Subject:
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Re: Arkham Asylum - A cool set, but a bit disturbing.
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Mon, 11 Jun 2007 10:24:28 GMT
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Viewed:
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9754 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, David Laswell wrote:
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Timothy Gould wrote:
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The vast majority of illegal narcotics users don’t cause much harm to
society (and certainly no more than users of legal narcotics such as
alcohol). Heroin and crack cocaine (being the two with the really, really
high danger levels) account for a very small portion of total illegal
narcotics use. On the whole it seems to be a combination of political
inertia and misinformation that keep any sort of change from happening
rather than good evidence.
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I’d say that depends on the society. In the US there is a problem with
people mugging Oxycontin(sp?)-dependant people for their prescriptions and
mainlining it. It is perhaps more expensive than heroin, and anyone who
actually needs it to control crippling pain is automatically at risk for
extreme violence.
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I dug up some statistics (page
288- of the PDF) and it would appear that in the US just under one third of drug
users are using something other than marijuana. So when talking about high-risk
people (those whose actions are a danger to someone other than themself) we’re
looking at a fraction of a third, which is a small portion. In most other
developed countries I’ve seen statistics for the percentage of drug users using
something other than marijuana is even lower.
And to anticipate any arguments that marijuana is harmful (I have no doubts that
it is) I did say ‘no more than users of legal narcotics’. Yes marijuana has its
problems but I’m yet to see anything from a reputable source suggestion they’re
in any way worse than those associated with tobacco or alcohol.
I should also note that crime associated with drug use is not neccessarily a
result of the drug use so much as a result of its illegal nature. If one could
get a recreational prescription to Oxycontin one wouldn’t need to mug anyone. It
also strikes me as a very inefficient way of an addict to get a hold of their
drugs. Robbing a pharmacy would have much better yields. Are you sure it’s
really that common or is it just overreported because of the unpleasantess?
That means that most governments are making it illegal for people to use
something they enjoy for no good reason. Furthermore by making things illegal
(as opposed to hard to get, for example) they are helping to increase robbery
and property crime. Is this the action of a moral government and/or legal
system?
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Oh, and cocaine is a stimulant, not a narcotic, and alcohol is a depressant.
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Yes. I double checked and sure enough you are right. The wikipedia article does
state, however, that ‘illegal narcotic’ is commonly used by paypersons to refer
to illegal drugs in general, including by law enforcement.
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The people most in need of assisted suicide are unable to do so themselves
which is why they need assistance. The Governement is restricting their
right to kill themselves.
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You’re assuming that suicide is legal to begin with. In many parts of the
US, it is patently illegal to take any life, even your own. In days of old,
it was even a capital offense in some areas. Yes, that means that if you try
to kill yourself, fail, and change your mind about any further attempts...the
legal system could effectively force it on you if/when they ever found out.
Makes no sense at all, which is why most, if not all, of these states have
struck that punishment from the books (though not necessarily the illegality
of the act itself).
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Well that takes immorality of law to a whole new level. I’d heard rumours about
that sort of law in the US but was never sure if it was an urban myth or not.
Tim
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