage required is very very small. If you read up on William Leonard Pickard's LSD lab, you'll realize in a legal setting LSD would become incredibly cheap. Pickard, in an illegal lab he had to keep moving with very little help and often working completely alone, was producing a Kilogram of LSD in each batch (though batches took him ~5 weeks).
i don't think the substance has too much to do with it. it's more the high. ALL drugs are pretty cheap to make with the right equipment. look at MXE for example. you can buy a gram for 25 bucks. on the street it's like 10 dollars a dose (not a high dose either. maybe 25mg or so). it's really just the standard price for most street drugs. a little variance here or there. i think with legalization it'll probably start off around the same price just because businesses know people will pay that price. then it may go down a little with competition. im just basing this off what i've seen in the MMJ industry. you're still buying chronic for 15+ bucks because they know people will buy it. it really has nothing to do with the cost of product. all the excess is profit/taxes
but that's just my guess. im in no way an authority on this subject
|
Celestial Traveler
Random Observer



Registered: 03/03/11
Posts: 7,639
Loc: Idaho
|
Re: Why should drugs be legal? [Re: Enlil]
#16666367 - 08/08/12 03:03 PM (11 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Enlil said: I agree that drug users shouldn't be put in jail...but that isn't really an argument for legalization. They could be kept illegal without jail being a consequence
What are you saying? Are you in essence supporting decriminalization of drugs? That would be easier to swallow than full-on Prohibition.
The problem with drug Prohibition is not just jail...it is also the fact that people receive criminal records and this affects every aspect of their life, and are forced to pay the state thousands in fines that they will never be able to afford.
In general, punishing someone for using drugs in any manner to save them from drugs is a self-contradicting concept and is counterintuitive to the proclaimed goal of decreasing harm to individuals that use them.
This reasoning is why criminal Prohibition is simply a non-option in my view. From there, the remaining debate is centered around decriminalization -vs- legalization -vs- whatever supposed unique policies that you have in mind.
I would support any proposed policy that does not put a mark on drug users' criminal records, extort exorbitant fines from them, or force them to rot in a cell. A lot of people might call that crazily Libertarian, one of my main views is that that is just humane.
My general focus is not on the drug market and how it should be regulated/prohibited but removing punishments for drug users. Not only are the punishments often incredibly severe for such a petty action (somebody being a convicted felon for life because of a small amount of shrooms, for instance), but it's really nothing more than pointless condemnation, and is sadistic and evil. I don't think it is perfect, but I could be sufficiently satisfied living in a society that prohibited drug sales as long as there were no punishments for users. But still, the damage that the War on Drugs has done to society gives legalization supporters some pretty solid material on which to base their argument, whether or not they are right or have the argumentative skills to beat a lawyer in a debate.
And there are certain non-addictive drugs (such as mushrooms and mescaline) that I see absolutely no justification for banning. It is the over-broad scope of scheduled drugs like these that really tips the boat over the edge. And then there's the freedom of religion/spirituality argument, but I don't feel like getting into that.
|
johnm214


Registered: 05/31/07
Posts: 17,582
Loc: Americas
|
Re: Why should drugs be legal? [Re: Enlil] 1
#16667282 - 08/08/12 06:15 PM (11 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Enlil said: I'm looking for a frank discussion on why people think drugs should be legal.
Let me start it by saying that I don't believe that any and all drugs should be legal, but I do think that our current laws do not address the issues appropriately at all.
I'm really trying to get at least one truly solid, logical argument for the legalization of drugs. So far, I haven't heard one. Since you guys presumably talk over this stuff all the time, I figured that this might be a good place to start.
Because it is immoral to stop someone from possessing or using, distributing things if it isn't hurting anyone else's rights. You have a right to your body, property, associations, not to send men with guns to violently take one's property or person on the pretense that you don't like their property.
On a practical level it is also counterproductive and immoral due to the harm it causes addicts and innocents denied medical treatment and victims of the black market.
|
PoisonCrazy
Stranger


