legalising drugs

Much self-righteous twaddle has been written on here recently by the kind of uber-indignant daily mail-reading tards who suggest that anyone who has the odd toke is a junkie. And probably those same people have a pint of frothy self-righteous lager in their hands as they work themselves up.
What is needed is not this mob paranoia, based as it is on misinformation and misrepresentation: What is needed is the legalisation and regulation of all narcotics. The international black market in drugs caused by their illegality - estimated by some to be worth as much as the global tourism industry - puts money into the pockets of exploiters and murderers. It has no positive effects at all. I cannot BELIEVE that we did not learn our lessons during prohibition.
FACT: Heroin is, in fact, almost entirely benign. It is highly addictive, and its withdrawal symptoms can be very unpleasant, but the fact is regular users of medicinal-quality heroine suffer very few if any effects from ill-health. An excellent piece of investigative journalism showing this is here.
What damages heroin users is the black market. Product is adulterated with poisons, shared needles, high cost... the crime and ill-health associated with heroin use have the black market to blame.
FACT: Alcohol is one of the most damaging drugs in existence. Violence, addiction, ill-health, death... and this is a legally available, regulated substance. Getting shitfaced is a badge of honour; getting stoned is a one-way ticket to crack alley.
The difference between alcohol and cannabis is... legality. By accepting alcohol and decrying cannabis, or MDMA, for example, you are blithely accepting your government as your moral arbiter, and that is weak-minded and lazy.
It is the black market that hurts, not recreational drug use. Anyone who wants to take drugs, can. They are easy to get hold of. Government anti-drug policy has failed across the world. I live in london and if i wanted to, i could go out and score pretty much anything I wanted wthin a few hours. Banning drugs is full of fail. What happened to personal choice?
Legalising drugs would: create a sizeable revenue stream for the public purse; ensure users are not being poisoned, thus reducing the burden on health services; allow police resources to be driected more fruitfully elsewhere; and put some deeply unsavoury profiteers out of business.
There is no downside.
What is needed is not this mob paranoia, based as it is on misinformation and misrepresentation: What is needed is the legalisation and regulation of all narcotics. The international black market in drugs caused by their illegality - estimated by some to be worth as much as the global tourism industry - puts money into the pockets of exploiters and murderers. It has no positive effects at all. I cannot BELIEVE that we did not learn our lessons during prohibition.
FACT: Heroin is, in fact, almost entirely benign. It is highly addictive, and its withdrawal symptoms can be very unpleasant, but the fact is regular users of medicinal-quality heroine suffer very few if any effects from ill-health. An excellent piece of investigative journalism showing this is here.
What damages heroin users is the black market. Product is adulterated with poisons, shared needles, high cost... the crime and ill-health associated with heroin use have the black market to blame.
FACT: Alcohol is one of the most damaging drugs in existence. Violence, addiction, ill-health, death... and this is a legally available, regulated substance. Getting shitfaced is a badge of honour; getting stoned is a one-way ticket to crack alley.
The difference between alcohol and cannabis is... legality. By accepting alcohol and decrying cannabis, or MDMA, for example, you are blithely accepting your government as your moral arbiter, and that is weak-minded and lazy.
It is the black market that hurts, not recreational drug use. Anyone who wants to take drugs, can. They are easy to get hold of. Government anti-drug policy has failed across the world. I live in london and if i wanted to, i could go out and score pretty much anything I wanted wthin a few hours. Banning drugs is full of fail. What happened to personal choice?
Legalising drugs would: create a sizeable revenue stream for the public purse; ensure users are not being poisoned, thus reducing the burden on health services; allow police resources to be driected more fruitfully elsewhere; and put some deeply unsavoury profiteers out of business.
There is no downside.