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Endlessness
Nexus Refugee
Registered: 07/21/07
Posts: 272
Last seen: 4 years, 20 days
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Why war on drugs is bad and how to change it (HELP)
#8548670 - 06/21/08 08:24 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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So here’s my plan: Write a very good text (however long that will turn out, who knows maybe a book) with coherent and convincing arguments for the legalization/decriminalization of drugs, and also with a plan/suggestions/ideas on how to actually put it in practice
We see all around people mentioning here and there why they think the war on drugs is stupid and useless or counter-productive, why things should be legalized or decriminalized and so on.. But mostly what we see is isolated arguments, opinions and a lack of coherency and better formulation. Also we mostly see criticism but very little practical suggestions, and also little information to back up the claims
So I have my own suggestions and arguments, but I’m only one person with few articles, official data and scientific studies of my knowledge to back up what I think. I figured if I ever want to come up with something proper, I need help. And what better place to ask for help than all these drug-related forums?
What Im asking you guys is to write in this thread a collection of arguments and ideas on how to change the war on drugs, on what can be done, on why it is wrong, on why it fails, on the history of why it became like this and so on… It would be great if some people could show official statistics with sources, and scientific studies..
Then I will start writing this thing up, might take a long time, but I will update everyone on how it is turning out, so people can give feedback and help editing…
In the worse case, we will have a collection of good info to check up when having a discussion with an annoying anti-drug person haha. In the best scenario, we come up with an amazing trans-disciplinary work that might be so convincing it could help governments and organizations establish measures to help the world dealing better with drugs…. Either way, it’s no loss of time imo…
So, any contribution is greatly appreciated, from little comments, to ideas, to criticism, to already done works and suggestions of books, to scientific articles and official statistics, and so on… Thank you
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Entropymancer
Registered: 07/16/05
Posts: 10,207
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Re: Why war on drugs is bad and how to change it (HELP) [Re: Endlessness]
#8548686 - 06/21/08 08:30 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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The best essay I've seen on the subject is the Proemium of Jonathan Ott's Pharmacotheon. If you can track down a copy of this book, he spends the first 80 pages devoted to detailing something analagous to what you're setting out to do.
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Endlessness
Nexus Refugee
Registered: 07/21/07
Posts: 272
Last seen: 4 years, 20 days
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Re: Why war on drugs is bad and how to change it (HELP) [Re: Entropymancer]
#8548727 - 06/21/08 08:38 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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excellent.. gonna definitely see if I can find this, thanks a lot
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donvliet
beyond reality
Registered: 07/10/04
Posts: 415
Last seen: 14 years, 1 month
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Re: Why war on drugs is bad and how to change it (HELP) [Re: Endlessness]
#8549436 - 06/22/08 01:29 AM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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Land_Crab
NeuroticPsychonaut
Registered: 08/29/04
Posts: 2,194
Loc: U.S.
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Re: Why war on drugs is bad and how to change it (HELP) [Re: Endlessness]
#8549628 - 06/22/08 02:36 AM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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The first step I see on this subject is to ameliorate the ignorance possessed by the general population about "drugs". There is a tendency to lump all psychoactive substances together, and though I certainly don't blame people for this--particularly given the massive proliferation of psychoactive substances during the last century--it nevertheless is the reason why most people simply accept Federal drug laws without protest. So (IMO) a good starting point would be to thoroughly research and aggregate credible information on say, 15-50 of the most commonly used and significant illicit psychoactive substances. The information would document the mental and physical effects of a given substance in the short to long-term, including relative safety/danger e.g. risk of overdose & neurotoxicity, etc.., addiction potential, and medical value. (Other information would cover the basics such as the history of the substance, psycho/pharmacology, and the source(s).) This kind of research is essential because it nips any political agendas (e.g. "legalize all drugs") in the bud in favor of deferring to science, which is less vulnerable to debate. And this way proposals regarding specific drug policy reform are informed by fact and not by opinion.
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redgreenvines
irregular verb
Registered: 04/08/04
Posts: 38,063
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Re: Why war on drugs is bad and how to change it (HELP) [Re: Land_Crab]
#8549835 - 06/22/08 04:53 AM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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please read The Pursuit of Oblivion: A Global History of Narcotics (Hardcover) by Richard Davenport-Hines
Quote:
This 498 page compendium of stories that go back thousands of years (to Sumer), detail in extraordinary (sometimes stifling) detail, mankinds continuous love hate relationship with intoxication. Be it with narcotics, hypnotics, stimulants, inebriants, or hallucinogens, mankind, for good or ill, loves to get f***'ed up.
Hate that fact, or appreciate it; regardless, the global illicit market for narcotics is nearly half a trillion dollars and growing. Growing despite centuries of government regulation, and, more recently, decades of intense global conflict.
Richard Davenport-Hines makes a powerful argument against the war on drugs, but he doesn't do it like so many authors of that thought genre, who, between tokes, rant and rave about the plight of users, or the unfair religious influence on "modern" policy (no dig on them intended, that was my best attempt at humor now that all my malt balls are gone and it's 3am)... Instead, the author makes a factual case, drawing in statistics that demonstrate clearly how ineffective public money is spent combating drug use. The stats used aren't homogeneous to the US, many extensive statistics are used from our more experimental neighbors across the Atlantic. ....
http://www.amazon.com/review/R24BBFXFBKSRA/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R24BBFXFBKSRA
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