Registered: 02/27/10
Posts: 635
Last seen: 8 years, 11 months
|
|
Quote:
JacksonMetaller said:
Quote:
PoisonCrazy said: What the price would look like if the substance were legal varies a lot depending on the substances. LSD is an outlier because while it requires incredibly advanced techniques to produce it, the dosage required is very very small. If you read up on William Leonard Pickard's LSD lab, you'll realize in a legal setting LSD would become incredibly cheap. Pickard, in an illegal lab he had to keep moving with very little help and often working completely alone, was producing a Kilogram of LSD in each batch (though batches took him ~5 weeks).
i don't think the substance has too much to do with it. it's more the high. ALL drugs are pretty cheap to make with the right equipment. look at MXE for example. you can buy a gram for 25 bucks. on the street it's like 10 dollars a dose (not a high dose either. maybe 25mg or so). it's really just the standard price for most street drugs. a little variance here or there. i think with legalization it'll probably start off around the same price just because businesses know people will pay that price. then it may go down a little with competition. im just basing this off what i've seen in the MMJ industry. you're still buying chronic for 15+ bucks because they know people will buy it. it really has nothing to do with the cost of product. all the excess is profit/taxes
but that's just my guess. im in no way an authority on this subject
I think you're wrong here. People can get hits of LSD for 8-15 a dose. (Or what they think is LSD). Mushrooms can be very cheap on up to $30+ an eigth OR MORE. It varies a lot substance to substance. Opiates you pay different prices than benzos *shrug*
Also, MMJ sounds relevant, but isn't. Because there are still massive legal risks and you don't have commercial production on the scale you would with prohibition. A dispensary is still vulnerable under federal law, has serious trouble banking, is discriminated against under the tax code (look into federal eemptions for business expenses and MMJ dispensaries). Additionally, marijuana is a relatively labor intensive crop compared to something like LSD.
|
Enlil
OTD God-King




Registered: 08/16/03
Posts: 65,485
Loc: Uncanny Valley
|
Re: Why should drugs be legal? [Re: johnm214]
#16669670 - 08/09/12 06:00 AM (11 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
johnm214 said: Because it is immoral to stop someone from possessing or using, distributing things if it isn't hurting anyone else's rights. You have a right to your body, property, associations, not to send men with guns to violently take one's property or person on the pretense that you don't like their property.
I can't say I agree with you here. Drug addiction isn't an exercise of someone's freedom, and I don't see anything morally wrong with trying to reduce the amount and impact of addiction.
I've said it before, but it bears repeating. Drug addiction is an incredibly strong motivator of human behavior. It trumps logic and often trumps basic instincts like the desire to preserve one's own life. A person who is addicted to drugs isn't free in any sense of the word. That person is a slave, and freeing that person (by force, if necessary) is among the most moral things that another can do.
You can disagree with this if you want, but my life experiences have shown me the incredible amount of damage that addiction does to the addicted and to those around him/her. Addiction does, indeed, harm people other than the user.
Having said the above, certainly not all users are addicted. With some substances, users are highly unlikely to become addicted...with other substances, it is extremely likely that a user will eventually become an addict.
I don't have a problem with people using a substance in and of itself...I have a problem with the addiction that often follows.
As far as distributing, that's a different story. For me, that is an issue of fraud and deceptive business practices. A heroin dealer doesn't tell the new customer, "Dude, just so you know, this shit will make you feel good, but it has a very high possibility of taking everything you love from you...followed by your life."
Quote:
On a practical level it is also counterproductive and immoral due to the harm it causes addicts and innocents denied medical treatment and victims of the black market.
I think much of this can be dealt with better than it is now, and I'm certainly not advocating a system where drug users are imprisoned for using drugs.
-------------------- Censoring opposing views since 2014. Ask an Attorney Fuck the Amish
|
johnm214


