The legalisation or decriminalisation of cannabis, in most of the western world, at least is inevitable. Common sense it seems is gathering momentum. The 'Harry Anslinger days' have long gone.
Indeed, not only that but the Goverments raise vast amounts from taxation of one of the most widely used and abused drugs. A drug thar fills our hospital emergency wards every weekend, wrecks lives and kills in many ways.
A valid point, and addiction to killing could well be seen as an illness of the mind. Even if that killing is played out on computer screens in a fictitious world.
It has been tried as earlier mentioned in the thread. What has become obvious is the 'war on drugs' is just not working. I don't think your suggestion would work too well either.
It seems that prescription drugs are becoming as much of a problem as illegal drugs these days. As you say, whether a drug is illegal or not, it doesn't stop people from becoming addicted and thereby reliant. I think we need to be more concerned about why so many people feel the need to take so many drugs to escape the reality of their lives. A sick society produces sick people.
All drugs were decriminalised in Portugal in 2001 with amazing results.
Portugal decriminalised the use of all drugs in 2001. Weed, cocaine, heroin, you name it — Portugal decided to treat possession and use of small quantities of these drugs as a public health issue, not a criminal one. The drugs were still illegal, of course. But now getting caught with them meant a small fine and maybe a referral to a treatment program — not jail time and a criminal record.
Among Portuguese adults, there are 3 drug overdose deaths for every 1,000,000 citizens. Comparable numbers in other countries range from 10.2 per million in the Netherlands to 44.6 per million in the UK, all the way up to 126.8 per million in Estonia. The EU average is 17.3 per million.
Perhaps more significantly, the report notes that the use of "legal highs" – like so-called "synthetic" marijuana, "bath salts" and the like – is lower in Portugal than in any of the other countries for which reliable data exists. This makes a lot of intuitive sense: why bother with fake weed or dangerous designer drugs when you can get the real stuff? This is arguably a positive development for public health in the sense that many of the designer drugs that people develop to skirt existing drug laws have terrible and often deadly side effects.
Drug use and drug deaths are complicated phenomena. They have many underlying causes. Portugal's low death rate can't be attributable solely to decriminalisation. As Dr. Joao Goulao, the architect of the country's decriminalization policy, has said, "it's very difficult to identify a causal link between decriminalisation by itself and the positive tendencies we have seen."
Still, it's very clear that decriminalisation hasn't had the severe consequences that its opponents predicted. As the Transform Drug Policy Institute says in its analysis of Portugal's drug laws, "The reality is that Portugal’s drug situation has improved significantly in several key areas. Most notably, HIV infections and drug-related deaths have decreased, while the dramatic rise in use feared by some has failed to materialise."
"We can bring no greater gift to any relationship than ourselves, as we are, singular in solitude. Similarly, there is no greater gift we may receive from the Other.
James Hollis
"I hold this to be the highest task of a bond between two people, that each should stand guard over the solitude of the other."
In a way I've been on an almost permanent holiday since I joined a site called Workaway two years ago, the biggest problem being, deciding on my next destination. The site has hosts from over 170 countries and although the deal is you work up to five hours a day for five days a week, if you pick your hosts carefully, the work can be a real pleasure. I've completed twelve workaways in the past two years around Europe and the UK, had a great time and met some wonderful people. I'm not posting this to make anyone envious, more to let people know, if your in a similar situation to me, retired with limited funds, you can still travel and have lots of fun.
Travel does indeed broaden the mind. I travel quite a lot these days mainly with a site called Workaway. I meet many, mainly young people through this site, most of them continuously travelling from job to job around the world. What is very apparent, is these young people display maturity beyond their years, clearly due to their travelling experiences. It's like it's often said, life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
Instincts that can still betray us, A journey that leads to the sun, Soulless and bent on destruction, A struggle between right and wrong. You take my place in the showdown, I'll observe with a pitiful eye, I'd humbly ask for forgiveness, A request well beyond you and I.
"The greatest force in the human body is the natural drive of the body to heal itself - but that force in not independent of the belief system. Everything begins with belief. What we believe is the most powerful option of all."
bodleing2 Forum Posts (6,132)
RE: Make ALL drugs legal,............... take it away from teh criminals
The clue is in the words, "every weekend" and the answer is in post #55.