Prohibition Spawns Drug Violence

[bit_pattern]

I personally don't take drugs (I don't smoke and I rarely drink either) but I'm not against legalising them.

That said I would support a license system for all drugs including alcohol and tobacco.

Yeah, I think that a post-prohibition system would regulate alcohol and tobacco (especially tobacco, which should be regulated as tightly as heroin imo) much more strictly than it is today, and possibly more strictly than some drugs that are currently illegal.

 

[buddy23]

from the article

Alcohol related violence is a major issue in the UK. The vast majority of emergency services calls on a weekend are supposedly alcohol related.

I am for liberal laws but I think you have to be a bit more nuanced than blanket liberalisation. For instance issues of purity, price, availability etc would have to be closely looked at.

You wouldnt want to end up like Russia.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...-half-of-russias-premature-deaths-453197.html

Excessive drinking causes nearly half of all deaths among Russian men of working age, researchers have found

Russia has one of the lowest life expectancies among industrialised countries - 59 for men and 72 for women - and its record-beating alcohol consumption is a key factor.

Alcohol is an EXTREMELY dangerous drug. You need look no further than the problems occuring in our own backyard on Melbourne's streets to see the impact this substance can have on our society.

Which is why I can't fathom why Marijuana is deemed so dangerous. Unlike alcohol, you cannot comsume so much weed that you die - there has never been a recorded Marjiuana overdose in the world.

Marijuana doesn't contain the physically addictive ingredients of Ciggarettes (Nicotine). It is often smoked though water pipes / bongs - which means the temparature of smoke is lower and less harmful to your lungs. Using vaporisers made popular by medicinal marijuana smokers in the US, the risks are reduced further.

That said - it is potentially harmful if used irresponsibly. Eating fast food every day is harmful. Drinking alcohol every day is harmful. If you abuse Marijuana - that is you use it to excess - then it can be harmful. Which is why it needs to be regulated and people (especially kids who are most at risk) need to be educated about it.

Regulation will control any chemicals used in Hydro weed. It will allow the government to tax marijuana (Australia is one of the highest per-capita consumers of weed in the world) which will allow research and education into the plant.

Most importantly, it will reduce organised crime making profits from our nations most prolific illegal substance.

End the rediculous prohibition today.

 

[btdg]

Alcohol is an EXTREMELY dangerous drug. You need look no further than the problems occuring in our own backyard on Melbourne's streets to see the impact this substance can have on our society.

Which is why I can't fathom why Marijuana is deemed so dangerous. Unlike alcohol, you cannot comsume so much weed that you die - there has never been a recorded Marjiuana overdose in the world.

Marijuana doesn't contain the physically addictive ingredients of Ciggarettes (Nicotine). It is often smoked though water pipes / bongs - which means the temparature of smoke is lower and less harmful to your lungs. Using vaporisers made popular by medicinal marijuana smokers in the US, the risks are reduced further.

That said - it is potentially harmful if used irresponsibly. Eating fast food every day is harmful. Drinking alcohol every day is harmful. If you abuse Marijuana - that is you use it to excess - then it can be harmful. Which is why it needs to be regulated and people (especially kids who are most at risk) need to be educated about it.

Regulation will control any chemicals used in Hydro weed. It will allow the government to tax marijuana (Australia is one of the highest per-capita consumers of weed in the world) which will allow research and education into the plant.

Most importantly, it will reduce organised crime making profits from our nations most prolific illegal substance.

End the rediculous prohibition today.

Marijuana is an extremely dangerous drug - that is why it is banned. It is addictive, in an emotional if not physical sense. It is harmful to the lungs, and it is associated with a higher risk of psychosis and other mental issues. Its also incredibly dangerous to drive or operate machinery under the influence of Marijuana.

Of course, the exact same criticisms can be made of tobacco or alcohol, and you could certainly make a case that alcohol is 'worse'. So yeah, its a bit ridiculous that its still banned.

Do organised crime really profit that much from marijuana though? In my (very limited) experience, most of it just seemed to be grown in suburban backyards or hydroponic labs. Didn't really need the crime syndicate to get it organised because it was so freely available, unlike other drugs.

And this doesn't really answer the question about prohibition of harder drugs. Like it or not, illegality does help reduce use of things like heroin, cocaine and ecstacy. Maybe not amongst the hardcore users, but certainly amongst casual users (who may well become hardcore if its legal, given the addictiveness of heroin or cocaine). Education would help, I guess. I'm more worried about the kids though - like with alcohol today, what is restricted becomes something cool, a challenge to look forward too, leading to binge consumption when they finally get their hands on it.

 

[bit_pattern]

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Do organised crime really profit that much from marijuana though?

Yes. Definitely. It takes time, money, resources and planning to grow at any sort of commercial level. There will always be independents but they'll never produce enough to satisfy the market demand. To do that you need large, well organised operations operating multiple houses and multiple 'employees'

There was an expose in The Age a few years back that looked at a campaign of intimidation against hydroponic equipment suppliers by the Hell's Angels, they were insisting that the shops stock their brand of nutrients exclusively, then muscling in on the businesses themselves. They were able to identify independent growers through the stores and then muscle in on the business.

 

[blackcat]

A refreshing bit of logic regarding drug prohibition from the mainstream media. From an Australian perspective, does anyone think Carl Williams would be anythting other than another Broady bogan if it weren't for the astronomical profits available from the illegal drug trade? Or would bikie gangs be anything near the force they have morphed into if they weren't producing vast quantities of sub quality amphetamines?

John Stossel lol

good looking guy, GREAT moustache, has eclipsed Tom Selleck as the best moustache on TV

pity he was working on the crappy tabloid 20/20. Last time I saw that in the early morning, they had the US chick who has been convicted of murdering some Italian guy when she was studying in Italy. That was a demagogic beat up in the US.

Now he is going to Fox. Dont know if that is worse or not.

 

[bit_pattern]

^^ lol

From The Drum:

It's all in the game

The "War on Drugs" has been going on at the same intensity for decades now and there are still no winners.
But if the central tenet of President Obama's favourite television program, The Wire, is that this war has been a wretched failure, then perhaps we can suspect the game may be finally changing.
And in the words of The Wire's rogue stickup man Omar, "it's all in the game". More

 

[sherrinorburley]

Alcohol is an EXTREMELY dangerous drug. You need look no further than the problems occuring in our own backyard on Melbourne's streets to see the impact this substance can have on our society.

Which is why I can't fathom why Marijuana is deemed so dangerous. Unlike alcohol, you cannot comsume so much weed that you die - there has never been a recorded Marjiuana overdose in the world.

Marijuana doesn't contain the physically addictive ingredients of Ciggarettes (Nicotine). It is often smoked though water pipes / bongs - which means the temparature of smoke is lower and less harmful to your lungs. Using vaporisers made popular by medicinal marijuana smokers in the US, the risks are reduced further.

That said - it is potentially harmful if used irresponsibly. Eating fast food every day is harmful. Drinking alcohol every day is harmful. If you abuse Marijuana - that is you use it to excess - then it can be harmful. Which is why it needs to be regulated and people (especially kids who are most at risk) need to be educated about it.

Regulation will control any chemicals used in Hydro weed. It will allow the government to tax marijuana (Australia is one of the highest per-capita consumers of weed in the world) which will allow research and education into the plant.

Most importantly, it will reduce organised crime making profits from our nations most prolific illegal substance.

End the rediculous prohibition today.

Good post.

Besides the Netherlands and parts of California/Canada, the MOST dangerous thing about cannabis is the law surrounding it. Which is changing SLOWLY for the better worldwide.