Registered: 05/31/07
Posts: 17,582
Loc: Americas
|
Re: Why should drugs be legal? [Re: Enlil] 1
#16671288 - 08/09/12 01:43 PM (11 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Enlil said:
Quote:
johnm214 said: Because it is immoral to stop someone from possessing or using, distributing things if it isn't hurting anyone else's rights. You have a right to your body, property, associations, not to send men with guns to violently take one's property or person on the pretense that you don't like their property.
I can't say I agree with you here. Drug addiction isn't an exercise of someone's freedom, and I don't see anything morally wrong with trying to reduce the amount and impact of addiction.
So what? That only stands for the proposition of banning drug addiction, possesion amongst addicts, and so forth. In any case, how do you justify saying that using drugs isn't an excercise of someone's freedom and should be prosecuted?
Quote:
I've said it before, but it bears repeating. Drug addiction is an incredibly strong motivator of human behavior. It trumps logic and often trumps basic instincts like the desire to preserve one's own life. A person who is addicted to drugs isn't free in any sense of the word. That person is a slave, and freeing that person (by force, if necessary) is among the most moral things that another can do.
So what?
If we accept that this is true all that does is move your burden to establishing that prohibition causes "freeing that person". I don't see it. It leads to children being expossed and having access to drugs they wouldn't otherwise have access to (it was easier to get vicodin or pot in high school than a beer, and you have to go to the same person to get your heroin as you do to get your pot). It also creates an artificial threshold in one's mind that once you've smoked pot, you're a "drug user"- and lowers the psychological inhibitions to using more dangerous drugs.
Prohibition also kills people- impure drugs of unknown strength cause overdoses amongst experienced users all the time. When the purity of the substance varies by a greater amount than the lethal dose to 'therepeutic dose', you get a situation where deaths are bound to happen even with accurate weighing- which is hard due to the devices needed being illegal. The same thing (prohibition of paraphernalia) causes disease as well as overdose.
Quote:
You can disagree with this if you want, but my life experiences have shown me the incredible amount of damage that addiction does to the addicted and to those around him/her. Addiction does, indeed, harm people other than the user.
So what? Then lets make it illegal to "cause harm to people other than the user" and you still get to wield those judicial powers to save people from themselves. Your arguing against a subset to justify the entire set.
Quote:
As far as distributing, that's a different story. For me, that is an issue of fraud and deceptive business practices. A heroin dealer doesn't tell the new customer, "Dude, just so you know, this shit will make you feel good, but it has a very high possibility of taking everything you love from you...followed by your life."
So what? Fraud is allready illegal, and there are allready penalties for false advertising. The reason why those things don't happen is percisely because it is illegal and unregulated- thus avaialble to schoolchildren without warning, standardization, or control.
Once again you seem to be justifying the prosecution of the entire set due to a problem with a subset- kinda like justifying the PATRIOT act's national security letters due to terrorism applications without limiting it to the same. You bear the burden of establishing the law's appropriateness for the entire set of behaviors, not the cherry picked subset you use.
Quote:
On a practical level it is also counterproductive and immoral due to the harm it causes addicts and innocents denied medical treatment and victims of the black market.
Quote:
I think much of this can be dealt with better than it is now, and I'm certainly not advocating a system where drug users are imprisoned for using drugs.
No, your just advocating a system where AIDS, Hepatitis, and overdoses continue to happen unchecked, where the black market has an unregulated monopoly on a highly desired product, where corruption and crime continue to be fueled, where children have more access to unregulated narcotics than to beer, and where people are jailed because you seem willing to hold them responsible for things they haven't done.
|
sonamdrukpa
Wayfarer


Registered: 10/18/11
Posts: 2,777
Last seen: 2 months, 7 days
|
Re: Why should drugs be legal? [Re: Enlil]
#16671313 - 08/09/12 01:47 PM (11 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Enlil said: I can't say I agree with you here. Drug addiction isn't an exercise of someone's freedom, and I don't see anything morally wrong with trying to reduce the amount and impact of addiction.
I've said it before, but it bears repeating. Drug addiction is an incredibly strong motivator of human behavior. It trumps logic and often trumps basic instincts like the desire to preserve one's own life. A person who is addicted to drugs isn't free in any sense of the word. That person is a slave, and freeing that person (by force, if necessary) is among the most moral things that another can do.
I could say the exact same things about falling in love. If Congress passed a law today banning flirting as a way to prevent lovesickness and brokenheartedness, should we accept that as a morally valid exercise of Congress's law-making powers? The legal system should not be in the business of policing desires and motivation, especially if the justification is only that sometimes those desires and motivations lead to bad consequences.
Furthermore, I don't think it's a priori moral to free someone who is a slave, and especially if this "freeing" consists of being run through the legal gauntlet...
Quote:
You can disagree with this if you want, but my life experiences have shown me the incredible amount of damage that addiction does to the addicted and to those around him/her. Addiction does, indeed, harm people other than the user.
This is certainly true, but society seems to have struck a reasonable balance between protecting non-users and respecting users' rights in the case of alcohol. Alcoholics cause untold damage to their families and more quantifiable damage to society at large. And according to that famous study in the Lancet, alcohol is near the top of the list for drugs that harm others. I don't see this as a good reason to not try and work out something similar for many currently-illegal drugs.
--------------------
|
|