Alcohol was iliogal in the 1930's in the US, proabition was deemed a bad idear as the trade of alcohol went to the black market and was run by gangsters.

Is drugs being illigal like proabition. Some people decide to take drugs but if they were legal there could be controle over quality.

Or do you think it would be worse for sociatey?

National alcohol prohibition (1920-1933) was far from our first attempt. Beginning in 1851 Maine imposed statewide prohibition and by 1856 13 other states followed. In fact, prohibition can be traced to the Colony of Georgia, 1735-1742.

In each of these instances the result was the same. Where one regulated tavern existed 10 illegal replaced them. Price went up, potency was increased, crime increased, public corruption was prevalent and most importantly supply/availability of the prohibited substance was greatly increased.

The effect of prohibition is well documented in relation to alcohol and illicit drugs. As example the writing of Levine and Reinerman is a good starting point. Levine does a good job of describing the inevitable socio-medico-legal consequences that follow.

I believe it is safe to say that the act of prohibiting drugs of all types was ill advised. Unfortunately, it isn't as simple as legalizing, or de-criminalizing at this point.

Substance prohibition is richly documented see also (H. G. Levine, 1978, 1984; Ian Tyrell, 1979; Jos. Gusfield, 1986; Rumbarger 1989; Blocker 1989).

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Originally Posted by dronit

Or do you think it would be worse for sociatey?

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Hello d:

NOTHING could equal the damage to society that the drug war has caused.

excon

Does this mean you think it should be legal as it cost a lot on the 'war on drugs' which is clearly a losing battle.

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Originally Posted by excon

Hello d:

NOTHING could equal the damage to society that the drug war has caused.

excon

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That is true. The freedoms lost, given up to ill conceived drug-directed statutes, i.e. seizure laws (criminal and civil), no knock searches, etc. These won't be considered as part of drug reform. Possession laws have criminalized a very large segment of society (that didn't exist with alcohol prohibition). That is irreversible.

You can be arrested for having too much money on your person. Then the money can be seized by the arresting agency even if they don't file charges. Your car, or someone else's car you are driving, can be seized for a misdemeanor violation, whether you are convicted. These all emerged from the "war on drugs" and were generalized to apply to other circumstances.

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Originally Posted by dronit

Does this mean you think it should be legal

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Hello d:

That's EXACTLY what I mean.

excon

Hello excon:

If we LEGALIZED drugs, what kind of message would that send?

excon

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Originally Posted by excon

If we LEGALIZED drugs, what kind of message would that send?

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Hello again, excon:

I don't think there IS a message... After all, I don't get a message when I buy safety pins. Do you? I just buy them because I WANT them. I certainly don't believe I can buy them because the government APPROVES.

But, if there IS a message to be had, it would be, that the policy the government pursued over the years was WRONG, and they're FIXING it. Isn't that what we WANT government to do - to FIX problems??

excon

I agree with excon.

I think all drugs should be legal. I think it would be better for society not worse.

We talk about freedom so what's the harm if some one wants to take drugs it doesn't effect any one else, just like it's a choice to drink alcohol or smoke, we know the dangers some choose to do it any way others choose not to. Why can't this be the same for drugs. It would make drug useres not criminals and would save the government money on the redicculas amount they spend on the 'war on drugs' Its very rare they get the people at the top, they just get addicts who need medical help instead of jail.

I'm all for legalizing marijuana, but would it be okay to legalize drugs like Ketamine (yes it's being used by the population now), and LSD, how about PCP? Hey, why not GHB while we're at it!

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Originally Posted by J_9

Hey, why not GHB while we're at it!

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Hello J:

Why not?

Keep in mind, of course, that I'm not talking about DRIVING or operating heavy equipment. I'm not talking about CHILDREN, and I'm not talking about robbing your local 7/Eleven.

I'm talking about adults who want to get high.

excon

Yed I think those drugs should be legal. LSD is not harmful to the body it has less toxic value then alcohol. The effects change your perception while you are on it. But it is not an adictive substance like alohol.

As for ketermin, it does't have any really bad effects, it can be adictive but not phisicaly adictive.

GHB brakes down in the body very quickly and has a very lox toxic value. It's not harmful if you are careful, don't mix it with alcohol that's when it could become dangerous. But if it were legal it could be sold as doses and guide lines to make it safe for the user.

PCP is in the same drug family as ketermine, it lasts much longer and is sronger, but yes if you want to take it it should be your choice and you shouldn't be a criminal for taking them.

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Originally Posted by excon

Hello d:

NOTHING could equal the damage to society that the drug war has caused.

excon

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Nothing could be more true .

In places where it has been legalized the addiction rate and crime rate both drop dramatically .
We could possibly put a large number of "law enforcement" people out of work... which I feel would not be a bad thing.

Ex is absolutely right , correct , spot on, and speaks a great truth.
If he were not a man of honor I'd say elect him president.

Agreed. Lets hope one day that probition of drugs ends and we can look back and see that that it was a great mistake to make them ileagal in the first place. We all know that alcohol is just a drug like any other, people should choose to use or abuse drugs. LSD is much more fun then getting drunk, and I can't see any one wanting to fight on drugs like LSD, MDMA, KETERMIN, WEED.

Why not, I think it is that simple? State why?

Should there be prescriptions or should we eliminate that "prohibition " too ?

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Originally Posted by tomder55

should there be prescriptions or should we eliminate that "prohibition " too ?

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Hello tom:

If prohibition is the problem, and it is, then why keep banging ourselves in the head with a hammer? You certainly don't believe prescription drug prohibition is keeping them out of the hands of their abusers, do you? In fact, I believe they are the most abused drugs these days...

I suspect you believe that's so, because we haven't really CRACKED DOWN yet.

Drug abuse is a health issue - not a legal issue.

excon

Maybe we should make them free also ? On Long Island recently there was a mass murder at a pharmacy so an addict could get her hit of prescription pain killers she abused .

What should we do about OTC ? Ephdrine based products were once widely available until the authorities realized how easy they could be turned into meth in a kitchen lab.

This is one of those questions that makes me ask, where have you been? People have been fighting this fight for as long as I can remember, and I'm 64. Marijuana is slowly but SURELY getting decriminalized or even legalized little by little, and when the tobacco companies and organized crime feel that they are ready to jump their fences, they will stop lining the pockets of the legislators who keep it illegal.

Just one tiny part of the whole equation. Rather than getting sidetracked with different drugs, concentrate on one type of drug at a time. Weed first!

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Originally Posted by dronit

Or do you think it would be worse for sociatey?

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5 Years After: Portugal's Drug Decriminalization Policy Shows Positive Results: Scientific American

There's a lot of art. Like this.